What is sustainable development?
What is sustainable development?
To understand the meaning ofsustainable developmentwe must know that the economy – over generations and generations – has remained a global engine, as material benefit was the only framework through which man exercises his presence in the environment and society, without regard to the negative consequences and effects that destroy the environment and limit society’s resources. At that time, the economy, on its own, could not satisfy the world’s ambition for a bright tomorrow and a promising future. Necessity necessitated that man look at his environment and resources, so that the development of this sector became the responsibility of everyone, along with the economic sector.
From here,sustainable development emerged, which meets the needs of the present without compromising the rights of future generations to benefit from the environment and its resources. Therefore, two new dimensions were added to the economic dimension, the first: the environment, and the other: society.
With regard to these three dimensions, we can say:The economic dimensionis represented in the principles that seek to stop the waste of the planet’s resources for industrial processes that do not take into account these good things found in nature, and this includes reducing rates of energy consumption, in addition to the recognition of developed countries that they are a major cause of global pollution, and equality in the distribution of resources.
As forThe social dimension, it is intended to support plans to stabilize population growth in the entire world. Because population growth leads to overuse of environmental resources, then after stabilizing the population we must use human resources fully and fairly, and this requires supporting the health and education sectors, and empowering women.
The third and last of these dimensions isthe environmental dimension,, which is seen as the engine of development, and we must support it and its projects, and this is through preserving agricultural and tree lands, supporting fisheries, treating water, protecting the climate from global warming, and combating the effects of climate change in all countries of the world.
This was the beginning, as many natural resources diminished and their resources, which humans have been harnessing irresponsibly in recent decades, declined, especially sources of water, energy, and raw materials. Now, global organizations and UN bodies have sounded the alarm bell, alerting people to the environmental dangers that threaten their existence and the planet Earth, including polluted air, gas emissions, high temperatures, melting ice in the North and South Poles, sea water levels that have become rising at an accelerating rate, and ultimately natural disasters.
These dangers together urgently called for action by the United Nations – and other global bodies and organizations – to adopt the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It seeks to improve the standard of living among the peoples of the world, while at the same time preserving the Earth’s resources, and to this end it targets a number of resource-related goals, such as: water – food – health.
In summary, sustainable development is an important strategy to reduce poverty and its causes, and also to change unsustainable production and consumption patterns, to protect natural resources and manage them responsibly, to prevent land degradation, to confrontthe decline ofbiodiversity, to address the effects of desertification, and to combat water pollution. And the air.
Hence, sustainable development depends on a set of principles through which it seeks to achieve a balance between the social and environmental dimensions and the third, economic. In order to achieve this comprehensive balance between its three dimensions, sustainable development must be integrated and comprehensive. These three dimensions should not work separately and randomly.
Also, the steps of sustainable development should be diverse and able to adapt to all the givens, as the principle of diversity and the necessity of adaptation help to overcome crises related to biological diversity, including this cultural and economic diversity; Because sustainable development must be inclusive of all cultural, social and economic differences in all societies.
Based on the above, sustainable development has a clear goal and a plan based on specific pillars. As we said: it is a strategy based on social, economic and environmental aspects. It is clear from all of this that sustainable development – in fact – is a concept linked to the continuation of individuals and institutions in meeting development and environmental requirements, represented by the preservation of biodiversity and ecosystems, and the sustainability of the positive relationship between humans. And nature.
Despite this comprehensiveness, the environmental dimension in the field of achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is the most important dimension. Because many projects have harmful environmental impacts, and this is through exploiting their depletable resources, or polluting the air, and not implementing environmental standards that have become a law governed by organizations around the world.
In conclusion, we must realize that the process of integrating economic considerations with environmental considerations is a sound path to achieving development, in addition to taking into account the use of renewable energy in the various projects of the state. Because this energy is clean, and because it preserves the environment.
