The Benefits Of Sustainable Development For Human And Environment

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).

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 ).

Important advantages of Resources on the Earth are limited.That the way we behave now does not make life difficult or impossible for future generations.To achieve sustainable development,we need to carefully consider the need for economic development,where standards of living improve

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.

Since the creation of the UN’s World Commission on Environment and Development in 1987, the term “sustainability” has become a common term used when discussing the future of the world (Kerr &Hart-Steffes2012). Sustainability, in a broad sense, means living harmoniously with the environment, society, and economy without compromising quality of life for peoples of future generations. There are three main components to sustainability: social, environmental, and economic. The social dimension refers to housing, education, health care, and other aspects that contribute to one’s quality of life, while the economic dimension speaks to a viable local economy with job creation and incoming revenue not dependent on high consumption or population

The increase of global urban population has become a critical issue that the world is facing; as the world population continuously increases, the need for natural resources (Land, water, energy and food) also increases. However, natural resources are known to be finite. Which is why sustainability has become a major concept during recent times. Based on the US Environmental Protection Agency (ND), Sustainability is based on a simple principle: “Everything that we need for our survival and well-being depends, either directly or indirectly, on our natural environment. Sustainability creates and maintains the conditions under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony, that permit fulfilling the social, economic and other requirements of present and future generations.”

Sustainability is a topic that has become very important in recent years. Sustainability is defined as, “the ability to continue a defined behavior indefinitely.” ("Finding and Resolving the Root Causes of the Sustainability Problem", 2014)

One of the biggest problems facing the global population of the world today is ecological sustainability. Ecological sustainability is when the rates in which renewable resources’ are harvested, population is increases and non-renewable resources are depleted can be continued indefinitely. If all of these aspects cannot be continued indefinitely then ecological sustainability

Sustainability is “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations” (Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future 1987). The concept of sustainability comprises of four pillars: environmental; economic; political and social; as can be seen in the image below. Environmental sustainability is the use and management of the environment in a way that it does not deplete our finite resources. Economic sustainability is a long term sustainable economy that supports its community and political sustainability is the collaboration of different bodies of government to achieve a sustainable future. Now social sustainability is hard to define as it encapsulates many different factors; however to be very broad it is to achieve social justice. The real objective for sustainability is that all four pillars work together equally in a precautionary principle;

Sustainable development. A concept that has only recently become highlighted and pursued by the international community. In a country like Nigeria, there is focus on economic growth on the sustaining of their people, not the interest of the environment, however this trend is beginning to change as the country is moving toward a future of power from alternative sources, such as solar power and wind power (Our Objectives, n.d.). Sustainable development, according to the Brundtland Report, “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to the meet their own needs.”(IISD) The United Nations has been at the forefront of this drive for a more sustainable, namely with the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which highlight not only environmental aspects, but also societal (human right-based) (e.g. No Poverty, focus on Gender Inequality). Prior to the creation of the SDGs, were the Millennial Development Goals (MDGs) during the beginning of the 21st Century, which eventually became the SDGs. The SDGs implemented several new points that seemingly “filled the gaps”, so-to-speak, left by the MDGs. These goals were adopted in September of 2015 with an expected fruition date of 2030 (Madeley 2015).

The concept of sustainable development is generally understood in two similar but differing perspectives. The first of these is the 'social-scientific ' definition explicated most frequently in relation to the 1987 report of the Brundtland commission.1 This report defines sustainable development as our “...ability to make development sustainable—to ensure that it meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”2. The second perspective of sustainable development is that of the 'ecological ' definition, which holds that it is a necessity to maintaining healthy, thriving ecosystems in order to facilitate concurrent healthy and thriving human societies.3 Thus both of these definitions are propounding a pragmatic normativity, albeit from slightly differing outlooks: the former concerned more with socio-economic factors, and the latter more with environmental considerations.4

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 concept of sustainable development has become a major topic among intellectuals from various fields. Sustainable development has gone through various changes in its definitions and at present does not have a commonly accepted definition. The origination of the concept of sustainable development is debatable. In 1974 at a conference on Science and Technology for Human Development by the World Council of Churches the concept of a “sustainable society” is believed to have been first noted. This early concept focused on equitable distribution of scarce resources and the need for democratic decision making. In 1980 the currently used term of sustainable development emerged in the

At the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, popularly known as the Earth Summit and held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, the sustainable development

Sustainable development is the theory of the relationship between the environment and economic growth (Asefa, 2005: 1-18). According to the Brundtland Commission’s report, sustainable development can be defined as the “ability to make development