The 3 Key Pillars of

Sustainable Development
by: Dr. Ainur Zaireen Zainudin

What is Sustainable development?

Economic development that is conducted
without depletion of natural resources.
Development that meets the needs of the
present without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their own needs.
Quality of life - for people to live longer, more
productive, more satisfying lives.

Sustainable development contains within it two

key concepts:
The concept of needs
The idea of limitations imposed by the state of
technology and social organization on the
environments ability to meet present and future
needs.

 People concerned about sustainable

development suggest that meeting the needs
of the future depends on how well we
balance social, economic, and environmental
objectives--or needs--when making decisions
today.

The 3 key pillars of SD

SD: Social

Focus
On the social aspects of sustainable
development
the issues that impact people
directly and that either help or hinder the
process of improving the quality of life.

Quality of life
kehidupan yang berkualiti akan dapat dicapai
apabila semua keperluan hidup dipenuhi
(Maslow, 1954)
Hirarki Keperluan Hidup

Islam Hadhari (Abdullah Badawi, 2004)

menekankan kepentingan kualiti hidup dengan
cara menjaga kebajikan masyakarakat

Social: The need for social services is

universal
Ensuring fair access to basic services is an essential task of
governments around the world.
All people in a society must have access to certain basic goods and
services in order to lead healthy, fulfilling and productive lives.
Education and training must be available, so that everyone has the
chance to earn a decent living and learn new skills.
Girls must have the same opportunity as boys to go to school or to
get jobs.
Women must have access to basic family planning services and
adequate health care and nutrition for themselves and their
children.
The elderly must receive the medical care, social security and
pensions they need to support themselves as they grow older.

Social: Local issues/global issues

Social concerns in one country can have impacts
that reach beyond national borders:
For example, unequal access to education or lack of
job opportunities can lead people to migrate. This may
cause profound changes in the country they leave, as it
adjusts to the loss of certain groups. And the countries
in which immigrants settle may face the challenges of
increasing demands on educational and health care
systems, as well as of integrating diverse groups into
society. Increasingly, the social concerns of one
country may affect other countries around the world.

Social: Social indicators

One way of measuring a country's level of
development is to look at social data such as :
the population growth rate, which measures the
increase in a countrys population and reflects the
number of births and deaths and people
migrating into and out of the country

Example of social indicator : Life

expectancy

 Life expectancy at birth is the average number of

years a newborn infant would be expected to live if
health and living conditions at the time of its birth
remained the same throughout its life.
It reflects the health of a country's people and the
quality of care they receive when they are sick.
Life expectancy is higher in high-income countries .

 Between 1980 and 1998, the world's average life

expectancy at birth rose from 61 to 67 years.
Increased access to nutritious food, primary health
care--including safe water, sanitation,
antibiotics
and other medicines, and immunizations and
education explain much of the difference.

It is important to note, however, that although

the world's average life expectancy at birth was
67 years, individual countries can vary largely. For
example, in Rwanda, life expectancy at birth in
1998 was 41 years, while in Japan it was 81 years.

 Similarly, not all countries have experienced a

rise in life expectancy at birth over the past
two decades. Among other factors
contributed to the decline:
AIDS
Economic depression

Life Expectancy, the Economy, and the

Environment
Life expectancy economy:
When governments and families cannot afford
enough quality health care, education, and
nutritious food, people cannot reach their full
potential, either in productivity or length and
quality of life. In addition, extreme poverty
increases the likelihood of war and political
instability, which threatens lives--and the quality
of life-- as well.

An example of quality of life

livable city

Livable city
Bagaimanakah caranya untuk menjadikan bandar
lebih hijau, selamat dan selesa?
Bagaimanakah caranya untuk mengubah landskap
bandar agar dapat mencipta identiti tertentu serta
melindungi komunitinya?
Bagaimanakah caranya untuk menjadikan bandar ini
menarik dan selesa untuk semua lapisan masyarakat
termasuklah golongan wanita, kanak-kanak, warga
tua serta golongan minoriti?

Livable city
Liveable cities seharusnya mempunyai persekitaran yang
bebas dari kacau ganggu, kesesakan, kebisingan, bahaya dan
pencemaran.
Bandar yang dapat mengimbangi antara keperluan
pembangunan dengan pemeliharaan alam semulajadi.
memelihara sumber semulajadi dengan baik,
mengintegrasikan pelbagai aktiviti ekonomi, menyediakan
pelbagai kemudahan untuk komuniti seperti kemudahan
beriadah, kemudahan pejalan kaki dan pengangkutan
awam, memastikan aliran lalu lintas yang efisien dengan
meminimakan kesan yang tidak baik seperti kemalangan
jalan raya.
Program bandar selamat

Hierarchy of needs (Maslow)

Self-actualization
Esteem
Love and Acceptance
Security
Physical Needs

SD: Economy

Focus
Focus on the economic aspects
at the
system that determines how the limited
resources needed to improve peoples' lives
are distributed.
also examine how these
limited resources are used.

 Economics is a system of deciding how to allocate

limited resources that will be used to meet human
needs and wants.
Whenever we buy, sell, or barter something, we are
taking part in the exchange of goods and services
that makes up the economy.
Examples of such goods and services can vary
widelyfrom food, school buses, books, minerals,
and military weapons, to bank loans, factories,
electricity, hospitals, hair cuts, clothes, and
television programs.

 When a countrys economy is healthy, most

people can make, buy, or trade for most of
the goods and services they need and want.
In some countries these goods and services
may be available only to relatively few
people.
In all countries some people may have more
than enough, while others may barely
survive.

 To help their economies continue to grow over

time, countries strive to develop economic,
social, and environmental goals, policies, and
strategies for the short and long term.

 Economies around the world are increasingly

and inextricably linked through trade:
the decisions that one country makes about its
economy can affect many other countries.
Developing countries may depend on industrial
countries to provide goods and services that they lack
the technology or resources to produce. But industrial
nations also depend on developing countries, who
purchase one-quarter of the goods and services they
export.

Economic indicator: GNP

Countries with
a GNP per capita in
1998 of $9,361 or
more are described
as high income,
between $761 and
$9,360 as middle
income, and $760
or less as low
income.

GNP: Gross National Product per

capita
the dollar value of a countrys
final output of goods and
services in a year, divided by its
population.
GNP per capita helps measure the
material output of a country, but it
does not show what is produced,
whether all people share equally
in the wealth of the country, or
whether they lead fulfilling lives.

people living in countries

with higher GNP per capita
tend to have longer life
expectancies, higher literacy
rates, better access to safe
water, and lower infant
mortality rates.

What needs to be done?

To increase the size of their economies and hence
their GNP per capita.
Economic growth depends on peopleboth men and
womenhaving better health, education, and work skills.
It also depends on improving transportation,
communication, and energy systems; having better tools
and technology; having access to raw materials and
capital; getting fair wages and prices for goods and
services; encouraging savings and investment; increasing
the value and variety of exports; and having better access
to world markets to sell these exports.

Many countries
are trying to slow
their population
growth in order to
raise standards of
living.

SCL activity:

Group Discussion

SD: Environment

the world has enough for everyones need, but

not enough for everyones greed - Gandhi

Focus
Focus on the natural resources, both
renewable and non-renewable that make up
our surroundings and help us to sustain and
better our lives.

 The adult human body is about 50 to 65 percent water. A childs

body is approximately 75 percent water. The human brain is about
75 percent water.
While the human body can live for weeks without food, it can only
survive a few days without water.
220 million urban residents in the developing world lack a source of
safe drinking water near their homes.
Ninety percent of urban sewage in the developing world is
discharged into rivers, lakes, and coastal water ways without any
treatment.
Agriculture consumes 60 to 80 percent of the fresh water resources
in most countries, and as much as 90 percent in others.

Environmental indicators
One way of measuring a countrys level of
development is to look at environmental
data such as access to safe water, which
measures the percentage people who can get
all the safe water they need to lead healthy
lives.

Access to Safe Water

Access to safe water is measured by the
number of people who have a reasonable
means of getting an adequate amount of
water that is safe for drinking, washing, and
essential household activities, expressed as a
percentage of the total population.
It reflects the health of a countrys people
and the countrys capacity to collect, clean,
and distribute water to consumers.

Access to Safe Water : Facts

Water is essential for life, yet in
1995, more than one billion
people in low- and middleincome countriesand an
additional 50 million people
in high-income countries
lacked access to safe water for
drinking, personal hygiene and
domestic use.

What is "safe" water and why is it

important?
Safe water includes treated surface water, as
well as untreated but uncontaminated water
from sources such as natural springs and
sanitary wells.
On average, a person needs about 20 liters of
safe water each day to meet his or her
metabolic, hygienic, and domestic needs.
Without safe water, people cannot lead
healthy, productive lives.

What is "safe" water and why is it

important?
Throughout history, when people have had an
adequate supply of safe water and have been
able to practice good hygiene, they have been
healthier and have had a better chance of
living longer.

What is "safe" water and why is it

important?
Access to safe water is critical to economies
Impact of inadequate water supply, (eg):
factories that depend on water may have to close
temporarily;
crop yields may decline;
sick workers may be unproductive;
fisheries may be destroyed.

Life Expectancy, the Economy, and the

Environment
Environment and life expectancy:
We depend on natural resources such as safe
water, clean air, fertile soil, and fuel to sustain
life.
Lack of safe water is a major cause of illness and
death in low- and middle-income countries,
especially among children and the elderly.
Polluted air from a variety of sources such as
wood fires, industrial production, and car exhaust
causes lung disease and associated illnesses.