Sustainable Development

As per the definition coined by United Nations Division for Sustainable Development, it is
“Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their own needs.” Another definition is “Sustainability’ implies
that the activities are ecologically sound, socially just, economically viable and humane, and
that they will continue to be so for future generations.” Emphasis in both cases in on
“Future Generations” which means that in our quest for development, we have to keep a
perspective which goes beyond our lifetime and keep the future of human race as a whole in
mind as well.
Sustainable development has three dimensions, economic, environmental, and social. If
sustainability is to occur, it must meet needs of all these three dimensions. However, the
most important factor in sustainability of development is Environmental. We are greatly
dependent on natural resources for our sustenance. Starting from some thing as basic as air
for breathing, to fossil fuels for energy generation, most of the natural resources can sustain
only a limited rate of use and abuse. While some resources are completely non-renewable,
others can renew only at limited rate. Environmental issue can also be subdivided into
following categories: -
1.Energy;
2.Forests;
3.Water:
4.Land/Industrial Development;
5.Air/Atmosphere pollution and Climate Change.
Energy.
Fossil fuels are examples of non-renewable resource. Forests can be renewed but
at a very slow rate. As per the current estimates, world stock of fossil fuels will last
50 years at the most. And therefore, unless alternate sources of energy are discovered,
we may land into energy crisis. Some signs of same are already visible. Therefore,
development of a viable alternate to fossil fuels before fossil fuels get exhausted is the
biggest challenge facing us today. France had turned to Nuclear Energy to meet its
power generation needs. Its 80% of power generation is nuclear against world average
of just 6%.India is attempting to expand its basket of nuclear energy.
Otherwise, sun is the cheapest, most sustainable, most widely available and cleanest source
of energy available. But the real problem is that we are yet to find an economical method of
large scale storage of energy. Use of fossil fuels is having another impact on the
environment, ie, increasing level of oxides of carbon like CO2 and Carbon Mono Oxide.
While deteriorating the quality of air for breathing, it is also causing global warming.
Global warming is leading to melting of glaciers in Arctic and Antarctic regions as also in

Prof. Akshay Umbarkar | Sustainable Development (for internal circulation only) 1

higher mountains. Many low lying areas in the world are feared to be
inundated/submerged/lost by increase in sea level.
Forests.
Ruthless destruction of forests for wood, farming and Industrial/economic development is
damaging the ecology and leading to climatic changes like rainfall pattern,
CO2 level in air, global warming, Flash floods, etc. Unless efforts are taken to ensure
adequate forest cover, we may have irreversible catastrophic changes in climate.
Water.
“Water water every where, not a drop to drink” is a situation that seafarers often face. But it
may be a situation that cities like Mumbai and Chennai may have to face in the near future.
Water resources are getting polluted at increasing rate. Mithi river in Mumbai, Yamuna
in Delhi and Ganga in Kanpur have turned into stinking sewers. In addition, because
of inadequate irrigation facilities, there is over dependence on ground water for
irrigation. There are many countries like India, where there is over exploitation of ground
water and thus water table is falling at the alarming rate. Warnings have already been
issued by world bodies about impending water crisis in India, may be just two decades
hence. We have to learn to use, conserve and enhance our fresh water resources. Ways
to recharge the ground water are necessary lest we leave our future generation
thirsty.River Interlinking Project is one such idea to reduce the dependence on round
water.
Land.
Entire land mass available on earth has already been explored and there is no more
possibility of any new land mass. World population which today stands at about 6
billion in growing and we need to provision space of living, water and food for them. We can
not afford to waste any land mass due to any nuclear accidents like Chernobyl. Nor can we
afford to lose existing land mass due to effects of global warming like melting of
glaciers and polar ice cap.
But more importantly, we can not even afford to waste any land as a result of careless
Industrial Development. Liquid pollutants as a result of Industrial development of a
region are cause of concern. Certain industries discharge highly toxic chemical wastes and
release them either to rivers or to open fields from where ground water gets polluted
causing diseases in the local population. Careless discharge of cement dust from Cement
Factories is affecting crop yield in the surrounding areas due to soil damage by cement
dust. Smoke and Oxides of Carbon, like CO2 and Carbon Mono Oxide are in any case
almost inevitable products of any production process.
Fact of the matter is that there are very few production industries which do not have
any adverse impact on environment. And the cost of reducing those impacts is fairly high

Prof. Akshay Umbarkar | Sustainable Development (for internal circulation only) 2

and can make the entire process economically unviable. Rich countries are therefore
shifting away from production to knowledge based industries. Production is getting
increasing shifted to developing countries like India, China, Brazil, Mexico, etc. Developed
countries have almost completely exited from most polluting of all, chemical industries.
Also, many consumer products, like computers, TV monitors, etc have highly toxic
chemicals and metals like mercury, etc which are being discarded at increasing rate in
every country. These discarded products find way to poor countries, like India and China,
where poor resident process them to recover some value (recovery of metals).
Remaining plastic and mercury etc gets dumped in their neighbourhood and pollutes the
environment.
Even excessive use of chemical based fertilizers, like Urea, etc, have negative long term
impacts on the ground and water.
Air/Atmospheric Pollution/ Climatic Changes.
These are the issues which are interlinked. One leads to other. Emissions from
fossil fuels cause air pollution. Increased concentration of air pollutants is partly
responsible for Global warming along with CFC/Halon gases which have been
identified as the major sources of climatic changes/Global warming. CFC gases have a
tendency to deplete the Ozone layer, and thus increased level of UV rays causing global
warming and skin cancer incidences. Halon gases are being replaced with other
environment friendly gases. However, Kyoto treaty, which was supposed to limit CO2
emission, is awaiting ratification by some major offenders since 1988.
Sustainable Economic Development.
Sustainable economic development is one which is based on policies, methods and resources
which can be sustained for a long term and do not get exhausted in near future. Take for
instance, economic development based on natural products, like wood. If the exploitation
rate is faster than renewal rate of jungles, there will be no jungles left after some time
and the source of economic development will dry up.
Middle East economy is currently based on export of petroleum oil. But this is not a
perpetual source and will dry up after some time. Therefore, most of these governments are
investing the funds in other economic activities which can be sustained even after oil
revenue is not there.
Sustainable Social Development.
Any economic and environmental development has to be broad based. All segments of the
society need to be taken into account. If an economic or environmental development creates
wide gap between two sections of society, or severely impacts a relatively large section,
it will cause social upheavals like it happened in Russia in 1917.
History

Prof. Akshay Umbarkar | Sustainable Development (for internal circulation only) 3

The idea of sustainability dates back more than 40 years.
It was a key theme of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in
Stockholm in 1972. The concept was coined explicitly to suggest that it was possible to
achieve economic growth and industrialization without environmental damage.
In the ensuing decades, mainstream sustainable development thinking was progressively
developed through the World Conservation Strategy (1980)and with the publication by the
World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) of its report "Our Common
Future" (more commonly known as the "Brundtland Report” (1987)).
In 1992, the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), or the "Earth
Summit", in Rio de Janeiro, agreed on a Declaration setting out 27 principles supporting
sustainable development. The Summit also agreed a plan of action called Agenda 21, and
recommended that all countries produce national sustainable development strategies. A
special UN Commission on Sustainable Development was created.
In 2002, the Johannesburg Summit reviewed the progress made on global sustainable
development since the Rio Summit. The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD,
2002) confirmed that the first decade of the new century, at least, would be one of reflection
about the demands placed by mankind on the biosphere.
Why Sustainable Development?
Main Problems: Overpopulation and Environmental Degradation
Industrialized and Developing Countries
The world can be divided into industrialized and developing countries. Each country has
more or less their own unsustainable growth path due to their specific problems, e.g.
overpopulation or satisfying of needs, depletion of resources and waste accumulation etc. It
is necessary to achieve a situation in which people satisfy their needs without destroying the
environment. To achieve sustainable development is the work of mankind, especially in
industrialized countries, because they have money and technical know -how, but they also
waste the most resources and are the main polluters of global environmental devastation.
Differences between industrialized and developing countries are shown in a gradient of
extreme consumption and production. About 20% of the world population lives in
industrialized countries, their consumption of goods is about 80% of world goods. The
consequences are a high accumulation of waste; they cause nearly 90% of the waste in the
world. Differences can be noticed in the rate of population growth, life expectancy, health
care etc. Underdeveloped countries have a high population growth rate (about 45% are
under 15 years) and an average life expectancy of 66 years.
Life expectancy is a fundamental indicator of both well-being and poverty. Life expectancy is
projected to increase in developed and developing countries in future years, according to the
United Nations . For the world as a whole, life expectancy at birth rose from 47 years in 1950-

Prof. Akshay Umbarkar | Sustainable Development (for internal circulation only) 4

1955 to 69 years in 2005-2010. Over the next 40 years, life expectancy at birth is expected
to continue on a similar path. At the global level, it is projected to reach 76 years in 2045-
2050 and 82 years in 2095-2100. By the end of the century, people in developed countries
could live on average around 89 years, compared to about 81 years in developing regions.
Life expectancy is projected to increase in the world’s least developed countries (LDCs),
which include many countries highly affected by HIV/AIDS.
Life expectancy at birth in the LDCs was estimated to be 58 years in 2005-2010 but is
expected to increase to about 70 years in 2045-2050, and 78 years by 2095-2100 (United
Nations, 2013).
Effects of human overpopulation
Inadequate fresh water for drinking as well as sewage treatment and effluent discharge.
Some countries, like Saudi Arabia, use energy-expensive desalination to solve the problem
of water shortages.
Depletion of natural resources , especially fossil fuels
Increased levels of air pollution, water pollution, soil contamination and noise
pollution. Once a country has industrialized and become wealthy, a combination of
government regulation and technological innovation causes pollution to decline
substantially, even as the population continues to grow.
Deforestation and loss of ecosystems that sustain global atmospheric oxygen and carbon
dioxide balance; about eight million hectares of forest are lost each year.
Changes in atmospheric composition and consequent global warming.
Irreversible loss of arable land and increases in desertification Deforestation and
desertification can be reversed by adopting property rights, and this policy is successful even
while the human population continues to grow.
Mass species extinctions from reduced habitat in tropical forests due to slash-and-burn
techniques that sometimes are practiced by shifting cultivators, especially in countries with
rapidly expanding rural populations; present extinction rates may be as high as 140,000
species lost per year. As of 2008, the IUCN Red List lists a total of 717 animal species having
become extinct during recorded human history.
High infant and child mortality. High rates of infant mortality are caused by poverty. Rich
countries with high population densities have low rates of infant mortality.
Intensive factory farming to support large populations. It results in human threats
including the evolution and spread of antibiotic resistant bacterial diseases, excessive air and
water pollution, and new viruses that infect humans.
Increased chance of the emergence of new epidemics and pandemics. For many
environmental and social reasons, including overcrowded living conditions, malnutrition

Prof. Akshay Umbarkar | Sustainable Development (for internal circulation only) 5

and inadequate, inaccessible, or non-existent health care; the poor are more likely to be
exposed to infectious diseases.
Starvation, malnutrition or poor diet with ill health and diet-deficiency diseases (e.g.
rickets). However, rich countries with high population densities do not have famine.
Poverty coupled with inflation in some regions and a resulting low level of capital formation.
Poverty and inflation are aggravated by bad government and bad economic policies. Many
countries with high population densities have eliminated absolute poverty and keep their
inflation rates very low.
Low life expectancy in countries with fastest growing populations.
Unhygienic living conditions for many based upon water resource depletion, discharge of
raw sewage and solid waste disposal. However, this problem can be reduced with the
adoption of sewers. For example, after Karachi, Pakistan installed sewers, its infant mortality
rate fell substantially.
Elevated crime rate due to drug cartels and increased theft by people stealing resources in
order to survive.
Conflict over scarce resources and crowding, leading to increased levels of warfare
Less Personal Freedom / More Restrictive Laws. Laws regulate interaction between
humans. Law "serves as a primary social mediator of relations between people." The higher
the population density, the more frequent such interactions become, and thus a need for
more laws and/or more restrictive laws to regulate these interactions develops. It is even
speculated that democracy is threatened due to overpopulation, and could give rise to
totalitarian style governments.
What is population control?
Population control is any methodology used to control the type, location and number of
people that inhabit the earth. Public debate is strictly limited however to non-coercive means
in achieving any one of these goals, especially with regards to population reduction. An
important example of this would be allowing people the free choice on procreative matters.
By using various methodologies both economic and administrative and educational to
dissuade people from having more children than needed, a stable population base can be
created. It should be noted here that the prevailing viewpoint of the world’s decision makers
is that Population control and environmental devastation are linked and the former
contributes heavily to the latter. This view is foundational to understand the policies that are
formulated to combat, what is viewed by policy makers as a runaway population explosion.
Indeed, when the Nation Intelligence Council (NIC) held their Global Trends Conference they
identified seven key drivers that would shape the globe through the year 2015. The first was
demographics; the second was natural resources and environment.
What kinds of solutions?

Prof. Akshay Umbarkar | Sustainable Development (for internal circulation only) 6

 The only socially and psychologically acceptable solution available to policy makers when
discussing reducing the world’s population is education. While other methods are debated
they are rarely employed or even discussed with any real publicity. These include various
methods of taxation and other forms of financial disincentives. These methods are important
to note because barring success of the educational solution track, the
financial/administrative disincentives administrative will probably become more likely as a
method of reducing populations. However, this method is only really available where there
is some degree of wealth and a fairly well developed governmental institutions capable of
enforcing such a regimen. These are the regions that are the primary target of the so called
population control agenda; remote, poor, economically underdeveloped regions of the
world. Thus, if global policy makers are to have any success in their war on population
(people), other methods must be employed.

The only practicable and direct method of control population is to reduce the birth rate. This
can be achieved by education and family planning.

1. EDUCATION:--People particularly those in reproductive age group, should be educated

about the advantages of small family and consequent benefit to the nation as a whole.

2. FAMILY PLANNING:--Birth rate can be reduced by family planning measures, such as use
of contraceptives and pills, sterilization and termination of pregnancy.

Prof. Akshay Umbarkar | Sustainable Development (for internal circulation only) 7