Abstract:

Sustainable development is the development which has gain a very important position in today’s
world as it is the development without harming the basic needs of the future generation.
Sustainable development is very important for healthy growing of our society and standard of
living.
The actual definition for sustainable development is "Development which meets the needs of the
present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs".
What is Sustainable Development?
Sustainable development is the development that meet the needs of the present generation
without compromising the ability of future generation to meet their own needs. It is the
development that generally means to keep the balance in the environment, to raise awareness
among people and to maintain ecological balance.
The main focus of sustainable development is not only this but also to ensure the health of the
society and also meeting the diverse needs of all people in existing and future communities,
promoting personal wellbeing, and creating equal opportunity.

History of sustainable development:

The concept of sustainable development formed the basis of the United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. The summit marked the first
international attempt to make action plans and strategies for moving towards a more sustainable
pattern of development. It was attended by over 100 Heads of State and representatives from 178
national governments.
The concept of sustainable development received its first major international recognition in 1972
at the UN Conference on the Human Environment held in Stockholm. The term was popularized
15 years later in Our Common Future, the report of the World Commission on Environment and
Development, which included the 'classic' definition of sustainable development as mentioned
earlier:
"Development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs".
Brundtland Commission
Principles, rights and responsibilities for environmental protection and sustainable development
adopted
in the commission are as follows:-
• Fundamental Human Rights.
• Inter-Generational Equity.
• Conservation and Sustainable use.
• Environmental Standards and Monitoring.
• Prior Environmental Assessments.
• Prior notification, access and Due Process.
• Sustainable Development and Assistance.
• General obligation to cooperate.
Earth Summit
Rio Declaration on Environment and Development
The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, often shortened to Rio Declaration, was
a short
document produced at the 1992 United Nations "Conference on Environment and
Development"
(UNCED), informally known as the Earth Summit. The Rio Declaration consisted of 27
principles
intended to guide countries in future sustainable development. It was signed by over 170
countries.
Agenda 21
Agenda 21 is a non-binding action plan of the United Nations with regard to sustainable
development. It is a product of the Earth Summit (UN Conference on Environment and
Development) held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992. It is an action agenda for the UN,
other multilateral organizations, and individual governments around the world that can be
executed at local, national, and global levels.
The "21" in Agenda 21 refers to the 21st century. It has been affirmed and had a few
modifications at subsequent UN conferences. Its aim is achieving global sustainable
development. One major objective of the agenda 21 is that every local government should draw
its own local Agenda 21. Since 2015, Sustainable Development Goals are included in
the Agenda 2030.
Forest Principles
The Forest Principles (also Rio Forest Principles) is the informal name given to the Non-Legally
Binding Authoritative Statement of Principles for a Global Consensus on the Management,
Conservation and Sustainable Development of All Types of Forests (1992), a document produced
at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), informally
known as the Earth Summit. It is a non-legally binding document that makes several
recommendations for conservation and sustainable development forestry.
At the Earth Summit, the negotiation of the document was complicated by demands
by developing nations in the Group of 77 for increased foreign aid in order to pay for the setting
aside of forest reserves. Developed nations resisted those demands, and the final document was a
compromise.
Conventions on climate Change and on Biodiversity
The objectives of the CBD are the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its
components, and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from commercial and other
utilization of genetic resources. The agreement covers all ecosystems, species, and genetic
resources.
he UNFCCC sets an overall framework for intergovernmental efforts to tackle the challenge
posed by
climate change. Its objectives are to stabilize greenhouse-gas concentrations in the atmosphere at
a level
that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system, within a time-
frame
sufficient to allow ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change; to ensure that food
production is not
threatened; to enable economic development to proceed in a sustainable manner.
The Conferences of the Parties (COP) to each Rio Convention have underlined through
numerous articles
and decisions the need for enhanced collaboration among the conventions, in order to enhance
synergy
and reduce duplication of activities. In August 2001, the Conventions established a Joint Liaison
Group as
an informal forum for exchanging information, exploring opportunities for synergistic activities
and
increasing coordination. Options for collaboration have been explored in several meetings and
documents,
and a number of collaborative activities are already underway.
Salient Principles of Sustainable Development
• Inter-Generational Equity
Intergenerational equity is a concept that says that humans 'hold the natural and cultural
environment of the Earth in common both with other members of the present generation
and with other generations, past and future. It means that we inherit the Earth from
previous generations and have an obligation to pass it on in reasonable condition to future
generations.
The idea behind not reducing the ability of future generations to meet their needs is that,
although future generations might gain from economic progress, those gains might be
more than offset by environmental deterioration. Most people would acknowledge a
moral obligation to future generations, particularly as people who are not yet born can
have no say in decisions taken today that may affect them.
• Use and Conservation of resources
Conservation is an ethic of resource use, allocation, and protection. Its primary focus is
upon maintaining the health of the natural world, its fisheries, habitats, and biological
diversity. Secondary focus is on material conservation, including non-renewable
resources such as metals, minerals and fossil fuels, and energy conservation, which is
important to protect the natural world. Those who follow the conservation ethic and,
especially, those who advocate or work toward conservation goals are
termed conservationists.
• Environmental Protection
Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment by
individuals, organizations and governments.[1] Its objectives are to conserve natural
resources and the existing natural environment and, where possible, to repair damage and
reverse trends.[2]
Due to the pressures of overconsumption, population growth and technology,
the biophysical environment is being degraded, sometimes permanently. This has been
recognized, and governments have begun placing restraints on activities that
cause environmental degradation. Since the 1960s, environmental movements have
created more awareness of the various environmental problems. There is disagreement on
the extent of the environmental impact of human activity and even scientific
dishonesty occurs, so protection measures are occasionally debated.1
• Precautionary Principle
Environmental law regularly operates in areas complicated by high levels of scientific
uncertainty. In the case of many activities that entail some change to the environment, it
is impossible to determine precisely what effects the activity will have on the quality of
the environment or on human health. It is generally impossible to know, for example,
whether a certain level of air pollution will result in an increase in mortality
from respiratory disease, whether a certain level of water pollution will reduce a
healthy fish population, or whether oil development in an environmentally sensitive area
will significantly disturb the native wildlife. The precautionary principle requires that, if
there is a strong suspicion that a certain activity may have environmentally harmful
consequences, it is better to control that activity now rather than to wait for
incontrovertible scientific evidence. This principle is expressed in the Rio Declaration,
which stipulates that, where there are “threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of
full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective
measures to prevent environmental degradation.” In the United States the precautionary
principle was incorporated into the design of habitat-conservation plans required under
1https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_protection
the aegis of the Endangered Species Act. In 1989 the EC invoked the precautionary
principle when it banned the importation of U.S. hormone-fed beef, and in 2000 the
organization adopted the principle as a “full-fledged and general principle of international
law.”2
• The Prevention Principle
Although much environmental legislation is drafted in response to catastrophes,
preventing environmental harm is cheaper, easier, and less environmentally dangerous
than reacting to environmental harm that already has taken place. The prevention
principle is the fundamental notion behind laws regulating the generation, transportation,
treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste and laws regulating the use of
pesticides. The principle was the foundation of the Basel Convention on the Control of
Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal (1989), which
sought to minimize the production of hazardous waste and to combat illegal dumping.
The prevention principle also was an important element of the EC’s Third Environmental
Action Programme, which was adopted in 1983.3
• The Polluter pays principle
Polluter pays” principle has been a dominant concept in environmental law. Many
economists claim that much environmental harm is caused by producers who
“externalize” the costs of their activities. For example, factories that emit unfiltered
exhaust into the atmosphere or discharge untreated chemicals into a river pay little to
dispose of their waste. Instead, the cost of waste disposal in the form of pollution is borne
by the entire community. Similarly, the driver of an automobile bears the costs of fuel
and maintenance but externalizes the costs associated with the gases emitted from the
2https://www.britannica.com/topic/environmental-law/Principles-of-environmental-law
3https://www.britannica.com/topic/environmental-law/Principles-of-environmental-law
tailpipe. Accordingly, the purpose of many environmental regulations is to force polluters
to bear the real costs of their pollution, though such costs often are difficult to calculate
precisely. In theory, such measures encourage producers of pollution to make cleaner
products or to use cleaner technologies. The “polluter pays” principle underlies U.S. laws
requiring the cleanup of releases of hazardous substances, including oil. One such law,
the Oil Pollution Act (1990), was passed in reaction to the spillage of some 11 million
gallons (41 million litres) of oil into Prince William Sound in Alaska in 1989. The
“polluter pays” principle also guides the policies of the EUand other governments
throughout the world. A 1991 ordinance in Germany, for example, held businesses
responsible for the costs of recycling or disposing of their products’ packaging, up to the
end of the product’s life cycle; however, the German Federal ConstitutionalCourt struck
down the regulation as unconstitutional. Such policies also have been adopted at the
regional or state level; in 1996 the U.S. state of Florida, in order to protect its
environmentally sensitive Everglades region, incorporated a limited “polluter pays”
provision into its constitution.
• Obligation to assist and Cooperate
Obligations of international assistance and cooperation assumed by 159 states parties to
the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) with the
aim of determining whether they can be used as a tool to reinforce the commitments
assumed under the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 8. The article examines the
work that the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has done developing
the scope and content of Article 2(1) ICESCR. Then it examines the potential that the
Optional Protocol to the ICESCR would bring in relation to accountability for obligations
of international assistance and cooperation. The article concludes by calling upon the
human rights and development communities to actively engage in the ratification process
of the OP and to devise strategies for using the mechanisms it establishes to hold donors
and recipient states accountable for their obligations of international assistance and
cooperation. These human rights mechanisms would further contribute to the
achievement of MDG 8.4
• Eradication of Poverty
Poverty eradication must be mainstreamed into the national policies and actions in
accordance with the internationally agreed development goals forming part of the broad
United Nations Development Agenda, forged at UN conferences and summits in the
economic, social and related fields. The Second United Nations Decade for the
Eradication of Poverty (2008-2017), proclaimed by the General Assembly in December
2007 aims at supporting such a broad framework for poverty eradication, emphasizing
the need to strengthen the leadership role of the United Nations in promoting
international cooperation for development, critical for the eradication of poverty.A social
perspective on development requires addressing poverty in all its dimensions. It promotes
people-centered approach to poverty eradication advocating the empowerment of people
living in poverty through their full participation in all aspects of political, economic and
social life, especially in the design and implementation of policies that affect the poorest
and most vulnerable groups of society. An integrated strategy towards poverty
eradication necessitates implementing policies geared to more equitable distribution of
wealth and income and social protection coverage.5
• Financial Assistance to Developing Countries
Foreign aid is defined as the voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another
country. This transfer includes any flow of capital to developing countries. A developing
country usually does not have a robust industrial base and is characterized by a low Human
Development Index (HDI).
Foreign aid can be in the form of a loan or a grant. It may be in either a soft or hard loan.
This distinction means that if repayment of the aid requires foreign currency, then it is a hard
4 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13642980802532424?journalCode=fjhr20
5https://www.un.org/development/desa/socialperspectiveondevelopment/issues/poverty-
eradication.html
loan. If it is in the home currency, then it’s a soft loan. The World Bank lends in hard loans,
while the loans of its affiliates are soft loans.
Foreign aid is one of the largest sources of foreign exchange. There are five different types of
foreign aid programs.6
• Bilateral Aid.
• Multilateral Aid.
• Tied Aid.
• Project Aid.
• Military Aid.
• Voluntary Aid.
6https://www.intelligenteconomist.com/foreign-aid/
Conclusion
Sustainable development is an approach to economic planning that attempts to foster economic
growth while preserving the quality of the environment for future generations. Despite its
enormous popularity in the last two decades of the 20th century, the concept of sustainable
development proved difficult to apply in many cases, primarily because the results of longterm
sustainability analyses depend on the particular resources focused upon. For example, a
forest that will provide a sustained yield of timber in perpetuity may not support native bird
populations, and a mineral deposit that will eventually be exhausted may nevertheless support
more or less sustainable communities. Sustainability was the focus of the 1992 Earth Summit
and later was central to a multitude of environmental studies.
One of the most important areas of the law of sustainable development is ecotourism. Although
tourism poses the threat of environmental harm from pollution and the overuse of natural
resources, it also can create economic incentives for the preservation of the environment in
developing countries and increase awareness of unique and fragile ecosystems throughout the
world. In 1995 the World Conference on Sustainable Tourism, held on the island of Lanzarote in
the Canary Islands, adopted a charter that encouraged the development of laws that would
promote the dual goals of economic development through tourism and protection of the
environment. Furthermore, because the measures necessary to address environmental problems
typically result in social and economic hardships in the countries that adopt them, many
countries, particularly in the developing world, have been reluctant to enter into environmental
treaties. Since the 1970s a growing number of environmental treaties have incorporated
provisions designed to encourage their adoption by developing countries. Such measures include
financial cooperation, technology transfer, and differential implementation schedules and
obligations.
Many areas of international environmental law remain underdeveloped. Although international
agreements have helped to make the laws and regulations applicable to some types of
environmentally harmful activity more or less consistent in different countries, those applicable
to other such activities can differ in dramatic ways. Because in most cases the damage caused by
environmentally harmful activities cannot be contained within national boundaries, the lack of
consistency in the law has led to situations in which activities that are legal in some countries
result in illegal or otherwise unacceptable levels of environmental damage in neighbouring
countries.