Sustainable Development

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Sustainable Development
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Sustainable Development Definition

• Sustainable Development seeks to meet the
  aspirations and the needs of the present without
  compromising the ability of future generations to
  meet their own needs.

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History of the Concept

• Elaborated by the Brundtland Commission
• Endorsed at the U.N. Conference on Environment
  and Development (Rio de Janeiro, 1992)
• Addresses controversy on whether growth and
  development are inherently destructive to the
  environment.
• Lack of sustainability results both from
  affluence and poverty

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Endorsed by Development Organizations

• Concerns of developed and developing countries
• Development and environment not incompatible
• Need to eradicate poverty
• Some forms of development more sustainable
• Efficiency and win-win approaches
• Technology transfer
• Policy development

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• Is SD a useful concept?
• Or, is it a misleading concept and a
  contradiction in terms?

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Measuring Sustainable Development

• The ESI
• http//www.ciesin.columbia.edu/indicators/ESI/
• Objectives
• Add substance to the concept
• Compare countries
• What drives sustainability

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ESI Variables

• Environmental Systems
• Reducing Environmental Stresses
• Human Vulnerability
• Social and Institutional Capacity
• Global Stewardship

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ESI 2001 Ranking
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Are Richer Countries More Sustainable?

• The Environmental Kuznets Curve

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Measuring Sustainable Development

• Ecological footprints
• http//www.progress.org/
• Measures the amount of renewable and
  non-renewable ecologically productive land area
  required to support the resource demands and
  absorb the wastes of a given population or
  specific activities

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Measuring Sustainable Development

• Surce of dashboard
• http//esl.jrc.it/dc/ef_rp/ef_fvc.htm