Sustainability is an umbrella term, covering every aspect of our lives – ecological challenges must be considered along with social and economic ones.
As such, in 2015 the 17 Sustainable Development Goals were adopted, with goals such as ending poverty and hunger, providing quality education, gender equality and economic growth, protecting natural resources and biodiversity and safeguarding economic prosperity.
Sustainable development is a process of development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Sustainable development involves finding an equilibrium between economic and social needs of current and future human generations and protecting or preventing undue damage to nature. In practice, this means taking measures that do not cause irreparable harm to ecosystems as well as taking steps to repair damage that does occur; also encouraging practices that conserve renewable resources while taking measures when irreversible damage does occur; furthermore promoting practices which conserve them and use renewables more responsibly than their nonsustainable counterparts; in comparison, unsustainable development often seeks short-term profits at the expense of longer-term environmental or social costs; for instance logging for immediate profit may result in permanent flooding of nearby communities or loss of endangered species as well.
In 1987, the United Nations hosted the World Commission on Environment and Development to study this issue and produce the Brundtland Report that defined sustainable development as: “development that meets present-day needs without jeopardizing future generations’ ability to meet theirs”. Since then, sustainable development has become an accepted policy goal among governments around the globe.
Sustainable economies strive to achieve growth while using as few non-renewable resources and pollutant as possible, and by minimizing pollution and waste. They must also adapt quickly to changes in climate and other aspects that impact their environments, ensure everyone has access to basic services like food and water and strive towards creating an equitable society where those less fortunate do not suffer due to poverty or lack of opportunity.
Sustainable development is often described as being multidimensional — comprising environment, economics and society – although other terms such as pillars or domains or aspects may also be used to refer to its elements. Whatever its form is called, sustainable development involves maintaining long-term health and well-being for humanity on Earth through maintaining life indefinitely or even prolonging it further down its trajectory.
It is a process of development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Sustainable development’s roots can be traced back to modern natural resource management, 20th-century conservation movements, and progressive economic perspectives. It first gained mainstream currency at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro where industrialized nations committed themselves to helping developing nations reduce greenhouse gas emissions while protecting biodiversity (Hak, Janouskova & Moldan 2016).
Sustainable development refers to progress made on both a social and environmental scale. On a global scale, this can be accomplished by incorporating development with conservation strategies in order to meet human needs while protecting future generations’ ability to meet theirs, achieve social justice and economic equality as well as maintain ecological unity.
Reaching this goal requires all countries to pursue sustainable economic growth that respects Earth’s regenerative capacity and implement policies that encourage and support sustainable practices, such as adopting the polluter-pays principle to ensure those responsible bear the costs for their activities rather than passing them onto others or the environment, or transitioning away from food production focused on high yields and rapid turnover toward more diversified crops that encourage soil regeneration.
However, attaining sustainability poses many obstacles. First and foremost among them is its difficulty of implementation; many necessary changes require time and energy before they take effect. Second is its complexity in that many solutions often cross national borders and require collaboration across political boundaries for successful implementation. Thirdly is its risk that moving towards full sustainability could result in the loss of certain benefits.
Sustainable development goals remain key components of global health and prosperity for all. The UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development sets 17 broad Sustainable Development Goals with the intention of creating an equitable society alongside an intact planet.