Introduction to sustainable development

Introduction to
Sustainable
Development
UNIT 1

Sustainability-
 Sustainability is the process of
maintaining change in a balanced way, 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

Sustainable development
 Sustainable development is development that
meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to
meet their own needs.

Concepts of Sustainable
Development
The concept of sustainability consist of two main keys concepts-
The concept of 'needs,' in particular the essential needs of the world's poor, to which
overriding priority should be given.
The idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the
environment's ability to meet present and future needs.
Thus the goals of economic and social development must be defined in terms of sustainability in
all countries — developed or developing, market-oriented or centrally planned. Interpretations
will vary, but must share certain general features and must flow from a consensus on the basic
concept of sustainable development and on a broad strategic framework for achieving it.

Concepts of Sustainable
Development
Development involves a progressive transformation of economy and society. A development
path that is sustainable in a physical sense could theoretically be pursued even in a rigid social
and political setting. But physical sustainability cannot be secured unless development policies
pay attention to such considerations as changes in access to resources and in the distribution of
costs and benefits. Even the narrow notion of physical sustainability implies a concern for social
equity between generations, a concern that must logically be extended to equity within each
generation.
Sustainability broadly includes these three parameters for sustainable development.
1. Environment
2. Social
3. Economic

Principle of sustainable
development
Sustainable development means to take economic benefit which can help to raise the living
standard of the present generation without affecting the need for future generation. It means
to conserve resources without affecting its quantity and quality. The main aim of sustainable
development is to balance among the population, various resources, various aspects of
environment and development.

Some principles of sustainable
development are as follows: -
1. Conservation of Ecosystem
The ultimate aim of sustainable development is to conserve the earth. It is to make the
ecological system durable. Preservation of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem is necessary for the
purpose.
2. Sustainable Development of Society
Sustainability of society depends on the availability of healthy residence, balanced diet,
adequate health service, employment and quality education. If these elements are developed
and become available to the people in society, it becomes a sustainable society. It assists in
developing their positive attitude towards nature and living beings. The society is driven
towards conserving the environment.

Conti….
3. Conservation of Biodiversity
It is necessary to conserve all the living beings in the world. People should learn to conserve the
natural resources in order to protect the living beings. Sustainable development focuses on it.
National and international programs for the conservation of biodiversity should be conducted.
There must be the coordination among the programmes.
4. Population Control
People maintain their life by utilizing the limited means and resources found on the earth. Due
to population growth, human needs like food, clothing, housing etc. increases, the means and
resources available in the world cannot be increased to meet the requirements. So, population
control and management are essential for sustainable development. It will support the
environmental balance.

Conti….
5. Conservation of Human Resource
People can play the vital role in the utilization and conservation of the environment. The
knowledge and skill on caring of the earth should be developed. Human resource is to be
developed by providing education, health care and training. Human resource contributes to
adopt the principles of sustainable development.
6. Increase in Peoples' Participation
Sustainable development cannot be maintained personally. A joint effort of every individual is
indispensable. In order to translate the concept of sustainable development into action, public
participation should be increased. Therefore, positive attitudes of public should be developed in
every programme of sustainable development.

Conti….
Conservation of Cultural heritage
Sustainable development has emphasized the conservation of social traditions, customs,
religious places and cultural aspects of people. Diverse cultural heritage is the invaluable
contribution of the society, but superstition should be avoided. To conserve the cultural
heritage is our duty. Its conservation supports sustainable development.
8. Included within Carrying Capacity of Earth
Development work must be within the carrying capacity of the earth. People cannot get those
entire things that they require from the earth immediately. The earth has limited resources. The
limited means and resources on the earth cannot be enough for the unlimited means of people.
Over-exploitation of the resources has negative effects on the environment.

United Nations and Sustainable
Development
• 1983: Brundtland Commission/Report coined the term sustainable development
• 1992: United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development established to
follow-up the Earth Summit in Rio
• 1996: CSD ( Commission on Sustainable Development ) indicators published
• 2001 and 2005: CSD indicators revised
The CSD Indicators of Sustainable Development serve as reference for countries to develop or
revise national indicators of sustainable development.

Earth summit
Conference- United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), Rio de Janeiro, 3-14
June, 1992
Principal themes- Environment and sustainable development
The message reflected the complexity of the problems facing like poverty as well as excessive consumption
by affluent populations place damaging stress on the environment. Governments recognized the need to
redirect international and national plans and policies to ensure that all economic decisions fully took into
account any environmental impact.
And the message has produced results, making eco-efficiency a guiding principle for business and
governments as given below.
oPatterns of production — particularly the production of toxic components, such as lead in gasoline, or
poisonous waste — are being scrutinized in a systematic manner by the UN and Governments alike;

Continue…
Alternative sources of energy are being sought to replace the use of fossil fuels which are
linked to global climate change;
New reliance on public transportation systems is being emphasized in order to reduce vehicle
emissions, congestion in cities and the health problems caused by polluted air and smog;
There is much greater awareness of and concern over the growing scarcity of water.

Main Indicators of Sustainability
 Poverty
Governance
 Health
 Natural hazards
 Economic development
Atmosphere
 Global economic partnership
 Land
 Consumption and production
patterns
 Education
 Oceans, seas and coasts
 Demographics
 Freshwater
 Biodiversity

o Poverty
Proportion of population living below national poverty line*
Ratio of share in national income of highest to lowest percentile
 Proportion of population using improved sanitation facilities*
 Proportion of population using an improved water source*
 Share of households without electricity or other modern energy services
 Proportion of urban population living in slums

o Governance
1. Percentage of population having paid bribes
2. Number of intentional killing of person per 100,000 population
o Health
1. Under-five death rate*
2. Life expectancy at birth
3. Percent of population with access to primary health care facilities
4. Immunization against infectious childhood diseases
5. Nutritional status of children
6. the rate of major diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria etc.

o Education
1. Gross intake ratio to last grade of primary
education
2. Net enrolment rate in primary education*
3. Adult secondary (tertiary) schooling attainment
level
4. Adult literacy rate
o Demographics
1. Population growth rate
2. Dependency ratio

o Natural Hazards
1. Percentage of population living in hazard prone areas
o Atmosphere
1. Carbon dioxide emissions*
2. Consumption of ozone depleting substances*
3. Ambient concentration of air pollutants in urban areas
o Land
1. Arable and permanent cropland area
2. Proportion of land area covered by forests*
o Oceans, seas and coasts
1. Percentage of total population living coastal areas
2. Proportion of fish stocks within safe biological limits
3. Proportion of marine area protected

o Freshwater
1. Proportion of total water resources used
2. Water use intensity by economic activity
3. Presence of fecal coliforms in fresh water
o Biodiversity
1. Proportion of terrestrial area protected, total and by
ecological region
2. Change in threat status of species

o Economic development
1. GDP per capita
2. Investment share in GDP
3. Debt to Gross national income ratio
4. Employment-population ratio
5. Labor productivity and unit labor costs
6. Share of women in wage employment in
the non-agricultural sector*
7. Internet users per 100,000 population*
8. Tourism contribution to GDP

o Global Economic Partnership
1. Current account deficit (negative net sales abroad i.e imports of goods is more then exports
of goods) as percentage of GDP
2. Net Official Development Assistance (ODA) like Loan given or received as a percentage of GNI
o Consumption and Production Patterns
1. Material intensity of the economy
2. Annual energy consumption, total and by main user category
3. Intensity of energy use, total and by economic activity
4. Generation of hazardous waste
5. Waste treatment and disposal
6. Modal split of passenger transportation

CURRENT SCENARIO IN INDIA-
Sustainable Development was formally initiated for the international community since the 1992
UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), which called upon governments to
develop strategies for sustainable development, incorporating policy measures outlined in the
Rio Declaration and Agenda 21.
Governments wish to implement such strategies, but then there are continuing battle between
economic and environmental concerns associated with the development.
GLOBAL PROTOCOL
Not just the Rural but also the Urban Development which spread the best practices as success
stories.

CONTI….
Rapid growth has had an impact on everything around including air and water. Mitigating and
repair technologies are plenty and are differently aligned in different areas like carbon capture
and storage systems, household water purification devices, more efficient irrigation methods
and processes to minimize waste and pollution.

Sustainable strategies-
 Low-Carbon Models
 Adaptation to Climate Change as a Social Cause
 Economically Profitable Approach
 Technology Transfer

Low carbon models-
Development of such technology which reduce the carbon emission
Examples-
o HYBRID VEHICLES- A hybrid vehicle runs on twin powered engine (gasoline engine and electric
motor) that cuts fuel consumption and conserves energy. One of the biggest advantage of
hybrid car over gasoline powered car is that it runs cleaner and has better gas mileage which
makes it environmentally friendly.
o APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY- Appropriate technology is small-scale technology. It is simple
enough that people can manage it directly and on a local level. Appropriate technology makes
use of skills and technology that are available in a local community to supply basic human
needs, such as gas and electricity, water, food, and waste disposal.

Low carbon models
oRENEWABLE ENERGY SYSTEM –
A renewable energy system can be used to supply some or all of your electricity needs, using
technologies like:
1) Small solar electric systems
2) Small wind electric systems
3) Micro-hydropower systems
4) Small hybrid electric systems (solar and wind).
o GREEN BUILDING- Sustainable or “green” building design and construction is a method of wisely
using resources to create high-quality, healthier and more energy-efficient homes and commercial
buildings.

Low carbon models-
oSMART CITIES- Smart Cities Mission, sometimes referred to as Smart City Mission, is an urban
renewal and retrofitting program by the Government of India with the mission to develop 100
cities across the country making them citizen friendly and sustainable.
o USE OF ENERGY EFFICIENT EQUIPMENTS - Energy-efficient business equipment serves a
business’s needs while consuming less energy than standard equipment. Common examples of
energy-efficient business equipment include:
computers with sleep mode or power-down mode
copiers with sleep mode and double-sided copying
printers with sleep mode and double-sided printing

Adaptation to Climate Change as a
Social Cause
o Climate change adaptation is a response to global warming (also known as
“climate change” that seeks to reduce the vulnerability of social and biological
systems to relatively sudden change and thus offset the effects of global warming.
oEven if emissions are stabilized relatively soon, global warming and its effects
should last many years, and adaptation would be necessary to the resulting changes
in climate.
o Adaptation is especially important in developing countries since those countries
are predicted to bear the brunt of the effects of global warming

Economically Profitable Approach
o The concept of "economic profit" is included in the wealth maximization and the theory of the
firm and, to a larger extent, within the theory of finance.
oAn economically sustainable system must be able to produce goods and services on a
continuing basis, to maintain manageable size of government and external debt and to avoid
sectoral imbalances (maintain diversity)
o Economic value added Approach
o In corporate finance, economic value added (EVA) is an estimate of a firm's economic profit, or
the value created in excess of the required return of the company's shareholders. EVA is the
net profit less the equity cost of the firm's capital.

Technology transfer
o The transfer of new technology from the originator to a secondary user, especially from
developed to developing countries in an attempt to boost their economies.
o Technology transfer can involve the dissemination of highly complex technology from capital-
intensive origins to low-capital recipients (and can involve aspects of dependency and fragility
of systems), it also can involve appropriate technology, not necessarily high-tech or expensive,
that is better disseminated, yielding robustness and independence of systems

Barriers to Sustainability
Sectoral Barriers
With the absence of legal framework, it is difficult to bring processes to action, technologies are
either not developed at all for lack of a sufficiently profitable market, or if developed, are not
accessible to end-user needs. Too many Action Plans to follow, not a single one that works.
Immediate steps are essential for the protection of the Nature. The primary function of such
attempts is to help stakeholders, for nature conservation and protection. The government
should have the will power to evict those who have made damages. States do not have
provisions for protection, a lot more needs to be arranged to conserve the environment.

Sectoral Barriers
We must accept consequences of our diversity,
Consequences of 73rd and 74th amendments,
We must accept local political environment,
We must accept our poverty,
We must accept the astronomical gap in present and desired parameters,
We must accept the processes as they really are.

Following needs to be done to
conserve the environment
Build human and institutional capacity
Develop and deploy improved scientific methods for carbon inventory
Reference baselines, and actively engage stakeholders
All the components should be evolved simultaneously to enable adaptive management.

Introduction to sustainable development

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