Sustainable Development

MEANING OF SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Sustainable development is defined as the pattern of
development that permits the future generations to live at
least as well as the current generation. It is the process of
development which can be sustained over a long period of
time that allows the future generations to have the same
quality of life which is being enjoyed by the current
generation.
The important factors which determine the Long-run
development opportunities are:
1. Natural Capital, i.e., stock of natural resources and
environment such as stock of mineral resources, oil stock,
stock of fisheries in the oceans, forest reserves, quality of
air, water, and soil, and so on.
2. Physical Capital such as plants, machine tools, equipment,
factories, and infrastructure such as power, transport, etc.
3. Human Capital such as education, skills, knowledge, and
technical advancement.

Sustainable development requires the following conditions:

1. Sustainable development does not mean that natural
resources should not be used at all.
2. For sustainable development, renewable natural resources
should be extracted at a rate which does not exceed the rate
of their generation.
3. Sustainable development also requires that non-renewable
inexhaustible resources such as mineral resources are used
in a manner which does not unnecessarily reduce their
availability and accessibility for the future generations.
4. Sustainable development should discard those activities
which lead to pollution of environment.

NEED FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

1. Natural Resources and Environment as Common Heritage:
Economic development and overall quality of life depend on
the stock of natural resources and quality of environment-are
common heritage for all generations.
2. Indiscriminate Use of Natural Resources: Many
industrialised developed countries of the world have a
history of causing rapid depletion of the stock of natural
resources. Growth may be consuming its foundations by
using resources indiscriminately-as evident by depleting
natural resources and polluted air and water.
3. Use of Natural Resources as Costs of Development: It is
widely believed now that depletion of the stock of natural
resources and degradation of environment should be treated
as the costs of development. These costs must be deducted
from national income to know the growth rates in more
realistic terms.

4. Quality of Life Dependent on the Quality of Environment:

Sustainable development is important for improving the
quality of life of the present generations as well. Quality of
life depends on, among other things, healthy and long life,
balanced diet, safe drinking water, clean air, better
sanitation, hygienic environment, etc.

EFFECTS OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ON RESOURCES

AND ENVIRONMENT
Economic development undoubtedly has remarkable positive
effects on human life. It has led to a large increase in our
income. Use of modern techniques of production has
brought about a significant increase in productivity.
Economic development and industrialisation have brought in
their wake a flood of new products. They have made our life
materialistically more comfortable and luxurious. In fact,
economic development has revolutionised human life.

Economic Development and Environmental Degradation

The main damages are as follows:
1. Depletion of Natural Resources: Economic development
has resulted in the depletion of natural resources such as
land and mineral resources. First, industrial development
has created a large demand for natural resources for mass
production. This has led to the depletion of natural
resources, particularly when there is limited availability of
natural resources such as mineral resources. Second, the
demand for agricultural land has increased due to the need
for increasing agricultural production and due to population
growth.

2. Water Pollution: Industrialisation and urbanisation have

led to the problem of water pollution. Water pollution occurs
when some substances get mixed with natural water so as to
deteriorate the quality of water. Polluted water is unpleasant
to smell and unfit for drinking, bathing and washing. Polluted
water leads to waterborne diseases such as diarrhoea, which
mainly affect children and poor people.

3. Air Pollution: Air is one of the most vital natural resources

required for sustaining life on earth. In the course of
economic growth, air pollution has increased mostly in the
urban areas, largely because of gaseous emissions from
industries, thermal power plants, automobiles and domestic
combustion. Air pollutants exist in the form of carbon
monoxides, nitrogen oxides, sulphur oxides, hydrocarbon
and suspended particles of matter.

4. Solid and Hazardous Wastes: The growth in population

and increased urbanisation have led to a tremendous
increase in solid wastes in the form of organic wastes from
human beings and animals, domestic wastes (food scraps,
vegetables, etc.), industrial wastes (metals, oil spills, etc.),
commercial wastes (plastics, packing material, used papers,
thermocol, etc.), and agricultural wastes (silt from irrigation
practices, wastes from farms and poultries, etc).

5. Soil Erosion: Soil erosion causes loss of topsoil layer due

to heavy rain. If there is a large loss of topsoil due to land
erosion, the land may become unfit for supporting
vegetation. Soil erosion leads to fall in productivity due to
deterioration in the quality of soil.. Soil erosion also causes
siltation of dams and tanks, resulting in decline in their
irrigation potential.

6. Deforestation: Forests are of immense importance in

protecting the environment. In the course of economic
development, huge areas of virgin forests have been cleared
for agricultural, mining, and industrial activities. For
instance, in India, 1.5 lakh hectares of land was cleared of
forests every year for agricultural and other purposes during
the period between 1950-51 and 1979-80.

7. Use of Chemical Fertilisers and Pesticides: In the course

of agricultural development, use of chemical fertilisers and
pesticides has increased tremendously in order to augment
agricultural productivity. First, use of chemical fertilisers and
pesticides has led to human health hazards because they
contain toxic chemicals which creep into the food chain
through intake of foods and vegetables. Second,
indiscriminate use of chemical fertilisers. and pesticides has
caused serious ecological damage through toxic effects on
fish stock, birds, and wildlife.

8. Loss of Biodiversity: Biological diversity refers to the

composite of species and ecosystems. Millions of species
collectively perform different functions that help in
maintaining the delicate ecological balance on earth.
Ecosystem and species are a product of over millions of
years of evolution and are the basis of survival of human
beings. Biological diversity provides various products such
as food, fibre, medicine, and raw material for industrial
production.

9. Global Warming: Indiscriminate industrialisation,

urbanisation, and pollution are bringing about certain
changes in the atmosphere on a global scale. Global
warming refers to increase in the average temperature of the
earth, resulting from emission of greenhouse gases,
especially carbon dioxide, which trap the heat of the sun.

Global warming is likely to have serious effects on the

environment and our economy.
1. Global warming has led to melting of glaciers. This will
have a potential effect on water supplies. These glaciers
ensure critical water supplies to the dry countries such as
Mongolia, western China, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. The
loss of these glaciers has tremendous impact on the
ecosystem of the region.
2. Global warming will lead to rise in sea level. A rise in sea
level would lead to permanent flooding of wetlands and
lowlands, and loss of land due to coastal erosion, and
flooding.
3. Loss of coastal land will have adverse effect on the
economic life of people living in coastal area. A large
population living there will also face displacement due to
permanent flooding. This will result in a large migration of
population from the coastal areas.
4. Global warming will lead to widespread change in global
temperature; some regions would see dramatic increase in
rainfall and others would face drought with meagre rainfall.
5. Changes in global temperature patterns would lead to
change in the redistribution of plants and animals since they
adapt to different climatic and geographical conditions.
6. Shifting climate zones, changes in vegetation zones, rising
sea level and flooding of coastal areas may result in major
species extinction.

Causes of Depletion of Resources and Environment

Degradation
1. Industrialisation: Industrialisation is an essential part of
any programme of economic growth. It has created a large
demand for raw materials. This has put pressure on natural
resources like agricultural and mineral resources, resulting
in the depletion of natural resources. Industrialisation has
also led to industrial pollution in various ways.
Industrialisation has resulted in the emission of greenhouse
gases into the atmosphere, leading to rise in global
temperature.
2. Urbanisation: Industrialisation is accompanied by
urbanisation. In fact, industrialisation and urbanisation go
hand in hand. As cities grow and spread, there is increased
demand for residential houses. To accommodate the
increasing population of the urban areas, agricultural land
and forestland have been encroached. This has adverse
effect on natural environment. Urbanisation has added to the
problem of air and water pollution.

3. Population Growth: A large increase in human population

is also responsible for the depletion of resources and
economic degradation. World population has been
increasing at a very fast rate since the 18th century.
Population of India increased from 36.1 million in 1951 to
1332 million in 2019. It increased at a rate of around 1.15 per
cent per annum in 2017. Furthermore, as population
increases, there is increased demand for energy. Fossil fuels
meet the bulk of our energy demand in the urban areas while
fuelwood is used in the rural areas. The indiscriminate use of
our energy sources is responsible for their rapid depletion.

4. Technological Progress: Modern technology has created a

large demand for resources so as to increase production.
More production and easy access to products have led to
increased demand for various products by the consumers.
Mass-scale production and excess production have led to
large-scale wastage of resources. This has resulted in
depletion of resources.
5. Agricultural Development: Agricultural development is
also responsible for depletion of resources and environment
degradation. High-yielding varieties of seeds have been
introduced to increase agricultural productivity. The use of
high-yielding varieties of seeds requires huge inputs of
irrigation water, chemical fertilisers and chemical pesticides.
Indiscriminate use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides in
modern agriculture has definitely increased agricultural
yields but it has led to severe environmental hazards as well.

AN APPRAISAL OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT A

CHALLENGE
As the world grows and develops economically, we face
various challenges with regard to future availability of
natural resources and environment conservation. The key
question is how to preserve our natural resources such as
rivers, freshwater lakes, grasslands and woodlands, etc. The
loss of natural resources and environment degradation may
lead to deterioration in quality of life.
From early 1990s, India has experienced one of the fastest
economic growth rates in the world, averaging about 6.8 per
cent per year between 2002 to 2018. This growth has put a
large impact on the country's environment and natural
resources.

Strategies for Sustainable Development

1. Replenishment of Resources: Resources should not only

be exploited but should be replenished as well. Therefore,
the extraction of renewable resources should not exceed the
rate at which they are renewed. Furthermore, the extraction
of non-renewable sources should be minimised.

2. Equitable Use of Resources Across Generations: Efforts

should be made to make equitable use of resources for
meeting the needs of the present and the future generations
without causing damage to environment.

3. Environment Protection: We should prevent further

damage to the environment and other life-support systems;
instead of polluting the environment, we should conserve it.

4. Conservation of Biological Diversity: We should conserve

and nurture the biological diversity.

5. Use of Efficient Techniques: Efficient techniques should

be used to make the best use of resources. The efficiency in
the use of resources is very important to conserve our
resources.

6. Use of Eco-friendly Technologies: There is an urgent need

of modifying the existing techniques so as to develop eco-
friendly technologies. Eco-friendly technologies are geared
towards the conservation of environment. It is important to
promote energy-saving technologies and those techniques
which promote the use of renewable resources.

7. Use of Environment-friendly Sources of Energy: The use

of LPG and CNG fuels should be encouraged in place of
petrol and diesel. LPG and CNG are cleaner fuels and
environment-friendly.

8. Development of Organic Farming: Excessive use of

fertilizers, insecticides and pesticides has led to loss of soil
fertility, soil erosion, salination, soil contamination, damage
to environment, etc.

9. Setting Air-quality and Emission Standards: The

government must set air-quality and emission standards for
the vehicles to reduce air pollution. For instance, the Delhi
government has set emission standards for vehicles.

10. Technical Devices to Reduce Air Pollution: The

government may encourage the development of new and
better technologies to control air pollution. Some such
techniques are techniques using low pollutant fuels, CNG
(compressed natural gas) in place of petrol and techniques
using catalytic convertor.

11. Public Means of Transport: Public means of transport,

including Metro, should be developed. This will cut the use
of private vehicles and would reduce environment pollution
in the cities.

12. Increasing Public Awareness: There is an urgent need for

increasing public awareness about the desirability of
conserving our natural assets for the future generations.
Katowice Climate Change Summit 2018: The 24th Conference
of the United Nations climate change was held in Katowice,
the coal mining city of Poland, in December 2018. The main
agenda of the meet, where both developed and developing
countries participated, was to iron out the "rulebook" of the
Paris Agreement on Climate Change. These rules have to be
resolved before the Paris Agreement comes into force in
2020. The need and implementation of strict rules and targets
is imperative as we have just about a decade to bring the
energy emissions under control, and then to reduce it
further. If not, then the temperature rise could kill off corals
en mass, and will wreck climatic havoc of devastating floods,
droughts and rising sea levels.