The Sustainable Development - Essay Example

?Introduction Currently and in the recent past, sustainable development has become a popular phrase in both economic and academic world. Although theterm “sustainability” has been in existence for several decades in various faculties of higher learning, local authorities, government ministries and major corporations, Vogler (2007:17) argues that it is more or less a fashionable term that does not go beyond the mere mentioning to the implementation phase. Vogler (2007:21) attributes the lack of implementation of sustainable development to the high costs. However, it is important to look into the origin and the evolution of the phrase sustainable development to enhance understanding of its future trend in various human activities. This would enhance practical application of sustainable development in this century and the succeeding years. This paper discusses the emergence of the concept of sustainable development and its relevance in the current developmental practices in the world. During the onset of industrialization in the 18th century, scientists began questioning the impact of human civilization and activities to the environment and the available natural resources (WCED, 1987:26). In the late 18th century WCED (1987) notes that, Thomas Malthus predicted that the rapid growth in the global human population would ultimately result to low food production, where people around the planet would barely have enough to eat because of high population density. In this regard, if population growth remained unchecked, it increased the geometrical ratio and subsistence of man arithmetically. However, in the following two centuries after his prediction, growth in agricultural technology has enhanced more food production in spite of the growth in global population. Although some parts especially in developing economies still face food insecurity, agricultural overproduction in other regions have ensured relative global food security. Through improved farming methods, application of the fertilizers and use of heavy agricultural machinery have not only ensured improvement in crop production but also an increase in the area under crop production (Rogers, et al 2008: 35). However, the improved agricultural production has not come without an environmental price. Strategic natural resources such as forests, water bodies, animal habitats and other geographical features have been depleted and extensively damaged for long time before policy makers became cognizant of the environmental effects. In 1972, the concern about human activities to the depletion of natural resources was raised in the club of Rome after an increase in commodity prices was observed in the world market (Parris and Kates, 2003:59). This forum predicted that increase in industrial capital would lead to proportional growth in population that would in turn increase the pressure on the available non-renewable resources. However, failure of this argument to materialize fully in the following three decades resulted to its disapproval, but it raised enough concerns about environment and sustainable development (Parris and Kates, 2003:61) A conference held in 1972 in Stockholm, Sweden on human environment was the first of its kind to devote discussions entirely on environmental affairs. The convention brought together over 113 countries and representatives from international organizations (Asefa, 2005:22). During the convention, experts articulated on the interconnection between the environment and human development by arguing that both of them were interdependent of each other. This convention also resulted to the formation of the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) to ensure that human activities do not destroy the environment and ensure its sustainability for the sake of the future generations. In addition, the conference in Stockholm established fundamental international agreement regarding dumping of wastes in oceans, pollution by water vessels and control of trade involving endangered species (WCED, 1987:72) However, Kates et al (2005: 53) noted that the resolutions in Stockholm were not conclusive especially in developing countries because of competing interest between need for economic development and environmental conservation. If there was anything that the conference achieved, it was highlighting the environmental concerns that were unfortunately not implemented in global policies and plans. In this regard, it was imperative for formulation of plan that incorporated both the economic development and environmental aspects in order to succeed in enforcing sustainability. It was not until 1983 that the World Commission on Environment and Development was established by the United Nations general assembly that the reconciliation between environment and development was achieved. According to Adams (1990: 19), the first definition of “sustainable development” was made in the Brundland Report, published in 1987 following proceedings from the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED). According to Anthony, et al (2004: 47), the Brundland report defined sustainable development as the “development that meets the needs of the present without interfering on the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs”. Therefore, the explanation of sustainable developments stressed on two key elements, which are needs of both the present and future generations in addition to enforcing conservation and protection measures to ensure that the survival of future generations is not undermined by unsustainable environmental practices of the current generation (Asefa, 2005:91) The notion of sustainable development gained a lot of publicity in the 1990’s from political circles and this resulted to heightened public awareness campaigns that even overshadowed the global fear that had occurred in the earlier decade from the world super powers that were competing in the development of nuclear weapons (Vogler, 2007: 102). In 1992, Rio de Janeiro hosted the United Nations conference on environment and development and during the convention over 110 head of states across the world in addition to environmental organizations and representatives participated (Bartlet, 2006: 38). The summit, which was referred as the “Earth Summit” formulated two main resolutions on sustainable development. These resolutions were the Rio declaration Agenda 21 and the commission on sustainable development. According to Haas and Parson (1992: 40) these resolutions were formulated to promote sustainable development across the globe. The Rio declaration agenda 21 contains a list of agreements between all global leaders and environmental stakeholders and their commitment to withhold sustainable environmental practices. This resolution was intended to ensure that sustainable development was entrenched in all economic sectors, including agriculture, tourism, mining, education among others (Haas and Parson, 1992: 49). According to Baumol and Litan (2007:71), Agenda 21, which is the major resolution of the Rio de Janeiro summit, articulated the commitment of all global leaders to sustainable development agreement reached at the conference. The main issues addressed in the Agenda 21 include improving the quality of life, sustainable use of natural resources, prudent management of human settlements and habitats, protection of endangered natural resources in addition to promoting sustainable economic development practices. Moreover, the Agenda acknowledged the role that poverty plays in undermining sustainable environmental practices (Haas and Parson, 1992:58).This acknowledgment established the foundation of the current poverty reduction strategies in the world that intend to reduce poverty levels in the through the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) (Gurr and Marshall, 2003:137). Both developed and developing economies are obliged to implement the resolutions in the Agenda 21. To ensure that all member countries enforced the agreements contained in the agenda 21, individual member countries were required to develop their own economic and environmental strategies, compatible with the level of development. This proved to be a major challenge especially in least developed and developing countries characterized by high poverty level and political instability (Vogler, 2007: 129). The adoption of Kyoto Protocol in 1997 marked the commitment of the global community in addressing sustainable development. In particular, the Kyoto protocol addressed climate change and it established mechanism of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in order to mitigate the effects of global warming. The protocol set measurable goals of reducing greenhouse gases by 5% between 2008- 2012 (Kates, et al 2005: 51). According Kates et al (2005; 55), all industrialized countries in the world were required abide by the treaty in order to stabilize greenhouse gas emissions. In this respect, sustainable development encompasses economic and environmental aspects. Anthony, et al. (2004:534) argued that sustainable development entails a set of guiding principles, contained in the Brundland commission that emphasize on meeting the needs of the current and future generations. Therefore, sustainable development is intended to provide economic and social development of human beings, without destabilizing the life support systems and processes in the world. The concept of sustainable development enhances its application in virtually all realms of human existence without time limitations. Moreover, its openness to various interpretations enables participation of every person from local to global level and across all economic sectors institutions of governance, enterprises and civil society. Because of its adaptability in diverse situations, the concept sustainable development has been applied in addressing a wide range of challenges, including sustainable urban planning, economic development, sustainable agriculture, fishing, tourism and other areas of human development. Moreover, the notion of sustainable development has been applied in formulating common global, national and corporate standards from which policy makers can evaluate and assess their progress (Parris, and Kates, 2003: 162) Examples of sustainable development practices include prevention of pollution, wildlife conservation, waste management, appropriate use of water, sustainable construction of buildings and other infrastructure to ensure that they conserve energy and other resources. Other sustainable development practices include the enforcing effective disaster management and preparedness practices against both artificial and natural hazards, management of surface water by building reservoirs, developing physical and natural environment for human recreation in order to promote health in the society (Asefa, 2005:182). According to Rogers, et al (2008:14) preventing pollution ensures that the natural life supporting processes are not disrupted. Pollution entails injection of harmful substances in air, water and soil and according to WCED (1987: 43), it is one of the most fundamental principles of sustainable development. Preventing pollution ranges from controlling emission of greenhouse gases to preventing dumping of toxic substances in the water bodies. In addition, it involves preventing dumping of hazardous materials in the soil and ensuring that the environment is free from all forms of pollutants (WCED, 1987: 46). To minimize pollution, global policy makers are advocating development of sustainable practices, in all sectors, but currently, a lot of emphasis is directed at developing clean energy. This has generated a ‘green revolution’ where many countries have set strategic plans to develop alternative sources and stop their heavy dependence on fossil fuels. The concept of sustainable development despite its wide applicability undermines its application especially in poor countries or regions. According Kates, et al (2005), sustainable development requires the involvement of all stakeholders, across all economic, social and religious divide. Involving the stakeholders is crucial in order to reconcile and harmonize conflicting values and goals, with an objective of formulating a collective action to attain goals that benefits all participants. However, achieving a global and regional consensus on sustainable development is a challenging if not an impossible task because of a multiplicity of factors that are distinct to every stakeholder. For instance, it is difficult to convince poor countries without food security to stop clearing forests in order to create room for farming. On the other hand, it is equally challenging to arrive at an agreement of cutting greenhouse gases emissions in industrialized countries that depend heavily on coal and petroleum fuel. In such situations, the stakeholders view these measures as unrealistic and threat to their survival or existence. Eventually, they end up rejecting the entire idea of sustainability to pursue their own individual but narrow goals. In addition, other disgruntled stakeholders criticize the concept of sustainable development ideologically and they pull away from negotiating and compromising with other stakeholders. Conclusion The concept of sustainable development will continue eliciting criticism across all levels, and this could eventually result to paradigm shift in relations between different stakeholders. This is because of wide economic, social and political disparities that exist between different regions across the world. Eliminating poverty, by reducing the gap between the poor and rich countries is one of the most pragmatic approaches of realizing sustainable development. However, narrow economic and political interests have prevented developed countries from engaging with the poor countries to formulate and implement effective strategies of reducing and eliminating poverty, diseases, environmental degradation, poor political systems, hunger, illiteracy and insecurity. As a result, poor countries continue struggling with diseases, foreign debt, food insecurity and a wide range of social economic challenges that catalyze perpetuation of unsustainable environmental, economic and social practices. Therefore, sustainable development encompasses diverse local to global initiatives intended to make the world a better place to live in, where basic human needs would be met without destroying or irreversibly degrading the natural processes and systems that all human beings depend on for existence. References Adams, W. (1990). Green development: Environment and sustainability in the third world. London: Routledge. Anthony, L., et al. (2004). Sustainability values, attitudes and behaviors: A review of multinational and global trends. Cambridge: Harvard University. Asefa, S. (2005).The concept of sustainable development: An introduction. Michigan: Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. Bartlet, A.(2006). Reflections on sustainability, population growth and the environment. Dordrecht: Springer. Baumol, W. and Litan, R.(2007). Good capitalism, bad capitalism and the economics of growth and prosperity. New Haven: Yale university Press. Gurr, T. and Marshall, G.(2003).Peace and conflict 2003. College Park, MD: University of Maryland Haas, P. and Parson, T.( 1992). Appraising the earth summit: How should we judge UNCED’s success? Environment, 6: pp 10-33. Kates, W. et al. (2005). What is sustainable development? Goals, indicators, values and practice. Environment, Science and policy for Sustainable Development, 47(3):pp 9-23. Parris, T., and Kates, W. (2003). Characterizing and measuring sustainable development. Annual Reviews of Environment and Resources, 28: pp 560-89. Rogers, P., et al. (2008). An introduction to sustainable development. London; Earthscan Vogler, J.(2007). The international politics of sustainable development. Cheltenham: Edward Elger Publishing House. WCED (World Commission on Environment and Development) (1987). Our common future. New York: Oxford University Press. Read More