1.1.1 sustainable development

What is sustainable development and what are its 3 dimensions?

Brundtland Report (1987): Development that meets present needs without compromising future generations' ability to meet their needs, especially the essential needs of the poor.

EES:

• Economic growth

• Environmental protection

• Social inclusion

SD involves trade-offs and is limited by environmental and technological constraints.

Why is the concept of "needs" important in sustainable development?

Needs vary:

• Across space: different groups/countries have different development levels.

• Over time: future generations may have different needs.

Key basic needs = EFE

• Employment

• Food

• Energy

These must be met without compromising the resource base needed in future.

Why is environmental protection necessary for sustainable development?

Natural systems support life and provide resources needed to meet human needs.

• Instrumental value: nature is valuable because it benefits humans.

• Intrinsic value: nature has value in itself.

• Biodiversity loss reduces the resources/options available to future generations.

What is the difference between intergenerational and intragenerational equity?

• Intergenerational = TIME: fairness between present and future generations.

• Intragenerational = SPACE: fairness among people within the present generation.

Poor communities often have fewer resources/weaker infrastructure → more vulnerable to environmental impacts → greater losses → deeper poverty.

Why is economic growth important for sustainable development, but insufficient by itself?

Economic growth → ↑ GDP/production → ↑ jobs/income → ↑ access to food, housing, healthcare and education.

BUT growth may also cause environmental degradation + social inequality, so economic growth alone ≠ sustainable development.

How can economic growth conflict with environmental sustainability?

↑ affluence → ↑ consumption/disposal → ↑ resource extraction + waste → pressure may exceed environmental regenerative capacity.

Evidence:

• US: 4.4% of global population yet one of the largest GHG emitters.

• Philippines: waste ↑ 37,000 t/day (2012) → 40,000 t/day (2016).

Linear model Take → Make → Consume → Waste wrongly assumes infinite resources + infinite waste-disposal capacity.

How can economic growth conflict with social sustainability?

Skill-biased technological change → ↑ demand for skilled workers + ↓ demand for unskilled workers → widening income inequality.

Singapore: 2010–2020 household per-capita income rose, BUT average income gap between bottom and top 10% widened from $9,288 → $12,840.

How can social development conflict with environmental sustainability?

Infrastructure needed to improve people's lives can damage ecosystems.

Singapore:

• Housing → loss of rural/green spaces.

• Transport → Cross Island Line through Central Catchment Nature Reserve.

→ Shows unavoidable social-environmental trade-offs.

How can environmental and technological limits constrain sustainable development?

Environment has limited capacity to regenerate resources + absorb waste.

Technology can improve resource accessibility and efficiency, BUT remember TED:

• Time — takes time to develop/deploy

• Expensive — unequal access, especially for poorer countries

• Damage — may create new environmental/social problems

How does the Ilisu Dam show that technology can create sustainable-development trade-offs?

Ilisu Dam, Türkiye: hydropower provides renewable energy BUT:

• 190 families resettled

• ~78,000 more people potentially displaced

• inadequate consultation/compensation

→ Technology may address environmental/energy need while creating social costs.

What are the key facts about the Sustainable Development Goals?

• UN adopted them in 2015

• 17 SDGs

• Agenda 2030

• Replaced MDGs

• Integrate EES

• Broken into 169 targets + 232 indicators

• Aim to end poverty, protect the planet and promote peace/prosperity.

What limits the achievement and measurement of the SDGs?

PCD

• Political will/coordination → different national interests

• Capacity/finance → especially limited in LDCs

• Data availability → difficult to measure progress

COVID-19 also disrupted progress; a 2022 assessment found the world was not on track for the 2030 goals.

How does the DRC demonstrate limitations of the SDGs?

DRC:

• Among bottom 10 countries

• 14/17 SDGs RED, except 12, 13 & 14

• 10% missing data

• Political instability + weak political will → difficult for UN/NGOs to collect data

→ Shows how governance + data/capacity problems hinder SD.

What major challenges can prevent sustainable development?

FWNCP

• Financial constraints

• War — e.g. Yemen/Syria

• Natural disasters — 2015 Nepal earthquake shifted Ramche's only water source

• Conflicting priorities — short-term profit vs long-term sustainability

• Political corruption — Nepal bureaucracy/corruption slowed NGO projects

What environmental strategies/evidence show Costa Rica pursuing sustainable development?

• 2021: 99.5% electricity from renewables

• >25% of land protected in national parks/reserves

• ~5% world's biodiversity despite only ~0.03% Earth's landmass

• Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES): pays landowners to conserve/restore habitats

• Target: carbon neutrality by 2050

What social strategies/evidence show Costa Rica pursuing sustainable development?

• Literacy rate >97%

• Universal healthcare

• Life expectancy ~80 years

• Investment in education, healthcare and rural community development

→ improves social well-being + human capital.

What economic strategies show Costa Rica pursuing sustainable development?

• Diversified from agriculture → technology, services + tourism

• Attracts FDI in technology/manufacturing → skilled jobs

• Ecotourism: conservation → tourists → revenue/jobs → incentive for conservation

• Certification for Sustainable Tourism (CST) certifies sustainable tourism businesses.

Why is Costa Rica not a perfect example of sustainable development?

Continuing challenges across EES:

• Environmental: deforestation, wildlife trafficking, climate change, urbanisation/habitat loss

• Economic: trade imbalance, skills mismatch, SME financing difficulties

• Social: poverty, income/gender inequality, migrant/refugee issues, unequal rural access to services

→ SD remains an ongoing process involving trade-offs.