What Is Environmental Sustainability?

The definition of Environmental sustainability is “a responsible interaction with the environment to avoid degradation of natural resources to allow for long-term environmental quality”. Some people think that environmental sustainability is only to ensure that the natural resources are at a sustain level but it also has to do with basic human needs such as sanitation or a good water source. Currently we are having problems ensuring environmental sustainability because of factors such as water pollution, acid rain, global warming, and dying plants and animals, etc. The UN has made environmental sustainability part of their millennium goals as number 7. They are currently made up by 193 countries that are working towards reaching their goal

Currently there are many animal species that are endangered and could even go extinct. That is why we have protected areas that can ensure a healthy life for these animals. since 1990 there has been a large increase in these protected areas, they contain guards that are willing protect and ensure a sustainable environment limited to the protected area. We have seen an increase in protected land area from 8.9% to 14.6% on the earths surface from 1990 to 2014. And the protected marine area is around 5.3% on the earths surface. a significant portion of the world’s population depend on protected areas. CBD (The Convention on Biological Diversity) seeks to conserve at least 17 per cent of the world’s terrestrial areas and 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas by 2020 and this UNs goal when it comes to reduction of biodiversity loss. Some Mammals, Birds, and other species are currently heading for extinction faster than ever. In the recent years some countries such as Denmark and Sweden has managed to reduce extinction rate of some species and the UN Is currently working to get more countries to follow

And to do this by 2020. Target 7.D has similar aspects such as target 7.C because they wat to improve the sanitation and water sources in the slums as well but also improve the households and living conditions. More than 320 million people living in slums gained access to improved water sources, improved sanitation facilities, or durable and less crowded housing, in the last 15 years. More than 880 million live in slums today, compared to the 792 million in 2000 and the 689 million in 1990. even though the UN has reached their target, the amount of slum dwellers is growing at a massive speed. The UN need more focused and stronger efforts to improve the lives of the people living in poverty in cities and countryside around in the developing countries. We have seen remarkable progress in reducing the number of slum dwellers. Indonesia, China and India are three countries that have made massive progress when it comes to reducing the number residents living in slums. Some countries however have problems as they are often in conflict and the people living in slums have increased rapidly from 2000 to 2012. They don’t have good sanitation or durable housing. countries are invited to UN meetings to talk about the slum populations and to find solutions to help the urban poor living in slums by