Question

Answer the following question.
How is the issue of sustainability important for development? Explain with examples.

Answer 1

The issue of sustainability is important for development because development must be in tandem with the future. If natural resources are not sustained, then development will stagnate after a point of time. Exploiting resources unethically will ultimately undo the development that a country may have achieved. This is because, in the future, those resources will not be available for further progress.

Meeting the basic needs of all that requires the distribution of resources is our moral responsibility. It becomes a moral obligation to hand over the earth to the future generation in good order. But, it is realised that if the resources (non-renewable) are utilized fully then these will deplete so fast that it will not meet the production capacity of the future generation. The economic development achieved today in such a manner cannot be sustained for a long time as the production capacity of the future generations in the absence of productive resources reduces. Therefore, sustainable development is the process of economic development that aims at meeting the needs of the present generation without comprising the needs of the future generations. Sustainable development maximizes the welfare of both present and future generations. In other words, it is the process of economic growth that is sustained over a long period of time without causing any fall in the quality of life of future generations.