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5 5 Green Skills-II

Session 1

Definition of Sustainable Development

Sustainable development is the development that meets the needs of the present, but does not compromise the
ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The concept of sustainable development can be interpreted
in different ways, but at its core is an approach to development that invokes an awareness towards the right kind
of environmental, social, and economic development in a society.

Often, in most of the societies, the development takes place with one particular need in mind, without fully
considering the future impacts of that development. We are already seeing the damage caused due to this kind
of approach. For example, a large-scale financial crisis caused by irresponsible banking or the changes in global
climate resulting from our dependence on fossil fuel-based energy sources. The longer we pursue unsustainable
development, the more frequent and severe its consequences are likely to be. That's why it is time to take action
and move towards sustainable development.

Sustainable Development

The phrase 'sustainable development' is made up of two words:
l Sustainable means something that can be maintained for a longer period of time.
l Development means the use of resources to improve the present social, economic, and environmental
systems.

Sustainable development is a systematic approach to growth and development and to manage natural, produced
and social capital for the welfare of their own and future generations. It is the organising principle for meeting
human development goals and at the same time sustaining the ability of natural resources to provide the services
upon which the economy and society depend.
Sustainable development has come a long way with its thirty-year long journey of four World Summits from
Stockholm to Nairobi to Rio and to Johannesburg.
v The 1972, the UN conference in Stockholm highlighted the concerns for preserving and enhancing the
environment and its biodiversity to ensure human rights to a healthy and productive world. The developing
countries argued that their priority was development, whereas the developed countries made the
environmental protection and conservation as the prime issue.
v The 1982 Nairobi Summit reviewed the progress in the decade since the Stockholm Conference and called
upon national governments to intensify efforts to protect the environment and stressed the need for
international cooperation.

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