The concept of sustainability was
adopted in 1969 by IUCN but
a formal approval to this term was given
in 1972 during the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in
Stockholm when the conflicts between environment and development were first
acknowledged. A standard definition of Sustainability was adopted during World Summit on Sustainable
Development in 2002 where economic
development, social development and environmental protection were recognized as three pillars and collective responsibility and mutually interdependent actions at
local, national, regional and global levels to advance and strengthen these
three reinforcing pillars of sustainable development were identified
as core area of action.
Development of technology has also
facilitated the economic growth . Apart from meeting the genuine demands of
population growing at exponential rate , the increased trends of consumerism
and materialism have affected the demand regime fuelling for further
development of market. This process of development, which started germinating
its seeds into the mind of Homo sapiens about 2 lakhs years ago, accelerated
all processes leading into change of all ecosystems of the world in a gradual
but sure manner. Technological advancements leading to economic changes ,
socio- ecological combinations and complexities leading to organizational transformation of communities and communication processes
have helped man to reach the present stage .However the process has severely
influenced the resource base and also resulted into unprecedented environmental
damage in the form of pollution of various kinds, degradation of precious lands
resources and depletion of valuable plants and animals.
The other important concept of
sustainable development is social sector where the concept of equity is
envisaged to deal all the challenges arising out of increased economic
growth which is not equal in all
parts of the Globe. Whether it is health, education, food security or any other
sector related to social well being of
the community , the Govt/States are playing crucial role to provide necessary inputs, though the
other reason behind this is to sustain the political interests which is very
common in a democratic system like ours and where the people as an electorate
play crucial role at frequent intervals. It is also true that in spite of continued efforts towards improvement
of social sectors for the last 50
years, the results of these interventions have not been very encouraging mainly
due to poor delivery mechanism , lack of interest and commitment leading into
administrative incapacities apart from
faulty implementation of the programmes.
Environmental conservation is being considered very crucial not only for the overall
survival of the man kind but also for the intergenerational needs. Recent
phenomenon of climate change and related problems including global warming has made the amelioration and
conservation of environment arduous and challenging. To counter this additional problem, there is need to
have much emphasis towards technological innovations and financial support which is somehow missing in the present system of governance .
One the major factors which is not making the environment sector
eligible for the required patronage and subject of priority at various levels
including political parlance is the intangible benefits arising out of it. Be
it a quality water to drink or fresh air to breathe or non-degraded land to support agriculture or allied
activities or precious forests for multifarious
benefits , these issues have no potential for registering their importance in
the minds of political bosses and there is bleak future of improvement of this
sector unless concentrated efforts , political will translating into improved
budgetary allocations and suitable technologies are infused into present
environment sector which is badly
crippled and ailing. Till
the present trend of neglect, less priority and implementation bottlenecks
coupled with institutional deformities like corruption and
accountabilities related to
Environment continue, it may not
wise to expect any desirable outcome as envisaged for a true sustainable model
of development .
There is need to bring a change in the attitude of all
the concerned including those who
play a crucial role in the conservation of environment by putting extra efforts and changing the present attitude of shrugging off responsibilities
and according least priority to this sector. The “who
cares” attitude needs to be
replaced with the “We all care” only then we may able to
expect a visible and required impact in this directions which is very much required not only for present
generations but for the
generations to come.
(Disclaimer: The
views and opinions expressed in this article are exclusively mine and do not
necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any agency/government.)
