what does sustainable development mean
Chapter Summary Chapter Title: “What Does ‘Sustainable Development’ Mean? The chapter, as the title suggests, is primarily concerned with what sustainable development means but it also goes into the idea of whether sustainability and sustainable development are the same thing or whether they are different. The chapter is divided into the following sub-headings: Defining Sustainable Development “The starting point for the concept of sustainable development was the aim to integrate environmental considerations into economic policy . ... Some people see this as meaningless suggesting every thing could be part of sustainable development but in time the definition will become clearer as environmental language becomes more integrated into society. The chapter defines sustainable development as the following: “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 is a meeting point for environmentalists and developers… it could be used both by environmentalists, emphasizing the sustainable part, and by developers, emphasizing the development part”. The Bruntland Commission’s definition, “development which meets the needs of the present without sacrificing the ability of future generations to meet their needs” is often criticized by the public as being too vague.