Global and Sustainable Development Change - Case Study Example

Summary of Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development

This report focuses on the global and sustainable development change. It describes a proposal on the extended period techniques for achieving a sustainable development back from the year 2000 and beyond. Its primary goal was to recommend possible ways for the environment translated into a greater cooperation among the third world countries as well as states at different levels of social and economic growth (Kates et. al., 2005). Therefore, it enables these countries to achieve shared and mutually supportive goals that take into account the interrelationships among resources, development, people, and the environment where they live. Moreover, it recommends on the appropriate ways the international community would deal with the environment concerns and defines the shared perceptions of environmental issues that exist for an extended period. It provides required attempts to counteract the problems of safeguarding and enhancing the environment, a prolonged period agenda for action during the coming years and the primary aspirational objectives for the entire world community.

According to Kates et al., (2005), high poverty levels, growth, survival, and economic crisis are some of the symptoms and causes of threat to the sustainable environment. There are a significant number of hungry people currently than before, and speculations show that the number would grow bigger as projected by the World Bank. For instance, a great number of people live in slums and shantytowns, an indication of majority living below the minimum poverty levels. Growth and development have improved the quality of life and living standards of the people. For instance over the past century, there is a high growth rate in the use of fossil fuels. Growth and rising income have led to the distribution of world consumption of resources excessive produce. It increases complexity and scale of the needs for natural resources with the rising levels of population and production. For instance, greenhouse effect threatens life-supporting systems because of increased resource use. The slowdown in the pace of economic expansion and stagnation especially in 1980, challenge most states to respond and adapt. Because of this, most states had a severe financial crisis leading to a decline in the per capita for all the developing countries.

Sustainable development is a development that satisfies the current needs without compromising future generation ability to meet their needs (Singh et al., 2012) Essential needs require priority and limitations imposed by the social organization and states technology. The development incorporates a progressive transformation of both the economy and the society. However, environmental sustainability cannot cover unless development policies pay attention to considerations according to the changes in accessing resources and within the spread of costs and benefits.

In Singh et al., (2012), environmental interactions do not bother about the boundaries between the political jurisdiction and individual limitations. Therefore, a farmer affects the run-offs on farms depending on the way he or she puts up the slope, hot water discharge into the sea affects see life and consequently for those fishing and factory boiler efficiency determines the rate of emission of noxious chemicals and soot affecting life within the surrounding. The local interdependence has increased due to the use of advanced technology. However, with this technical progress, expansion of commerce and production of the market, eradication of the collective rights in the forests and the responsibilities of decision making are taken from both the individuals and the groups. This shift is in progress in the third world states. Rapid growth in production has extended interdependence to the international plane, with both economic and physical manifestations.

According to Elliot (2011), reviving growth is one the goals for environmental and growth policies that arise from the concept of sustainable development. Sustainable growth addresses the challenges faced by a large group of people who live in complete poverty, those who are unable to meet their basic needs. Poverty declines the capacity of the citizens to consume the available resources in a sustainable manner but instead intensifies more pressure on the environment. Sufficient condition to eliminating absolute poverty raises the per capita income in the developing countries. Therefore, there is a great need to reverse this trend in declining growth trends. Despite the variance in rates of attainable growth, a particular minimum rate is important to have any impact on the absolute poverty.

Meeting essential human needs is a primary goal of sustainable growth (Elliot 2011). Usually, poverty is a challenge that denies people the ability to satisfy their personal basic needs and wellbeing despite the availability of sufficient goods and services. There was a projection that between 1985 and 2000, the labor force would rise and new livelihood opportunities generated. For example, energy is an essential need possible to meet universally unless the consumption patterns change. However, requirements of poor household that depend solely on fuel wood are a threat to this technique.

Ensuring a sustainable level of production by the states enhances the sustainability of development. There is a link between the dynamics of population growth and sustainable development. For instance, a child who is born in a state where there is high-energy use places a higher burden on the resources of the earth than the one born in a poorer country. Therefore, stabilizing population size at a level about the productive capacity of the ecosystem sustains development. In industrial states, the general rate of the population growth is below one percent, and several countries are working towards reaching this rate. There is a projection the in the increase in the total population from the current 1.2 billion to 1.4billion in the year 2025 (Singh et al., 2012).

In Kates et al., (2005), enhancing a sustainable environment is a role played by the international economy. Global economy improves the flow of resources to developing countries. It is impossible to eradicate global poverty by the poor and the developing countries alone but through increasing the flow of finance to the international economy. With the provision of such aid, developing countries can sustain growth together with the poverty-focused programs improving the living standards of people living below the poverty levels. Moreover, lending for sustainable development by the international economy contributes significantly to sustainable development.

Global economy links trade, environment, and development. The primary link between sustainable development and commerce is the use of nonrenewable resources to earn foreign exchange. However, developing countries have a dilemma between using commodities as exports, to break foreign exchange constraints and minimizing damage to the surrounding base supporting this development. Nevertheless, international economy provides an international commodity trade. The recent weaknesses of the prices of goods may not only be a temporary phenomenon. Despite the rise in economic growth in consuming states, there has been no significant increase recovered from the depth of the world recession (Kates et al., 2005).

Population and human resources is a common challenge to sustainable development. It is because of growth in population numbers, changes in the mobility of the population and due to improved health education. Population growth rose in the middle of the 18thg century because of the industrial revolution and the related developments in the agricultural sector in both the developing and developing states. Policies frameworks towards these challenges include managing population growth and managing mobility and distribution (Elliot 2011).

Food security is a common problem for the sustainable development. Major signs of this crisis include the significant impact it has on the subsidies of various states, neglect of the less established producers as well as degradation of the resource base. Loss of oil resources, the effects of different chemicals, advancing growth in deserts and pressure created on the establishing forests are primary sources of deprivation of the support base (Singh et al., 2012). Laid down strategies to maintain food security include intervention by different states, a global perspective to ensure adequate food security, productivity and yields as well as equity on land reforms, food availability and integrated rural and to urban development.

The collective endeavors to a common future include managing the commons, ensuring peace, security and development of the environment as well as a common action on the proposed constitution for legal change in all the states globally. Proposals for institutional and legal change include all the challenges for all the legal and institutional dynamics. In this situation, a great focus and emphasis is on the shifting the focus to the policy sources and forming new enlightening imperatives for the international cooperation. It would strengthen the links between the states globally towards the primary goal of sustaining development in these countries (Singh et al., 2012).

The report endeavors in investing for a better future because it takes quite an extended period to pursue environmentally sound policies. Potentially, a large capital base is necessary for short term in such fields in integrated rural development, equipment for control of the impacts of a population as well as the development of renewable energy. Investing in future is possible through a collective of the national action by the states and the international action. There is an advanced institutional capacity to channel the international support. It consists of United Nations and its specialized agencies such as world banks and multilateral development banks. Similarly, other development cooperation such as national development assistance agencies and European Economic Community could enhance this. These organizations and institutions are the primary instruments through which partnerships between the industrial and developing countries operate. Their influence is substantial and pervasive to the sustainable growth of the states. However, envisaging developing countries to make these transitions efficient and timely requires a consolidated commitment and support from mentioned organizations and agencies.