The United Nation’s World Commission on Environment and Development defines sustainable development as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” In essence, it is the meeting the needs of present populations while preserving resources for future generations.
Cities & Growth
Overfishing and Aquaculture
People often consider sustainable development only as an environmental practice, but it also covers agricultural, economic, socio-political, and cultural sectors. Some common themes of sustainable development include:
- Responsible use of resources like minerals and timber to prevent rapid depletion
- Responsible fishery harvesting to meet consumption without depleting whole populations
- Protection of plants, animals, and habitat while benefiting from their resources
- Agricultural development with intentions to feed the world efficiently without waste or soil degradation
- Economic growth and profitability through businesses, fair trade, job development, loans, and technology
- Preserving and providing community culture, health, and shelter, while fighting poverty and oppression
- Local and international laws and goals covering all of the above.
Impact of population
At the time of Christ there were roughly 250 million people on the planet. It took about 1800 years for the population to multiply fourfold to one billion. In the following 200 years, the population rose more than sixfold to more than 6.5 billion. Though many western nations and China have zero population growth, many others, particularly in Africa and the Middle East, do not. The population by mid century is expected to be almost 9 billion people. With population comes enormous tax on our resources. The ability to provide food, clean water and air to so many people will be a momentous task requiring careful managment and rescource allocation..
Rates of loss
This global sustainable development initiative is a response to poor management of the earth’s resources. Without sustainability, future generations would lack basic needs due to the following worldwide rates of losses:
- 75% of agricultural genetic diversity has been lost since the start of the 20th century.
- 40% forest ground cover has decreased.
- 60% agricultural water is lost every year due to inefficient practices.
- 60% of oil is consumed for transportation. Fossil fuels are non-renewable (unsustainable), and a source of pollution.
- Almost 1 million acres of land, including cropland are paved every year for roads and parking lots.
- Thousands of species go extinct each year.
- 29% of all fished species collapsed by 2003.
Some social disparities that drive sustainable development include:
People living on under $2 per day have double the trade barriers as those with higher incomes.
- Only 10% of wastewater is treated in developing countries, only 10% of which operates adequately.
- 1.1 billion people lack access to improved water supplies.
- Water related diseases kill 3.5 million people each year.
- 840 million people lack access to enough food.
What is affected by Sustainable Development?
As the world population grows, it demands more and more resources, such as food, water, and energy. Without extensive management, these resources will be depleted unequally.
Water use has increased more than twice as much as the population has. The UN predicts that 40% of the world population will be living in water scarce regions by 2025. Agriculture uses the most water. Water pollution and inadequate wastewater treatment result in sanitation problems that cause millions of illnesses and deaths, especially in poor regions. Clean water is also more expensive for people living in urban slums or rural areas of developing countries. Water is a political issue as well since almost every major river is shared by two or more nations.
See Global Challenges Water
Thousands of acres of valuable cropland are converted to roads and urban areas every year. Also, when people use resources of the land without considering the long-term outcome, desertification results. Desertification is when land becomes depleted of nutrients and moisture, unable to support life. These dried up lands are in half of the world’s countries, covering 1/3 of the earth’s surface. Some causes include:
- Climate variations and drought
- Over pumping
- Over cultivation
See Global Challenges Land Use for more information
Dried out land affects people and their environment in the following ways:
- Diminished food production from declining soil productivity
- Increased flooding
- Reduced water quality
- Increased sedimentation in rivers and lakes
- Health problems from dust
- Loss of livelihood, forcing people to migrate
- Loss of grasslands and water holes, causing mass animal migrations and possible extinction.
As countries have become wealthier, their demand for energy has increased. Traditional energy sources (burning fossil fuels) contribute to pollution and human health problems. As developing countries approach economic stability, their energy needs will increase. It is forecasts that Asia’s energy demand will double in the next 25 years. They also predict that oil will run out as early as 2035. Presently, China is adding the equivalent of an 1100-megawatt coal fired plant per week. A year of construction equals the entire energy grid of the UK. Fast developing countries, like China and India, have insatiable demands for new power and want it at the lowest possible cost, which is often pollutng. Their growth is reminiscent of the growth of the western nations after World War II.
Cities & Growth
Growing cities impact resources around them, including:
- Water supply (buildings withdraw 17% of the world’s freshwater)
- Energy use
- Other natural resources (25% of the world’s wood is harvested for buildings)
- Pollution and waste production
- Wildlife habitat destruction
- Health and safety of inhabitants
As cities grow, corporate companies within them also expand. Without considering sustainable practices, corporations can usurp natural resources, take advantage of employees, partners, and the community while becoming wealthy on financial corruption. Sustainable development includes corporate social responsibility (CSR) to prevent these inequalities.
Agriculture & Forestry
In order to feed a growing population, the world needs wise management of agricultural resources. Agriculture is also an economic issue, providing almost half of all jobs in developing countries. A decline in agriculture is a direct threat to the livelihood of billions of people. Industrialized farming threatens small farmers by requiring outside fertilizers, machinery, and non-traditional methods. Extensive farming stresses soil and water resources (See our Global Challenges Water page). Continued water waste will lead to desertification and salty soils. Agricultural pesticide use is a major cause of water pollution. In the United States, farmers use more than 23 million tons of fertilizer a year, much of which runs off into stream, lakes and eventually, our oceans. Runoff ending up in the Gulf of Mexico reduces the oxygen in the water and therefore kills off sealife. These 'dead zones' are responsible for great losees to the shrimp and fishing industries.
1.6 billion people rely on forest resources. Forest destruction is still an issue, especially in developing countries where people replace forests with cropland because of pressures from large agricultural companies. Sustainability includes keeping forests healthy because they provide:
- Timber for building
- Medicinal chemicals
Grazing & Ranching
One fifth of the world’s land surface is rangeland, supporting 3.2 billion cattle, sheep, and goats. 180 million people depend on livestock for their livelihood. Mismanaged livestock stresses the land. When there are too many animals feeding off the land, they quickly deplete its vegetation. 5% of the world’s grasslands are severely degraded due to grazing. Wind and erosion then removes the soil and the once productive grassland becomes dry desert. From degradation, Asia has suffered over $8 billion in livestock losses.
Overfishing and aquaculture
Over fishing has caused a drop in large species open sea fish by as much as 90% in many areas. Entire species, such as blue fin tuna, may become extinct by mid century due to overfishing. According to the Marine Stewardship Council, one-quarter of the world's fish stocks are overexploited, depleted or recovering from depletion. In areas where predators have been fished to small numbers, lower species growth has been rampant causing an unnatural imbalance. Only .6% of the world's oceans are reserves that are off limits to fishing.
In response to the effects of overfishing our seas and lakes and the rapid decline of fish, aquaculture, or the growing of fish in controlled areas, has grown rapidly, becoming an $80 billion business worldwide. Fish raised on 'fish farms' are not as healthy, reproduce less, and live shorter lives than their relatives in the wild. The efficiencies of aquaculture are also questionable. It takes about five pounds of fish (ground into fishmeal) to raise a pound of fish raised for human consumption.
Feeding a Hungry Planet
Declining agriculture without crop diversity damages human nutrition and health. Fisheries that yield less and less fail to sustain the 200 million people that rely on them. Salmon populations in the western U.S. have steadily dwindled due to the construction of dams and reduced water flows reaching the sea. Coral reefs have become damaged and the changing water temperatures is reducing the amount of available plankton, the fundamental source of all ocean life. Crop yields have increased over the past 100 years but at what cost? Increased nitrates and other pollutants in our groundwater and rivers threaten drinakble water supplies.
Political reasons, along with low supply, cause hunger problems. Grain producing countries may limit exports or increase export taxes because of low supply. Another reason may be concern that over exportation will raise domestic prices. Countries may also restrict food imports or exports based on agreements or debts of other traded commodities. These political aspects are another reason to manage and grow food sustainably, especially when trade operates according to scarcity, rather than abundance.
As many as half of the world’s plants and almost 5,500 animal species are threatened with extinction. Most of this threat is from humans changing or destroying habitat. Each species is important for the health and balance of the ecosystem. Biodiversity is the amount of variety of plants and animals in an ecosystem, including genetic variation. Biodiversity is a measure of health for a certain plant or animal population. It is also important for human population. In the U.S., 25% of all prescription drugs contain plant substances. When plant species decline, they loose genetic variation, which contributes to current medicines and potential medicines for the future.
In response to urban growth, local governments of developed countries are implementing policies for new communities called Smart Growth. Strategies include:
- Green building standards and regulations (See our Green Building Pages)
- Involving the public in regional planning
- Cleaning and rebuilding on polluted lands
- Building within an existing community instead of on natural land
- Mixed use zoning: residential, commercial, etc. in the same area
- Protecting historic character of existing neighborhoods
- Promoting affordable housing near workplaces and public transit
- Designing walkable neighborhoods
- Converting old railways to trails
- Setting boundaries on urban expansion
- Protecting undeveloped, or farming lands
Governments are beginning to protect biodiversity. Local governments set fish quotas to prevent over fishing and protect marine reserves, which have 23% more species diversity and provide tourist revenues.
Though government legislation against corporate corruption is limited, large, multinational companies often set their own set of CSR policies. To combat corruption, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development provided voluntary business standards in:
- Employment relations
- Industrial relations
- Human rights
- Information disclosure
- Science and Technology
The UN Division for Sustainable Development has made policy objectives including:
- Promote existing agricultural land
- Cut hunger in half by 2015
- Cut in half the number of people without clean water by 2015
- Cut in half the number of people without sanitation by 2015
- A water code for governments: clean water must be governed, protected, and managed as a human right.
- Promote gene variety in crops
- 270 forest management policies under the Forum on Forestry
- Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gas emissions
- Trade and finance regulations
- Subsidies for developing countries
Some people feel government regulation is not enough to fight human rights violations and resource mismanagement. Organizations such as Greenpeace and ActionAid lobby and demonstrate against social and environmental inequalities, such as the trade demands of the WTO. Trade groups like the WTO and nations themselves, have been accused of providing "perverse subsidies" - subsidies that are harmful to the environment It is estimated that globally, more than a trillions dollars a year is spent to encourage activity that harms the environment. A clear example, are the billions of dollars in subsidies given to the coal industry in the United States.
Other environmental organizations are involved in:
- Providing direct aid and education to needy people
- Promoting sustainability in businesses, communities, and governments
- Supporting science and technology
- Protecting habitat and wildlife.
Companies considering their environmental, social, and economic performance participate in Socially Responsible Investments. This new standard has increased as businesses consider ethical implications and higher returns on such investments. Some SRIs include:
- Emissions trading
- Renewable energy certificates
- Micro loans for the poor
- Increased access to foreign trade markets
People are starting to think differently about how they use resources. Numerous government, non-profit, and for profit agencies are committed to conserving water, land, and energy. Businesses are becoming green by changing the way they use resources, handle waste, and make a profit (See our How to Become a Green Business Page). As communities develop, more and more people not only consider profits, but long term economics, and human and environmental health.
Agricultural methods are beginning to change. Federal agencies and NGOs are promoting sustainable agriculture that includes practices like:
- Cattle ranchers subdivide their land for stream and soil protection, and increase profit.
- Farmers grow “cover crops” to protect soil, and prevent weeds and pests.
- Produce growers and consumers meet at local markets instead of expending large amounts of energy to transport produce long distances.
- Farmers use Integrated Pest Management (natural pest killers) instead of pesticides.
- Small farms are supported.
- Organic farmers are supported with information, funding, and networking.
- Farmers and ranchers are helped with finances and education about sustainability.
Governments are thinking about sustainability with the help of the Commission on Sustainable Development. This commission made a list of indicators that countries can work on to encourage changed lifestyles. The table below lists a few examples of each.
In Zimbabwe, Africa, a group of poor women farmers wanted to produce cotton without pesticides for economic, health, and environmental reasons. A local NGO trained the women in farmer field schools and helped them find a market. The project benefited 400 households, including HIV/AIDs widows who were previously excluded from farming due to high investment costs. The new method eliminated organophosphates and pyrethoid pesticides and helped to conserve indigenous trees.
In East Gansu, China, farmers increased cereal crops by 40% by using rainfall more efficiently. They use run-off collection, water storage, film mulching, livestock bi-products, and multiple-use crop products. More water is now available for human and animal consumption. Soil erosion has declined, farmers use less pesticides and fertilizers. Farmers’ aid groups have increased and women have a larger role in livestock rearing and fruit and vegetable management.