sustainable development

Ecologa

2022

We explain what sustainable development is, its objectives and characteristics. Also, examples and sustainable development in Mexico.

Sustainable development aims for the least possible environmental impact.

What is sustainable development?

Sustainable development (also called durable development or sustainable development) is a development model of the society that reconciles the economic and industrial needs of the humanity, with the minimum balance of ecological or environmental forces.

Its objective is that economic development does not threaten the life in our planet nor the continuity of the species human. As the name implies, it is a truly sustainable socio-economic design in the weather.

The definition of sustainable development appeared in the 20th century, when the environmental consequences of the socio-economic model of the consumer society, as it was built since the Industrial Revolution, they became undeniable.

However, the concept was formally used in the 1987 "Brundtland Report" by the World Commission on Environment and Development. United Nations and named for the Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland. At that time, it was formulated in English as sustainable development.

In saying report It was defined as follows: "Meeting the needs of present generations without compromising the possibilities of future generations to meet their own needs."

Since then, much has been debated about the urgency or the need to achieve a form of sustainable development, and even more about what would be the paths towards it.

Characteristics of sustainable development

Sustainable development can be understood from three different and complementary perspectives: economic, social and ecological. These three sets define the areas of interest in which it is necessary to carry out changes and adjustments, to achieve an optimal result.

This is often represented by an intersection scheme or Venn diagram, from which four possible intersections are obtained:

  • Addressing the social and economic only leads to equitable development schemes, but nothing ecological.
  • Addressing the economic and ecological only, leads to viable development schemes, but nothing social.
  • Addressing the ecological and social only leads to development schemes that are bearable, but not economically viable.

Only by attending to the three aspects at the same time can the goal of sustainable development be achieved, which at the same time:

  • Meet the social needs of the population, that is, what concerns your feeding, clothing, housing and work.
  • Have economic and technological processes that allow your financial support over time.
  • Allow the environment to absorb the traces of your impact without catastrophic ecological alterations in the process.

Sustainable development goals

The objectives of sustainable development can be summarized in four guidelines, which are:

Application examples

Sustainable agriculture encourages crop rotation.

Sustainable development, in full, has not yet been achieved in any part of the world, although some regionsLike certain first world nations, have the elements and the will to get as close to it as possible.

Some examples of the application of sustainability criteria may be the following:

  • Sustainable agriculture. Since the production of food For the growing human population it is sustained more than anything in agricultural work, it is necessary to do it in a more ecologically friendly way, using planned irrigation that does not waste water resources, without using fertilizers or pesticides that affect the ecosystem in a negative way and promoting crop rotation, so as not to deplete the nutrients of the I usually through monoculture.
  • Sustainable fashion. The industry of fashion does its part by using only natural fibers in the manufacture of its garments, from the farming ecological, thus avoiding synthetic textiles that biodegrade more difficultly and pollute the planet much more.
  • Sustainable transportation. Transportation is one of the great dilemmas in the world of sustainable development, given that the burning of fossil fuels, the main input of conventional automobiles, wreaks havoc on the atmosphere land. For this reason, quality public transport should be promoted, as well as the possibility of electrifying vehicles or replacing them with even healthier options for the life, like cycling.
  • Sustainable energy. The great dilemma of the century is to find a way to obtain Energy that is sustainable, that is, that it does not damage our planet, and that at the same time is safe, reliable and efficient. For some time it was believed that atomic energy could be the solution, but the risk accidents is a real problem. There are those who bet on atomic fusion, but our technology it is still far from reaching it. So in the meantime, you should invest in renewable energy, as the wind, the hydroelectric wave solar.

Sustainable development and sustainable development

There is a discrepancy regarding the interpretation and use of these two terms, which come from the ambiguity in the translation of the English word sustainable development.

The problem arises from the fact that the two terms are not entirely synonymous: “sustainable development” is an efficient process, capable of lasting over a period of time; while "sustainable development" implies an effective process that meets an immediate need in the here and now. Thus, all sustainable development must be sustainable, but not vice versa.

Sustainable economic development

Although there is no concrete and concise agreement on how to achieve sustainable development in economic matters, it is known that it will most likely move away from it. paradigm economic prevailing today. That is, you need a certain creativity economic or a profound change that addresses the economic challenges of sustainability, and which can be summarized as:

  • Obtaining sustainable, safe and continuous energy, since it is an essential element in the contemporary human way of life and production.
  • The design of a model manufacture let him contemplate the recycling and the use of non-polluting materials.
  • The implementation of measures that promote an equitable distribution of resources, that is, that promote the equity, but at the same time are profitable.

Sustainable development in Mexico

Like so many other countries, the Mexican nation did not pay much attention to the economic and social cost of population growth, far from the ecological impact, except when it was too late, as in the infamous case of Mexico City, one of the most polluted cities on the planet.

Already in the 1970s, institutions were created to ensure the environmental well-being of the Mexican ecosystem. However, it was not until the 1980s that the concept of sustainable development began to be heard, with the creation of the Secretariat for Urban Development and Ecology (SEDUE) and the General Law of Ecological Balance and Environmental Protection (LGEEPA).

Since then, official organizations have not ceased to be created to attend to the search for a sustainable development model. Furthermore, between 2000 and 2013, around eight laws important in the matter.

However, the changes required to advance in this direction are structural and represent a sustained effort from different segments of the company. society. For that reason, in Mexico environmental degradation and depletion of means It has been continuous, as has the advance of social marginalization and the weakening of formal employment.

Like other nations of Latin America, Mexico undertakes in transit towards sustainable development dragging important deficiencies and weaknesses.

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