Skip to main content

Sustainable development- PART 1

 

What is 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."

The concept of sustainable development can be interpreted in many different ways, but at its core is an approach to development that looks to balance different, and often competing, needs against an awareness of the environmental, social and economic limitations we face as a society.

All too often, development is driven by one particular need, without fully considering the wider or future impacts. We are already seeing the damage this kind of approach can cause, from large-scale financial crises caused by irresponsible banking, to changes in global climate resulting from our dependence on fossil fuel-based energy sources. The longer we pursue unsustainable development, the more frequent and severe its consequences are likely to become, which is why we need to take action now.  

So is it all just about the environment?

Living within our environmental limits is one of the central principles of sustainable development. One implication of not doing so is climate change.

But the focus of sustainable development is far broader than just the environment. It's also about ensuring a strong, healthy and just society. This means meeting the diverse needs of all people in existing and future communities, promoting personal wellbeing, social cohesion and inclusion, and creating equal opportunity.

If sustainable development focuses on the future, does that mean we lose out now?

Not necessarily. Sustainable development is about finding better ways of doing things, both for the future and the present. We might need to change the way we work and live now, but this doesn't mean our quality of life will be reduced.

A sustainable development approach can bring many benefits in the short to medium term, for example:

Savings - As a result of SDC scrutiny, government has saved over £60m by improving efficiency across its estate.

Health & Transport - Instead of driving, switching to walking or cycling for short journeys will save you money, improve your health and is often just as quick and convenient.

How does it affect me?

The way we approach development affects everyone. The impacts of our decisions as a society have very real consequences for people's lives. Poor planning of communities, for example, reduces the quality of life for the people who live in them. (Relying on imports rather than growing food locally puts the UK at risk of food shortages.)

Sustainable development provides an approach to making better decisions on the issues that affect all of our lives. By incorporating health plans into the planning of new communities, for instance, we can ensure that residents have easy access to healthcare and leisure facilities. (By encouraging more sustainable food supply chains, we can ensure the UK has enough food for the long-term future.)

SOURCE- http://www.sd-commission.org.uk/pages/what-is-sustainable-development.html

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Growth vs Development- ENGLISH

  Economic growth is the increase in goods & services produced by an economy or nation, considered for a specific period of time. The rise in the country’s output of goods and services is steady and constant and may be caused by an improvement in the quality of education, improvements in technology, or in any way if there is value addition in goods and services which is produced by every sector of the economy. It can be measured as a percentage increase in real gross domestic product. Where a gross domestic product (GDP) is adjusted by inflation. GDP is the market value of final goods & services which is produced in an economy or nation. Economic Development is the process focusing on both qualitative and quantitative growth of the economy. It measures all the aspects which include people in a country become wealthier, healthier, better educated, and have greater access to good quality housing. Economic Development can create more opportunities in the sectors of education, ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Peasant Movements: Part II, The Pabna Rebellion

Pabna Rebellion 1873: The Pabna Rebellion took place in 1873 in Serajgunj sub-division of Pabna district in East Bengal (present Bangladesh) . This rebellion resulted in the introduction of many Acts to create a new form of land ownership system. During this period in many parts of Bengal, there was a new class of cultivators who were trying to rise up to the position of being big landlords or zamindars. The existing local landlords or zamindars had a problem in this rise of the new cultivator class. The Bengal Rent Act X of 1859 provided legal rights of occupying land to the new class of cultivators. However, since the existing zamindars did not want the new class of cultivators to get any form of legal right to occupy land for cultivation, they tried to lease land (or to give out land in rent) and created many levels of tenants. Tenants refers to the small and medium peasants who take land from the local zamindars for cultivation and they have to pay a fixed rent or tax to the zami...
1 comment
Read more

VILLAGE COMMUNITY : FEATURES AND TYPES

  Classification of Villages: 4 Categories I. On the Basis of Structure: Structurally villages in India can be divided into following types: 1. The Nucleated Village: This is a common pattern of settlement mostly discernible in paddy growing areas. In this type of village, homes of farmers and artisans are clustered together. ADVERTISEMENTS: Their land is located outside the village at varying distance. Their livestock are often housed along with them or nearby them. This type of villages are characterised by residential proximity, neighbourhood, community feeling etc. 2.  The Linear Village: In this type of village, houses are built on parallel rows. Each house is surrounded by small gardens. The paddy fields are at a distance from the house. This pattern of settlement unites the social advantage of residential closeness and economic advantages of living on one’s land. 3.  Dispersed Village: The village in which the dwelling places of the village lay scattered or diffuse...
Post a Comment
Read more