Techniques of Sustainable Developmen t

BRUNDTLAND COMMISSION

Presented ByShraddha Bahirat 2012MUD005

BRUNDTLAND COMMISSION
The Commission is an independent body, linked to but outside the control of governments and the UN system.

Techniques of Sustainable Developmen t

"A global agenda for change" - this was what the World Commission on Environment and Development was asked to formulate. It was an urgent call by the General Assembly of the United Nations in December 1983. The Chairman of the Commission, Gro Harlem Brundtland, and Mansour Khalid was appointed by Javier Prez de Cullar former Secretary General of the United Nations The Brundtland Commission officially dissolved in December 1987 after releasing Our Common Future, also known as the Brundtland Report, in October 1987. A document which coined, and defined the meaning of the term "Sustainable Development". The organization Center for Our Common Future was started in April 1988 to take the place of the Commission.

Influenced the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992 and the third UN Conference on Environment and Development in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2002.

THE NEED

Techniques of Sustainable Developmen t

After the 1972 Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment and the 1980 World Conservation Strategy of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, the leaders of our world realized that we needed to create an organization whose sole purpose was to raise awareness of the need for sustainable development. During this time period, people in developed countries were starting to become more aware about environmental issues stemming from industrialization and growth. Developed countries wanted to reduce the environmental impact of their growth. On the other hand, developing countries were becoming discouraged because they were not at and could not reach the higher levels of economic growth that industrialized countries had. Because of this need for growth, developing countries were desperate to use cheap methods with high environmental impact and unethical labour practices in their push to industrialize. The United Nations saw a growing need for an organization to address these environmental challenges which were intertwined with economic and social conditions as well. Links between poverty, inequality, and environmental degradation formed a major theme in the analysis and recommendations of the report. What was needed was a new era of economic growth - growth that is forceful and at the same time socially and environmentally sustainable.

RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING THE COMMISSION:

To propose long-term environmental strategies for achieving sustainable development by the year 2000 and beyond; To recommend ways concern for the environment may be translated into greater co-operation among developing countries and between countries at different stages of economical and social development and lead to the achievement of common and mutually supportive objectives that take account of the interrelationships between people, resources, environment, and development. To consider ways and means by which the international community can deal more effectively with environment concerns.

Techniques of Sustainable Developmen t

To help define shared perceptions of long-term environmental issues and the appropriate efforts needed to deal successfully with the problems of protecting and enhancing the environment, a long term agenda for action during the coming decades, and aspirational goals for the world community.

DURING THE FORMULATION OF BRUNDTLAND COMMISSION:

The World Commission on Environment and Development first met in October 1984. and published its Report 900 days later, in April 1987. Over those few days: The drought-triggered, environment-development crisis in Africa peaked, putting 36 million people at risk, killing perhaps a million. A leak from a pesticides factory in Bhopal, India, killed more than 2,000 people and blinded and injured over 200,000 more. Liquid gas tanks exploded in Mexico City, killing 1,000 and leaving thousands more homeless. The Chernobyl nuclear reactor explosion sent nuclear fallout across Europe, increasing the risks of future human cancers. Agricultural chemicals, solvents, and mercury flowed into the Rhine River during a warehouse fire in Switzerland, killing millions of fish and threatening drinking water in the Federal Republic of Germany and the Netherlands. An estimated 60 million people died of diarrhoeal diseases related to unsafe drinking water and malnutrition; most of the victims were children.

Techniques of Sustainable Developmen t

MODERN DEFINITION OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

The Brundtland Commission draws upon several notions in its definition of sustainable development, which is the most frequently cited definition of the concept to date. The Brundtland Commission pushed for the idea that while the "environment" was previously perceived as a sphere separate from human emotion or action, and while "development" was a term habitually used to describe political goals or economic progress, it is more comprehensive to understand the two terms in relation to each other The Brundtland Commission insists upon the environment being something beyond physicality, going beyond that traditional school of thought to include social and political atmospheres and circumstances. It also insists that development is not just about how poor countries can ameliorate their situation, but what the entire world, including developed countries, can do to ameliorate our common situation.

Techniques of Sustainable Developmen t

The term sustainable development was coined in the paper Our Common Future, released by the Brundtland Commission. Sustainable development is the kind of development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The two key concepts of sustainable development are: the concept of "needs" in particular the essential needs of the world's poorest people, to which they should be given overriding priority; and the idea of limitations which is imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the environment's ability to meet both present and future needs. As a result of the work of the Brundtland Commission, the issue of sustainable development is on the agenda of numerous international and national institutions, as well as corporations and city efforts. The definition gave light to new perspectives on the sustainability of an everchanging planet with an ever-changing population.

Techniques of Sustainable Developmen t

DEFINITION OF SUSTAINABILITY

Techniques of Sustainable Developmen t

Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It contains within it two key concepts:
The concept of 'needs', in particular the essential needs of the world's poor, to which overriding priority should be given; and The idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the environment's ability to meet present and future needs.

SUSTAINABILITY EFFORTS

Techniques of Sustainable Developmen t

The three main pillars of sustainable development include economic growth, environmental protection, and social equality. While many people agree that each of these three ideas contribute to the overall idea of sustainability, it is difficult to find evidence of equal levels of initiatives for the three pillars in countries' policies worldwide. After releasing their report, Our Common Future, the Brundtland Commission called for an international meeting to take place where more concrete initiatives and goals could be mapped out. This meeting was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A comprehensive plan of action, known as Agenda 21, came out of the meeting. Agenda 21 entailed actions to be taken globally, nationally, and locally in order to make life on Earth more sustainable going into the future

Economic Growth

Techniques of Sustainable Developmen t

Economic Growth is the pillar that most groups focus on when attempting to attain more sustainable efforts and development. In trying to build their economies, many countries focus their efforts on resource extraction, which leads to unsustainable efforts for environmental protection as well as economic growth sustainability. While the Commission was able to help to change the association between economic growth and resource extraction, the total worldwide consumption of resources is projected to increase in the future. So much of the natural world has already been converted into human use that the focus cannot simply remain on economic growth and omit the ever growing problem of environmental sustainability.

Environmental Protection
Environmental Protection has become more important to government and businesses over the last 20 years, leading to great improvements in the number of people willing to invest in green technologies. For the second year in a row in 2010, the United States and Europe added more power capacity from renewable sources such as wind and solar. In 2011 the efforts continue with 45 new wind energy projects beginning in 25 different states. The focus on environmental protection has transpired globally as well, including a great deal of investment in renewable energy power capacity. Eco-city development occurring around the world helps to develop and implement water conservation, smart grids with renewable energy sources, LED street lights and energy efficient building. The consumption gap remains, consisting of the fact that "roughly 80 percent of the natural resources used each year are consumed by about 20 percent of the world's population". This level is striking and still needs to be addressed now and throughout the future.

Techniques of Sustainable Developmen t

Social Equality

Techniques of Sustainable Developmen t

The Social Equality pillar of sustainable development focuses on the social well-being of people.

The growing gap between incomes of rich and poor is evident throughout the world with the incomes of richer households increasing relative to the incomes of middle- or lower-class households.
Global inequality has been declining, but the world is still extremely unequal, with the richest 1% of the worlds population owning 40% of the worlds wealth and the poorest 50% owning around 1%. The Brundtland Commission has made an impact in helping to reduce the number of people living on less than a dollar a day to just half of what it used to be, but this can also be attributed to growth in China and India.