Sustainable Development Definition

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Introduction: Sustainable Development is becoming the new “it” word in today’s society. Companies, governments, organizations, NGO’s and individuals all around the world today boast about how they are part of the global Sustainable development movement. That is why it is necessary to understand what Sustainable Development really represents, its definitions and key concepts, real life examples and its future. For the purpose of this paper the most widely acknowledged and used theory of Sustainable Development published in the Brundtland Report shall be used: “…development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (WCED 1987, p. 43). This definition of Sustainable Development contains within it the two key concepts that are present in our society: the concept of needs and the concept of limitations. The concept of needs involves providing strong priority to the poor and providing them with essential needs like clean water, medicine, shelter and food (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987. The concept of limitations encompasses the idea that there are certain limitations imposed by technology and social organizations on the ability of the environment to meet the current and future needs of society as has been described in the (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987). This concept described in the Brundtland report aims to define the fact that the world must be seen as a system and not as a whole. As upon understanding individual parts of the system it becomes much easier to identify the problems and find solutions. The concept of needs has vastly been distorted in today’s society as for the more economically developed... ... middle of paper ... ...the whole process would fall apart and be inefficient. As for 2013 Sustainable Development on a global scale is still in its infant stage. The lack of international agreements on measures and disinterest of the Northern society in true Sustainable Development measures have resulted in only small fraction of the original vision to be implemented. Change is happening, just not at the desired pace, but the time has come to make some of the harsh decisions, such as strict cuts in emissions around the world. Several decades after the Brundtland report was published it seems more than viable for there to be a Brundtland Report 2.0. This report would be restructured according to current trends and demands of society and focus more on solving the problems of the current generation. Sustainable Development has a bright future as long as there is an adequate catalyst nearby.

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