What is Sustainable Development?
The most commonly used definition of sustainable development is the Bruntland (1987) definition "Development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" It emphasises the need to consider economic, social and environmental issues in an integrated way rather than looking at each one in isolation.
In 1992, the UN Earth Summit met in Rio de Janeiro to discuss the impacts of human development of the planet. As a result, a plan called Agenda 21 (Agenda for the 21st Century) was drawn up to set out the challenges for sustainable development for the future. Two further world summits have taken place at Kyoto in 1997 and Johannesburg in 2002 to re-affirm the commitment of partners, measure progress and provide a focus for future activity.
In 2005 the government launched its new strategy called 'Securing the Future' together with 'Community Action 2020 - Together we Can. These two documents not only renew the international push for sustainable development and generate decisive action, but also focuses on community action helping people to get involved. From these strategies four UK priorities were formed:
- Sustainable consumption and production - working towards achieving more with less
- Natural resource protection and environmental enhancement - protecting the natural resources on which we depend
- From local to global: building sustainable communities - creating places where people want to live and work, now and in the future
- Climate change and energy - confronting the greatest threat
For further information on national sustainable development policies visit www.sustainable-development.gov.uk Opens in a new window
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