Sustainable Development Today Essay

The most commonly used definition of sustainable development is still that given in the report of the World Commission on Environment and Development (1987), i.e. sustainable development is ‘a process to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.’ Sustainable development is therefore about creating a better life for all people in ways that will be as viable in the future as they are at present. In other words, sustainable development is based on principles of sound husbandry of the world’s resources, and on equity in the way those resources are used and in the way in which the benefits obtained from them are distributed (Making Tourism More Sustainable, 2005).

In order to understand how social classes can affect sustainable development, the term sustainable development must first be defined. The most widely accepted definition was created by the United Nations’ World Commission on Environment and Development in 1987. This commission, also known as the Brundtland Commission, focused on combining two concepts that previously were seen as contradictory ideas: the environment and development. In their report, Our Common Future, they concluded that

Robbins Elementary, an urban school located in a large city in Texas, has defied the odds by attaining and sustaining high academic success rates for an approximate twenty-year time period. As Okilwa and Barnett (2017) noted, Robbins Elementary had grown to become homogeneous in race (majority Hispanic) and economic status (increased economically disadvantaged status). According to the article (Okilwa & Barnett, 2017), 2013 census data revealed that 50% of families in Robbins Elementary attendance zone earned less than $35,000 annually, with a median income of $35,282. Assumptions regarding high-need schools would, undoubtedly, portray Robbins Elementary as a school that would struggle academically with high teacher and principal

Sustainable development is defined as “Development that meets the needs of the present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (IISD, par. 1 ).

Sustainable development means that the present generations should be able to make use of resources to live better lives in such a manner that it does not compromise the ability of future generations. For sustainable development to occur, there needs to be sustainable economic, ecological and community development. Society needs to be educated about ways in which they can use resources, especially natural, in such a manner that it does not cause harm to the environment and put future generations lives at risk.

From the very beginning of 19th century, what most industrial company searching for is basically manufacturing processes that can help them to reduce production cost and produce good quality product in terms of, for instance desired size and shape and surface quality. In addition, the sustainable issue which is concerning on three major aspect such as environment, economy and social, gain a positive response from the whole world. A number of profit or non-profit organizations, international or regional organizations take part in to support this issue. For example, United Nations, an intergovernmental organization who is committed to preserving peace through international cooperation, held UN Sustainable Development Summit 2015 [1], where countries have opportunity to contribute in taking actions to end poverty, conserve environment and reduce inequalities. On account of achieving these goals, everyone needs to get involved here.

Sustainable development, when applied to the development of a system, creates complexity for the stakeholders involved in and affected by that development. To delve this complexity, solid definitions must be proposed for development and sustainable development in order for a framework to be established through which these complexities can be understood. Furthermore, these definitions are necessary evils for explorations of the intricacies of sustainable development due to the various paradigms used to define “development” and “sustainable development.” One definition of development, and the one that will be utilized within this report, is the, “utilizing resources to advance the complexity of a whole society.” From this, a definition of

Sustainable development is about meeting the needs of today without over-using the resources for future. It requires the integration of environmental, economic and social priorities into policies and programs[b]. It is different from green growth as green growth does not take social priorities into account which means that green growth is more focusing on improvement of quantity but sustainable development focusing more on quality of human’s life experience.

Sustainable development is a relatively new concept, brought about by increasing scientific awareness of the interconnection between the environment and economic development, as discussed at the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment. 15 years later in 1987, the World Commission on Environment and Development, also known as the Brundtland Commission, took the concept further to fully define sustainable development, which has helped to shape public policy, business strategies, and individual choices . Sustainable development contains two key concepts:

“Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”

Urbanization, which is becoming a buzzword during the last few decades, is enlarging at a booming speed. It is predicted that 93 percents urban growth will occur to the year 2020, in the developing world (Elliot J.A, 1999). Generally speaking, more than half of the people around the world have been moved to cities, which led to a series of “matters” connected with people’s life that changed in a dramatical way. In this period, sustainable development, another buzzword during the past few years, came into people’s view and gradually became the mainstream of society development. Its definition is to make the development continue in a long term, which means allowing appropriate economic growth and industrialization without

The principles contained in the Convention were updated in 2007 with the conclusion of the Hague Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance.

The concept of sustainable development regards the use of human, physical, and financial resources in a manner that is effectively directed only to industrial, commercial and financial areas, but also the infrastructure, education, health, tourism, and so on. Because the development is in the interest not only of the public but also the private sector, it takes account of social and environmental components of development (Therivel & Paridario, 2013).

The tradition concept of development has for a considerable period of time been driven by economic considerations. Exploitation of natural resources which leads to environmental degradation motivated by targets of maximum profits has been the norm and little regard has been granted to the side effects of development initiatives. Gradual escalation of awareness and realisation of the range as well as the magnitude of environmental effects of development initiatives led to worldwide discussions on the way forward. Consequently, the concept sustainable development was conceived. However, this concept is perceived to be oxymoron by environmentalists, in other terms it is viewed as a combination of two contradicting terminologies.

The concept of sustainable development was introduced by the publication of the Brundland report having a basis of meeting the needs of the current situation while considering the upcoming generations in meeting their needs too (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987). While the concept is true, achievement of the sustainable development has no clear and definite route (Becker, Jahn, Stiess, & Wehling, 1997; Walker & Kubisch, 2008).