Sustainable Development and Agenda 21 - Essay Example

Sustainable Development Agenda 21 is a worldwide action plan that focuses on sustainable development in the 21st century. Sustainability can be defined as the process that gears to meet the needs of the current generation without interfering with the ability of forthcoming generations to meet their needs (Sitarz, 2008). It emphasizes on the fact that current resources should not be exhausted as the current generation satisfies its needs. Sustainable development is hard to achieve. It demands changes in people’s lifestyles, more so if people will continue to consume non-renewable natural resources. The paper below will focus on the various elements of sustainability that were discussed in Agenda 21 and their application via a country profiling. The global commission on the environment was introduced by the United Nations so as to provide a global agenda for change in terms of sustainable development. It was vital to address this issue as this has significant implications in the future of the world. Prevention of poverty and safeguarding the environment is part of the review. Two concepts can be gathered pertaining to sustainable development. These are the concept of needs and the concept of policy making regarding the environment’s capacity to address the future and current needs. The needs in question are the needs to comprehend political, social, technological and cultural components of the global system (Sitarz, 2004). Several crucial areas can be picked from the proceedings of the Agenda. An important area that is covered in the Agenda is sustainable human settlement development. This is discussed in chapter seven of the Agenda. It is concerned with ensuring adequate shelter for all despite increasing rate of development. There is also focus on the need for reviving growth so as to cater for food and water, in addition to energy needs, to cater for the increase in human settlement. Another key area that is addressed is the need for improved and sustainable sanitation in terms of pollution minimization and the promotion of environmental infrastructure. Re-orientation of technology is also a paramount issue when it comes to sustainable development. So as to offset all this, there is a need for collaboration between economical and environmental decisions (Sitarz, 2008). The report points out how the future of the world can be secured through sustainable developments in various key fields. The report points out that the world cannot exist without development. However, these developments need to have the elements of sustainability so as to preserve the integrity of the planet. Implementation of sustainable activities within the construction and transport industries is also emphasized. Currently, the world faces crises in many areas owing to lack of implementation of sustainability values. There lacks economical sustainability as evidenced by the global economic crunch. This has led to a cascade of events that have affected virtually everyone on the planet. Global warming has become more amplified. Food shortages and mass unemployment have been witnessed especially in the developing world (Sitarz, 2008). This has created a need to device methods in which to measure sustainable development and highlight on the areas that are lacking in principles. These methods should be able to measure various parameters that define a sustainable world. These include economy, politics, environment, social system among others. The following figures illustrate the seriousness of the predicament that the world faces due to lack of sustainable development. A study in 2007 purported that three billion people globally survive on less than $2.50 per day. Over 1.6 billion people lack employment. Majority of the people are not capable of affording healthy and safe shelters. They also lack proper meals. Therefore, they are susceptible to various diseases. A sustainable human settlement development tries to avert such crisis from occurring. More importantly, 640 million people around the world are homeless and nearly 400 million lack access to clean water and health services (Sitarz, 2008). The rationale for sustainable development, more so in terms of human settlement, is to promote and enhance the quality of human life and its ability to develop the environment (Sitarz, 2008). Focus should be placed on the prevailing human conditions while putting into account the entire population residing on the face of this planet. This implies that there is a need to eradicate issues that retard human development. These issues include unemployment, poverty, poor education among others. If such issues are not fully addressed, sustainable development will be just a dream. Sustainable development in the field of human settlement is tasked with the responsibility of improving economic, social and environmental quality surrounding mankind. There is also emphasis on improvement in working and living environment of all the people globally, especially among the poor. Access to healthy and safe conditions is also essential to a person’s social, economic, psychological and physical well being. Philippines has a country profile that shows an effective plan for sustainable development. They have laid out goal elements, indicators and indicative targets by the year 2030. The country has several goal elements when it comes to realizing sustainable development in various fields. One of the goal elements they have laid out is the establishment and maintenance of a viable economy. Their indicators for this goal are GDP per capita growth rate and level, proportion of the citizens living below the poverty line and unemployment rates. Their indicative targets include reducing the proportion of citizens below the poverty line to at least a half of the current percentage (NEDA, 2011). They also plan to bring their unemployment rates closer to zero. Another goal element is increased safe drinking water and their indicative target is to reduce the percentage of people without access to clean water by a half (NEDA, 2011). Another goal element in the country profiling is a sustainable growth in population that will not precipitate in problems in terms of human settlement. The indicator for this goal is population growth rate where they plan to lower the rate to close to 1 by 2030. Another goal in the countries venture for sustainable development is improved levels of sanitation and access. The indicative target throughout various settlements in the country is to raise the fraction of the people that have access to adequate waste and sewage disposal to closer to 100%. The country has also targeted to reduce the rates of resource depletion including energy source and forest area (NEDA, 2011). In conclusion, sustainable development is required so as to meet the wants of the existing and future generations. In its widest sense, the concept of sustainable development focuses on promoting harmony between nature, humanity and mankind. There is a need to effectively pursue various elements of sustainable development as laid out in Agenda 21. It is the responsibility of every person to safe guard the environment and natural resources so as to improve the quality of life. A country that demonstrates a plan for sustainable development is Philippines. They have set out goals and indicators so as to ensure that the world resources and environment are maintained for the benefit of everyone. Bibliography National Economic and Development Authority, 2011. Philippines Agenda 21 Indicator Framework. [online] Available at: < http://www.neda.gov.ph/Plans_and_Reports/MTPDP/2010_2016/MTPDP%20Reference%20Docs/05_Enhanced%20PA%2021/enhancedPA21_table1.pdf> [Accessed 27 February 2012]. Sitarz, D., 1994. Agenda 21: The Earth Summit Strategy to Save Our Planet. NY: Nova Publishers. Read More