Sustainable Development(SD) is a collection of methods to create and sustain

development which seeks to relieve poverty, create equitable standards of

living, satisfy the basic needs of all peoples, produce sustainable economic
growth and establish sustainable political practices all while taking the steps
necessary to avoid irreversible damages to natural capital in the long term in
turn for short term benefits by reconciling development projects with the
regenerative capacity of the natural environment. The field of sustainable
development can be conceptually broken into four constituent parts:
environmental sustainability, economic sustainability, social sustainability and
political sustainability.

While many definitions of the term have been introduced over the years, the
most commonly cited definition states that sustainable development is
development that "meets the needs of the present without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.

Sustainable development does not focus solely on environmental issues.

Sustainable development policies encompass three general policy areas:
economic, environmental and social.

SD can be summarized as the "development that meets the needs of the

present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their
own needs." Sustainable development implies economic growth together with
the protection of environmental quality, each reinforcing the other. The essence
of this form of development is a stable relationship between human activities
and the natural world, which does not diminish the prospects for future
generations to enjoy a quality of life at least as good as our own.

The guiding rules are that people must share with each other and care for the
Earth. Humanity must take no more from nature than nature can replenish.
This in turn means adopting lifestyles and development paths that respect and
work within nature's limits. It can be done without rejecting the many benefits
that modern technology has brought, provided that technology also works
within those limits.

The U.S. government believes that developed nations have a responsibility to

provide the people of developing nations with the tools they need to seize the
opportunities of the global economy -- opportunities that come from
international aid, foreign investment, domestic capital, and trade. To use those
tools effectively, however, developing nations need to adopt political, legal, and
economic policies that make development successful.
Too often vital resources, sometimes made available with the help of other
nations, are lost to the developing countries. Roads that should make market
access possible for agricultural entrepreneurs are not completed, succumbing
to inadequate financial planning or the diversion of funding. An ambitious plan
to provide potable water founders when a change of administration alters the
political priorities that shape budget decisions.

An unsustainable situation occurs when natural capital (the sum total of

nature's resources) is used up faster than it can be replenished. Sustainability
requires that human activity, at a minimum, only uses nature's resources at a
rate at which they can be replenished naturally.

Consumption of renewable resources State of environment Sustainability

More than nature's ability to replenish Environmental degradation Not sustainable

Equal to nature's ability to replenish Environmental equilibrium Steady-state
Less than nature's ability to replenish Environmental renewal Sustainable development

Challenges

Population pressure

The increased population, most of which will occur in the developing countries,
will pose enormous strains to the world. World population passed 6 billion in
2000, up from 2.5 billion in 1950 and 4.4 billion in 1980.

The United Nations predicted that the world population is projected to grow to
about 8 billion in 2025 to 9.3 billion in 2050, and eventually to stabilize
between 10.5 and 11 billion.

The world will eventually need to feed and support about 5 billion additional
people. This increased population, combined with higher standards of living,
particularly in the developing countries, will pose enormous pressure on land,
water, energy and other natural resources.

Population densities are highest in Asia and are increasing although the
growth rate is declining as there is currently about one-sixth of a hectare of
arable land per capita in East and SouthAsia.

Population densities in Africa are currently lower and arable land per capita
higher than in Asia, but population is still growing rapidly.

With population growth, and almost no additional land available for

agricultural expansion, arable land per capita will continue to decline.

Limited unused freshwater resources in East and South Asia will not allow
irrigated agriculture to expand as it has in recent decades, so improving
nutrition and reducing hunger will require increasing food imports.