CONTEMPORARY ISSUES – ASSIGNMENT – SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

THE CONCEPT: Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The word
sustainable development is regarded by some authors as the perfect excuse to continue growing
and consuming in order to sustain current life styles. To achieve sustainable development, it will
be necessary to increase the production in industries since the population will continue growing
and demanding goods, which will result in more waste and more pollution. Opponents of
sustainable development argue that this kind of behaviour is not sustainable since people and
manufacturers continue exploiting resources to satisfy their needs; and what they point out is that
those industries, who were guilty for the environment degradation, are now the key players to
take forward the sustainable development. Sustainable development policies need to be designed
and executed by elites, by politicians, since they have the economic resources and the political
power to do it. However, business pressure groups are always behind politicians decisions.
This term focuses its attention on human welfare, and put the environment in second place as a
factor of this development. This view is considered as resourcist, because other living beings are
not considered as part of this sustainability, they are just a source of food, entertainment and
money that needs to be sustained so it can be used by human beings. The special contribution of
the concept of sustainable development is that it emphasises respect for cultural values and, thus,
does not see economic indicators as the sole measure of development. Rather, sustainable
development represents the balanced integration of social and environmental objectives with
economic development. These three aspects of sustainable development – society, environment
and economics – were named as the three pillars of sustainable development at the World
Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002.
The concept of sustainable development has been, and still is, subject to criticism, including the
question of what is to be sustained in sustainable development. It has been argued that there is no
such thing as a sustainable use of a non-renewable resource, since any positive rate of
exploitation will eventually lead to the exhaustion of earth's finite stock; this perspective renders
the Industrial Revolution as a whole unsustainable. It has also been argued that the meaning of
the concept has opportunistically been stretched from 'conservation management' to 'economic
development', and that the Brundtland Report promoted nothing but a business as usual strategy
for world development, with an ambiguous and insubstantial concept attached as a public
relations slogan.
While the modern concept of sustainable development is derived mostly from the
1987 Brundtland Report, it is also rooted in earlier ideas about sustainable forest
management and twentieth-century environmental concerns. As the concept developed, it has
shifted towards focus more on economic development, social development and environmental
protection for future generations. It has been suggested that "the term 'sustainability' should be
viewed as humanity's target goal of human-ecosystem equilibrium, while 'sustainable
development' refers to the holistic approach and temporal processes that lead us to the end point
of sustainability". Modern economies are endeavoring to reconcile ambitious economic
development and obligations of preserving natural resources and ecosystems, as the two are
usually seen as of conflicting nature. Instead of holding climate change commitments and other
sustainability measures as a remedy to economic development, turning and leveraging them into
market opportunities will do greater good. The economic development brought by such
organized principles and practices in an economy is called Managed Sustainable Development
(MSD).

NEED & SIGNIFICANCE OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: Sustainable

development is the current trend in every country, and its main objective is to satisfy present and
future needs, without disturbing the environment. However, there are many criticisms of this
term, especially because it has been built in terms of the economic theory and the desire of
nations of growing more is depleting the resources. But in practice, the term is working and
governments along with the community and businesses are making an effort to preserve the
environment, so children can inherit what their parents have enjoyed. This term has raised
awareness in politicians, industries and population, and several programs that have been carried
out in various areas are being developed on behalf the sustainable development. So, it is possible
to conclude that sustainable development is relevant and it use in today’s world is essential.
People’s activities are being ruled by its principles, and policy making decisions are mainly
designed to accomplish it; every positive or negative action that people take now, will have big
impact on the future. Overall, Sustainable Development has promoted a big change in attitudes
towards the environment and lifestyle, and that is a big step human-kind has taken since the
Industrial Revolution. Thus, the term is rejected in several forms, it still keeps relevance.
In 1972, the then Prime Minister of India, Mrs. Indira Gandhi emphasized, at the UN
Conference on Human Environment at Stockholm, that the removal of poverty is an integral part
of the goal of an environmental strategy for the world. The concepts of interrelatedness, of a
shared planet, of global citizenship, and of ‘spaceship earth’ cannot be restricted to
environmental issues alone. They apply equally to the shared and inter-linked responsibilities of
environmental protection and human development. History has led to vast inequalities, leaving
almost three-fourths of the world’s people living in less-developed countries and one-fifth below
the poverty line. The long-term impact of past industrialization, exploitation and environmental
damage cannot be wished away. It is only right that development in this new century be even
more conscious of its long-term impact. The problems are complex and the choices difficult. Our
common future can only be achieved with a better understanding of our common concerns and
shared responsibilities.
India is presently emerging as an economic superpower, but in contrast, there is another profile
of India. We constitute around 17% of the world's population, but account for about 35% of the
poor and 40% of the illiterates in the world. Experiences from the economic reform indicate that
while there have been improvements in economic growth, foreign exchange, IT revolution,
export growth, and so on, inequality in income distribution has been growing simultaneously.
Exclusion from benefits of economic revolution has been continued in terms of low agricultural
growth (agriculture's share in GDP has been reduced to half, with no decrease in dependent
population in the agricultural sector, low quality employment growth, concentration of poverty in
certain groups (SC / ST), occupation (agricultural and casual labor), and region; and inadequate
development of women and children. Our sex ratio continues to remain favorable to men. All the
above factors have resulted in the widening of economic and social disparity, which is a threat to
sustainable development. The present economic growth helps to create more opportunities for
the more educated section of the upper and middle class, with a ‘trickle-down’ effect on a section
of the poor. In India around 700 million people in the rural area are directly dependent on
climate-sensitive sectors (agriculture, forests, and fisheries) and natural resources (such as water,
biodiversity, mangroves, coastal zones, grasslands) for their subsistence and livelihoods. Climate
change and its effects will further reduce the adaptive capacity of dry land farmers, forest
dwellers, fisherfolk, and nomadic shepherds, which is already very low.
Water, soil, and air, which are the vital environmental sources for maintaining life have been
shrinking alarmingly. The main reasons for the water crisis are increasing demand, zonal
disparity in distribution, lack of ethical framework for use, inadequate knowledge and resources,
major land-use changes, long-term water level decline, and increase in salinity and pollution.
India, with a large percentage of its land under agriculture, is also prone to the vagaries of
weather conditions and climate change. About 228 Mha of its geographical area (nearly 69%)
falls within the dry land (arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid) region and 142 Mha (68% of the
total cultivated area) in the country is rain fed. To meet the challenging situation of widening
economic and social disparity, inclusive growth is the best tool, but it is a dream without
improvement in agricultural growth, employment generation, poverty reduction, and
involvement of the social sector (health, education, and women empowerment).