Meaning, Nature and Scope

UNIT 1 MEANING , NATURE AND SCOPE OF of Sustainable Development

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT*

Structure
1.0 Objectives
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Meaning of Sustainable Development
1.3 Nature of Sustainable Development
1.4 Scope of Sustainable Development
1.5 Important Principles and Features of Sustainable Development
1.6 Conclusion
1.7 Glossary
1.8 References
1.9 Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises

1.0 OBJECTIVES
After reading this Unit, you should be able to:
Discuss the meaning and nature of sustainable development;
Describe the scope of sustainable development; and
Explain the principles and features of sustainable development.

1.1 INTRODUCTION
Sustainable development has an important role and place in the discourse on
development. Sustainable development is the centre of debates and discussions
among the development experts, environmentalists and national leaders of both
developed and developing countries. The United Nations and its agencies, as
well as many international institutions, commissions and world leaders do
recognise the significance of sustainable development.

They are of the decisive view that degrading the earth’s resources to meet current
needs is short-sighted and potentially disastrous for future generations. The
coming generations, and not merely the present ones, need those resources and
all that they may produce. Excessive cultivation, destruction of forests, filling
up of wetlands, all has been propelled by population explosion. This could
eventually impair the capacity of the so-called renewable resources to renew
themselves. They cannot go on producing continuously. Beyond a certain level,
extracting more in the present leaves less for the future. The fundamental questions
that need to be addressed are: “Will future generations be worse off as a result of
the environmental degradation that results from economic decisions made today;
and will the increase in the scale of activity be sustainable in the face of increasing
pressure on natural resources”.

* Contributed by Dr. R.K. Sapru, Professor of Public Administration (Retired), Panjab University,
Chandigarh 11
Concept of Sustainable Sustainable development is very much about ensuring that our children and future
Development
generations inherit an earth that is, at the bare minimum, no worse off than the
one we inherited. It is perhaps one of the noblest and highest aspirations that we
can set for ourselves as humans. Looking at the changes taking place around the
world, it is being widely felt that the kind of world we will bequeath to our
children and grandchildren may not be a better one, as a result of environmental
degradation that would result from political and economic decisions made today.
It is a matter of grave concern that those who reap the fruits of economic
development today may be making future generations worse off by excessively
damaging and destroying the natural resources and polluting the earth’s
environment.

‘Sustainable development’ was a major focus of the United Nations Conference

on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Brazil in June 1992. The
achievement of sustainable development globally is likely to prove as one of the
greatest challenges to the world community in view of the ever-increasing
population growth and rising levels of consumption per capita. As the World
Commission on Environment and Development has observed, the efforts to
achieve sustainable development are being carried out amidst the additional
pressure of such global difficulties as climate change, ozone depletion, and species
loss. The continued build-up in Greenhouse Gases, depletion of the ozone layer
by Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), and the continuing extinction of species through
habitat degradation affect developing nations no less that the developed and
industrialised States of the West.

The ongoing excessive use of energy feeds a number of these difficulties as do

the burgeoning global population increases. These problems are so pressing that
the terms ‘environmental refugee’ has been coined to describe people literally
deprived of a homeland because of environmental crises. Some of the more
pessimistic observers of the situation warn that social dislocations from
environmental degradation may be one of the most alarming developments in
the first quarter of 21st century with estimates ranging to sixty million odd
environmental refugees.

Proponents of sustainable development argue that it provides a context to improve

overall sustainability, where cutting edge ‘green development’ is attainable.
Inclusive green growth is the pathway to sustainable development. It is the only
way to reconcile the rapid growth required to bring developing countries to the
level of prosperity, which they aspire, meet the needs of more than one billion
odd people still living in poverty, and fulfill the imperative requirement of a
global environment.

1.2 MEANING OF SUSTAINABLE

DEVELOPMENT
Much before the Brundtland Report’s definition of sustainable development, in
the early 1970s, the term sustainable development was coined by Barbara Ward
(known as Lady Jackson), founder of the International Institute for Environment
and Development in the early 1970s. Sustainable development for her was largely
about people, their economic and social well-being and aspirations for equity in
their relationships with each other, in a context where environment-society
imbalances could threaten economic and social stability.
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The legacy of the concept of sustainable development is however attributed to Meaning, Nature and Scope
of Sustainable Development
the Brundtland Report or the Report of the World Commission on Environment
and Development entitled Our Common Future, which defines it as development
that “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs.” Thus, it seeks to satisfy the compulsions
of equity within the human generations and also between them.

‘Sustainable development thus, is development that meets the needs of present

and future generations. Given the global and local effects of environmental decay,
it is no surprise that sustainable development has become a catchword in
development planning and resource management. However,interpretations of this
concept are still ambiguous.According to the Brundtland Report, the idea of
sustainable development reaches far beyond environmental protection, as it means
a process of change in which exploitation of resources, direction of investments,
orientation of technological development, and institutional changes are made
consistent with future, as well as present needs.It is not a fixed state of harmony,
but rather a balanced and adaptive process of change.

Sustainability takes for granted “the balance between economic development -

all quantitative and qualitative changes in the economy that offer positive
contributions to welfare-and ecological sustainability - all quantitative and
qualitative environmental strategies that serve to improve the quality of an
ecosystem and hence also have a positive impact on welfare.” Both economic
and environmental systems, need a certain minimum threshold value to survive.

“In essence, sustainable development is a process of change in which the

exploitation of resources, the direction of investments, the orientation of
technological development, and institutional change, are all in harmony and
enhance both current and future potential to meet human needs and
aspirations.”The Brundtland Commission’s definition of the term – “meeting
the needs of the present generations without compromising the needs of future
generations” – is strongly endorsed by the World Development Report 1992.Our
next units of this Course would talk about the features of this definition in detail.

The concept of sustainable development rejects the traditional view that economic
development is a necessity but environmental protection is a luxury. Dasgupta
and Maler (1990) have observed: “environmental resources are of minor
importance to poor countries…They play a significant role in the process of
economic development…Such resources are luxury goods, and they loom large
in public consciousness only when incomes are high…Environmental resources
are only a rich country’s preoccupations…They are a mere diversion created by
economists, not sensitive to the true needs of poor in poor countries…”

In the past decade, however, a shift has taken place from a partial environmental
analysis to a focus on the global effects of environmental decay - reflected among
other things in alarming phenomena such as flooding, acid rains, soil erosion,
desertification, destruction of the ozone layer, ocean pollution, and resource
extraction.Thus, resource conservation and pollution control, once thought of as
luxuries, are now recognised as essential to protect life-supporting natural systems
and improve the living standards. The policy makers are beginning to increasingly
recognise that socio-economic development must be sustainable, that is, it should
be capable of meeting not only the current needs of this generation, but those of
future generations as well.
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Concept of Sustainable In this context, the questions are how to assess the well-being of present and
Development
future generations. What should we leave to our future generations to maximise
the chances that they would be no worse off than ourselves. The issue becomes
more complicated because our children do not just inherit our worn-out farmlands,
eroded hillsides, polluted water, air parched grasslands, and depleted ozone
layer,but also enjoy the fruits of our labour in the form of education, skills, and
knowledge, as well as physical capital.They are entitled to benefit from
investments in natural resources, improvement in soil fertility and reforestation.

Ashish Kothari (1993) has been of the view that sustainable development, as
currently defined,”does not adequately address the perpetuation of
intergenerational, inter-species inequity, and is, therefore, not acceptable from
the point of view of the larger human goals of happiness, equality, justice and
peace.”

1.3 NATURE OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Keeping in view what we leave or pass on to our children and grandchildren, we
must think of the full range of physical and human capital, and natural resources
that will determine their welfare. Adopting the principle of sustainable
development would necessarily require a fundamental change in thinking. The
data used for decision-making must reflect the true costs of resource depletion
and pollution, as they affect future generations rather than just the short-term
costs of profits of depleting income-producing resources. The data must take
account of future needs on par with current needs, not ‘discounted’ in a way that
carries decisions in favour of short-term effects.

Ciricacy-Wantrup (1952) has emphasised on the use of safe minimum standards

for conservation by avoiding over-exploitation of critical zones of the environment
by limiting human activities that make it uneconomical to halt or reverse
environment degradation. Thus, the idea of sustainable development requires a
careful consideration of sustainable threshold levels for both economic and
environmental systems. For example, deforestation may be necessary for
agriculture development in a regional economy like Brazil, but it could prove
fatal and detrimental to global ecological stability. When a country experiences
rapid population growth or dramatic urbanisation,increase in Gross National
Product or GNP may hide or camouflage major development problems. The same
difficulty arises when the world demand for the raw resources from a country or
a region rises to meet increasing global needs. In sum, until we are prepared to
define sustainability in ways that take stock of both the external threat from food
policies in the North and the internal threat from demographic pressure in the
South, it will remain illusory.

Similarly, to cope with the growing problems of land pressures in India, it is

necessary to check and control the population growth rate, ensure balanced
livestock development, and control land alienation. On the other hand, when the
World Commission posits that: “sustainable development requires that the adverse
impacts on the quality of air, water, and other natural elements are minimised, so
as to sustain the ecosystem’s overall integrity”, it is no easy task to judge the
success rate.

Recognising these difficulties, the World Commission has noted that measures
14 of success in sustainable development must take account of the context and the
need to meet social challenges. The sustainability aspect requires that Meaning, Nature and Scope
of Sustainable Development
environmental administrators aim at:
i) Maintaining ecosystem and related ecological processes, essential for the
functioning of biosphere;
ii) Sustaining biological diversity by ensuring the survival and promoting the
conservation in their natural habitats of all species of flora and fauna;
iii) Observing the principle of optimum sustainable yield in the exploitation of
living natural resources and ecosystems;
iv) Preventing or abating significant environmental pollution or harm;
v) Establishing adequate environmental protection standards;
vi) Undertaking or requiring prior assessments to ensure that major law, policies,
projects, and technologies contribute to sustainable development; and
vii) Making all relevant information public without delay in all cases of harmful
or potentially harmful releases of pollutants, especially radioactive releases.
It was considered at the Rio Summit (1992) that the Brundtland Report (1989)
lacked a clear definition of sustainability. The World Bank’s Environment
Department now has formulated a new definition. It is in two parts: i) Output
Guide: Waste emissions should be within the assimilative capacity of the local
environment without degradation, and ii) Input Guide: Harvest rates of renewable
resources should be within the natural regenerative capacity; depletion rates of
non-renewable resources should be equal to the rate at which renewable substitutes
are developed.
Check Your Progress 1
Note: i) Use the space given below for your answers.
ii) Check your answers with those given at the end of the Unit.
1. Describe the term sustainable development.
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2. Discuss the nature of sustainable development.
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Concept of Sustainable
Development 1.4 SCOPE OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Much of the discussion on the scope of sustainable development has already
been made in our sections on ‘Meaning’ and ‘Nature’ of sustainable development.
It is pertinent that development is sustainable, as it saves wastage in the national
budget, fulfills the needs of people, helps in coordination between the natural
resources and people and conserves natural resources for future generations. We
all know that the e-goal of sustainable development is to meet the needs of today,
without compromising the needs of tomorrow. This means we cannot continue
using the resources at the current rate, as this way not enough would remain for
future generations.

Stabilising and reducing carbon emissions is the key to living within

environmental limits. Sustainable development believes that operating within
the right economic, social and environmental boundaries will create a truly
sustainable health system, one that is fit for the future. The scope of sustainable
development is very wide, as it deals with areas like social, economic,
environmental, and institutional dimensions.

Social Dimension

The social dimension of sustainable development includes ensuring a strong,

healthy and just society with emphasis on ‘zero hunger’, ‘good health and well-
being’, ‘quality education’, ‘population control’and ‘gender equality’.

Economic Dimension

The economic dimension of sustainable development includes economic well-

being of the masses with emphasis on ‘no poverty’,‘sustainable economy‘,
‘employment opportunities’, especially for women, ‘decent work and economic
growth‘, ‘managing natural resources’, and ‘responsible consumption and
production’.

Environmental Dimension
The environmental dimension of sustainable development includes promoting
environment- friendly and biodegradable products with emphasis on ‘clean water
and sanitation‘, ‘affordable and clean energy’, ‘reducing emissions from industry,
transport and energy’ (minimising the release of Greenhouse Gases, which
contribute to global warming and air pollution), ‘encouraging use of renewable
sources‘ (such as solar, wind and water energies), ‘climate action‘ and
‘preservation of natural resources’, while respecting and protecting natural habitats
(life below water and life on land) of life forms.

Institutional Dimension
The institutional dimension of sustainable development includes ‘industry,
innovation and infrastructure’, ‘sound financial resources’, ‘peace, justice and
strong institutions’, ‘sustainable cities and communities’, ‘partnerships for the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)’, and ‘international cooperation’.

SDGs of the United Nations

The United Nations created a set of 17 distinct, but interrelated goals to guide
global development between 2015 and 2030. Each goal has a set of targets – 169
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altogether – with subsets of indicators – 232 in total. The SDGs also known as Meaning, Nature and Scope
of Sustainable Development
the global goals were adopted by all UN Member States in 2015 as a universal
call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that people enjoy
peace and prosperity by 2030.

The 17 SDGs are: i) No poverty, ii) Zero Hunger, iii) Good Health and Well-
being, iv) Quality Education, v) Gender Equality, vi) Clean Water and Sanitation,
vii) Affordable and Clean Energy, viii) Decent Work and Economic Growth, ix)
Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, x) Reducing Inequality, xi) Sustainable
Cities and Communities, xii) Responsible Consumption and Production, xiii)
Climate Action, xiv) Life Below Water, xv) Life on Land, xvi) Peace, Justice and
Strong Institutions; and xvii) Partnerships for the Goals.

On July 6, 2017, UN Resolution was adopted by the General Assembly. The

Resolution identifies the specific targets for each goal along with indicators that
are being used to measure progress towards each target.Achieving the SDGs
requires conducive partnership of government, private-sector, civil society and
citizens; to make sure we leave a better planet for the future generations.

The SDGs pay attention to multiple cross – cutting issues, like gender equity
education, and culture cut across all the SDGs. To achieve sustainable
development, many sectors need to come together.The economic, social, political
and environmental sectors are all needed for all critically important and
interdependent development decisions. Progress will require multidisciplinary
and transdisciplinary research across all these sectors. This proves to be difficult
when the major governments fail to support it. According to the UN, the target is
to reach out to the community as widely as possible. However, data or information
must adjust for vulnerable groups such as children, elderly, persons with
disabilities, indigenous people, migrants, and internally displaced persons. There
were serious impacts and implications of Covid-19 Pandemic on all 17 goals in
the year 2020. We will read about these goals in detail in our next Units.

1.5 IMPORTANT PRINCIPLES AND FEATURES OF

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Principles

A few components of sustainable development, which are important are as

follows:

Conservation of Ecosystem

The main aim of sustainable development is to conserve the earth’s resources. It

is to make the ecological system steady. Preservation of ecosystem including
aquatic ecosystem is necessary for this purpose and aim.

Sustainable Development of Society

Population growth increases the demand for goods and services. Sustainability
of society depends on the availability of decent abode, balanced diet, adequate
health services, employment and quality education.Access to health and education
are important for the people in society.
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Concept of Sustainable Conservation of Biodiversity
Development
It is important to ensure conservation of all the living species in the world. People
should learn to conserve the natural resources in order to protect them. Both the
Global Biodiversity Outlook in September 2020 and Living Planet Index (LPI)
of World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in September 2020 call for drastic and urgent
action to halt the biodiversity loss and restore ecosystem services before it is too
late.

Population Control

Population growth increases the demand for goods and services, and if it remains
unchanged, it would imply increased environmental damage.The world population
is growing at about 1.7 per cent annually; almost an addition of a hundred million
a year. This rapid population growth exacerbates the mutually reinforcing effects
of poverty and environment decay. Yet, environmental degradation can also
increase population growth. Dasgupta (Op. cit.) is of the view that children are
produced not only for earning money, securing old age, but also for increasing
workforce.So population control and management are essential for sustainable
development.

Conservation of Human Resources

Human resource or HR is a big potential for sustainable development. Therefore,

human resources are to be developed by providing education, healthcare and
training. Human resources contribute immensely to sustainable development.
Efficient HR means effective decision making on environmental protection.

Encouraging Citizens’ Participation

The sustainable development process will acquire a fuller meaning if the citizens
participate fully in the implementation of sustainable development programmes.
Covid-19 Pandemic has highlighted just how environmental balance is important,
especially as we endeavour to build more resilient economies and communities.
The Covid-19 Pandemic has provided a stark and painful reminder of the criticality
of the concept of sustainable development.

Promotion of International Coordination and Cooperation

More strategic international action is needed to protect biological diversity.

Solution to international environment issues must be based upon common
principles and rules of collaboration among independent nations backed up by
persuasion and negotiations. Due to the common international concern for
biological resources, there is a strong case for more international efforts to provide
funding and technological assistance to developing countries.The Union
Environment Minister (India) on 31 July 2020 called for sharing of best practices
among BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) Nations towards
the sustainable development goals.

Features

To fulfill the scope and objectives of sustainable development, these features

need to be implemented while planning for economic development, some of
these steps are:
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 Minimising the release of Greenhouse Gases, which directly contribute Meaning, Nature and Scope
of Sustainable Development
towards global warming and air pollution;
Emphasising on eco-friendly practices such as building green architecture;
Focusing on and implementing projects using renewable energy sources
like the sun, wind, water etc;
Preservation of natural resources, while respecting and protecting natural
habitats of life forms and organisms; and
Containing the rate of consumption from surpassing the production of
renewable sources.
Check Your Progress 2
Note: i) Use the space given below for your answers.
ii) Check your answers with those given at the end of the Unit.
1. Examine the scope of sustainable development.
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2. Explain the principles and features of sustainable development.
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1.6 CONCLUSION
Thus, we can say that traditional economic and industrial approaches are often
incompatible with sustainable development. A basic question today therefore is
not whether to choose between industrialisation and environment. The question
now revolves around selecting patterns of development that improve the quality
of environment. International economic cooperation is vital in this context.
However, this desirable outcome will not be achieved unless nations recognise
the crucial relationship between sound environmental management and
international economic development. What is required is a more integrated
approach towards evolving an international environment system, which responds
adequately to the development needs of the third world countries in the context
of growing environmental despoliation.

Growth and economic well-being are essential pre-requisites for prosperity and
this in turn depends on the implementation of policies and programmes that
envisage sustainable development (improved environment). We need to remember
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Concept of Sustainable what Mahatma Gandhi, observed nearly hundred years ago, that there is enough
Development
in nature to meet the human need but not human greed.It can be reiterated for all
times to come. Sustainable development is indeed a significant force to meet
human needs and aspirations in context of growing environmental crises.

1.7 GLOSSARY
Biodiversity: It means the vast variety of life on earth. It refers to everything
including plants, bacteria, animals and humans.

Deforestation:Permanent removal of trees to make way for developmental

activities.

Development: It is a process of improving the well-being of the people. It is

about raising the standard of living of the people, improving their education and
health, and also giving them new and equal opportunities for a richer and more
varied life.

Sustainability: It means meeting the present needs without compromising the

ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Environment: It is the sum total of all social, biological, physical or chemical

factors, which compose the surroundings of a human being.

1.8 REFERENCES
Baumol, W.J. &Benhabile, J. (1984). Chaos: Significance, Mechanism, and
Economic applications. Journal of Economic Perspective. 3(1), 77-105.

Ciriacy-Wantrup. (1952). Resource Conservation: Economics and Policies.

Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.

Dasgupta, P.&Maler, K.G. (1990). The Environment and Emerging Development

Issues Proceedings of the World Bank, Annual Conference on Development
Economics. Washington: World Bank.

Dasgupta, P. (1993). An Enquiry into Wellbeing and Destitution. Oxford:

Clarendon Press.

Kothari, A. (1993). Is Sustainable Development Desirable and Possible?The

Indian Journal of Public Administration. 39(3), 249-253.

Redclift, M. (1987). Sustainable Development. London: Methuen.

World Bank. (1992).World Development Report 1992, Development and the

Environment.New York: Oxford University Press.

World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED). (1987). Our

Common Future. The Brundtland Report, World Commission for Environment
and Development. Delhi, India: Oxford University Press.

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 Meaning, Nature and Scope
1.9 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS of Sustainable Development

EXERCISES
Check Your Progress 1
1. Your answer should include the following points:
The legacy of the term ‘sustainable development’ is attributed to the
Report titled ‘Our Common Future’.
It means development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the needs of the future.
The idea of sustainable development goes far beyond environmental
protection.
It takes into view qualitative and quantitative changes in the economy.
It focuses on environmental analysis and environmental decay.
It addresses the questions of equity, justice and peace.
2. Your answer should include the following points:
Adopting the principle of sustainable development would require a
change of thinking.
There is a need to avoid overexploitation of critical environment zones.
There is a need to check the growth of population.
There is a need to maintain the population balance of livestock.
Need to control land alienation.
Need to maintain ecosystem.
Need to sustain biosphere diversity.
Check Your Progress 2
1. Your answer should include the following points:
Social dimension.
Economic dimension.
Environmental dimension.
Institutional dimension.
2. Your answer should include the following points:
Conservation of Ecosystem.
Sustainable development of society.
Conservation of biodiversity.
Population control.
Preservation of human resources.
Encouraging citizens’ participation.
Promotion of international coordination.
Minimising the release of Greenhouse Gases.
Eco-friendly construction practices.
Containing the rate of consumption.
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