Sign up to access the complete lesson and track your progress!
Unlock This CourseCountries want to get richer and give people better lives. But growth that wrecks the environment or uses up resources cannot go on for ever. Sustainable development tries to improve lives without causing that damage.
The best-known definition comes from the Brundtland report of 1987:
Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Think of a family that spends its savings in one weekend. It has a great time now, but nothing is left for next month. Sustainable development means leaving enough for the people who come after us.
Key terms:
Sustainable development rests on three pillars. If one is missing, the whole idea wobbles.
People's needs are met: education, healthcare, clean water, fairness and a say in decisions.
Jobs, income and growth that can continue, so families and countries can afford a good life.
Natural resources and ecosystems are protected, so soil, water, air and wildlife last.
A mine might give jobs (economic) but poison a river (environmental) and make local people ill (social). That is not sustainable development.
In 2015 the countries of the United Nations agreed 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). They are a shared plan to be reached by 2030. They cover all three pillars.
These are examples, because the UN does not put each goal under one pillar. Many goals link across pillars, for instance clean water and sanitation (toilets and safe sewage disposal) helps both health and the environment.
The goals apply to every country, rich or poor. They are a set of aims and not a law, so each government chooses its own actions.
Remember, a strategy is the overall plan and a technique is the practical method. The SDGs are a strategy. The methods below are techniques that help meet them.
| Technique | What it is | Pillar | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education programmes | Getting children, especially girls, into school and keeping them there | Social | Bangladesh has made small payments to help girls stay in secondary school |
| Healthcare programmes | Local health workers, vaccination and clean water projects | Social | Rwanda uses trained community health workers in villages |
| Microfinance | Very small loans to poor people who cannot get bank loans | Economic | Grameen Bank in Bangladesh |
| Intermediate technology | Simple, low-cost tools that local people can build, run and repair | Economic | Hand pumps, foot-powered pumps, solar cookers (general examples) |
| Renewable energy | Power from sun, wind, water or the Earth's heat, which does not run out | Environmental | Geothermal power at Olkaria in Kenya; Noor solar complex in Morocco |
| Sustainable farming | Growing food in ways that protect soil and water | Environmental | Terraces (steps cut into hillsides), crop rotation, planting trees among crops (general examples) |
| Community projects | Local people plan and run a project themselves | All three | The Green Belt Movement in Kenya, which plants trees |
Some examples here are named places and projects. The hand pump, solar cooker and terrace examples are general techniques used in many countries.
A woman borrows the cost of a sewing machine and starts a small business. She repays the loan from her profits. The Grameen Bank began in Bangladesh in the 1970s and lends mostly to women in small groups. The money helps people earn their own income without depending on handouts.
Also called appropriate technology. It sits between simple hand tools and expensive machines. A foot-powered pump costs far less than a diesel pump, needs no fuel and can be mended by a local worker. It suits poor areas because it is affordable and easy to maintain.
Solar panels give a village power without fossil fuels or a long grid connection. Light lets children study after dark and keeps clinics running. It also cuts carbon dioxide emissions.
Terraces slow the rain running down a slope, so soil is not washed away. Crop rotation keeps soil fertile. Farmers can grow food year after year without exhausting the land.
Community projects work well because local people choose them, so they fit local needs and people look after them. The Green Belt Movement, started in Kenya in 1977, pays women to grow and plant trees. This gives income, protects soil and provides firewood.
For any strategy, ask these questions. They help in the exam.
For example, microfinance helps many families earn money, but loans are small, and some borrowers struggle to repay. Intermediate technology is cheap and lasting, but it may not give enough power or output for a big city. Renewable energy is clean, but panels and turbines can be costly to install. No single technique solves everything, so countries usually combine several.
Fig. 1.1 describes a made-up project in the village of Kelo, a rural community in an LIC. The villagers installed a small solar panel system and a hand pump that gives clean drinking water. A local group received microfinance loans to start a bakery that uses the new power. Children now study at night, and fewer people are ill from the river water they used to drink.
(a) Define the term sustainable development. [2 marks]
(b) Identify one social and one environmental benefit of the Kelo project. [2 marks]
(c) Explain why the hand pump is an example of intermediate technology. [3 marks]
(d) Evaluate how far the Kelo project is sustainable. [6 marks]
(a) Development that meets the needs of people today (1) without damaging the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (1).
(b) Social: children can study at night, or villagers have clean drinking water so fewer are ill (1). Environmental: solar power replaces fossil fuels, so there are fewer carbon dioxide emissions (1).
(c) It is a simple, low-cost tool (1) that local people can afford and build (1) and can repair and run without expensive fuel or skills (1).
(d) Top level (5-6 marks): a balanced, well-developed judgement that covers all three pillars, uses the evidence from Kelo, includes a weakness and ends with a clear conclusion about the future. Example: The project helps all three pillars. Socially, clean water and light for study improve health and education. Economically, microfinance lets the bakery earn income that can keep growing. Environmentally, solar power does not use up resources or pollute. It is sustainable because local people can maintain the pump and panels without outside help. However, panels can be costly to replace, and the bakery may fail if it cannot repay its loans. Overall it is largely sustainable because it meets today's needs without harming future generations, as long as the village can pay for repairs. Middle level (3-4 marks): covers two pillars or gives points without a judgement. Low level (1-2 marks): one or two simple statements, such as 'it gives power'.
In an "evaluate how far" question, give strengths, then a weakness, then a final judgement that mentions the three pillars and the future.