Editing Sustainable development (section)

== Development of the concept ==
{{See also|Sustainability}}
Sustainable development has its roots in ideas regarding [[sustainable forest management]], which were developed in Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries.<ref name="Grober2">Ulrich Grober: Deep roots&nbsp;— [https://bibliothek.wzb.eu/pdf/2007/p07-002.pdf A conceptual history of "sustainable development" (Nachhaltigkeit)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210925121333/https://bibliothek.wzb.eu/pdf/2007/p07-002.pdf |date=25 September 2021 }}, Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung, 2007</ref><ref name="Blewitt-2015">{{cite book |last1=Blewitt |first1=John |title=Understanding Sustainable Development |date=2014 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-70782-4 }}{{pn|date=July 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Du Pisani |first1=Jacobus A. |title=Sustainable development – historical roots of the concept |journal=Environmental Sciences |date=2006 |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=83–96 |doi=10.1080/15693430600688831 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2006JIES....3...83D }}</ref> In response to a growing awareness of the depletion of timber resources in England, [[John Evelyn]] argued, in his 1662 essay ''[[Sylva, or A Discourse of Forest-Trees and the Propagation of Timber|Sylva]]'', that "sowing and planting of trees had to be regarded as a national duty of every landowner, in order to stop the destructive [[over-exploitation|over-]] [[exploitation of natural resources]]." In 1713, [[Hans Carl von Carlowitz]], a senior mining administrator in the service of Elector [[Augustus II the Strong|Frederick Augustus I of Saxony]] published ''Sylvicultura economics'', a 400-page work on forestry. Building upon the ideas of Evelyn and French minister [[Jean-Baptiste Colbert]], von Carlowitz developed the concept of managing forests for [[sustained yield]].<ref name="Grober2" /> His work influenced others, including [[Alexander von Humboldt]] and [[Georg Ludwig Hartig]], eventually leading to the development of the science of forestry. This, in turn, influenced people like [[Gifford Pinchot]], the first head of the [[US Forest Service]], whose approach to forest management was driven by the idea of wise use of resources, and [[Aldo Leopold]] whose [[land ethic]] was influential in the development of the [[environmental movement]] in the 1960s.<ref name="Grober2" /><ref name="Blewitt-2015" />

Following the publication of [[Rachel Carson]]'s ''[[Silent Spring]]'' in 1962, the developing environmental movement drew attention to the relationship between economic growth and [[environmental degradation]]. [[Kenneth E. Boulding]], in his influential 1966 essay ''The Economics of the Coming [[Spaceship Earth]]'', identified the need for the economic system to fit itself to the ecological system with its limited pools of resources.<ref name="Blewitt-2015" /> Another milestone was the 1968 article by [[Garrett Hardin]] that popularized the term "[[tragedy of the commons]]".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hardin |first1=Garrett |title=The Tragedy of the Commons: The population problem has no technical solution; it requires a fundamental extension in morality |journal=Science |date=13 December 1968 |volume=162 |issue=3859 |pages=1243–1248 |doi=10.1126/science.162.3859.1243 |pmid=17756331 }}</ref>

The direct linking of [[sustainability]] and development in a contemporary sense can be traced to the early 1970s. "Strategy of Progress", a 1972 book (in German) by Ernst Basler, explained how the long-acknowledged [[sustainability]] concept of preserving forests for future wood production can be directly transferred to the broader importance of preserving environmental resources to sustain the world for future generations.<ref name="Basler-1972">{{cite book |last=Basler |first=Ernst |title= Strategie des Fortschritts: Umweltbelastung Lebensraumverknappung and Zukunftsforshung (Strategy of Progress: Environmental Pollution, Habitat Scarcity and Future Research) |date=1972 |publisher= BLV Publishing Company |location=Munich}}</ref> That same year, the interrelationship of environment and development was formally demonstrated in a systems dynamic simulation model reported in the classic report on ''[[Limits to Growth]]''. This was commissioned by the Club of Rome and written by a group of scientists led by [[Dennis Meadows|Dennis]] and [[Donella Meadows]] of the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]]. Describing the desirable "state of global equilibrium", the authors wrote: "We are searching for a model output that represents a world system that is sustainable without sudden and uncontrolled collapse and capable of satisfying the basic material requirements of all of its people."<ref name="Finn-2009">{{cite book |last=Finn |first=Donovan |title=Our Uncertain Future: Can Good Planning Create Sustainable Communities? |date=2009 |publisher=University of Illinois |location=Champaign-Urbana}}</ref> The year 1972 also saw the publication of the influential book, ''[[A Blueprint for Survival]]''.<ref>{{cite news |title=A Blueprint for Survival |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/02/05/archives/a-blueprint-for-survival.html |work=The New York Times |date=5 February 1972 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://theecologist.org/2012/jan/27/ecologist-january-1972-blueprint-survival|title=The Ecologist January 1972: a blueprint for survival|website=The Ecologist|date=27 January 2012 |language=en|access-date=14 April 2020}}</ref>

In 1975, an [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT]] research group prepared ten days of hearings on "Growth and Its Implication for the Future" for the [[United States Congress|US Congress]], the first hearings ever held on sustainable development.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Growth and its implications for the future |url=http://www.wpainc.com/Archive/MIT/Growth%20and%20Its%20Implications.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304033056/http://www.wpainc.com/Archive/MIT/Growth%20and%20Its%20Implications.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2016}}</ref>

In 1980, the [[International Union for Conservation of Nature]] published a world conservation strategy that included one of the first references to sustainable development as a global priority<ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.a21italy.it/medias/31C2D26FD81B0D40.pdf |title=World Conservation Strategy: Living Resource Conservation for Sustainable Development |date=1980 |publisher=International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources}}</ref> and introduced the term "sustainable development".<ref name="Sachs-2015">{{Cite book |last=Sachs |first=Jeffrey D. |title=The Age of Sustainable Development |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=2015 |isbn=9780231173155 |location=New York}}</ref>{{RP|4}} Two years later, the United Nations [[World Charter for Nature]] raised five principles of [[Conservation (ethic)|conservation]] by which human conduct affecting nature is to be guided and judged.<ref>{{citation |title=World Charter for Nature |date=28 October 1982 |url=https://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/37/a37r007.htm |publisher=United Nations, General Assembly, 48th Plenary Meeting}}</ref>

Since the [[Brundtland Report]], the concept of sustainable development has developed beyond the initial intergenerational framework to focus more on the goal of "socially [[inclusive growth|inclusive]] and environmentally [[sustainable economic growth]]".<ref name="Sachs-2015" />{{RP|5}} In 1992, the [[UN Conference on Environment and Development]] published the [[Earth Charter]], which outlines the building of a just, sustainable, and peaceful global society in the 21st century. The action plan [[Agenda 21]] for sustainable development identified information, integration, and participation as key building blocks to help countries achieve development that recognizes these interdependent pillars. Furthermore, Agenda 21 emphasizes that broad public participation in decision-making is a fundamental prerequisite for achieving sustainable development.<ref>Will Allen. 2007.[http://learningforsustainability.net/susdev/ "Learning for Sustainability: Sustainable Development."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160114042435/http://learningforsustainability.net/susdev/ |date=14 January 2016 }}</ref>

[[Rio Protocol|The Rio Protocol]] was a huge leap forward: for the first time, the world agreed on a [[sustainability]] agenda. In fact, a global consensus was facilitated by neglecting concrete goals and operational details.

Whilst the discussions about (or [[discourse]] of) sustainable development are highly influential in global and national [[governance framework]]s, its meaning and operationalization are context-dependent and have evolved over time. This evolution can for example be seen in the transition from the [[Millennium Development Goals]] (years 2000 to 2015) to the [[Sustainable Development Goals]] (years 2015 to 2030).<ref name=":5" />