What is sustainable development?
Sustainable development is the very basis of economic development while Simultaneously
sustaining the ability of natural systems to maintain natural resources and sustain the
ecosystem on which the economy and society completely depend and exist.
Sustainable development is aimed at achieving a state of society where living conditions and
resources are used to continue to meet human needs without deteriorating the integrity and
stability of the natural system.
When a development can self sustain itself or meet the needs of the present without harming
the ability of the future it can be said to be a sustainable development.
Sustainable development can be explained in various ways, but the most widely as
Brundtland Commission in 1987:define 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.”
Did you know that sustainable development is based on three pillars? These pillars are
called the pillars of sustainability.
Sustainable development is based on the three pillars of sustainability: economic,
environmental and social sustainability. It is believed that sustainable development can be
achieved only when there is balance or a trade-off between these three aspects.
But like everybody has their own viewpoint some authors have added different pillars to the
list of the pillars of sustainability some say a cultural pillar has to be added to the list and the
others are pitching political or institutional galore in place of the fourth pillar.
What is most important to understand is that sustainable development is holistic in nature. It
is an integrated approach to what we mean by saying that in order to achieve sustainable
development there needs to be a balance in all spheres of life consistently.
A study for sustainable development has been introduced called as education for
sustainable development.
Education for sustainable development (ESD) can be defined as education that encourages
changes in knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes to enable a Society that is more
sustainable and equitable in nature. A Balanced approach towards economic social and
environmental needs is what education for sustainable development aims to empower and
achieve.
Wondering how the concept of education for sustainable development was first created?
There is a growing change in the environmental challenges that the planet was facing. Some
parameters to measure the growing challenges for air-pollution degradation in biodiversity,
water pollution and exhaustion. That is where the concept of sustainable development study
was initiated.
This education empowers the skills and values, changes the attitudes and contributes to
social development.
When the United Nations sustainable development Summit was held in the year 2015 the
strongest world leaders adopted an agenda for 2030 which was a move towards sustainable
development. The agenda included a set of 17 sustainable development goals or SDGS..
Some of these SDGs include ensuring affordable and clean energy, providing clean water
and sanitation, ending Poverty and ending inequality and partnership for these goals.
Tackling the issue of climate change was also one of the goals of SDGS.
