Gauging Sustainable Development and Applicable Legal Frameworks - Dissertation Example

Download file to see previous pages Sustainable development for oil and gas in Iraq will be explored in relation to legal instruments and various case laws. Furthermore, the role of sustainable development as a tool in policy making will be looked into with special reference to the New Delhi Declaration (2002) and its principal aims and objectives. The various aspects espoused under the New Delhi Declaration and its evolution will be traced in detail to allow for a countenance of how these guidelines apply to sustainable development on economic, social, and environmental fronts simultaneously. The contention will be to assess how these guidelines can be implemented in Iraq’s case to sustainably develop the oil and gas resources.

3-2 Defining Sustainable Development
Broadly put sustainability can be seen as the capability of any system to continue in its present state of affairs as such. There has been much emphasis placed on sustainability in recent years, given the rapid pace at which human developments are threatening future prospects. Sustainability has been under scrutiny since it is becoming clear that human activities have the potential to offset current solutions to produce failures. Although sustainability has long been seen in the context of biological systems its use has been gaining currency in application to human systems too.

When applied to human systems, sustainable development assumes the dimensions of ecology, politics, economics, society, culture among others. The application of sustainable development to human systems is aimed at balancing environmental issues with economic needs as well as social equity and justice . The contention is to produce human systems that are capable of continuing in a state of balance such that demands are met without affecting future prospects for continuum. Historically, human settlements have been subject to sustainable development concerns from the earliest times. Human history makes it abundantly clear that civilisations tend to cease to exist when faced with a crisis that is handled using unsustainable means. ...Download file to see next pages Read More