Sustainable Development and Swaziland

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Sustainable Development

Many of the ideas that are now embedded in the concept of sustainable development have been around for a long time – from as long ago as the work of Malthus on population growth in the late 1700s. But the concept really only emerged during debate in the early 1970s following of a range of key publications drawing attention to man’s over-exploitation of the environment, focusing on economic development and the growing global concern about development objectives and environmental constraints, and examining the inextricable links between environment and development.

While many of the environmental management principles embodied in the concept of sustainable development are derived from this ecological perspective, the social aspects are now also accepted to be of equal concern alongside economic issues. In 1987 by the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED), otherwise known as the Brundtland Commission gave this definition:

"Economic and social development that meets the needs of the current generation without undermining the ability of future generations to meet their own needs".

The Earth Summit

In 1992, more than 100 heads of state met in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). The Earth Summit was convened to address urgent problems of environmental protection and socio-economic development.
 
The 1992 Earth Summit approved a set of five agreements:

• Agenda 21 - a global plan of action for sustainable development, containing over 100 programme areas, ranging from trade and environment, through agriculture and desertification to capacity building and technology transfer.

• Rio Declaration on Environment and Development - a statement of 27 key principles to guide the integration of environment and development policies (including the polluter pays, prevention, precautionary and participation principles).

• Statement of principles for the Sustainable Management of Forests - the first global consensus on the management, conservation and sustainable development of the world's forests.

• The Framework Convention on Climate Change - a legally-binding agreement to stabilise greenhouse gases in the atmosphere at levels that will not upset the global climate system.

• The Convention on Biological Diversity - a legally-binding agreement to conserve the world's genetic, species and ecosystem diversity and share the benefits of its use in a fair and equitable way.

The Commission on Sustainable Development

The Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) was created in December 1992 to ensure effective follow-up of UNCED, to monitor and report on implementation of the agreements at the local, national, regional and international levels. It was agreed that a five year review of Earth Summit progress would be made in 1997 by the United Nations General Assembly meeting in special session. During the 55th General Assembly session it was decided that the CSD would serve as the central organizing body for the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development, which will be held in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Sustainability Indicators

To measure the success of sustainable development, a set of indicators were needed to provide solid bases for decision making at all levels and to contribute to the self-regulating sustainability of integrated environment and development systems. In order to know whether processes are effective, or need changing, there was a need to establish indicators of sustainable development. It is recognised that indicators are vital to capture trends in ways that policy makers and others can grasp immediately.

Sustainability Indicators for Swaziland

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This page was last updated on 18 February 2004