Sustainability in a nutshell
- Sustainable Development is about ensuring a better quality of life for everyone, now and for future generations to come without compromising the environment. It aims to combine environmental protection, social equity and economic goals into all decision making. - Action 21
- Sustainable Development has been given major international impetus through Local Agenda 21 which recognises that many adverse environmental effects are the result of everyday actions - at work, at home and when we're out and about. - Action 21
- To tackle such environmental problems, we need to find ways to encourage everyone to think about the small everyday decisions which added together make a difference. In essence ‘acting locally to impact globally’. - Action 21
- Within Warwick District we recognise, that such complex and far reaching issues cannot be tackled by any single organisation and that it is therefore essential that people and organisations come together and work together to pool knowledge, skills, resources, and ideas. - Action 21
- In this way it is possible to make a real difference - to make people's lives better through a strong economy and social progress at the same time as protecting the environment and making prudent use of natural resources. The role of Action 21 - providing an umbrella and an impetus for individuals and organisation to get involved and to work together. - Action 21
- 'Sustainable development is a dynamic process which enables all people to realise their potential and improve their quality of life in ways which simultaneously protect and enhance the Earth's life support systems' - Forum for the Future
Why is sustainability important?
Why has sustainability become such an issue recently? Hasn't the planet always sustained its human and wildlife populations, and won't always do so? Isn't the essence of life in-suppressible and won't always bloom in some form or another? Yes, of course the force of nature has the power of healing and regenerating - but every system has its limits.
Life flourishes and is abundant when the environmental conditions are right and the ecological systems are in balance. Ecosystems are complex and some are quite fragile. A shift in the point of balance can have quite severe effects on whole sectors of an ecosystem. Likewise with environmental systems, such as climate. A relatively small input, like a small increase in greenhouse gases can cause a large shift in weather patterns and ocean currents.
While accepting that change at all levels and in all spheres is an inevitable part of life, the challenge is to manage those changes so as to minimise the impact on the environment and living world. Thereby maximising the continued survival and richness of this world - in other words living sustainably.
UN Conference on Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro 1992 - 'The Earth Summit'
This conference resulted a joint declaration, a statement on environmental protection taking into account the need for developing nations to improve their economies and social structures. It was quite remarkable that so many countries attended the event and actually signed up to the declaration. The hard work will, of course, be putting it all into action. The report is extensive; areas covered include social and economic aspects, developing countries, all areas of environmental protection including climate change, involvement of various groups including farmers, scientists and Agenda 21 groups such as Action 21.
More information
View Living Planet Report 2002 (1Mb download)
United Nations Conference on Environment and Development report - Agenda 21
Books
- Chambers N., Simmons C., and Wackernagel M. Sharing Nature’s Interest - Ecological footprints as an indicator of sustainability, London, Earthscan Publications Ltd., 2000, ISBN 1853837393
- Mathis Wackernagel and William Rees, Our Ecological Footprint, Reducing Human Impact on the Earth, New Society Pub, 1995, ISBN 086571312X
- See also the booklist at the foot of the ecological footprint page: http://www.ecologicalfootprint.com