Sustainable

Development :
a brief overview
a kind of development that
“meets the needs of the
present without
compromising the ability of
the next generations to
meet their own needs.”
concern with extraction of
resources while at the same
time allowing the
environment to replenish
itself
. The goal is to ensure that
there will not come a time
when development will be
halted due to lack of
naturally occurring
materials as a result of
environmental degradation.
 The issue of sustainability
can be divided into three
constituent parts:
environmental sustainability,
economic sustainability and
sociopolitical sustainability.
Scopes and
definitions:
Environmental Sustainability

We seek equilibrium between the

amount and the processes of
extractions with the ability of
the environment to tolerate it
without sliding into a point
where there will be an
irreversible slide in ecological
balance.
 The environment from which we
extract food and raw materials is
more often than not disturbed, the tip
of ecological balance moved over a
long period of time into point where
there is a steady degradation until
such time when it can no longer
support itself, hence dying out and
denying us a steady source of much
needed materials in the future.
 An‘unsustainable situation’
occurs when natural capital (the
sum total of nature's resources) is
used up faster than it can be
replenished
 Theoretically,the long-term
result of environmental
degradation is the inability to
sustain human life. Such
degradation on a global scale
could imply extinction for
humanity.” – wikipedia
Consumption State of Sustainability
of renewable environment
resources
More than Environmental Not sustainable
nature's ability degradation
to replenish
Equal to Environmental Steady-state econom
nature's ability equilibrium
to replenish
Less than Environmental Sustainable
nature's ability renewal development
to replenish
Economic Sustainability
 Economic sustainability refers
to the ability of the economy to
supply the demands of the
market with rooms for profit to
ensure a steady growth over a
period of time.
Economies are measured through
this:
 Gross domestic product : the
total financial value of the final
goods and services rendered in a
country over a one-year period.
 Positive
growth is indicated by an
increase in the GDP over the two
year period while a negative
growth is indicated by the
opposite.
Demand for Supply of Economic Environme
goods and the raw performanc ntal
services materials e sustainabilit
needed to y
sustain the
economy
High High Positive Negative
Low High Negative Positive/Ne
gative*
High Low Negative Positive
Low Low Positive/Ne Positive
gative**
* depends whether raw materials can be stored for future use
** depend more on market dynamics such as the difference between the product face
Econo Environm
Point of ental
mic
growth Equilibrium sustainabi
lity
Sociopolitical Sustainability
 Man is said to be a political
animal. (Aristotle). Anything that
has a power relationship can be
considered as political.
 Although there is no direct cause
and effect relationship between
environmental sustainability and
the sociopolitical scene, it is
essential to look at the power
structures in given societies, even
in the global level, to understand
the policies implemented in
certain areas, with regards to
development sustainability.
 Modernist
countries

Economic development
Post-modernist countries