Definition of Sustainable Development

Serena Cuoghi
Title of Professor of Biology

Knowing how to manage and take advantage of the resources that society has around it in harmony with nature, and work with optimization and solution techniques/models according to long-term thinking and potentializing resources, constitutes a growth process for Humanity. The notion arose at the end of the 20th century as the result of international projects and exhibitions that analyzed the wear and abuse of the human being with its economic, technological and social growth over time on the environment. Thus, this novel concept arises, which supposes being able to maintain levels of growth and development that benefit the different regions of the globe, but that do not imply continuing with this environmental abuse, but rather, on the contrary, are based on the use of renewable energies. , in the recycling of materials that can be reused, etc.

Sustainable development tells us that human beings are capable enough to create new methods of subsistence that are not based on damage to the environment, but that do not imply backwardness either. Thus, for the defenders of this type of theory, it is important (and also urgent) to resort to new energies that are based on the use of renewable and non-exhaustable resources such as oil, to new forms of trade and consumption that do not focus on the notion of disposable and transgenic products, but in the presence of organic, healthy products that do not transform the environment.

In addition, it supposes the use of resources such as trees, but always ensuring that everything that is used must be replaced in order not to cause damage. Finally, it also seeks to limit the use of a trade in products that involves very extensive transport, since it is considered that this generates consequences due to the constant use of oil. Thus, an attempt is made to stimulate the trade of local products in each region that also contributes to the development of the native communities of each particular space.

Be aware and take responsibility for your actions

Climate change, the imbalance in the generation and distribution of resources that guarantee the optimum quality of life for people by satisfying their most basic vital needs, and the deterioration of ecosystems are just three of the many factors that They have been generated as a consequence of the unnatural procedure that humanity has maintained throughout the last centuries, finding us almost on the verge of reaching the point of no return to achieve a remedy.

Human beings, as they developed their own physical skills and mental abilities, made use of increasingly complex resources, in order to simplify their own lives, while their creative capacity gave way to engineering with such rapidity. growth like that of the populations themselves, which in turn ended up imprinting the need for urban development in accordance with the new lifestyles of societies. As time and progress passed, the harmonious balance between humans and nature became more distant, to the point of even being a totally unknown concept for the most recent generations, and the impacts of this ecological rupture have not slow to be seen.

naturally modeled

Each existing species on Earth has evolved based on the resources and specific characteristics of its own environment, a principle that should therefore also govern the human species, notwithstanding, the superior capacity of these particular bipeds, having managed to move from one place to another, geographically as distant as they are climatologically different, adapting to almost any scenario and generating benefit from all kinds of resources, without a doubt, it made a convincing difference within any possible ecological forecast.

However, the recovery of harmony between human activity and the natural balance of terrestrial life is a possible reality – at least on a small scale – that can be modeled through the understanding of the existing dynamics in nature, to the adoption of a great variety of mechanisms, both natural and technological, under a new approach oriented towards the sustainable development of human activity.

reducing impacts

The elimination of waste emitted into the environment, dumped in the water and accumulated in the soil seems to be a task without a quick solution, however, the development of new technologies focused on the recycling of waste and the reduction of pollutants produced by industries, reveals a real potential for reducing the negative impacts caused, also opening the doors to the creation of companies that manufacture sustainable solutions, such as those for the manufacture of solar panels for the generation of electricity through from sunlight.

Both strategies, together with the growing intention to develop urban areas with houses made using techniques and resources in harmony with the environment, in which comprehensive mechanisms are also often implemented so that their inhabitants can live in the most sustainable way possible, are part of the solutions that are beginning to demonstrate not only their viability, but also the effectiveness of their results, as environmental improvements can be verified in a short time in the areas where they are being implemented, as well as in the quality of life of the people who already they enjoy their natural integration with the environment.

Small contributions for a big change

Contribute to the reversal of problems caused by environmental impact, in many cases it can be through the adoption of simple habits, practices and technology, specifically focused on reducing any polluting effect that we produce, such as the creation of products crafts such as toys and fashion accessories, through the reuse of waste materials of low degradability with a high polluting impact on the environment.

Despite the versatility and even all the economic advantages represented by the mechanisms for sustainable development of the vast majority of solutions to our basic needs, there is still a long way to go before achieving significant transformations, always needing to start first. of the most basic and elementary matter, the change of mentality and vision that we have about how we relate to the environment and the development of the necessary consciousness to make us part of the necessary transformation that can guarantee the survival of all life on the planet, plus any contribution that can be made towards the cause will end up adding great benefits to whoever decides to assume a more sustainable way in their relationship with the environment.

References

Dourojeanni, A. (2000). Management procedures for sustainable development. ECLAC.

Mura, HGC, & Reyes, JIP (2015). From sustainability to sustainability. Sustainable development model for its implementation in policies and projects. School of Business Administration Magazine, (78), 40-54.

Pierri, N. (2005). History of the concept of sustainable development. Sustainability, 27-81.

Ricalde, CDL, López-Hernández, ES, & Peniche, IA (2005). Sustainable or sustainable development: a conceptual definition. Health Horizon, 4(2).

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