Sustainable Development as a Global Concept - Essay Example

Sustainable Development Sustainable development became a global concept after the release of Brundtland report which was later adopted by the United Nations General Assembly. Although there have been other definitions and interpretations of what sustainable development should encompass, the essence of the concept has always remained clear. Based on the definition presented by the Brundtland report, sustainable development is development that satisfies current societal needs while avoiding putting the chances of future generations to satisfy their own needs in jeopardy. This definition has two essential concepts the first one being concept of needs which especially covers the needs of the world’s poor that needs to be prioritized. Secondly, the definition presents the idea of limitations in terms of resources which is as a result of technologies and social structures which strains the ability of the environment to satisfy present and future needs of human populations (Ciegis, Ramanauskiene and Martinkus 2009). Based on the definition by Brundtland report, it is apparent that human beings are faced with many possibilities for the satisfaction of needs. These possibilities might have different meanings depending on how the available alternatives are conceived either based on production and consumption, or various social and environmental functions. Pierantoni (2004) note that these possibilities that human populations deal with can be associated with the different types of capital that include human, economic, ecologic, and social capital which are all essential variables in the understanding of sustainable development. The concept of sustainable development has in its core the needs of human beings as opposed to those of other species, animals or ecosystems. On limitations, sustainable development establishes only boundaries and not absolute limitations but restrains, that applies to the present environmental resources and their capacity to absorb the effects of human activity. Consequently, the concept of sustainable development should be perceived as an equitable and balanced development. This basically means that for development to be consistent over a long period, it should take into account the interests of different groups of people within a given generation and among different generations and do so concurrently in three major related areas of economic, environmental, and social (Soubbotina 2004). In the context of developing countries, the essence sustainable development calls for the dramatic reduction of poverty and hunger in addition to the creation of improved development forecast for future generations by paying attention to the three key areas of economic, environmental, and social prospects of the countries. For sustainable development to be a reality in developing countries there is a need for strategies that are inclusive while at the same time taking special care of the needs of the poorest and vulnerable members. Additionally, these strategies have to be ambitious, doable and collaborative in addition to taking into considerations the uniqueness of each country (Drexhage and Murphy 2010). The prospect for developing countries to achieve sustainable development rests on their ability to meet various goals set by international community key among them being the United Nations Millennium Declaration of 2000 which led to the formulation and pursuit of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Implementation of the MDGs has continued to improve the lives of the poor and vulnerable given that on the global scale, the MDGs poverty target was achieved some years before the 2015 deadline. The prospect for developing countries looks bright given the reduction in the proportion of those living on less than $1.25 from 47 per cent in 1990 to 22 per cent in 2010. Additionally, it is estimated that the number of people living in extreme poverty had reduced by nearly 700 million in 2010 compared with 1990 (World Economic and Social Survey 2013). However, these estimates fall short of international targets that are set to be achieved by the year 2015. Therefore, achievement of sustainable development in developing countries calls for change of mentality and adoption of new and innovative ideas that while result in a shift of culture. This is necessary given that underlying the call for sustainable development is the fact that the climate change and its impact threatens to sky rocket due to lack of enough safeguards. There is therefore a need for policy makers in the developing counties to put in place strategic measures that promote effective and efficient management of natural resources and ecosystems (World Economic and Social Survey 2013). Hunger and malnourishment is also an area that will determine how developing countries are able to keep up with their current and future needs for development. Even as many developing countries continue to report decreasing levels in proportion of their populations affected by hunger and malnutrition, many others have not been able to achieve food and nutrition security. World Economic and Social Survey (2013) reports that in developing countries, approximately 1 billion people are still affected by food insecurity which is about the as what was reported in 1970. However, even as these figures may be interpreted as representing a lack of significant improvement on this front, developing countries will be encouraged by the fact that the number of people who are undernourished reduced to 15 per cent in 2008-2010 from approximately 20 per cent reported in 1990-1992. Further, the World Economic and Social Survey (2013) reports that given the current prospects in developing countries, reducing by halve the number of people suffering from hunger by the year 2015 will be an impossible target in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. The income inequality that is experienced between the rich and the poor in developing countries has far-reaching implication on the ability of these countries to achieve sustainable development. Income inequality within and among many countries has been rising with developing countries having the highest discrepancy. Such discrepancies in developing countries have heightened tension and social conflicts further curtailing their chances of achieving sustainable development (Hussen 2013). While it is widely accepted that sustainable development should cover the three interrelated pillars, developing countries are bound to fail in their quest to achieve sustainable development due to the simplification of the concept into an environmental issue added to the continued misconception and limiting of development to purely economic growth. As a result of this approach to sustainable development by developing countries, natural resources face a looming danger of being exhausted or their quality being compromised whose effect is the reduction of existing biodiversity. Developing countries have copied trends in developed countries where development has always been resource-intensive. Such a move spell further doom to the prospects of achieving sustainable development in developing countries as it leads to further environmental degradation leading to climate change that makes planning impossible due to unpredictable weather (Drexhage and Murphy 2010). The concept of sustainable development has had a global implication for a number of years as countries put in place various strategic measures to ensure that populations continue to get essential services in the present and the future. For countries to achieve sustainable development three interrelated aspects that cover environmental, social and economic uniqueness of such countries have to be taken into consideration. In their bid to achieve sustainable development, developing countries have continued to encounter hardships that stem from the way they handle various challenges that are brought about by their social, environmental and economic realities. References Ciegis, R., Ramanauskiene, J., & Martinkus, B. 2009. The concept of sustainable development and its use for sustainability Scenarios, Inzinerine Ekonomika-Engineering Economics, 2(62), 28-37. Drexhage, J., & Murphy, D. 2010. Sustainable development: from Brundtland to Rio 2012, Background Paper for the High Level Panel on Global Sustainability, United Nations: New York. Hussen, M. 2013. Principles of Environmental Economics and Sustainability: An Integrated economic and ecological approach, Routledge: New York. Pierantoni, I. A. 2004. Few Remarks on Methodological Aspects Related to Sustainable Development, Measuring Sustainable Development: Integrated Economic, Environmental and Social Frameworks. OECD. Soubbotina, T. P. 2004. Beyiond Economic Growth: An Introduction to Sustainable Development, World Bank Publications. World Economic and Social Survey.2013. Sustainable Development Challenges, United Nations: New York. [Online] Available at http://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/2843WESS2013.pdf Read More