Sustainable

development

Sustainable development is an organizing principle for meet ing human development goals while
also sust aining t he abilit y of nat ural syst ems t o provide t he nat ural resources and ecosyst em
services on which t he economy and societ y depend. The desired result is a st at e of societ y
where living condit ions and resources are used t o cont inue t o meet human needs wit hout
undermining t he int egrit y and st abilit y of t he nat ural syst em. Sust ainable development was
defined in t he 1987 Brundt land Report as "development t hat meet s t he needs of t he present
generat ion wit hout compromising t he abilit y of fut ure generat ions t o meet t heir own needs".[2][3]
As t he concept of sust ainable development developed, it has shift ed it s focus more t owards
t he economic development , social development and environment al prot ect ion for fut ure
generat ions.
Sustainable development requires six central capacities.[1]

Sust ainable development was first inst it ut ionalized wit h t he Rio Process init iat ed at t he 1992
Eart h Summit in Rio de Janeiro. In 2015 t he Unit ed Nat ions General Assembly adopt ed t he
Sust ainable Development Goals (SDGs) (2015 t o 2030) and explained how t he goals are
int egrat ed and indivisible t o achieve sust ainable development at t he global level.[4] The 17 goals
address t he global challenges, including povert y, inequalit y, climat e change, environment al
degradat ion, peace, and just ice.

Sust ainable development is int erlinked wit h t he normat ive concept of sust ainabilit y. UNESCO
formulat ed a dist inct ion bet ween t he t wo concept s as follows: "Sustainability is oft en t hought
of as a long-t erm goal (i.e. a more sust ainable world), while sustainable development refers t o t he
many processes and pat hways t o achieve it ."[5] The concept of sust ainable development has
been crit icized in various ways. While some see it as paradoxical (or an oxymoron) and regard
development as inherent ly unsust ainable, ot hers are disappoint ed in t he lack of progress t hat
has been achieved so far.[6][7] Part of t he problem is t hat "development " it self is not consist ent ly
defined.[8]: 16 

Definition

In 1987, t he Unit ed Nat ions World Commission on Environment and Development released t he
report Our Common Future, commonly called t he Brundt land Report .[2] The report included a
definit ion of "sust ainable development " which is now widely used:[2]: Chapter 2 
 Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the
present without compromising the ability of future generations to
meet their own needs. It contains two key concepts within it:

The concept of 'needs', in particular, the essential needs of the

world's poor, to which overriding priority should be given; and

The idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and

social organization on the environment's ability to meet present
and future needs.
— World Commission on Environment and Development, Our
Common Future (1987)

Related concepts

Sustainability

Visual representations of sustainability and its three dimensions: Left, sustainability as three intersecting circles. Right
top, a nested circles approach. Right bottom, literal 'pillars'.[9] The schematic with the nested circles emphasizes a
hierarchy of the dimensions, putting "environment" as the foundation for the other two.

Sust ainabilit y is a societ al goal t hat broadly aims for humans t o safely co-exist on planet Eart h
over a long t ime. Specific definit ions of sust ainabilit y are difficult t o agree on and t herefore vary
in t he lit erat ure and over t ime.[10][9] The concept of sust ainabilit y can be used t o guide decisions
at t he global, nat ional and individual level (e.g. sust ainable living).[11] Sust ainabilit y is commonly
described along t he lines of t hree dimensions (also called pillars): environment al, economic and
social.[9] Many publicat ions st at e t hat t he environment al dimension (also referred t o as
"planet ary int egrit y" or "ecological int egrit y") should be regarded as t he most import ant
one.[12][13] Accordingly, in everyday usage of t he t erm, sust ainabilit y is oft en focused on t he
environment al aspect s. The most dominant environment al issues since around 2000 have been
climat e change, loss of biodiversit y, loss of ecosyst em services, land degradat ion, and air and
wat er pollut ion.[14] Humanit y is now exceeding several "planet ary boundaries".[15]

Development of the concept

Sust ainable development has it s root s in ideas about sust ainable forest management , which
were developed in Europe during t he 17t h and 18t h cent uries.[16][17]: 6–16  In response t o a growing
awareness of t he deplet ion of t imber resources in England, John Evelyn argued, in his 1662 essay
Sylva, t hat "sowing and plant ing of t rees had t o be regarded as a nat ional dut y of every
landowner, in order t o st op t he dest ruct ive over-exploit at ion of nat ural resources." In 1713, Hans
Carl von Carlowit z, a senior mining administ rat or in t he service of Elect or Frederick August us I of
Saxony published Sylvicultura economics, a 400-page work on forest ry. Building upon t he ideas of
Evelyn and French minist er Jean-Bapt ist e Colbert , von Carlowit z developed t he concept of
managing forest s for sust ained yield.[16] His work influenced ot hers, including Alexander von
Humboldt and Georg Ludwig Hart ig, event ually leading t o t he development of t he science of
forest ry. This, in t urn, influenced people like Gifford Pinchot , t he first head of t he US Forest
Service, whose approach t o forest management was driven by t he idea of wise use of resources,
and Aldo Leopold whose land et hic was influent ial in t he development of t he environment al
movement in t he 1960s.[16][17]

Following t he publicat ion of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring in 1962, t he developing environment al
movement drew at t ent ion t o t he relat ionship bet ween economic growt h and environment al
degradat ion. Kennet h E. Boulding, in his influent ial 1966 essay The Economics of the Coming
Spaceship Earth, ident ified t he need for t he economic syst em t o fit it self t o t he ecological
syst em wit h it s limit ed pools of resources.[17] Anot her milest one was t he 1968 art icle by Garret t
Hardin t hat popularized t he t erm "t ragedy of t he commons".[18] One of t he first uses of t he t erm
sust ainable in t he cont emporary sense was by t he Club of Rome in 1972 in it s classic report on
t he Limits to Growth, writ t en by a group of scient ist s led by Dennis and Donella Meadows of t he
Massachuset t s Inst it ut e of Technology. Describing t he desirable "st at e of global equilibrium",
t he aut hors wrot e: "We are searching for a model out put t hat represent s a world syst em t hat is
sust ainable wit hout sudden and uncont rolled collapse and capable of sat isfying t he basic
mat erial requirement s of all of it s people."[19] That year also saw t he publicat ion of t he influent ial
A Blueprint for Survival book.[20][21]

In 1975, an MIT research group prepared t en days of hearings on "Growt h and It s Implicat ion for
t he Fut ure" for t he US Congress, t he first hearings ever held on sust ainable development .[22]

In 1980, t he Int ernat ional Union for Conservat ion of Nat ure published a world conservat ion
st rat egy t hat included one of t he first references t o sust ainable development as a global
priorit y[23] and int roduced t he t erm "sust ainable development ".[24]: 4  Two years lat er, t he Unit ed
Nat ions World Chart er for Nat ure raised five principles of conservat ion by which human conduct
affect ing nat ure is t o be guided and judged.[25]

Since t he Brundt land Report , t he concept of sust ainable development has developed beyond
t he init ial int ergenerat ional framework t o focus more on t he goal of "socially inclusive and
environment ally sust ainable economic growt h".[24]: 5  In 1992, t he UN Conference on Environment
and Development published t he Eart h Chart er, which out lines t he building of a just , sust ainable,
and peaceful global societ y in t he 21st cent ury. The act ion plan Agenda 21 for sust ainable
development ident ified informat ion, int egrat ion, and part icipat ion as key building blocks t o help
count ries achieve development t hat recognizes t hese int erdependent pillars. Furt hermore,
Agenda 21 emphasizes t hat broad public part icipat ion in decision-making is a fundament al
prerequisit e for achieving sust ainable development .[26]

The Rio Prot ocol was a huge leap forward: for t he first t ime, t he world agreed on a sust ainabilit y
agenda. In fact , a global consensus was facilit at ed by neglect ing concret e goals and operat ional
det ails. The Sust ainable Development Goals (SDGs) now have concret e t arget s (unlike t he
result s from t he Rio Process) but no met hods for sanct ions.[27][8]: 137 

Dimensions

Sust ainable development , like sust ainabilit y, is regarded t o have t hree dimensions (also called
pillars, domains, aspect s, spheres and globalized et c.): t he environment , economy and societ y.
"Wedding cake" model for the sustainable development goals, which is similar to the nested circle diagram, whereby the
environmental dimension or system is the basis for the other two dimensions.[28]

Three different areas of sust ainabilit y are normally dist inguished: t he environment al, t he social,
and t he economic. Several t erms are in use for t his concept in t he lit erat ure: aut hors speak of
t hree pillars, dimensions, component s, aspect s,[29] perspect ives, fact ors or goals, and all mean
t he same t hing in t his cont ext .[9] The emergence of t he t hree dimensions paradigm has lit t le
t heoret ical foundat ion but gradually emerged wit hout a single point of origin.[9][30] Nevert heless,
t he dist inct ion it self is rarely quest ioned, and t he "t hree dimension" concept ion of sust ainabilit y
is a dominant int erpret at ion wit hin t he lit erat ure.[9]

Critique

The concept of sust ainable development has been and st ill is, subject t o crit icism, including t he
quest ion of what is t o be sust ained in sust ainable development . It has been argued t hat t here is
no such t hing as sust ainable use of a non-renewable resource, since any posit ive rat e of
exploit at ion will event ually lead t o t he exhaust ion of eart h's finit e st ock;[31]: 13  t his perspect ive
renders t he Indust rial Revolut ion as a whole unsust ainable.[32]: 20f [33]: 61–67 [34]: 22f 

The sust ainable development debat e is based on t he assumpt ion t hat societ ies need t o manage
t hree t ypes of capit al (economic, social, and nat ural), which may be non-subst it ut able and whose
consumpt ion might be irreversible.[35] Nat ural capit al can not necessarily be subst it ut ed by
economic capit al.[34] While it is possible t hat we can find ways t o replace some nat ural resources,
it is much less likely t hat t hey will ever be able t o replace ecosyst em services, such as t he
prot ect ion provided by t he ozone layer, or t he climat e st abilizing funct ion of t he Amazonian
forest .

The concept of sust ainable development has been crit icized from different angles. While some
see it as paradoxical (or an oxymoron) and regard development as inherent ly unsust ainable,
ot hers are disappoint ed in t he lack of progress t hat has been achieved so far.[6][7] Part of t he
problem is t hat "development " it self is not consist ent ly defined.[8]: 16 

The vagueness of t he Brundt land definit ion of sust ainable development has been crit icized as
follows:[8]: 17  The definit ion has "opened up t he possibilit y of downplaying sust ainabilit y. Hence,
government s spread t he message t hat we can have it all at t he same t ime, i.e. economic growt h,
prospering societ ies and a healt hy environment . No new et hic is required. This so-called weak
version of sust ainabilit y is popular among government s, and businesses, but profoundly wrong
and not even weak, as t here is no alt ernat ive t o preserving t he eart h’s ecological int egrit y."[36]: 2 

Pathways

Requirements

Six int erdependent capacit ies are deemed t o be necessary for t he successful pursuit of
sust ainable development .[1] These are t he capacit ies t o measure progress t owards sust ainable
development ; promot e equit y wit hin and bet ween generat ions; adapt t o shocks and surprises;
t ransform t he syst em ont o more sust ainable development pat hways; link knowledge wit h act ion
for sust ainabilit y; and t o devise governance arrangement s t hat allow people t o work t oget her

Improving on environmental aspects

Deforestation of the Amazon rainforest. Deforestation and increased road-building in the Amazon rainforest are a concern
because of increased human encroachment upon wilderness areas, increased resource extraction and further threats to
biodiversity.
Environment al sust ainabilit y concerns t he nat ural environment and how it endures and remains
diverse and product ive. Since nat ural resources are derived from t he environment , t he st at e of
air, wat er, and climat e is of part icular concern. Environment al sust ainabilit y requires societ y t o
design act ivit ies t o meet human needs while preserving t he life support syst ems of t he planet .
This, for example, ent ails using wat er sust ainably, using renewable energy and sust ainable
mat erial supplies (e.g. harvest ing wood from forest s at a rat e t hat maint ains t he biomass and
biodiversit y).[37]

An unsust ainable sit uat ion occurs when nat ural capit al (t he t ot al of nat ure's resources) is used up
fast er t han it can be replenished.[38]: 58  Sust ainabilit y requires t hat human act ivit y only uses
nat ure's resources at a rat e at which t hey can be replenished nat urally. The concept of
sust ainable development is int ert wined wit h t he concept of carrying capacit y. Theoret ically, t he
long-t erm result of environment al degradat ion is t he inabilit y t o sust ain human life.[38]

Import ant operat ional principles of sust ainable development were published by Herman Daly in
1990: renewable resources should provide a sust ainable yield (t he rat e of harvest should not
exceed t he rat e of regenerat ion); for non-renewable resources t here should be equivalent
development of renewable subst it ut es; wast e generat ion should not exceed t he assimilat ive
capacit y of t he environment .[39]

Summary of different levels of consumption of natural resources.[38]: 58 

Consumption of natural resources State of the environment State of sustainability

More t han nat ure's abilit y t o replenish Environment al degradat ion Not sust ainable

Equal t o nat ure's abilit y t o replenish Environment al equilibrium St eady st at e economy

Less t han nat ure's abilit y t o replenish Environment al renewal Environment ally sust ainable

Land use changes, agriculture and food

Environment al problems associat ed wit h indust rial agricult ure and agribusiness are now being
addressed t hrough approaches such as sust ainable agricult ure, organic farming and more
sust ainable business pract ices.[40] The most cost -effect ive climat e change mit igat ion opt ions
include afforest at ion, sust ainable forest management , and reducing deforest at ion.[41] At t he
local level t here are various movement s working t owards sust ainable food syst ems which may
include less meat consumpt ion, local food product ion, slow food, sust ainable gardening, and
organic gardening.[42] The environment al effect s of different diet ary pat t erns depend on many
fact ors, including t he proport ion of animal and plant foods consumed and t he met hod of food
product ion.[43][44]
Materials and waste

Relationship between ecological footprint and Human Development Index (HDI)

Before flue-gas desulfurization was installed, the air-polluting emissions from this power plant in New Mexico contained
excessive amounts of sulfur dioxide.

As global populat ion and affluence have increased, so has t he use of various mat erials increased
in volume, diversit y, and dist ance t ransport ed. Included here are raw mat erials, minerals, synt het ic
chemicals (including hazardous subst ances), manufact ured product s, food, living organisms, and
wast e.[45] By 2050, humanit y could consume an est imat ed 140 billion t ons of minerals, ores, fossil
fuels and biomass per year (t hree t imes it s current amount ) unless t he economic growt h rat e is
decoupled from t he rat e of nat ural resource consumpt ion. Developed count ries' cit izens
consume an average of 16 t ons of t hose four key resources per capit a per year, ranging up t o 40
or more t ons per person in some developed count ries wit h resource consumpt ion levels far
beyond what is likely sust ainable. By comparison, t he average person in India t oday consumes
four t ons per year.[46]

Sust ainable use of mat erials has t arget ed t he idea of demat erializat ion, convert ing t he linear
pat h of mat erials (ext ract ion, use, disposal in landfill) t o a circular mat erial flow t hat reuses
mat erials as much as possible, much like t he cycling and reuse of wast e in nat ure.[47]
Demat erializat ion is being encouraged t hrough t he ideas of indust rial ecology, eco design[48] and
ecolabelling.

This way of t hinking is expressed in t he concept of circular economy, which employs reuse,
sharing, repair, refurbishment , remanufact uring and recycling t o creat e a closed-loop syst em,
minimizing t he use of resource input s and t he creat ion of wast e, pollut ion and carbon
emissions.[49] The European Commission has adopt ed an ambit ious Circular Economy Act ion Plan
in 2020, which aims at making sust ainable product s t he norm in t he EU.[50][51]

Biodiversity and ecosystem services

In 2019, a summary for policymakers of t he largest , most comprehensive st udy t o dat e of

biodiversit y and ecosyst em services was published by t he Int ergovernment al Science-Policy
Plat form on Biodiversit y and Ecosyst em Services. It recommended t hat human civilizat ion will
need a t ransformat ive change, including sust ainable agricult ure, reduct ions in consumpt ion and
wast e, fishing quot as and collaborat ive wat er management .[52][53]

The 2022 IPCC report emphasizes how t here have been many st udies done on t he loss of
biodiversit y, and provides addit ional st rat egies t o decrease t he rat e of our declining biodiversit y.
The report suggest s how preserving nat ural ecosyst ems, fire and soil management , and reducing
t he compet it ion for land can creat e posit ive impact s on our environment , and cont ribut e t o
sust ainable development . [54]
A sewage treatment plant that uses solar energy, located at Santuari de Lluc monastery, Majorca.

Management of human consumption and impacts

Waste generation, measured in kilograms per person per day

The environment al impact of a communit y or humankind as a whole depends bot h on populat ion
and impact per person, which in t urn depends in complex ways on what resources are being used,
whet her or not t hose resources are renewable, and t he scale of t he human act ivit y relat ive t o
t he carrying capacit y of t he ecosyst ems involved.[55] Careful resource management can be
applied at many scales, from economic sect ors like agricult ure, manufact uring and indust ry, t o
work organizat ions, t he consumpt ion pat t erns of households and individuals, and t he resource
demands of individual goods and services.[56][57]

The underlying driver of direct human impact s on t he environment is human consumpt ion.[58] This
impact is reduced by not only consuming less but also making t he full cycle of product ion, use,
and disposal more sust ainable. Consumpt ion of goods and services can be analyzed and managed
at all scales t hrough t he chain of consumpt ion, st art ing wit h t he effect s of individual lifest yle
choices and spending pat t erns, t hrough t o t he resource demands of specific goods and services,
t he impact s of economic sect ors, t hrough nat ional economies t o t he global economy.[59] Key
resource cat egories relat ing t o human needs are food, energy, raw mat erials and wat er.

Improving on economic and social aspects

It has been suggest ed t hat because of rural povert y and overexploit at ion, environment al
resources should be t reat ed as import ant economic asset s, called nat ural capit al.[60] Economic
development has t radit ionally required a growt h in t he gross domest ic product . This model of
unlimit ed personal and GDP growt h may be over. Sust ainable development may involve
improvement s in t he qualit y of life for many but may necessit at e a decrease in resource
consumpt ion.[61]

As early as t he 1970s, t he concept of sust ainabilit y was used t o describe an economy "in
equilibrium wit h basic ecological support syst ems".[62] Scient ist s in many fields have highlight ed
The Limits to Growth,[63][64] and economist s have present ed alt ernat ives, for example a 'st eady-
st at e economy', t o address concerns over t he impact s of expanding human development on t he
planet .[34] In 1987, t he economist Edward Barbier published t he st udy The Concept of Sustainable
Economic Development, where he recognized t hat goals of environment al conservat ion and
economic development are not conflict ing and can be reinforcing each ot her.[65]

A World Bank st udy from 1999 concluded t hat based on t he t heory of genuine savings (defined
as "t radit ional net savings less t he value of resource deplet ion and environment al degradat ion
plus t he value of invest ment in human capit al"), policymakers have many possible int ervent ions
t o increase sust ainabilit y, in macroeconomics or purely environment al.[66] Several st udies have
not ed t hat efficient policies for renewable energy and pollut ion are compat ible wit h increasing
human welfare, event ually reaching a golden-rule st eady st at e.[67][68][69][70]

A met a review in 2002 looked at environment al and economic valuat ions and found a "lack of
concret e underst anding of what “sust ainabilit y policies” might ent ail in pract ice".[71] A st udy
concluded in 2007 t hat knowledge, manufact ured and human capit al (healt h and educat ion) has
not compensat ed for t he degradat ion of nat ural capit al in many part s of t he world.[72] It has
been suggest ed t hat int ergenerat ional equit y can be incorporat ed int o a sust ainable
development and decision making, as has become common in economic valuat ions of climat e
economics.[73]

The 2022 IPCC Sixt h Assessment Report discussed how ambit ious climat e change mit igat ion
policies have creat ed negat ive social and economical impact s when t hey are not aligned wit h
sust ainable development goals. As a result , t he t ransit ion t owards sust ainable development
mit igat ion policies has slowed down which is why t he inclusivit y and considerat ions of just ice of
t hese policies may weaken or support improvement s on cert ain regions as t here are ot her
limit ing fact ors such as povert y, food insecurit y, and wat er scarcit y t hat may impede t he
government s applicat ion of policies t hat aim t o build a low carbon fut ure.[74]
The World Business Council for Sust ainable Development published a Vision 2050 document in
2021 t o show "How business can lead t he t ransformat ions t he world needs". The vision st at es
t hat "we envision a world in which 9+billion people can live well, wit hin planet ary boundaries, by
2050."[75] This report was highlight ed by The Guardian as "t he largest concert ed corporat e
sust ainabilit y act ion plan t o dat e – include reversing t he damage done t o ecosyst ems,
addressing rising greenhouse gas emissions and ensuring societ ies move t o sust ainable
agricult ure."[76]

Gender and leadership in sustainable development

Gender and sust ainable development have been examined, focusing on women's leadership
pot ent ial and barriers t o it . Some hidden issues are women's lack of self-confidence, impeding
access t o leadership roles, but men can pot ent ially play a role as allies for women's leadership.[77]

Sustainable Development Goals

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

The Sust ainable Development Goals (SDGs) or Global Goals are a collect ion of 17 int erlinked
global goals designed t o be a "shared blueprint for peace and prosperit y for people and t he
planet , now and int o t he fut ure".[78][79] The SDGs were set up in 2015 by t he Unit ed Nat ions
General Assembly (UN-GA) and are int ended t o be achieved by 2030. They are included in a UN-
GA Resolut ion called t he 2030 Agenda or what is colloquially known as Agenda 2030.[80] The
SDGs were developed in t he Post -2015 Development Agenda as t he fut ure global development
framework t o succeed t he Millennium Development Goals which were ended in 2015. The SDGs
emphasize t he int erconnect ed environment al, social and economic aspect s of sust ainable
development , by put t ing sust ainabilit y at t heir cent er.[81]
The 17 SDGs are: No povert y, zero hunger, good healt h and well-being, qualit y educat ion, gender
equalit y, clean wat er and sanit at ion, affordable and clean energy, decent work and economic
growt h, indust ry, innovat ion and infrast ruct ure, Reduced Inequalit y, Sust ainable Cit ies and
Communit ies, Responsible Consumpt ion and Product ion, Climat e Act ion, Life Below Wat er, Life
On Land, Peace, Just ice, and St rong Inst it ut ions, Part nerships for t he Goals. Though t he goals
are broad and int erdependent , t wo years lat er (6 July 2017), t he SDGs were made more
"act ionable" by a UN Resolut ion adopt ed by t he General Assembly. The resolut ion ident ifies
specific t arget s for each goal, along wit h indicat ors t hat are being used t o measure progress
t oward each t arget .[82] The year by which t he t arget is meant t o be achieved is usually bet ween
2020 and 2030.[83] For some of t he t arget s, no end dat e is given.

There are cross-cut t ing issues and synergies bet ween t he different goals. Cross-cut t ing issues
include gender equalit y, educat ion, cult ure and healt h. Wit h regards t o SDG 13 on climat e act ion,
t he IPCC sees robust synergies, part icularly for t he SDGs 3 (healt h), 7 (clean energy), 11 (cit ies
and communit ies), 12 (responsible consumpt ion and product ion) and 14 (oceans).[84][85]: 70 
Synergies amongst t he SDGs are "t he good ant agonist s of t rade-offs".[85]: 67  Some of t he known
and much discussed concept ual problem areas of t he SDGs include: The fact t hat t here are
compet ing and t oo many goals (result ing in problems of t rade-offs), t hat t hey are weak on
environment al sust ainabilit y and t hat t here are difficult ies wit h t racking qualit at ive indicat ors. For
example, t hese are t wo difficult t rade-offs t o consider: "How can ending hunger be reconciled
wit h environment al sust ainabilit y? (SDG t arget s 2.3 and 15.2) How can economic growt h be
reconciled wit h environment al sust ainabilit y? (SDG t arget s 9.2 and 9.4) "[86]

Education for sustainable development

Educat ion for sust ainable development (ESD) is a t erm used by t he Unit ed Nat ions and is defined
as educat ion t hat encourages changes in knowledge, skills, values and at t it udes t o enable a
more sust ainable and just societ y for all. ESD aims t o empower and equip current and fut ure
generat ions t o meet t heir needs using a balanced and int egrat ed approach t o t he economic,
social and environment al dimensions of sust ainable development .[87]

Agenda 21 was t he first int ernat ional document t hat ident ified educat ion as an essent ial t ool for
achieving sust ainable development and highlight ed areas of act ion for educat ion.[88][89] ESD is a
component of measurement in an indicat or for Sust ainable Development Goal 12 (SDG) for
"responsible consumpt ion and product ion". SDG 12 has 11 t arget s and t arget 12.8 is "By 2030,
ensure t hat people everywhere have t he relevant informat ion and awareness for sust ainable
development and lifest yles in harmony wit h nat ure."[90]
One version of educat ion for Sust ainable Development recognizes modern-day environment al
challenges and seeks t o define new ways t o adjust t o a changing biosphere, as well as engage
individuals t o address societ al issues t hat come wit h t hem [91] In t he Int ernat ional Encyclopedia
of Educat ion, t his approach t o educat ion is seen as an at t empt t o "shift consciousness t oward
an et hics of life-giving relat ionships t hat respect s t he int erconnect edness of man t o his nat ural
world" in order t o equip fut ure members of societ y wit h environment al awareness and a sense of
responsibilit y t o sust ainabilit y.[92]

For UNESCO, educat ion for sust ainable development involves:

integrating key sustainable development issues into teaching and

learning. This may include, for example, instruction about climate
change, disaster risk reduction, biodiversity, and poverty reduction
and sustainable consumption. It also requires participatory teaching
and learning methods that motivate and empower learners to
change their behaviours and take action for sustainable
development. ESD consequently promotes competencies like critical
thinking, imagining future scenarios and making decisions in a
collaborative way.[93][94]

The Thessaloniki Declarat ion, present ed at t he "Int ernat ional Conference on Environment and
Societ y: Educat ion and Public Awareness for Sust ainabilit y" by UNESCO and t he Government of
Greece (December 1997), highlight s t he import ance of sust ainabilit y not only wit h regards t o t he
nat ural environment , but also wit h "povert y, healt h, food securit y, democracy, human right s, and
peace".[95]

See also

References

External links
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Last edited 13 days ago by HenrikGWiki