Youth Forum on Sustainability: What is Sustainability?
In 1987, the United Nations defined sustainable development as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Learning for a Sustainable Future describes sustainability as “a future in which economic prosperity, social justice and protection of the natural environment are pursued simultaneously to secure good health and enhance well-being for all people, now and for generations to come.”
Some considerations:
· Sustainability is anthropocentric (human-centered), with a sharp focus on defining and meeting human needs. It can be approached from an ecocentric perspective, where ecosystem health is a primary concern, but the central goal is always to sustain conditions and circumstances that foster the well-being of our species.
· Sustainability is about recognizing and working within limits. This includes biophysical limits, such as the amount of productive land, as well as our limited ability to manage complex systems.
· Sustainability has to do with complex interconnections and interdependencies. Issues that appear to be separate are actually linked by tangible, multi-dimensional factors that are relevant across a range of scales and interact through positive or negative feedbacks.
· Sustainability involves planning for the future by reflecting on the past. A useful timeframe – sometimes called the seventh generation approach – involves planning for the next three generations by reviewing what conditions were like over the previous three, and how those people adapted. |
|
Previous What is a Youth Forum? | Next Forum Schedule
Back to Education Index
For further information contact the Supervisor of Public Programs.
