Rajneesh Dube's answer to "What is sustainable development?"
Nobody aspires to be poor, but the problem arises when one wants to eat the cake and have it too. Sustainable Development is a popular term being used since the eighties to essentially emphasize the importance of pursuing economic development in a way which also takes care of inter-generational and intra-generational equity.
There is a humongous amount of literature available on the subject , let us look at the basics first. One, the difference between Growth and Development. Whereas growth is generally measured in terms of increments in per capita GDP or exports or industrial production, development is a broad based concept that includes quality of life parameters such as healthcare, education and quality of ambient air and water as well. Two, the distinction between the terms sustained and sustainable. A sustained pace of growth may or may or not be sustainable.
So what is sustainability all about ? In a nutshell, it is about the economic developmental process, whatever level it is taking place at - a city, country or on a global scale, passing two acid tests. The first is, is it inclusive? Do the benefits percolate down equitably to all sections of the society? The second filter is, is it ecologically manageable? Does it, for example, conform to standards of air and water quality?
The triple crisis of energy, water and food is the result of an interwoven global chain of cause and effect and the Rio+20 summit held in 2012 has come out with a comprehensive list of SDGs- Sustainable Development Goals - for all countries to pursue, according to their common but differentiated responsiblities (CBDR). Issues like low carbon growth with less of fossil fuel based thermal power and more reliance on renewable sources of energy, water use efficiency and arrest and reversal of land degradation are on the table.
Environmental sustainability relates to what is called the challenge of managing the commons. Climate change and loss of biodiversity are issues of global commons or global public goods. On the other hand, pollution of rivers and ambient air due to hazardous industrial discharge is a local commons issue. However, both of these remain critical to Sustainable Development. Equally critical are the issues of financial resources and appropriate technologies to tackle the menace.
In poorer countries of the world, access to basic amenities like assured energy becomes a competing and often a more dominating factor in the discourse on sustainability. Do we switch to costlier renewables to improve environment or scale up coal based thermal capacities to improve the lives of millions of poor? It is a billion dollar question with no straight answers. What is easier to understand is that rampant mining in Forest areas and displacement of tribal populations in Central India is one of the prime factors for emergence of armed unrest - Left Wing Extremism - in these parts and is certainly not sustainable on the anvil of the two acid tests mentioned above.
Even in the developed world, inequality remains a challenge. In the US for example, inequality has relentlessly increased in the last three decades and the average income for a vast majority of Americans has stagnated at roughly 50.000 dollars per annum. US currently ranks at 30th percentile on inequality worldwide, meaning thereby that 70 % of countries are more equitable. This could partly explain the triumph of Trumpism in the last elections.
Understandably, sustainable development strategies adopted by different countries are basically a tradeoff between policies and practices in the realm of economic growth, environmental protection, and social imperatives. There exists no ‘one size fits all’ solution, nor is it desirable since each country is at a different stage of development and has a unique resource base. As an illustration, let us look at SCP - sustainable consumption and production, which is an often used concept. Developed countries like US and U.K. have to focus more on sustainable consumption patterns like reducing food waste and using fuel efficient or hybrid cars. On the other hand, prime concerns as of now of states such as India and China are low pollution manufacturing and municipal waste management.
It is easier for most of us to remember the first pillar, which is the economic dimension of sustainability - value addition, jobs and creation of wealth. You may like to read the Brundtland Report and the Rio+20 Outcome Document, both available on the net, for greater insight but more important is to start practising the principles of environmental and social sustainability - in our family, at our workplace and in the countryside, wherever we are. And the right time is- Now !
This article was updated on April 8, 2018