Sustainable Development – what is it?

An array of interpretations exists for the term sustainable development but the commonly cited and modern concept of sustainable development was derived from the Brundtland Report otherwise known as Our Common Future which defines sustainable development as development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of the future generation to meet their own needs (World Commission On Economic And Development, 1987). Thus, the use of the earth’s finite resources judiciously to meet human needs and consciously preserving such resources to equitably meet the needs of the future generation. The Brundtland Report definition on sustainable development incorporates two concepts: first, the concept of ‘needs’, in particular the essential needs of the world’s poor to which overriding priority should be given, and second the idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the environment’s ability to meet present and future needs.

The Report painted a dingy global environmental picture and called for sustainable development as a means of halting environmental destruction and recommended that relevant global and regional meetings on the environment should be held. Consequently various efforts and initiatives have been embarked upon at both regional and global levels to achieve sustainable development in every facet of the developmental space.