According to the World Commission of Environment and Development, sustainability refers to “Developments that will meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generation to meet their needs.” 

Sustainability was defined as the “ strategies that would be capable of managing resources for human uses both now and in the long run and future.”

Sustainable development is a concept that means controlling the use of resources in the present time so that they can be used in the future.

The idea of sustainable development integrates various ecological conservation issues with livelihood and their development.

In the year 1987, the official definition was developed for sustainable development under the “Brutland Report.” The Brundtland report also put forward 12 priorities necessary for the better sustainability of humans in the future. The priorities are as follows:

  1. Making agriculture sustainable in the long run.
  2. Slowing down the population growth rate.
  3. Reducing debts and poverty in the developing world.
  4. Curbing the loss of species by protecting forests and habitats.
  5. Protecting coastal and ocean resources.
  6. Reducing waste.
  7. Protecting the quality of fresh water and water efficiency.
  8. Increasing the efficiency of energy.
  9. Using renewable energy resources.
  10. Limiting greenhouse gases.
  11. Protecting the stratospheric ozone layer.
  12. Shifting military spending to sustainable development.

Sustainable Development is a way of developing society so that it can exist in the long term and preserve the environment and natural resources and economic equity. Sustainable development is tailored to a given situation, and active human participation would require proper education with knowledge through various scientific communities and societies across the world.

Aim of sustainable development

  • Integrating sustainable development aims at meeting the needs of humans, with special attention to the people below the poverty belt. 
  • Special focus is given to the poor population’s employment, food, water, and housing. 
  • To achieve the above-mentioned points, sustainable development ensures growth in agriculture, and manufactures with consideration towards the environment. 

Goals of sustainable development

  • Good health and well-being of all.
  • Quality education.
  • No poverty.
  • Zero hunger.
  • Affordable and clean energy.
  • Gender equality.
  • Economic growth.
  • Reducing inequalities.
  • Climatic actions.
  • Live both below water and on land.
  • Peace and justice.

To integrate the concept of sustainable development, the primary concern is that the developing world faces issues regarding poverty and the fulfillment of the basic needs of the poor. Such developing countries believe that the solution to the problems is science and technology.

Concepts of environmental sustainability

  • The relationship between humans and the environment can be grouped under a symbiotic relationship or association. 
  • The present-day scenario emphasises that the restoration of vital resources should continue along with resource exploitation. 
  • It is necessary to conserve biodiversity by taking adequate conservation measures to restore nature and simultaneously modifying the ecosystems for better adaptability.
  • Analysing the population is an important aspect, since the present land man ratio indicates that the carrying capacity is slightly unstable.

Four objectives essential for environmental sustainable developments include:

  • Protection of the environment.
  • Rehabilitation and restoration of the ecosystem.
  • Strategies to enhance the carrying capacity of nature.
  • Creation and improvement of the ecosystem.

Analysis of the status of present-day sustainable development

  • According to the latest IPCC reports, a massive change needs to take place with regard to the emission of carbon dioxide to keep the earth’s temperature under control.
  • Presently, the sustainable development framework is strong. Many volunteers across the world are working with different areas of sustainability. 
  • One of the main pillars is the United Nations, which actively works on various awareness campaigns. In the year 2015, UN members approved the idea of the 2030 agenda for development and set some more goals for integrating sustainable development.
  • Entities like the Elen MacArthur Foundation have opened their ways, and have started to encourage business models like ‘developing and growing mushrooms using coffee leftovers.’

Possibility of integrating sustainability in the long run

  • In the long run, the concept of ecological sustainability is the only development that can be incorporated since sustainable growth is not a continuous process as all growths are bound to come to an end at some point in time.
  • Real sustainability involves some kind of equilibrium which does not mean stability for the ecosystem.

Conclusion 

The idea of sustainable development is dynamic in nature making the definition vary from country to country. The sustainable development goals address the social economic and environmental dimensions and are designed to be integrated into combination rather than one at a time for better and quick results.