The definition of sustainable development as defined by national leaders in 92’ at the Earth Summit in Rio is "development which meets the needs of the past without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs". Goodland and Ledec define sustainable development as, ‘a pattern of social and structural economic transformation (i.e. development) which optimises the economic and other societal benefits available in the present without jeopardising the likely potential for similar benefits in the future.’ It is basically the notion of development but taking into account the future and what role development will play for the next generation. It is not a fixed state but more of a process of change in which the exploitation of resources, the direction of investments, the use of technological development and are made consistent with future as well as present needs.
Resources and its use are one of the main issues that has caused the introduction of sustainable development. If development is to be seen in the future then resources, both renewable and non-renewable, should be conserved and preserved to the maximum extent possible. Renewable resources should not be used faster than they are recharged, replenished, or restored by the environment or else sustainable development will not be able to occur. Resources are key to the idea of sustainable development, in order for future generations to meet their needs then they must be able to survive upon resources that can support there life. But in order for this to occur then the current generation has to preserve the current resources so that sustainable development will be able to occur and thus support the life of future generations and to encourage the growth of the global population. Wood is a clear example to represent how current development may threaten sustainable development, half the world's original forest cover of three billion hectares has been destroyed in the last 40 years and during 1995 and 1997 more than 60,000 square kilometers of forest in Brazil were destroyed. If this continues then future contemporaries will not be able to enjoy the use of wood as current generations us the resource up.
Another problem linked with the over use of wood is the over use of fish. Overfishing is seen as a major problem that is constricting the development within the fishing industry, drag net fishing mainly used by the Japanese and Russian fleets has been used for decades and thus has threatened the life span of the industry. In 96’ a global harvest of 116 million tons of fish was captured setting a new record, this was seen to be a threat to the future existence of fish life in the oceans. By overfishing it means that the growth of marine life is endangered and thus reduces the chance for future generations to enjoy the natural resources. Dragnet fishing is the main problem that has threatened the life span of the fishing industry, it kills more fish than is needed and also it shows how poor management can threaten the idea of sustainable development.
Sustainable development must be central to any understanding of development because if countries over develop then the gap between MEDC nations and LEDC nations will increase. If LEDC nations continually develop then it may mean that they will over develop and thus will not be able to develop any more as the supply the nations rely upon will be completed. If over demand occurs than supply will be depleted and thus countries will not be able to develop any more, this means that sustainable development must occur if development is to occur. Thus sustainable development will help LEDC nations to continually develop over a period of time rather than developing to fast thus reducing the natural resources within the nation. If this occurs then the gap between the rich and poor countries will be reduced and thus the world economy would be more of a free market.
Overall it can be concluded that if development is to occur then sustainable development must work side by side with it in order for development to take place successfully. Sustainable development is basically ensuring that development can occur without interfering with the needs of future generations. Without sustainable development it will mean that over use of resources will occur, the gap between the rich and poor will increase and several industries will eventually become extinct due to the degradation of natural resources. Thus development must be linked strongly with sustainable development in order for the demand of future generations to be met and the survival of future generations are accomplishable.
