An Introduction to Sustainable Development
This book is concerned with the continued challenges and opportunities of finding sustainable patterns and processes of development within the international community for the future. Since the publication of the first edition of this text in 1994, it is evident that much has been learnt in terms of the principles behind and the characteristics of policies, programmes and projects that appear to be more sustainable than previous such interventions, and certainly in terms of how such trends can be monitored and evaluated. However, whilst the idea of sustainable development may be widely recognised by the public, academics and practitioners in many disciplines and fields, both in the developing and more industrialised countries, there continue to be many patterns of human welfare and the status of environmental resources worldwide that suggest that further scrutiny and efforts are required. Too often, development processes are characterised by the loss or degradation of primary environmental resources. In many countries, ‘development reversals’ are being seen, with rising proportions of people below basic poverty lines and falling life expectancies, for example. The concern continues to be that many of the patterns and processes of development will not be able to supply the needs of the world’s population into the future and cannot deliver the higher standards of living to the rising numbers of people essential to the conservation of the environment.
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