BPAG-174

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

School of Social Sciences

Indira Gandhi National Open University
EXPERT COMMITTEE
Prof. C.V. Raghavulu Prof. Ramanjit Kaur Johal IGNOU Faculty
Former Vice-Chancellor of University School of Open
Prof. Pardeep Sahni
Nagarjuna University, Guntur (A.P.) Learning Panjab University,
Chandigarh Prof. E. Vayunandan
Prof. Ramesh K. Arora
Former Professor of Public Prof. Rajbans Singh Gill Prof. Uma Medury
Administration Department of Public
Rajasthan University, Jaipur Prof. Alka Dhameja
Administration, Punjabi
University, Patiala Prof. Dolly Mathew
Prof. O.P. Minocha
Former Professor of Public Prof. Manjusha Sharma Prof. Durgesh Nandini
Administration, Indian Institute of Department of Public
Public Administration, New Delhi Administration, Kurukshetra Consultants
University, Kurukshetra Dr. Sandhya Chopra
Prof. Arvind K. Sharma
Former Professor of Public Prof. Lalneihzovi Dr. A. Senthamizh Kanal
Administration, Indian Institute of Department of Public
Public Administration, New Delhi Administration Mizoram Conveners
Central University Prof. Dolly Mathew
Prof. R.K. Sapru
Former Professor Public Prof. Neelima Deshmukh Prof. Durgesh Nandini
Administration, Panjab University, Former Professor of Public
Chandigarh Administration, Rashtrasant
Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur
Prof. Sahib Singh Bhayana
University
Former Professor Public
Administration, Panjab University, Prof. Rajvir Sharma
Chandigarh Maharaja Agrasen Institute of
Management Studies, Delhi
Prof. [Link],
Former Professor of Public Prof. Sanjeev Kumar Mahajan
Administration, Panjab University, Department of Public
Chandigarh Administration, Himachal
Pradesh University, Shimla
Prof. Ravinder Kaur
Department of Public Prof. Manoj Dixit
Administration, Osmania Department of Public
University, Hyderabad Administration, Lucknow
University, Lucknow
Prof. [Link],
Dr.B.R. Ambedkar Open University, Prof. Sudha Mohan
Hyderabad Department of Civics and
Politics, University of Mumbai,
Prof. G. Palanithurai
Mumbai
Department of Political Science and
Development Administration,
Ghandhigram Rural University,
Ghandhigram

COURSE COORDINATOR
Prof. Alka Dhameja
School of Social Sciences
IGNOU, New Delhi

COURSE EDITOR (CONTENT, FORMAT AND LANGUAGE)

Prof. Alka Dhameja
School of Social Sciences
IGNOU, New Delhi
COURSE PREPARATION TEAM
Block Unit Writer
Block 1 Concept of Sustainable Development
Unit 1 Meaning, Nature and Scope of Dr. R.K Sapru, Professor of Public Administration
Sustainable Development Administration (Retired),Panjab University,
Chandigarh
Unit 2 Major Components of Sustainable Dr Anupama Puri Mahajan, Former Post-doctoral
Development fellow, Department of Public Administration,
Unit 3 Approaches to Sustainable Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla
Development (Units 2,3 and 4 )
Unit 4 Goals of Sustainable Development
Block 2 Development, Sustainability and Climate Change
Unit 5 Concept of Global Commons and Dr. Susmita Mitra, Assistant Professor, Council for
Climate Change Social Development, New Delhi (Units 5 & 6)
Unit 6 International Conventions on
Sustainable Development
Unit 7 Interrelationship among Development, Dr. Kannan Ambalam, Associate Professor &
Sustainability and Climate Change: Head, Department of Public Administration
Case for Differentiated and Development Management, Wollega University,
Responsibilities Nekemte, Ethiopia
Block 3 Health, Education and Food Security
Unit 8 Relationship between Sustainable Dr. Kannan Ambalam, Associate Professor &
Development and Food Security Head, Department of Public Administration
and Development Management, Wollega University,
Nekemte, Ethiopia (Units 8 and 9)
Unit 9 Role of Green and Converging
Technologies in Health, Sanitation
and Food Security
Unit 10 Role of Education in Sustainable Dr. R.K Sapru, Professor of Public Administration
Development (Retired),Panjab University, Chandigarh
Block 4 Sustainable Development: A Way Forward
Unit 11 Role of Policy Innovations in Dr. Nivedita Sharma, Assistant Professor, Council
Sustainable Development for Social Development, New Delhi (Units 11, 12,
13 & 14)
Unit 12 Recognition of Ecological limits of
Equity and Justice
Unit 13 Alternative Ways of Resource
Generation and Capacity Enhancement
Unit 14 Role of Non-State Stakeholders in
Sustainable Development

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August, 2021
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 Course Contents
Pages
Course Introduction 7

BLOCK 1 CONCEPT OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT 9

UNIT 1 Meaning, Nature and Scope of Sustainable Development 11
UNIT 2 Major Components of Sustainable Development 22
UNIT 3 Approaches to Sustainable Development 38
UNIT 4 Goals of Sustainable Development 55

BLOCK 2 DEVELOPMENT, SUSTAINABILITY AND 77

CLIMATE CHANGE
UNIT 5 Concept of Global Commons and Climate Change 79
UNIT 6 International Conventions on Sustainable Development 92
UNIT 7 Interrelationship among Development, Sustainability 107
and Climate Change: Case for Differentiated
Responsibilities

BLOCK 3 HEALTH, EDUCATION AND FOOD SECURITY 121

UNIT 8 Relationship between Sustainable Development and 123
Food Security
UNIT 9 Role of Green and Converging Technologies in 136
Health, Sanitation and Food Security
UNIT 10 Role of Education in Sustainable Development 150

BLOCK 4 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: A WAY 159

FORWARD
UNIT 11 Role of Policy Innovations in Sustainable Development 161
UNIT 12 Recognition of Ecological Limits of Equity and Justice 174
UNIT 13 Alternative Ways of Resource Generation and Capacity 181
Enhancement
UNIT 14 Role of Non-State Stakeholders in Sustainable 187
Development

SUGGESTED READINGS
COURSE INTRODUCTION

Sustainable development is a widely debated word in theory and practice. Initially,

the idea of sustainability came to be discussed and used in the context of
environmental protection, but slowly it became holistic and comprehensive cutting
across various developmental [Link] is a multidisciplinary concept, which talks
about the balance in economic, social, political and environmental dimensions
of sustainability. In 1987, the Report of the World Commission on Environment
and Development entitled Our Common Future, systematically defined the term
‘sustainable development’ as development that ‘meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’.
This definition encompasses the interrelationship among the concepts of
development, needs and sustainability.

Sustainable development refers to a process of societal advancement embodying

a more equitable and environmentally aware pattern of development that requires
a careful integration of economic, social and environmental objectives.
Environmental sustainability, economic sustainability and social sustainability
are the three pillars of sustainable development. The Covid 19 Pandemic with
which we have been dealing since 2019 has brought the ugly consequences of
unsustainable development process to [Link] Course attempts to examine
the challenges of striking a balance between development and environment. The
Course is divided into 4 Blocks and 14 Units. Each Block deals with some major
aspect of sustainable development or the other in detail.

Block 1 Concept of Sustainable Development

The first Block of the Course consists of 4 Units. The title of the first Unit is
‘Meaning, Nature and Scope of Sustainable Development’. It discusses the
conceptual aspects of sustainable development underlining various definitions
of the concept. The scope of this concept is also analysed in terms of social,
economic and environmental dimensions. The Unit also explains the principles
and features of sustainable development.

Unit 2 is titled ‘Major Components of Sustainable Development’. The pertinent

components of sustainable development are the society, economy and
environment. Effective interrelationship of these three components is quite
important for understanding the concept of sustainability. This Unit explains
these various components and their interrelationship in a detailed manner.

Unit 3 of the Block is ‘Approaches to Sustainable Development’. The concept

of sustainable development not only discusses the ecological perspective of
sustainability, but also the social and economic viewpoints. Study of approaches
to sustainable development is more important to understand the various
components and factors involved in it. This Unit presents a snapshot of various
approaches, such as Status Quo approach, Community Capacity Building
approach, Industrial Sector approach, Integrated Systems approach, Human
Development approach and Green Accounts approach in the context of sustainable
development.

Unit 4 of the Course is called ‘Goals of Sustainable Development’. In 2015, the

United Nations (UN) set up the Agenda 2030, which enumerated 17 SDGs and
169 targets to which 193 Member Nations pledged their commitment,and these
goals were implemented in 2016. The goals and targets are time-specific and
considered as global report card for the fight against varied problems the world
populations face. The Agenda intends to reach the set goals in the period from
2015 to 2030. This Unit also describes all the SDGs with special reference to
India.

Block 2 Development, Sustainability and Climate Change

Unit 5 is on ‘Concept of Global Commons and Climate Change’. This Unit
discusses the two important concepts i.e., global commons and the impact of
climate change on the global commons. Besides, it elaborates why climate change
is often cited as a global problem of commons. It also discusses the concept of
tragedy of commons and describes the heritage of mankind. In conclusion, it
examines the relevance of global governance for climate change.

An International Convention is an agreement or treaty between different countries,

which generally takes place in the name of United Nations (UN). Unit 6 is about
‘International Conventions on Sustainable Development’. This Unit focuses on
the important aspects of Earth Summit 1992, Agenda 21, UN Framework
Convention on Climate Change and Convention on Biological Diversity. Further,
it makes a critical appraisal of various International Conventions on sustainable
development.

Unit 7 examines the ‘Interrelationship among Development, Sustainability and

Climate Change: Case for Differentiated Responsibilities’. This is also the title
of the Unit. It explains the concepts of development and sustainability. It also
makes us understand the meaning and impact of climate change. Further, it also
discusses the interrelationship among development, sustainability and climate
change.

Block 3 Health, Education and Food Security

The third Block of the Course discusses the various themes of health, education
and food security in the context of sustainable development. In this Block, Unit
8 is on ‘Relationship between Sustainable Development and Food Security’. It
brings out the key dimensions of food security with respect to sustainability.
Further it highlights the various factors that impact food security viz., green
revolution, loss of biodiversity, depletion of livestock and fisheries, desertification
and climate change.

Green technologies are the application part of environmental sciences, which try
to conserve the natural resources and minimise the adverse impacts of human
activity on environment. Green technologies have emerged as one of the
significant means for achieving sustainability. Unit 9 of this Course is about the
‘Role of Green and Converging Technologies towards Health, Sanitation and
Food Security’.This Unit discusses the meaning and characteristics of green and
converging technologies. Finally, emphasis in the Unit is on the role of green
technologies in health, sanitation and food security.

Unit 10 highlights the ‘Role of Education in Sustainable Development’ which is

the title of the Unit too. Education is the major tool for achieving social, economic,
political and environmental sustainability. Basically, education is used to facilitate
economic well-being, social equity and democratic values of people. This Unit
brings out the importance of education in achieving sustainability. Education for
Sustainable Development (ESD) improves the quality of life of people without
damaging the environment. The Unit also lays emphasis on the vision of education
for achieving sustainable development.

Block 4 Sustainable Development: A Way Forward

Unit 11 is on the ‘Role of Policy Innovations in Sustainable Development’.
Growing inequalities and unsustainable production and consumption patterns
are the major hindrances in achieving sustainable development. This Unit
discusses the core concepts of sustainable development and its [Link]
underlines the ways in which policy innovations attempt to overcome these
hindrances to sustainable development. It also captures the goals and features of
policies for sustainable development. In this context, the Unit also discusses the
various factors towards policy innovations for achieving sustainability.

Unit 12 of the Course is on ‘Recognition of Ecological Limits of Equity and

Justice’. This Unit explains the concept of justice in relation to environment and
brings out the interrelationship between environmental justice and rights of tribals.
Unit 13 is titled ‘Alternative Ways of Resource Generation and Capacity
Enhancement’. Consumption patterns and resource use have made a huge impact
on environment and levels of sustainability. To achieve sustainability, we need
to explore sustainable technology, and also make sustainable [Link] this
context, this Unit discusses the relevance of making sustainable choices. Further,it
brings out the benefits of alternative resource use to obtain environmental benefits.

Civil Society Organisations/ NGOs are able to raise international awareness,

shape global policy agendas, educate governments, citizens and industries, and
strengthen environmental governance at the domestic and international [Link]
14 is titled‘Role of Non-State Stakeholders in Sustainable Development’. It
discusses the pertinent role of different stakeholders in sustainable development.
This Unit elaborates the need for sustainable development and also explains the
role of NGOs in sustainable development. It also examines the contributions of
various stakeholders like trade unions, corporates and universities in sustainable
development.
 BLOCK 1
CONCEPT OF SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT
Concept of Sustainable
Development

10
 Meaning, Nature and Scope
UNIT 1 MEANING , NATURE AND SCOPE OF of Sustainable Development

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT*

Structure
1.0 Objectives
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Meaning of Sustainable Development
1.3 Nature of Sustainable Development
1.4 Scope of Sustainable Development
1.5 Important Principles and Features of Sustainable Development
1.6 Conclusion
1.7 Glossary
1.8 References
1.9 Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises

1.0 OBJECTIVES
After reading this Unit, you should be able to:
Discuss the meaning and nature of sustainable development;
Describe the scope of sustainable development; and
Explain the principles and features of sustainable development.

1.1 INTRODUCTION
Sustainable development has an important role and place in the discourse on
development. Sustainable development is the centre of debates and discussions
among the development experts, environmentalists and national leaders of both
developed and developing countries. The United Nations and its agencies, as
well as many international institutions, commissions and world leaders do
recognise the significance of sustainable development.

They are of the decisive view that degrading the earth’s resources to meet current
needs is short-sighted and potentially disastrous for future generations. The
coming generations, and not merely the present ones, need those resources and
all that they may produce. Excessive cultivation, destruction of forests, filling
up of wetlands, all has been propelled by population explosion. This could
eventually impair the capacity of the so-called renewable resources to renew
themselves. They cannot go on producing continuously. Beyond a certain level,
extracting more in the present leaves less for the future. The fundamental questions
that need to be addressed are: “Will future generations be worse off as a result of
the environmental degradation that results from economic decisions made today;
and will the increase in the scale of activity be sustainable in the face of increasing
pressure on natural resources”.

* Contributed by Dr. R.K. Sapru, Professor of Public Administration (Retired), Panjab University,
Chandigarh 11
Concept of Sustainable Sustainable development is very much about ensuring that our children and future
Development
generations inherit an earth that is, at the bare minimum, no worse off than the
one we inherited. It is perhaps one of the noblest and highest aspirations that we
can set for ourselves as humans. Looking at the changes taking place around the
world, it is being widely felt that the kind of world we will bequeath to our
children and grandchildren may not be a better one, as a result of environmental
degradation that would result from political and economic decisions made today.
It is a matter of grave concern that those who reap the fruits of economic
development today may be making future generations worse off by excessively
damaging and destroying the natural resources and polluting the earth’s
environment.

‘Sustainable development’ was a major focus of the United Nations Conference

on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Brazil in June 1992. The
achievement of sustainable development globally is likely to prove as one of the
greatest challenges to the world community in view of the ever-increasing
population growth and rising levels of consumption per capita. As the World
Commission on Environment and Development has observed, the efforts to
achieve sustainable development are being carried out amidst the additional
pressure of such global difficulties as climate change, ozone depletion, and species
loss. The continued build-up in Greenhouse Gases, depletion of the ozone layer
by Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), and the continuing extinction of species through
habitat degradation affect developing nations no less that the developed and
industrialised States of the West.

The ongoing excessive use of energy feeds a number of these difficulties as do

the burgeoning global population increases. These problems are so pressing that
the terms ‘environmental refugee’ has been coined to describe people literally
deprived of a homeland because of environmental crises. Some of the more
pessimistic observers of the situation warn that social dislocations from
environmental degradation may be one of the most alarming developments in
the first quarter of 21st century with estimates ranging to sixty million odd
environmental refugees.

Proponents of sustainable development argue that it provides a context to improve

overall sustainability, where cutting edge ‘green development’ is attainable.
Inclusive green growth is the pathway to sustainable development. It is the only
way to reconcile the rapid growth required to bring developing countries to the
level of prosperity, which they aspire, meet the needs of more than one billion
odd people still living in poverty, and fulfill the imperative requirement of a
global environment.

1.2 MEANING OF SUSTAINABLE

DEVELOPMENT
Much before the Brundtland Report’s definition of sustainable development, in
the early 1970s, the term sustainable development was coined by Barbara Ward
(known as Lady Jackson), founder of the International Institute for Environment
and Development in the early 1970s. Sustainable development for her was largely
about people, their economic and social well-being and aspirations for equity in
their relationships with each other, in a context where environment-society
imbalances could threaten economic and social stability.
12
The legacy of the concept of sustainable development is however attributed to Meaning, Nature and Scope
of Sustainable Development
the Brundtland Report or the Report of the World Commission on Environment
and Development entitled Our Common Future, which defines it as development
that “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs.” Thus, it seeks to satisfy the compulsions
of equity within the human generations and also between them.

‘Sustainable development thus, is development that meets the needs of present

and future generations. Given the global and local effects of environmental decay,
it is no surprise that sustainable development has become a catchword in
development planning and resource management. However,interpretations of this
concept are still [Link] to the Brundtland Report, the idea of
sustainable development reaches far beyond environmental protection, as it means
a process of change in which exploitation of resources, direction of investments,
orientation of technological development, and institutional changes are made
consistent with future, as well as present [Link] is not a fixed state of harmony,
but rather a balanced and adaptive process of change.

Sustainability takes for granted “the balance between economic development -

all quantitative and qualitative changes in the economy that offer positive
contributions to welfare-and ecological sustainability - all quantitative and
qualitative environmental strategies that serve to improve the quality of an
ecosystem and hence also have a positive impact on welfare.” Both economic
and environmental systems, need a certain minimum threshold value to survive.

“In essence, sustainable development is a process of change in which the

exploitation of resources, the direction of investments, the orientation of
technological development, and institutional change, are all in harmony and
enhance both current and future potential to meet human needs and
aspirations.”The Brundtland Commission’s definition of the term – “meeting
the needs of the present generations without compromising the needs of future
generations” – is strongly endorsed by the World Development Report [Link]
next units of this Course would talk about the features of this definition in detail.

The concept of sustainable development rejects the traditional view that economic
development is a necessity but environmental protection is a luxury. Dasgupta
and Maler (1990) have observed: “environmental resources are of minor
importance to poor countries…They play a significant role in the process of
economic development…Such resources are luxury goods, and they loom large
in public consciousness only when incomes are high…Environmental resources
are only a rich country’s preoccupations…They are a mere diversion created by
economists, not sensitive to the true needs of poor in poor countries…”

In the past decade, however, a shift has taken place from a partial environmental
analysis to a focus on the global effects of environmental decay - reflected among
other things in alarming phenomena such as flooding, acid rains, soil erosion,
desertification, destruction of the ozone layer, ocean pollution, and resource
[Link], resource conservation and pollution control, once thought of as
luxuries, are now recognised as essential to protect life-supporting natural systems
and improve the living standards. The policy makers are beginning to increasingly
recognise that socio-economic development must be sustainable, that is, it should
be capable of meeting not only the current needs of this generation, but those of
future generations as well.
13
Concept of Sustainable In this context, the questions are how to assess the well-being of present and
Development
future generations. What should we leave to our future generations to maximise
the chances that they would be no worse off than ourselves. The issue becomes
more complicated because our children do not just inherit our worn-out farmlands,
eroded hillsides, polluted water, air parched grasslands, and depleted ozone
layer,but also enjoy the fruits of our labour in the form of education, skills, and
knowledge, as well as physical [Link] are entitled to benefit from
investments in natural resources, improvement in soil fertility and reforestation.

Ashish Kothari (1993) has been of the view that sustainable development, as
currently defined,”does not adequately address the perpetuation of
intergenerational, inter-species inequity, and is, therefore, not acceptable from
the point of view of the larger human goals of happiness, equality, justice and
peace.”

1.3 NATURE OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Keeping in view what we leave or pass on to our children and grandchildren, we
must think of the full range of physical and human capital, and natural resources
that will determine their welfare. Adopting the principle of sustainable
development would necessarily require a fundamental change in thinking. The
data used for decision-making must reflect the true costs of resource depletion
and pollution, as they affect future generations rather than just the short-term
costs of profits of depleting income-producing resources. The data must take
account of future needs on par with current needs, not ‘discounted’ in a way that
carries decisions in favour of short-term effects.

Ciricacy-Wantrup (1952) has emphasised on the use of safe minimum standards

for conservation by avoiding over-exploitation of critical zones of the environment
by limiting human activities that make it uneconomical to halt or reverse
environment degradation. Thus, the idea of sustainable development requires a
careful consideration of sustainable threshold levels for both economic and
environmental systems. For example, deforestation may be necessary for
agriculture development in a regional economy like Brazil, but it could prove
fatal and detrimental to global ecological stability. When a country experiences
rapid population growth or dramatic urbanisation,increase in Gross National
Product or GNP may hide or camouflage major development problems. The same
difficulty arises when the world demand for the raw resources from a country or
a region rises to meet increasing global needs. In sum, until we are prepared to
define sustainability in ways that take stock of both the external threat from food
policies in the North and the internal threat from demographic pressure in the
South, it will remain illusory.

Similarly, to cope with the growing problems of land pressures in India, it is

necessary to check and control the population growth rate, ensure balanced
livestock development, and control land alienation. On the other hand, when the
World Commission posits that: “sustainable development requires that the adverse
impacts on the quality of air, water, and other natural elements are minimised, so
as to sustain the ecosystem’s overall integrity”, it is no easy task to judge the
success rate.

Recognising these difficulties, the World Commission has noted that measures
14 of success in sustainable development must take account of the context and the
need to meet social challenges. The sustainability aspect requires that Meaning, Nature and Scope
of Sustainable Development
environmental administrators aim at:
i) Maintaining ecosystem and related ecological processes, essential for the
functioning of biosphere;
ii) Sustaining biological diversity by ensuring the survival and promoting the
conservation in their natural habitats of all species of flora and fauna;
iii) Observing the principle of optimum sustainable yield in the exploitation of
living natural resources and ecosystems;
iv) Preventing or abating significant environmental pollution or harm;
v) Establishing adequate environmental protection standards;
vi) Undertaking or requiring prior assessments to ensure that major law, policies,
projects, and technologies contribute to sustainable development; and
vii) Making all relevant information public without delay in all cases of harmful
or potentially harmful releases of pollutants, especially radioactive releases.
It was considered at the Rio Summit (1992) that the Brundtland Report (1989)
lacked a clear definition of sustainability. The World Bank’s Environment
Department now has formulated a new definition. It is in two parts: i) Output
Guide: Waste emissions should be within the assimilative capacity of the local
environment without degradation, and ii) Input Guide: Harvest rates of renewable
resources should be within the natural regenerative capacity; depletion rates of
non-renewable resources should be equal to the rate at which renewable substitutes
are developed.
Check Your Progress 1
Note: i) Use the space given below for your answers.
ii) Check your answers with those given at the end of the Unit.
1. Describe the term sustainable development.
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2. Discuss the nature of sustainable development.
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15
Concept of Sustainable
Development 1.4 SCOPE OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Much of the discussion on the scope of sustainable development has already
been made in our sections on ‘Meaning’ and ‘Nature’ of sustainable development.
It is pertinent that development is sustainable, as it saves wastage in the national
budget, fulfills the needs of people, helps in coordination between the natural
resources and people and conserves natural resources for future generations. We
all know that the e-goal of sustainable development is to meet the needs of today,
without compromising the needs of tomorrow. This means we cannot continue
using the resources at the current rate, as this way not enough would remain for
future generations.

Stabilising and reducing carbon emissions is the key to living within

environmental limits. Sustainable development believes that operating within
the right economic, social and environmental boundaries will create a truly
sustainable health system, one that is fit for the future. The scope of sustainable
development is very wide, as it deals with areas like social, economic,
environmental, and institutional dimensions.

Social Dimension

The social dimension of sustainable development includes ensuring a strong,

healthy and just society with emphasis on ‘zero hunger’, ‘good health and well-
being’, ‘quality education’, ‘population control’and ‘gender equality’.

Economic Dimension

The economic dimension of sustainable development includes economic well-

being of the masses with emphasis on ‘no poverty’,‘sustainable economy‘,
‘employment opportunities’, especially for women, ‘decent work and economic
growth‘, ‘managing natural resources’, and ‘responsible consumption and
production’.

Environmental Dimension
The environmental dimension of sustainable development includes promoting
environment- friendly and biodegradable products with emphasis on ‘clean water
and sanitation‘, ‘affordable and clean energy’, ‘reducing emissions from industry,
transport and energy’ (minimising the release of Greenhouse Gases, which
contribute to global warming and air pollution), ‘encouraging use of renewable
sources‘ (such as solar, wind and water energies), ‘climate action‘ and
‘preservation of natural resources’, while respecting and protecting natural habitats
(life below water and life on land) of life forms.

Institutional Dimension
The institutional dimension of sustainable development includes ‘industry,
innovation and infrastructure’, ‘sound financial resources’, ‘peace, justice and
strong institutions’, ‘sustainable cities and communities’, ‘partnerships for the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)’, and ‘international cooperation’.

SDGs of the United Nations

The United Nations created a set of 17 distinct, but interrelated goals to guide
global development between 2015 and 2030. Each goal has a set of targets – 169
16
altogether – with subsets of indicators – 232 in total. The SDGs also known as Meaning, Nature and Scope
of Sustainable Development
the global goals were adopted by all UN Member States in 2015 as a universal
call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that people enjoy
peace and prosperity by 2030.

The 17 SDGs are: i) No poverty, ii) Zero Hunger, iii) Good Health and Well-
being, iv) Quality Education, v) Gender Equality, vi) Clean Water and Sanitation,
vii) Affordable and Clean Energy, viii) Decent Work and Economic Growth, ix)
Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, x) Reducing Inequality, xi) Sustainable
Cities and Communities, xii) Responsible Consumption and Production, xiii)
Climate Action, xiv) Life Below Water, xv) Life on Land, xvi) Peace, Justice and
Strong Institutions; and xvii) Partnerships for the Goals.

On July 6, 2017, UN Resolution was adopted by the General Assembly. The

Resolution identifies the specific targets for each goal along with indicators that
are being used to measure progress towards each [Link] the SDGs
requires conducive partnership of government, private-sector, civil society and
citizens; to make sure we leave a better planet for the future generations.

The SDGs pay attention to multiple cross – cutting issues, like gender equity
education, and culture cut across all the SDGs. To achieve sustainable
development, many sectors need to come [Link] economic, social, political
and environmental sectors are all needed for all critically important and
interdependent development decisions. Progress will require multidisciplinary
and transdisciplinary research across all these sectors. This proves to be difficult
when the major governments fail to support it. According to the UN, the target is
to reach out to the community as widely as possible. However, data or information
must adjust for vulnerable groups such as children, elderly, persons with
disabilities, indigenous people, migrants, and internally displaced persons. There
were serious impacts and implications of Covid-19 Pandemic on all 17 goals in
the year 2020. We will read about these goals in detail in our next Units.

1.5 IMPORTANT PRINCIPLES AND FEATURES OF

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Principles

A few components of sustainable development, which are important are as

follows:

Conservation of Ecosystem

The main aim of sustainable development is to conserve the earth’s resources. It

is to make the ecological system steady. Preservation of ecosystem including
aquatic ecosystem is necessary for this purpose and aim.

Sustainable Development of Society

Population growth increases the demand for goods and services. Sustainability
of society depends on the availability of decent abode, balanced diet, adequate
health services, employment and quality [Link] to health and education
are important for the people in society.
17
Concept of Sustainable Conservation of Biodiversity
Development
It is important to ensure conservation of all the living species in the world. People
should learn to conserve the natural resources in order to protect them. Both the
Global Biodiversity Outlook in September 2020 and Living Planet Index (LPI)
of World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in September 2020 call for drastic and urgent
action to halt the biodiversity loss and restore ecosystem services before it is too
late.

Population Control

Population growth increases the demand for goods and services, and if it remains
unchanged, it would imply increased environmental [Link] world population
is growing at about 1.7 per cent annually; almost an addition of a hundred million
a year. This rapid population growth exacerbates the mutually reinforcing effects
of poverty and environment decay. Yet, environmental degradation can also
increase population growth. Dasgupta (Op. cit.) is of the view that children are
produced not only for earning money, securing old age, but also for increasing
[Link] population control and management are essential for sustainable
development.

Conservation of Human Resources

Human resource or HR is a big potential for sustainable development. Therefore,

human resources are to be developed by providing education, healthcare and
training. Human resources contribute immensely to sustainable development.
Efficient HR means effective decision making on environmental protection.

Encouraging Citizens’ Participation

The sustainable development process will acquire a fuller meaning if the citizens
participate fully in the implementation of sustainable development programmes.
Covid-19 Pandemic has highlighted just how environmental balance is important,
especially as we endeavour to build more resilient economies and communities.
The Covid-19 Pandemic has provided a stark and painful reminder of the criticality
of the concept of sustainable development.

Promotion of International Coordination and Cooperation

More strategic international action is needed to protect biological diversity.

Solution to international environment issues must be based upon common
principles and rules of collaboration among independent nations backed up by
persuasion and negotiations. Due to the common international concern for
biological resources, there is a strong case for more international efforts to provide
funding and technological assistance to developing [Link] Union
Environment Minister (India) on 31 July 2020 called for sharing of best practices
among BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) Nations towards
the sustainable development goals.

Features

To fulfill the scope and objectives of sustainable development, these features

need to be implemented while planning for economic development, some of
these steps are:
18
 Minimising the release of Greenhouse Gases, which directly contribute Meaning, Nature and Scope
of Sustainable Development
towards global warming and air pollution;
Emphasising on eco-friendly practices such as building green architecture;
Focusing on and implementing projects using renewable energy sources
like the sun, wind, water etc;
Preservation of natural resources, while respecting and protecting natural
habitats of life forms and organisms; and
Containing the rate of consumption from surpassing the production of
renewable sources.
Check Your Progress 2
Note: i) Use the space given below for your answers.
ii) Check your answers with those given at the end of the Unit.
1. Examine the scope of sustainable development.
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2. Explain the principles and features of sustainable development.
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1.6 CONCLUSION
Thus, we can say that traditional economic and industrial approaches are often
incompatible with sustainable development. A basic question today therefore is
not whether to choose between industrialisation and environment. The question
now revolves around selecting patterns of development that improve the quality
of environment. International economic cooperation is vital in this context.
However, this desirable outcome will not be achieved unless nations recognise
the crucial relationship between sound environmental management and
international economic development. What is required is a more integrated
approach towards evolving an international environment system, which responds
adequately to the development needs of the third world countries in the context
of growing environmental despoliation.

Growth and economic well-being are essential pre-requisites for prosperity and
this in turn depends on the implementation of policies and programmes that
envisage sustainable development (improved environment). We need to remember
19
Concept of Sustainable what Mahatma Gandhi, observed nearly hundred years ago, that there is enough
Development
in nature to meet the human need but not human [Link] can be reiterated for all
times to come. Sustainable development is indeed a significant force to meet
human needs and aspirations in context of growing environmental crises.

1.7 GLOSSARY
Biodiversity: It means the vast variety of life on earth. It refers to everything
including plants, bacteria, animals and humans.

Deforestation:Permanent removal of trees to make way for developmental

activities.

Development: It is a process of improving the well-being of the people. It is

about raising the standard of living of the people, improving their education and
health, and also giving them new and equal opportunities for a richer and more
varied life.

Sustainability: It means meeting the present needs without compromising the

ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Environment: It is the sum total of all social, biological, physical or chemical

factors, which compose the surroundings of a human being.

1.8 REFERENCES
Baumol, W.J. &Benhabile, J. (1984). Chaos: Significance, Mechanism, and
Economic applications. Journal of Economic Perspective. 3(1), 77-105.

Ciriacy-Wantrup. (1952). Resource Conservation: Economics and Policies.

Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.

Dasgupta, P.&Maler, K.G. (1990). The Environment and Emerging Development

Issues Proceedings of the World Bank, Annual Conference on Development
Economics. Washington: World Bank.

Dasgupta, P. (1993). An Enquiry into Wellbeing and Destitution. Oxford:

Clarendon Press.

Kothari, A. (1993). Is Sustainable Development Desirable and Possible?The

Indian Journal of Public Administration. 39(3), 249-253.

Redclift, M. (1987). Sustainable Development. London: Methuen.

World Bank. (1992).World Development Report 1992, Development and the

[Link] York: Oxford University Press.

World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED). (1987). Our

Common Future. The Brundtland Report, World Commission for Environment
and Development. Delhi, India: Oxford University Press.

20
 Meaning, Nature and Scope
1.9 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS of Sustainable Development

EXERCISES
Check Your Progress 1
1. Your answer should include the following points:
The legacy of the term ‘sustainable development’ is attributed to the
Report titled ‘Our Common Future’.
It means development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the needs of the future.
The idea of sustainable development goes far beyond environmental
protection.
It takes into view qualitative and quantitative changes in the economy.
It focuses on environmental analysis and environmental decay.
It addresses the questions of equity, justice and peace.
2. Your answer should include the following points:
Adopting the principle of sustainable development would require a
change of thinking.
There is a need to avoid overexploitation of critical environment zones.
There is a need to check the growth of population.
There is a need to maintain the population balance of livestock.
Need to control land alienation.
Need to maintain ecosystem.
Need to sustain biosphere diversity.
Check Your Progress 2
1. Your answer should include the following points:
Social dimension.
Economic dimension.
Environmental dimension.
Institutional dimension.
2. Your answer should include the following points:
Conservation of Ecosystem.
Sustainable development of society.
Conservation of biodiversity.
Population control.
Preservation of human resources.
Encouraging citizens’ participation.
Promotion of international coordination.
Minimising the release of Greenhouse Gases.
Eco-friendly construction practices.
Containing the rate of consumption.
21
Concept of Sustainable
Development UNIT 2 MAJOR COMPONENTS OF
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT*

Structure
2.0 Objectives
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Components of Sustainable Development
2.3 Social Components of Sustainable Development
2.4 Economic Components of Sustainable Development
2.5 Environmental Components of Sustainable Development
2.6 Conclusion
2.7 Glossary
2.8 References
2.9 Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises

2.0 OBJECTIVES
After reading this Unit, you should be able to:
Describe the social components of sustainable development;
Discuss the economic components of sustainable development; and
Examine the environmental components of sustainable development.

2.1 INTRODUCTION
Sustainable development came into operation when Development Administration
failed to deliver as per the changing economic and social environment. Sustainable
development would never have reached where it has now, if Development
Administration had not happened and it can be considered as a facilitator of
sustainable development. The word ‘sustainable use’ was first used by Hanns
Carl VonCarlowitz in his publication “nachhaltendenutzung” on sustainable
[Link],the concept of sustainable development was introduced in
the Brundlandt Report by the United Nations Environment Commission, chaired
by Gro Harlem Brundlandt, the then Prime Minister of Norway. The concept
was conceived with environment as its basic premise. Sustainable development
was defined as ‘development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’. We
know this by now that this Report came to be popularly known as the Brundlandt
Report, that has two main concepts that are fundamentally tied to the process of
sustainable management of the earth’s resources:

1) The Basic Needs of Humanity: The needs of food, clothing, shelter and
jobs must be met. This involves, first of all, paying attention to the largely
unmet needs of the world’s poor, which should be given overriding priority.

*
Contributed by Dr. Anupama Puri Mahajan, Former Post-doctoral Fellow, Department of Public
22 Administration, Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla
2) Limits to Development: The limits to development are not absolute, but Major Components of
Sustainable Development
are imposed by present states of technology and social organisation and by
their impact upon environmental resources and the biosphere’s ability to
absorb the effects of human [Link] technological and social
organisation can be both managed and improved to make way for a new era
of economic growth.

The 1992,United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, attracted the attention of the governments, international
agencies and non-governmental organisations around the world. The Agenda 21
adopted at the Conference represents a global consensus and political commitment
at the highest level on the socio-economic development and environmental
cooperation. The components of sustainable development are economic, social
and environmental. The term, sustainability refers to the bridging of the gap
between development and environment keeping in view these components. In
this Unit, the three components of sustainable development will be discussed in
detail.

2.2 COMPONENTS OF SUSTAINABLE

DEVELOPMENT
The components of sustainable development are also called its three pillars, which
must be considered together: the society, the economy and the environment. The
basic idea is the interrelationship among the people, habitats and economic
systems. We depend on the environment for our existence. It provides us with
soil, food, water, oxygen, etc. Our populations would not know how to survive
without these basics of life. A healthy biosphere builds a stable society without
which there would be unrest, poverty and disease. The social well-being and
economic well-being will feed off each other. The Agenda 21 is a 900 page
document, which focuses on the following four domains to strengthen the three
pillars of sustainable development:
i) Social and economic dimension:Fighting poverty and promoting
sustainable urban planning.
ii) Conservation and management of resources: Safeguarding the oceans’
fisheries and combating deforestation.
iii) Major groups: Strengthening the role of major groups like women, local
governments and NGOs; and
iv) Means of implementation: Transferring environmentally-sound technology.
Sustainable development is hence a process of change rather than a means for
the study and analysis of relationships, in order to identify solutions. It is a
conceptual framework, a process and an end goal all at the same time.

2.3 SOCIAL COMPONENTS OF SUSTAINABLE

DEVELOPMENT
In the first Unit, we have mentioned about the social, economic and environmental
components or dimensions of sustainable development. In this Unit, we will
study them in further [Link] social components include the social as well as
the human elements needed to achieve sustainability. It aims at building socio- 23
Concept of Sustainable cultural stability and preventing the social ills of alienation in our times. The
Development
common masses are frustrated cause of lack of job satisfaction and understanding
of the nature of their work. There are no absolute values in an age of relativism
and the unpredictability of the future due to diseases is writ large. The globe has
seen a number of viruses like Ebola, Zika, SARS, MERS, swine flu and now
COVID-19. Social sustainability comprises of issues like social equity, health
equity, community development, human rights, social responsibility and labour
rights. In a way, all domains of economy and environment are also social because
they affect the society. Socially sustainable societies are equitable, diverse,
connected, and democratic with an aim of providing a good quality of life.

Dimensions of Social Sustainable Development

Since the three pillars of sustainable development were defined, the world has
come a long way. The United Nations formulated 17 Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs) in 2015, covering most of the relevant areas to which 193 member
nations have pledged their support. The United Nations Research Institute for
Social Development (UNRISD) developed a programme on social dimensions
of sustainable development, which focuses on understanding, analysing and
engaging with processes of policy change that could tackle unsustainable
practices, climate change and inequalities. It entails attention to the
intersectionality of social, environmental and economic issues at different levels
in support of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development.

Amartya Sen has specified four dimensions of social sustainability:

i) Quality of Life: It comprises of various elements like affordable housing,

physical and mental medical support, education and training opportunities,
employment opportunities, access to safety and security. Quality of life
directly refers to the well-being of individuals in a society. Development is
considered as freedom because the right to basic amenities of life leads one
to freedom, whether it is freedom from poverty, sickness or illiteracy.
Development is an integrated process of expansion of substantive social,
political and economic freedoms that connect one another. Some aspects of
the quality of life that must be considered are given below:
Personal Heterogeneities (Differences): Different individuals have
specifically different characteristics like age, gender, illness or disability,
which makes their needs unique. Some problems may not be addressed
with equity as desired.
Environmental Diversity: The needs of individuals vary due to the
environmental conditions that they are affected by, like cold weather,
hot weather or rainfall. Pollution or adverse environmental conditions
change the quality of life of people.
Social Climate: Crime, violence, educational facilities, community
relationships and public facilities affect the level of social capital, which
influences the quality of life.
Relational Aspect: Quality of life is influenced by the relationships
prevalent in the community,which are based on culture, customs and
norms. Clothing, behaviour, self-respect are some indicators, which
determine how a person lives in a community.
24
 Income Distribution: The income distribution within a family affects Major Components of
Sustainable Development
the well-being or the freedom of the family members.

There are numerous factors that affect the quality of life in a society, but it is
very important to constantly make efforts towards improving it so that human
development is achieved. The issues that are faced in doing so are financial
conservatism, that is, the will to provide funding for social benefits. Most of
the government budgets facilitate military expenses instead of spending more
on literacy or health.

ii) Equality and Diversity: Sustainable development (SD) has raised the levels
of indicators formulated to measure the sustainability of developmental
process of each country region-wise by international agencies like the UN,
but it has raised the levels of inequalities between the rich and the poor. The
disadvantaged and the poor have increased in number all over the world.
The Agenda 21 has made the developed countries give a 0.15 per cent of
their Gross Domestic Product or GDP to the developing and underdeveloped
(less developed economies). However, the maximum they have been giving
is merely 0.7 per cent of their GDP. If the percentage of aid is increased, it is
believed that it will considerably decrease poverty globally.

Equality dimension leads to the next social dimension of diversity because

the disadvantaged sections of society belong to diverse groups of populations.
Nations must determine solutions to reduce the imbalance among diverse
groups to help the vulnerable. For example, India has a reservation quota
system, which makes provision to educate the disadvantaged and provide
employment to them.

iii) Social Cohesion: Social cohesion in a society means that the society works
towards the well-being of the people. Well-being can be achieved through
easy access of people to the public institutions to avail benefits, so that they
can also contribute to the [Link] example, if people get registered on
the employment exchange of the government, they can avail employment
opportunities. Some of the important issues that need attention in order to
have social cohesion within any group are:
The sense of belonging of a group in the broader community;
The level of participation of the group in social activities;
The understanding of and access to public and civic institutions; and
Contribution of the group to the society.
iv) Democracy and Governance: Social sustainability can be better achieved
in a nation that follows democratic governance. The programmes made by
the government require appropriate budget and resources, which can easily
be possible in a democratic society.

Amartya Sen was categorical about individuals having needs, but the fact cannot
be ignored that they also have values. Generations that were mentioned in the
definition of SD cannot be considered as having homogeneous tastes or
preferences. Social issues, however, cannot be separated from economic or
environmental concerns. The present world has become one of possessive
individualism with agreements among countries for trade like the General
25
Concept of Sustainable Agreement on Trade and Services and the Trade in Intellectual Property Rights.
Development
International organisations are working for development. but in the name of
liberalisation of trade, communities are disintegrating; resulting in loss of
capability and capacity. This concern has given rise to the emergence of concepts
of collective rights over common resources of water distribution and vegetation.

Check Your Progress 1

Note: i) Use the space given below for your answers.
ii) Check your answers with those given at the end of the Unit.
1. Write a short note on the different components of sustainable development.
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2. Describe the dimensions of social sustainable development.
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2.4 ECONOMIC COMPONENTS OF

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Development became a major concern of the developed nations after the second
half of the twentieth century, when most of the nations had achieved freedom
from the imperial forces like UK, Japan, Spain and Germany. Economic
development was a popular policy agenda across the world and as an offshoot,
development economics emerged as a new discipline. It broadly focussed on the
social,economic and political issues encountered in the development process.
Globally, most countries have made progress in Gross Domestic Product or GDP
and Human Development Index (HDI). However, there has been some negative
growth also in Africa. The problems lie in:

26
 The rising income inequalities and negative impact of development on Major Components of
Sustainable Development
environment; and
The existing social structures.
Development has come at a very high cost, which involves environmental
degradation, displaced people, loss of cultural and traditional heritage. The high
environmental and social costs have negated the economic gains. Now, people
are becoming aware of these adverse effects of development,which have resulted
in numerous protests across the globe. The pressure on the industry and
governments has led them to re-think policy and strategy that could lead to
sustainable development. Let us try to understand the economic component of
sustainable development through the following factors:

Exponential Era
Climate change is not the only environmental concern of the 21st century.
The next 30-40 years would have to face worse problems due to the massive
and exponential increase in the population across the world. Water, food
shortages and poverty would lead to crises of loss of world’s ecosystems,
species, and the state of the oceans. The 21st century is a world of rapid
changes, especially in the financial sector. The slightest of events in one
corner of the world sends the global economy either into a freefall or an
unexpected boom. Frequent fluctuations in oil prices sends economies into
turbulence.

This has an imminent effect on the society as [Link] statistics of poor

people who cannot afford even one square meal a day astounds us and all
efforts to arrest the situation remain unfruitful. The shocking and growing
inequality between the rich and the poor is worsening the case of poverty
alleviation. Poverty affects the social and environmental components equally
because the poor cannot find sustainable livelihoods. They rely on the natural
resources like wood for fuel, and fish to survive etc., putting more burden
and pressure on the planet. Additionally, the problems of terrorism,
unprecedented street violence, Covid pandemic, AIDS, food security and
nuclear proliferation have precipitated the problem exponentially.

Role of Industry
Large private industries have the capacity in the areas of technology, know-
how, finance, and politics and can be instrumental in achieving sustainable
development. They have the ability to deploy human resources that can
think of sustainable solutions to the production of goods and services. The
more sustainable options the people get, the more they would become aware
and opt for them. They can work out solutions to keep their organisations
profitable and contribute to keep the ecosystems viable. Corporate Social
Responsibility is one such solution.

Economic Sustainability
An economically sustainable system must be able to produce goods and
services on a continuing basis to maintain manageable levels of government
and external debt, and to avoid extreme sectoral imbalances, which damage
agricultural or industrial production. Broadly speaking, sustainability can
be defined as the maximisation of welfare over time from an economic
perspective. Human welfare includes adequate access to food, clothing, 27
Concept of Sustainable housing, transportation, health and education services etc. This definition
Development
simplifies the concept of economic sustainability to a measurable single-
dimensional indicator although it has many complexities from a reductionist
(simplistic) point of view.
Sustainable development can be operationalised in terms of conservation
of natural capital with respect to renewable and non-renewable resources
given below:
i) Renewable Resources: Resource consumption can be limited to sustain
the yield levels. The proceeds from non-renewable resource exploitation
must be re-invested into renewable natural capital. This would help in
maintaining a continuous reserve of natural capital. Another point of view
is to trade-off economic development with the depletion of natural resources.
This view does not talk about conservation but emphasises the fact that if
the economic value of progress, for example, building factories by cutting
forests, is more than the loss of losing forest land, then it is economically
sustainable. However, this viewpoint does not hold well with the sustainable
development that the planet requires. Hence, the application of a safe
minimum standard can help in the protection of natural resources. The society
can formulate regulations regarding the magnitude of the impact of natural
resources beyond a limit of cost and irreversibility.

ii) Economy Theory and Policy: Government must consider the following
three essentialities to achieve sustainability:
Moral imperatives;
Public decision-making; and
The formation of social values.
In an economic theory, market and pricing hold an important position, but
the end goal can be planned by a social decision-making process. The present
markets are seeing a surge in sustainable and circular economy.

iii) Circular Economy:In a circular economy, waste and pollution do not exist
by design, products and materials. Natural materials are used in the
production of goods, which are regenerated by natural systems. It uses green
financing, which means that the governments use innovation; restructure
critical sectors; and accelerate existing environmental plans; etc. Circular
economy and sustainability differ in the fact that the former focusses on the
environmental performance improvements rather than taking a holistic view
of the three components: social, economic and environmental. Sustainability
takes into account all the three aspects.

There are more than a hundred definitions of circular economy with different
meanings for different stakeholders, but the common factor in all of them is the
‘3Rs’. Circular economy employs the three tenets of ‘R’, that are: reduce, reuse
and recycle. These refer to reducing the use of plastic and other non-biodegradable
substances, reusing products and recycling them. There are various examples of
‘3Rs’ strategy like dropping your clothes into some designated places so that
they can be recycled by washing and shredding process and shaped into new
clothes. The same is the case with mobile phones, which can be refurbished by
saving the workable parts and making new phones. It can be best explained in
28 the figure given below:
 CIRCULAR ECONOMY Major Components of
Sustainable Development

Use of Green
Products -
Non-toxic and
recyclable

Cleaner
Recycle Production -
Waste- Reuse Use of fewer
resources resources,
mainly bio-
degradable

Collect end- Better

of-life Service -
Products- Extension of
Remanufacture lifespan of
products

Source: Contributor’s own compilation

The figure given here explains how economy can be environmentally responsible
and positively affect societies. The three components are interrelated for the
continued existence and well-being of the human race. Everybody wins because
natural resources are preserved; the economy becomes resilient and social life
improves because of maintenance of peace and human rights. When societies
are economically viable, people understand other issues like environmental
concerns and social well-being in a better way. Hence, economic sustainability
decisions are made in the most equitable and fiscally sound way.

Core Principles of Sustainable Livelihood

A livelihood is sustainable when it can cope with and recover from the stresses
and shocks or enhance its capabilities and assets both now and in the future,
without undermining the natural resource base. It is important to develop effective
local institutions that deliver goods and services, which include government
agencies, civil society organisations and the private sector. Community capacity-
building and institutional strengthening are two major efforts in creating
sustainable livelihoods. It has been recommended under the programme of
achievement of Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs that a Sustainable
Livelihoods Framework must be conceptualised in a holistic way by every
government.

The Department for International Development’s Sustainable Livelihood approach

has developed a poverty focused development framework, which is based on the
following core principles:

People-centred: There must be an understanding of the issues that concern the

people most, keeping in view the following points:

29
Concept of Sustainable i) Differences between various groups of people;
Development
ii) Alignment of the framework of sustainable livelihoods with the culture of
people; and
iii) The ability of the people to adapt.
Responsive and Participatory: The community must be determined to become
participants in the exercise of prioritising livelihoods. The external agencies,
which execute the framework of sustainable livelihoods should use established
processes to be responsive to the poor.

Multi-level: Elimination or reduction of poverty is a gigantic task, which can

only be carried out at micro as well as macro levels. Micro-level includes activities
that will provide sustainable livelihoods, while the macro-level comprises of
structures and processes that will enable people to build their capacities and
abilities accordingly.

Partnership: Public sector cannot succeed in formulating plans for sustainable

livelihoods on its own, but has to work in partnership with the private sector and
non-governmental organisations.

Dynamic: This is an age of rapidly changing world and the government agencies
must be dynamic to respond to such changes. They need to keep in mind the
changing needs of the people, which require a continuous scrutiny and
amendments in the framework and policies.

Sustainable: Since the issue under study is sustainable livelihoods, the focus
must be on the term‘sustainable’. There are four key dimensions that make
livelihoods sustainable, which are – economic, institutional, social and
environmental.

These principles must be kept in mind while formulating the framework of

sustainable livelihoods.

Sustainable Corporate Responsibility

The private sector can be a major player in working towards sustainable

development by implementing sustainable policies as a part of their social
corporate responsibility. Local communities can be engaged in programmes and
activities that are concerned with the sustainability of the planet, for example
cleaning drives of lakes and rivers in their areas or planting of trees. They can
reap the benefits of good image or goodwill in place of publicity campaigns by
displaying their banners sponsoring the event. The philanthropic aspect of the
corporate social responsibility can be taken advantage of in making strategies
regarding climate change and sustainability.

Regulations and Corruption

The governments make laws and regulations regarding environment but the less
developed economies do not have the capacity for enforcement. Corruption also
hinders the efforts towards environmental protection, as it helps the industrialists
to have access to the permits and licenses. Corruption hinders the global
sustainable supply chains resulting in fake data and disruption in the supply of
the sustainable end-product. For example, in the health sector, medicines that
30
are supposed to be given for free to patients belonging to the poor sections of the Major Components of
Sustainable Development
society are sold in the black market, while the patients have to buy out of their
own pockets, which they can seldom afford. Hence, health and well-being are at
risk if corruption in public health institutions is not urgently addressed.

Without meaningful action against corruption, progress towards the achievement

of other goals of sustainable development would become extremely limited,
especially economic growth would suffer. Corruption thrives more in countries
where transparency, accountability and institutions are weak. It undermines the
legitimacy and trust of people in public institutions, while adversely impacting
the delivery of public services and goods. These conditions are relevant to the
achievement of economic sustainability. Many international agencies like the
Asian Development Bank (ADB), Organisation for Economic Coordination and
Development (OECD), Transparency International and the World Economic
Forum have made anti-corruption strategies. They have developed the corruption
perception index to rank countries on the level of corruption, so that they can be
pushed to implement their anti-corruption policies and strategies.

2.5 ENVIRONMENTAL COMPONENTS OF

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
The third component of sustainable development is the environment, which is
being damaged due to the adverse effects of economic growth and social
inequalities. The three components overlap each other because they are closely
interrelated. Cheap fossil energy (coal, petroleum and natural gas) has undoubtedly
led to economic growth at a high speed,but as a result has damaged the
environment by producing billions of tonnes of Greenhouse Gases (GHGs).This
is one of the major causes of climate change in the present times. Originally, the
Johannesburg Plan of Implementation for Sustainable Development
emphasised on:
The sustainable use of biomass and energy;
Changing the unsustainable patterns of consumption and production,
especially in developed countries;
Moving towards cleaner production and eco-efficiency;
Inclusion of private companies and authorities;
Focal areas include transport, waste and chemicals;
Protecting and managing the natural resource base of economic and social
development;
Improvement of health infrastructure to deal with the adverse impact of
environmental damage;
Integration of economies and societies in a globalising world;
Assisting Small island (developing) states with technology, capacity-
building; coastal biodiversity etc.
Regional efforts in Africa and Latin America; and
Means of implementation and institutional framework upgradation.

31
Concept of Sustainable Growth and Environment
Development
The Brundtland Report of the World Commission on Environment and
Development (1987) drew our attention to the interconnection between sustainable
development and poverty reduction; with latter being a condition for
environmental protection and an input towards sustainable [Link]
is an integrated relationship between sustainable development and environment,
which determines the ways to minimise the adverse effects of human activities
on environment. Sustainable ecological perspective refers to eco-development,
which will help in safeguarding the biosphere, that is, the biodiversity; improve
the quality of life and protect the environment. There are three basic facts that
guide eco-development :
Human economic activity is carried out in a larger ecosystem, but the side-
effects are pollution and natural resource depletion;
The exponential growth in population is the second factor in the depletion
of the natural causes and increase in the waste-volume; and
Environmental changes are irreversible as a result of economic development.
Hence, sustainable development requires the integration of environmental
concerns into socio-economic decision-making. Policy-making in the public
sector is employing the indicators of the impact of environment, for example, in
the construction of highways, the private stakeholder is asked to plant trees or
flowers on the divider. This can be called a trade-off between development and
environment.

Integration through Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The 2030 Agenda for sustainable development strives to achieve sustainable

development in its three dimensions – economic, social and environmental; in a
balanced and integrated manner. The UN Economic and Social Commission for
Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) emphasises the need for four policy shifts to
promote integration:

Fundamental Policy: The basic conditions of social justice and ecological

sustainability must become fundamental policy objectives, rather than marginal
objectives.

Long-term Benefits: There must be a shift from a predominantly short-term

policy horizon to one that seeks long-term benefits for all.

Replacement of GDP:A focus on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as a measure

of progress should be replaced by metrics that encompass the three dimensions
of sustainable development.

Limited Resources: Public policy must recognise that the resources of the planet
are not limitless and that resource constraints cannot always be addressed by
technology.

These type of policy shifts will address the issues in public decision-making
regarding the implementation policies for SDGs. If these shifts in policies are
not taken into account, then negative externalities in form of pollution, emissions,
waste and social clashes manifest themselves. However, this can be done only
32
by strengthening institutional frameworks and capacity-building in the Major Components of
Sustainable Development
government sector. Political commitment and an inclusive vision for the future
can lead to sustainable development. The challenges that are being faced by
governments are agenda setting; policy formulation; policy implementation; and
policy monitoring and evaluation.

Input-output analysis has been used as a quantitative and analytical framework

suitable for integrating the social, economic and environmental dimensions of
investment, trade and related economic activity. The inputs are the natural
resources and capital, while the output are the goods and services produced. The
balance between the two will result in this type of integration to achieve the
SDGs. Countries like New Zealand have been using the integrated approach,
which includes multiple indicators.

Check Your Progress 2

Note: i) Use the space given below for your answers.
ii) Check your answers with those given at the end of the Unit.
1. Write a short note on the economic components of sustainable development.
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
2. Examine the importance of circular economy in sustainable development.
.......................................................................................................................
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.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
3. Describe the environmental components of sustainable development.
.......................................................................................................................
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.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................

2.6 CONCLUSION
Sustainable development can be achieved through the integration of its three
components or dimensions namely economic, social and environmental. Many
development agencies are adopting green economy models, which focus on
33
Concept of Sustainable sustainable development so that human economy and society operate within
Development
defined ecological limits. Qualitative scenarios are a novel way to address the
issue of sustainable development, as they are participatory, focused on alternatives
and facilitative of inputs for quantitative analyses. For example, scenarios created
to explore the future of food production and access to food may include
technologically feasible assumptions about closing yield gaps and increased
irrigation, water use efficiency, assumptions about demographic transition, human
capital development (increased access to education and rates of economic growth
in developing countries and assumptions about particular levels of global
warming). The governance processes have started including the concept of
sustainability in their policies and budgets. The Union Budget of India formulates
its budget as per the guidelines established by 17 SDGs and the states also follow
suit in their budget formulations. This Unit described some of these pertinent
factors and issues.

2.7 GLOSSARY
Agenda 21: The Agenda 21 is a 900 page document, which focusses on certain
domains to strengthen the three pillars of sustainable development: social and
economic dimension; conservation and management of resources; major groups;
and the means of implementation.

Exponential Era: This is an exponential era because the next 30-40 years will
face worse problems due to the massive and exponential increase in the
populations across the world. Water and food shortages; and poverty will lead to
crises such as loss of world’s ecosystems, and species.

General Agreement on Trade and Services: It is a Treaty of the World Trade

Organisation (WTO), which was implemented in January 1995. The Treaty was
created to extend the multilateral trading system to service sector.

Personal Heterogeneities (Differences): Different individuals have specifically

different characteristics like age, gender, illness or disability, which makes their
needs unique.

Quality of Life: It comprises of various elements like affordable housing, physical

and mental medical support, education training opportunities, employment
opportunities, access to support and safety and security. Quality of life directly
refers to the well-being of individuals in a society.
Social Cohesion: Social cohesion in a society means that the society works
towards the well-being of the people irrespective of their social status.
Sustainable Development: Sustainable development has been defined as
‘development that meets the needs of the present, without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their own needs’. It is the most popular
definition given by Brundtland Report.
Sustainable Development Goals: The United Nations has formulated 17
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015, covering most of the relevant
areas to which 193 member nations pledged their signatures and support.
Sustainable Livelihoods: A livelihood is sustainable, when it can cope with and
recover from the stresses and shocks of environment or enhance its capabilities
34
and assets, both now and in the future, without undermining the natural resource Major Components of
Sustainable Development
base.

Trade in Intellectual Property Rights: It establishes minimum standards for

the availability, scope and use of seven forms of intellectual property, namely
copyrights, trademarks, geographical indications, patents etc.

2.8 REFERENCES
Bawa, K.S. & Seidler, R. (2009).Dimensions of Sustainable Development.
Oxford:EOLSS Publishers.

Corona, B., Shen, L., Reike, D., Carreon, J.R. &Worrel, E. (2019). Towards
Sustainable Development through the Circular Economy – A review and critical
assessment on current circularity metrics. Retrieved from [Link]
[Link]/handle/1874/385098

Duran, D.C., Gogan, L.M., Artene, A. & Duran, V. (2015). The Components of
Sustainable Development – A Possible Approach. Procedia Economics and
Finance. 26, 806-811.

Frankenberger, T.R. (n.d.). A Brief Overview of Sustainable Livelihoods

Approaches. Retrieved from [Link]
htm#:~:text=Sustainable%20livelihood., base%20 (Chambers%20%26%20
Conway)

Hardisty, E. P. (2010).Environmental and Economic [Link] Press.

Higgins, L.K. (2015).Economic Growth and Sustainability – Systems Thinking

for a Complex World. Elsevier Inc.

[Link]

Labelle, H. (2009). Anti-Corruption and the Sustainable Development Platform.

Retrieved from [Link]
meetingsandconferences/[Link]

Mahajan, A.P. (2019).Development Administration. New Delhi, India:Sage

Publishers.

Meo, B. (2020). How can the Circular Economy Support Sustainable

Development? Retrieved from [Link]
economy-support-sustainable-development/
Rogers, P.P., Jalal, K.F. & Boyd, J.A. (2008).An Introduction to Sustainable
[Link] Educational Foundation, Inc.
Rubio, D.F. &Andvig, E. (2019). Serious about Sustainability? Got serious about
corruption. Retrieved from [Link]
about-sustainability-get-serious-about-corruption/
Sen, A. (1999).Development as Freedom. Delhi, India: Oxford University Press.
UNESCAP. (2015). Integrating the Three Dimensions of Sustainable
Development. A Framework and Tools. Retrieved from [Link]
35
Concept of Sustainable sites/default/files/Integrating%20the%20three%20dimensions%20of%
Development
20sustainable%20development%20A%[Link]

2.9 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

EXERCISES
Check Your Progress 1
1. Your answer should include the following points:
Sustainable development came into operation when Development
Administration failed to deliver with regard to the changing economic
and social environment.
The Brundtland Report has two main concepts, which are fundamentally
tied to the process of sustainable management of the earth’s resources:
i) The Basic Needs of Humanity
ii) Limits to Development
The term, “sustainability” refers to bridging the gap between
development and environment.
2. Your answer should include the following points:
The social component includes the social as well as the human element
to achieve sustainability, with an aim to build socio-cultural stability
and prevent the social ills of alienation in our times.
Dimensions of Social Sustainable Development include:
i) Quality of Life
ii) Equality and Diversity
iii) Social Cohesion
iv) Democracy and Governance
Check Your Progress 2
1. Your answer should include the following points:
The pressure on the industry and governments has led them to re-think
about the policy and strategy that can lead to sustainable development.
Climate change is not the only environmental concern in the 21st century.
The next 30-40 years will face worse problems due to the massive
exponential increase in the populations across the world. Water and
food shortages; and poverty will lead to crises of loss of world’s
ecosystems and species.
Large private industries have the capacity in the areas of technology,
know-how, finance, and politics. They can be instrumental in achieving
sustainable development. They have the ability to employ human
resources who can think of sustainable solutions in the production of
goods and services.
An economically sustainable system must be able to produce goods
and services on a continuous basis to maintain manageable levels of
government and external debt, and avoid extreme sectoral imbalances,
36 which damage agricultural or industrial production.
 The government must consider certain essentialities to achieve Major Components of
Sustainable Development
sustainability: moral imperatives, public decision-making, and the
formation of social values.
2. Your answer should include the following points:
In a circular economy, waste and pollution do not exist by design,
products and materials. Natural materials are used in the production of
goods, which are regenerated by natural systems. It uses green financing,
which means that the governments use innovation; restructure critical
sectors; accelerate existing environmental plans, etc.
Circular economy employs the three tenets of ‘R’- that are reduce, reuse,
and recycle. It refers to reducing the use of plastic; reusing products
and recycling them.
3. Your answer should include the following points:
A major component of sustainable development is environmental
protection, which is being damaged due to the adverse effects of
economic growth and social inequalities.
Emphasis of Johannesburg Plan of Implementation for sustainable
development with regard to the environmental component.
Growth and environment.
Integration through Sustainable Development Goals.

37
Concept of Sustainable
Development UNIT 3 APPROACHES TO SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT*

Structure
3.0 Objectives
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Status Quo Approach
3.3 Community Capacity Building Approach
3.4 Industrial Sector Approach
3.5 Integrated Systems Approach
3.6 Human Development Approach
3.7 Green Accounts Approach
3.8 Conclusion
3.9 Glossary
3.10 References
3.11 Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises

3.0 OBJECTIVES
After reading this Unit, you should be able to:
Explain the Status Quo Approach;
Discuss the Community Capacity Building Approach;
Examine the Industrial Sector Approach;
Describe the Integrated Systems Approach;
Elucidate the Human Development Approach; and
Bring out the relevance of Green Accounts Approach.

3.1 INTRODUCTION
Although Sustainable Development (SD) concept was conceived in the 1970s, it
became the central point of development discourse with the World Commission
on Environment and Development in 1987 (WCED or the Brundtland
Commission), and its Report on Our Common Future, culminating in Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015.

In 1992, SDGs were defined by the UN, but the nations were mostly unsuccessful
in moving towards their achievement. The world leaders came together in 2012
and developed the framework to achieve Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs), but they could not set an agenda for achieving any Sustainable
Development Goals. We will deal with the SDGs in detail in our next [Link]
High-Level Panel on Global Sustainability developed a framework of universal
principles of SD, which are given below:

*
Contributed by Dr. Anupama Puri Mahajan, Former Post-doctoral Fellow, Department of Public
38 Administration, Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla
 It should be universal in character, covering challenges faced by all countries Approaches to Sustainable
Development
rather than just developing nations.
It should express a broadly agreed global strategy for sustainable
development.
It should incorporate a range of key areas that were not fully covered in the
MDGs.
It should be comprehensive, reflecting all the three dimensions of SD.
It should incorporate near-term benchmarks while being long-term in scope,
looking ahead to a deadline of perhaps 2030.
It should engage all stakeholders in the implementation and mobilisation of
resources.
It should provide scope for the review of these goals in view of evolving
scientific evidence (UN, 2013).
In 2015, The UN laid down 17 SDGs under which 169 indicators have been
developed for the nations to follow. 193 member nations pledged to work under
the umbrella of these SDGs, of which India is also a participating member. This
Unit deals with the approaches to SD under which there are numerous approaches,
but only the major ones will be dealt in this Unit.

3.2 STATUS QUO APPROACH

The supporters of the Status Quo approach believe that there is no need for making
any fundamental changes, as there are no such problems that are impossible to
solve. Although changes are required, which can be made by making adjustments,
there is no imperative need to change the means of decision-making or power
relations (Hopwood, et al., 2005). This is based on the human tendency of sticking
to what they know and their general resistance to change. Another factor that
contributes to status quo is the lock-in mechanisms that the existing systems
have for stabilisation. Selecting from alternatives becomes difficult because of
the inertia generated by the growing benefits through an ongoing activity. The
fundamentals in this approach are:

More growth will lead to SD and support the decision of the governments to
reduce the progressive nature of taxation.

Business is the driver to sustainability.

The best means to achieve SD are increased information; changing values;

new technologies and innovations.

Markets will use sustainable processes to produce goods and services by

employing changes in taxation and subsidies by being well-informed.

The reduced role of governments will lead to the emergence of green

capitalists who will indulge in corporate citizenship and ethical business to
achieve SD.

Increase in good governance on the one hand, and reduction in corruption

on the other will help in reaching closer to sustainability. 39
Concept of Sustainable Techniques like EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment); EMAS Eco-
Development
Management and Audit System); BATNEEC (Best Available Techniques
not Entailing Excessive Costs); and Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) can help
in attaining SD.

The supporters of Status Quo approach have not been known as having strong
commitment to environmental sustainability, as they think of technology as a
replacement for nature. Although this approach has been acknowledged by the
World Bank as an approach to reduce poverty,it does not talk about a strong shift
in policy approach for SD.

3.3 COMMUNITY CAPACITY BUILDING

APPROACH
The Community Capacity Building or the CCB approach proposes skill-
development and increase in knowledge base in the populations living below the
poverty line. They need to be enabled with skill and knowledge to become
gainfully involved in a community so that they can contribute to the society. SD
caters to the majority of rural population and the ABCD Model of the Ford
Foundation aims at –Acquire, Develop, Improve or Transfer across generations
– the building of assets. Given below are three main areas in the CCB approach,
where the ABCD Model can be applied:

i) Resources: The financial holdings; natural resources (forests, wildlife); and

the livestock can provide sustainable livelihoods. They have cultural and
environmental importance in cleansing, recycling and renewing air and water
(UN, 2013).

ii) Social Bonds:The social bonds and community relationships encourage

investment of the community in providing support to the poor.

iii) Human Assets: The human assets refers to the skills in the individuals,
which can get them employment and wages in the rural areas.

Under this Model, many activities and programmes have been successfully
launched in which sustainability drives have been carried out, for example to
organise a cleaning drive by paying out of a small donation to the street people
who bring empty cans and plastic bottles. This serves two purposes, that is of
sustainability as well providing for the poor. This kind of participatory CCB
approach has helped the rural poor around the world, while integrating the three
dimensions of sustainable development -social, economic and environmental.

In the New Agenda published by the United Nations regarding the SDGs, it has
been clearly stated that the most vulnerable must be empowered. Those whose
needs are reflected in the Agenda include all children, youth, persons with
disabilities (of whom 80 per cent live in poverty), people living with HIV/AIDS,
older persons, indigenous peoples, refugees and internally displaced persons and
migrants (UN, 2015). The implementation of the SDGs will require a global
partnership by involving the governments, private sector, the UN system and the
civil society. The New Agenda also stated that the UN will work with the local
authorities and communities to renew and plan our cities and human settlements,

40
so as to foster community cohesion and personal security and to stimulate Approaches to Sustainable
Development
innovation and employment.

3.4 INDUSTRIAL SECTOR APPROACH

The Industrial Sector approach, commonly referred to as Industry approach
implies that the Industry or Business has an important role in addressing the
implementation and achievement of the SDGs. Industrial Sector Approach falls
under the integrated systems approach in a way because the three components of
SD have to be achieved simultaneously. Even if one component is neglected, it
will have an adverse impact on the other two thereby negating the positive impact.
The private sector has been highlighted as a partner with the potential to contribute
in multiple ways to development objectives, which are:
Stimulating economic growth and job creation;
Providing investment and finance; and
Sharing the resources and knowledge needed to shape innovative solutions
to global challenges.
The SDGs provide a focus for the world’s efforts to meet global challenges
including climate change, water management and sanitation; and equitable
education. The private sector has the capability to commercialise the sustainable
solutions and help in the achievement of SDGs (Wynn and Jones, 2020). The
UN agencies have urged the private industrial houses to formulate their strategic
framework according to the SDGs.

Sustainable Industrial Development (SID) means that business and industry will
have to adjust production structures and its product mix (European Commission,
1999) to which the industrial policy must assist in the process. An increased
interrelationship among the environment, industrial policies and promotion of
the role of industry is an important basic element in achieving SID. The industrial
policies and the environment are two important components for SD resulting in
an increased level of innovation and industrial competitiveness. This will further
open up more opportunities for employment and help in socio-economic
development.

The consumers have become aware of ethical and sustainable products and the
more options they get, the more the companies will be able to make profits.
There is immense scope in the development of efficient and innovative energy
technologies, as well as reduction of Greenhouse Gas emissions and waste.
Some other areas for meeting the goals of SD are health, education, sanitation,
finance and communication products. Many theoretical frameworks that connect
the nature/environment and society have been made as a roadmap to sustainability.
The most important industry that can help is the finance industry by leading
rather than reacting to the issues arising out of unsustainability or sustainability.
Some industrial sectors that can be related to the SDGs are:
Focus on retail industry with SDG 12 (sustainable consumption and
production) by sourcing sustainable products from the manufacturers and
supplying them to the consumers through their company. For example, Fab
India sources its materials directly from the handloom workers and sells it
through its chain of stores;
41
Concept of Sustainable Banking industry can provide for financial products which can cover many
Development
goals that need to be addressed.
Use of energy efficient air conditioners, smart bulbs, renewable energy
solutions like solar panels with SDG 7 in view; and
Emphasis on education industry (schools, colleges, universities) with
SDG 4.

The above-mentioned examples depict how SDGs can be achieved through

systematic interlinkages.

Ways to achieve SDGs in the Industrial Sector Approach

The two main ways through which SDGs can be achieved are responsible
entrepreneurship and eco-efficiency. They are briefly explained below:

i) Responsible Entrepreneurship: According to the UN,companies can

manage their operations so that economic growth and competitiveness can
be strengthened, while keeping focus on environmental protection and social
responsibility. This can be seen in the strategies and operations of various
companies around the world, which have progressed from acting under
government regulatory pressure to voluntary changes because of consumer
awareness. This goal can be achieved only through responsible
entrepreneurship using new approaches of eco-efficiency by integrating
environmental concerns into their management strategies and planning.

Technologies like eco-efficiency, life cycle thinking and sustainable product

design help in the implementation of SDGs. The companies conduct the Cost
Benefit Analysis to appraise the costs and benefits of environmental action and
to make presentations to their shareholders through environmental accounting
and environmental reporting. International best practices have helped in
formulating indicators for performance assessment and benchmarks to be
achieved.

ii) Eco-efficiency: Responsible entrepreneurship comprises of eco-efficiency

as a business strategy, as it is a combination of economic and environmental
aspects. The eco-efficiency strategy, aims at reducing the non-renewable
resources, waste, etc., thereby resulting in an increase in the service intensity
of goods and services. The governments also follows the strategy of eco-
efficiency and has made it an important element of SD policy strategy.

Principles for Environment Management for the Industry

The principles for environmental management have been formulated by the

International Chamber of Commerce (Woolard, 1992) to be used as a basis for
pursuing improvements and supporting the cause of SD. They are given below
in brief:

i) Corporate Priority: The corporate sector must ensure that policies,

programmes, and practices for their operations must be aligned with
environmental management.

ii) Integrated Management: These policies, programmes, and practices must

be an integral part of management functions.
42
iii) Process of Improvement: The businesses must continuously make efforts Approaches to Sustainable
Development
to improve their processes, across the globe, concerning environmental
performance by using the following:
Technological developments;
Scientific understanding;
Consumer needs; and
Community expectations.
iv) Employee Education: The employees must be educated, trained and kept
motivated, so that they are able to operate in an environmentally responsible
manner.

v) Prior Assessment: The manufacturing and consumption of products and

services must be assessed prior to their final supply to the end-user so that
environmental and sustainability concerns are addressed.

vi) Customer Advice: The customers must be advised on the safe use,
transportation, storage and disposal of products.

vii) Facilities and Operations: There must be efficient use of energy and
materials; sustainable use of renewable resources; and reduction of adverse
environmental impact. Effective waste management also must be done.

viii) Precautionary Approach: Care must be taken to avoid irreversible

environmental damage by the companies in the manufacturing, marketing,
and the use of products or the conduct of activities as per the latest technology
and scientific temper.

ix) Research: The companies must carry out research on the effects of indusrial
operations involving the raw materials, products, emissions and wastes on
the enviroment. If any adverse effect is found, it must be corrected and the
approach must be readjusted.

x) Transfer of Technology: The companies who have the environment-friendly

technology must transfer technology to those who do not have access to it.

The UN has stated that promoting inclusive and sustainable industrialisation is

the key to SD. It has stressed on critical importance of industrial development
for developing countries, as a major source of economic growth, economic
diversification, and value addition. It has also focussed on promoting inclusive
and sustainable industrial development to effectively address the major challenges
such as growth and jobs, resources and energy efficiency, pollution and climate
change, knowledge-sharing, innovation and social inclusion.

In this regard, relevant cooperation within the United Nations system, including
the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), which would
help in advancing the linkages between infrastructure development, inclusive
and sustainable industrialisation and innovation.

43
Concept of Sustainable Check Your Progress 1
Development
Note: i) Use the space given below for your answers.
ii) Check your answers with those given at the end of the Unit.
1. Write a short note on the universal principles of sustainable development.
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
2. Discuss in detail the Status Quo approach to sustainable development.
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
3. Explain the dimensions of the Community Capacity Building approach to
sustainable development.
.......................................................................................................................
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.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
4. Describe the Industrial Sector approach to sustainable development.
.......................................................................................................................
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.......................................................................................................................

3.5 INTEGRATED SYSTEMS APPROACH

The Integrated Systems approach refers to the designing and adopting of the SD
strategies and plans, which integrate environmental, social and economic
dimensions and recognise their linkages. The UN Department of Economic and
Social Affairs (UN-DESA) stated in its published Report that there was a lack of
integration, inclusion and coherence because nations mostly focussed on economic
growth and poverty reduction. The planning approaches work in silos instead of
44
addressing complex problems of the societies regarding environmental and Approaches to Sustainable
Development
sustainable development issues. The governments need to consider the
interlinkages between the systems and their sub-systems, for example, water,
energy and eco-systems and their impacts like climate change in the future. It
also said that the traditional sector-based approaches and tools are not fit for this
purpose, as the challenges are more complex and systemic in nature. This is the
basis for the importance of an Integrated Systems approach (ISA) in SD planning
and strategy formulation (UN, 2015).

Some scholars and strategists have given a Transition approach as a separate

approach, but in fact transition is a part of the ISA. Unless there is a transition
from the traditional methods, it will be difficult to reach any closer to the SDG
Agenda 2030. The areas for transition, laid down by the UN, are given below:
Supportive political system;
Effective planning agencies;
Access to information;
Strong UN system;
Consistent coordination;
Capacity-building for media and civil society;
Membership in multi-lateral agencies; and
Education in schools.
Issues in Transition: Transition is never an easy process and faces many
challenges. Some major factors impeding transition towards SD are:
Deficient participation of stakeholders;
Corruption;
Shocks and insecurity;
Lack of finance and debts;
Instability and internal/external conflict;
Gaps in knowledge;
Resistance to change;
Lack of transparency;
Recognition of civil society;
Lack of database; and
Youth employment.
The above-mentioned factors hindering the transition towards SD must be
considered by the international agencies and the nations before formulating
policies and implementing them regarding SDGs. A Systems approach is essential
because of the resulting negative feedback from working in silos, that is, in
isolation, for example, boosting economic growth without the social and
environmental consideration.

45
Concept of Sustainable Importance of ISA
Development
The ISA is the best solution to implement SD because of the following reasons:

i) Holistic: The earth life-support system comprises of land, climate and water
in which the human habitat is a part of the whole. There is a need to look at
the eco-chain holistically as climate change is wrecking havoc, both socially
and economically. For example, floods or droughts lead to famines and
diseases, adversely affecting the society as a whole. The poor become poorer
and the rich become richer leading to social injustice.

ii) Local Consideration: The geographical position of a country or a region

has its own peculiar problems and one single policy cannot effectively
implement the SDGs. It is important to have data about the place on count
of geography, timespan, cultural norms, etc. However, global impact cannot
be materialised by local individual efforts.

iii) Combined Efforts via Synergism: Synergism means the combined efforts
of two or more than two agencies who work for more than one SDG for
better results in the ISA. There can be cost-savings if more than one SDG
are targeted for achievement simultaneously. The European Union estimated
in a study that integrated climate legislation could save 50 billion a year in
health costs and direct costs related to environmental degradation (Future
Earth,2019).

Implementation of ISA

The Future Earth Group is an international agency that works in determining

designs and solutions for the acceleration of global sustainability. It proposed a
seven-point scale to help the governments to assess the effects of potential SDG
policies. Given below are the seven points/indicators for the assessment of the
SDGs interactions:
A Scale to Score SDG Interactions
Interactions Name Explanation
+3 Indivisible Inextricably linked to the achievement of
another goal.
+2 Reinforcing Aids the achievement of another goal.
+1 Enabling Creates conditions that further another goal.
0 Consistent No significant positive or negative interactions.
-1 Constraining Limits options on another goal.
-2 Counteracting Clashes with another goal.
-3 Cancelling Makes it impossible to reach another goal.
Source: (Nilsson, M., et al., 2016)

The example given by the Future Earth is appropriate to explain the seven-point
scale of reducing air [Link] Systems approach does not propose to
concentrate exclusively on the SDGs, but to acknowledge the macro-level
characteristics of a system like socio-ecological resilience. Dynamic links across
sectors, actors and countries must be developed. For example, in the finance
46
sector, tax breaks could be established for private companies in high income Approaches to Sustainable
Development
countries that make very long-term investments (i.e., returns measured over
decades rather than quarterly) in lower income countries, to create locally
sustainable products and services, with partnerships that enable their economies
to grow. Improving such connections across sectors, actors and countries can
reveal a variety of creative means to improve systematic SDG implementation
(Stafford-Smith, M. et al.).

The SDGs are fruitless if not implemented successfully and the best way that has
emerged till now has been an Integrated Systems approach. The 2020 Agenda in
Para 6 stated that it is indivisible, in a sense that it must be implemented.

3.6 HUMAN DEVELOPMENT APPROACH

Human development refers to well-being of humans, which is an integral goal
for any society or a government to achieve. Human well-being is called Subjective
Well-Being (SWB) because individuals have their own perception of happiness
and well-being throughout the world according to a World Gallup Survey which
covers 98 per cent of population. The World Happiness Report is made by the
United Nations Sustainable Solutions Network. Human development is a process
and, at the same time, a result, focusing on the results of wider possibilities to
choose. It can be defined in the easiest way as a process of expanding options:
every day, a human being makes a series of economic, social, political and cultural
choices. The ultimate goal of human development is not to create greater wealth
or achieve greater economic growth, but the expansion of choices for every human
being (Human Development Report, 2001).

The World Happiness Report (WHR) 2020, that is the eighth report focuses
especially on the social, urban and natural aspects of environment. The purpose
of the WHR is to review the science of measuring and understanding SWB and
to use survey measures of life satisfaction to track the quality of lives in more
than 150 countries. Their main goal is to evaluate social environment for
happiness.

Main Areas of Focus in the WHR

Given below, are the major areas that WHR focuses on:
i) Social Environment for Happiness: The Report uses six factors to explain
happiness and the measurement of different aspects of the social environment.
They are:
Having someone to count on;
Having a sense of freedom to make key life decisions;
Generosity;
Trust;
Effects of inequality on average happiness; and
How a good social environment operates to reduce inequality.
ii) Urban Happiness: The happiness of city life has been compared among
the cities in the same country. The WHR found that city rankings and country
rankings were essentially identical and city dwellers were happier than those
47
Concept of Sustainable living outside the cities although the urban happiness advantage was
Development
sometimes negative.

iii) Sustainable Natural Environment: People are becoming more aware and
conscious about their natural environment and want to protect it. The WHR
noted from its survey that the various pollutants have negative effects on
life evaluations. Although forests have positive effects on life evaluation,they
have none on emotions. According to their survey conducted in London, on
the linkage of natural environments and happiness amongst people, it was
found that people reported being happy mostly when they were close to a
river, canal, public parks or doing some activities like birdwatching, walking
in public parks, etc., in comparison to being sedentary at home.

iv) Sustainable Development and Human Well-Being: The WHR has given
information on the relationship between SD and well-being. The SWB, as
mentioned before, is a measure of well-being and the survey responses may
differ from emotional measures of well-being in comparison to the economic
measures such as income and development. The evaluation of SDGs in
relation to well-being, other indicators were added like the Human
Development Index, Index of Economic Freedoms, Global Peace Index,
Global Competitiveness Index, Environmental Protection Index (EPI) and
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita. The Human Development Index
(HDI) measures the level of welfare within a country by looking at three
indicators:
Life Expectancy Indicators – refers to life expectancy at birth;
Educational Attainment Indicators – refers to the adult literacy rate and
gross enrolment ratio; and
Standard of Living–measured by GDP per capita.
The results of the survey showed that the SDG Index remains significant alongside
the EPI and GDP per capita. Hence, the Human Development Approach helps in
making progress in terms of the SD and in benefiting the people and the planet.
This approach helps in determining which SDGs must be focussed upon more,
considering restricted budgets, although all SDGs are important.

3.7 GREEN ACCOUNTS APPROACH

All nations are making an effort to build a “Green Economy”, which signifies
human well-being and social equity together with reducing environmental risks
and ecological scarcity. In developing countries, the issue of SD and green
economy has gained attention. The Green Accounts approach refers to the national
accounts that incorporate environmental externalities. They help us understand
the impact of our social, political and economic actions on environment. The
concept of green accounting considers the environmental damage that is caused
by the activities of the humankind, but is not included in the traditional accounting
system. The conventional national accounting system does not cater to the SD
issues. This issue was resolved by Paul P. Craig and Harold Glasser by proposing
a Transfer Model approach to integrate the Green Accounts approach in the pursuit
of SD although there have been numerous studies and models on the topic.

48
The approach emphasises on stocks and flows along with bio-geophysical aspects Approaches to Sustainable
Development
to give meaning and context to green accounts. Sustainable utilisation refers to
spending the interest while keeping the capital. Certain baseline conditions must
be guaranteed in bio-geophysical terms that comprise of stocks and flows, for
example, habitat, healthy food, clean water, etc., to sustain the species.
Principles of SD
Herman Daly, an economist, gave two principles to guide SD, which are:
i) Harvest rate must be equal to or lower than regenerative rates (sustained
yield); and
ii) The waste emission rates must be equal to or lower than the natural
assimilative capacities of the ecosystems into which they are emitted.
These principles are distinct from the traditional economic indicators because of
their bio-geophysical factors. Green accounting cannot relate to only renewable
resources. The Transfer Model approach suggests the incorporation of multiple
world views and uncertainty (Craig, 1994).

Check Your Progress 2

Note: i) Use the space given below for your answers.
ii) Check your answers with those given at the end of the Unit.
1. Explain the Integrated approach to sustainable development.
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
2. Describe the Human Development approach to sustainable livelihoods.
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
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.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
3. Discuss the Green Accounts approach to sustainable development.
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................

49
Concept of Sustainable 4. Examine India’s response to the implementation of Sustainable Development
Development
Goals.
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................

3.8 CONCLUSION
Sustainable Development Goals have been extensively formulated covering all
aspects that concern the environment, social, and economic needs of the present
generation,without harming the future of the next generations. Hence, it is an
international effort that spans an intergenerational and intercultural scope. The
2030 Agenda of SD can be achieved through multiple approaches, however, the
best approach is the Integrated approach, which incorporates the three components
into its strategy for simultaneous efforts to take shape. The basic purpose of
making an agenda to achieve SD is to have an international system for ranking
the countries trying to achieve the 17 goals and 169 targets. India has also aligned
itself with the SDGs by following a Holistic approach, that is, the Integrated
approach, also called Triple Bottom Line approach, towards them.
Through consistent growth and social inclusion initiatives, India has been able
to reduce poverty, improve education levels, aggressively expand basic
infrastructure capacities, conserve our rich biodiversity and build partnerships
for sustainable development. Poverty – monetary and multidimensional, has fallen
to some extent in recent years. Health insurance coverage programmes covering
over 500 million people have been successfully rolled out. Over 100 million
household toilets have been built since October 2014. All our villages and over
99 per cent of our households are electrified. Our forest cover, between
assessments in 2017 and 2019, has increased. India’s technical assistance
programmes reach 160 countries across the world. We have jumped 79 places in
the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business ranking of countries in the past five
years, moving from 142 in 2014 to 63 in 2019. Jointly with France, India has
facilitated the formation of the International Solar Alliance, bringing together
countries that are well-positioned to invest aggressively in solar energy. These
are just a few examples of the progress made (NITI Aayog, 2021). This Unit
discussed the major approaches to sustainable development in detail.

3.9 GLOSSARY
BATNEEC: This means Best Available Techniques not Entailing Excessive
[Link] referred to BEST Available Technology, it was introduced in
1984. It means meeting the output standards for a particular process such as
pollution abatement. The technique is used in formulation of environmental
policies.

Bio-geophysics: It is a sub-discipline of geophysics concerned with how plants,

microbial activity and other organisms alter geological materials and affect
geophysical signatures.
50
Community Capacity Building or CCB Approach: The CCB approach Approaches to Sustainable
Development
proposes skill-development and increase in knowledge base in the populations
living below the poverty line. They need to be enabled with skill and knowledge
to become gainfully involved in a community so that they can contribute to the
society.

Eco-efficiency: The eco-efficiency strategy aims at reducing the non-renewable

resources, waste, etc., thereby resulting in an increase in the service intensity of
goods and services.

Holistic Approach: The earth life-support system comprises of land, climate

and water in which the human habitat is a part of the whole.

Responsible Entrepreneurship: According to the UN, companies can manage

their operations so that economic growth and competitiveness can be strengthened,
while keeping focus on environmental protection and social responsibility.

3.10 REFERENCES
Craig, P.P. & Glasser, H. (1994), Assigning Economic Value to Natural Resources.
The Academies Press, USA.

European Commission. (1999). Sustainable Industrial Development. Retrieved

from [Link]
sec991729_en.pdf.

Future Earth. (n.d.). A Systems Approach: Imperative to Achieve the Sustainable

Development Goals. Retrieved from [Link]
2019/06/SDG-systems_issue-[Link]

Hopwood, B., Mellor, M. O’Brien, G. (2005). Sustainable Development: Mapping

Different Approaches. Sustainable Development.13(1), 38-52.

Montaldo, C.R.B. (2013). Sustainable Development Approaches for Rural

Development and Poverty Alleviation & Community Capacity Building for Rural
Development and Poverty Alleviation. Retrieved fromhttps://
[Link]/content/documents/
877LR%20Sustainable%20Development%[Link]

NITI Aayog. (2020). Decade of Action Taking SDGs from Global to Local.
Retrieved from [Link]
26279VNR_2020_India_Report.pdf

ShyamRoy, M. (2017). Green Accounting for Sustainable Development: Case

Study of Industry Sector in West [Link] Journal of Industrial Statistics. 6
(1), 57-71.

Stafford-Smith, M. et al. (2017). Integration: The Key to Implementing the

Sustainable Development [Link] Science. 12, 911-919.

UN. (2015). Report of the Capacity Building Workshop and Expert Group Meeting
on Integrated Approaches to Sustainable Development Planning and
Implementation. Retrieved from [Link]
documents/8506IASD%20Workshop%20Report%[Link]
51
Concept of Sustainable UN. (2015). Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development
Development. Retrieved from [Link]
world-2030-agenda-sustainable-development-17981
United Nations Development Programme. (2001). Human Development Report
2001, Making New Technologies Work for Human Development. Retrieved from
[Link]
Woolard, E.S. (1992). An Industry Approach to Sustainable Development. Issues
in Science and Technology. 8(3), 29-33.
Wynn, M. & Jones, P. (2020). The Sustainable Development Goals: Industry
Sector [Link] Publishers, USA.

3.11 ANSWERS TO SELF-CHECK EXERCISES

Check Your Progress 1
1. Your answer should include the following points:
The principles should be universal in character, covering challenges
faced by all countries, rather than just developing nations.
It should express a broadly agreed global strategy for sustainable
development.
It should incorporate a range of key areas that were not fully covered in
the MDGs.
It should be comprehensive, reflecting three dimensions of SD.
It should incorporate near-term benchmarks, while being long-term in
scope, looking ahead to a deadline of perhaps 2030.
It should engage all stakeholders in the implementation and mobilisation
of resources.
It should provide scope for the review of these goals in view of evolving
scientific evidence.
2. Your answer should include the following points:
More growth will lead to SD and support the decision of the governments
to reduce the progressive nature of taxation.
Business is the driver to sustainability.
The best means to achieve SD are increased information; changing
values; new technologies and innovations.
Markets will use sustainable processes to produce goods and services
by employing changes in taxation and subsidies and by being well-
informed.
The reduced role of governments will lead to the emergence of green
capitalists who will indulge in corporate citizenship and ethical business
to achieve SD.
Increase in good governance on the one hand and reduction in corruption
on the other will help in reaching closer to sustainability.
Techniques like EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment); and EMAS
52 (Eco-management and Audit System).
3. Your answer should include the following points: Approaches to Sustainable
Development
ABCD Model in CCB can be applied to:
Resources: The financial holdings; natural resources (forests, wildlife);
and the livestock can provide sustainable livelihoods. They have cultural
and environmental importance in cleansing, recycling and renewing
air and water.
Social Bonds: The social bonds and community relationships encourage
investment of the community in providing support to the poor.
Human Assets: The human assets refers to the skills in the individuals,
which can get them employment and wages in the rural areas.
4. Your answer should include the following points:
The private sector has been highlighted as a partner with the potential
to contribute in multiple ways to development objectives.
Sustainable Industrial Development (SID) means that business and
industry will have to adjust production structures and its product mix.
Ways to achieve SDGs in the Industrial Sector approach are responsible
entrepreneurship and eco-efficiency.
Principles for Environment Management for the Industry:
i) Corporate Priority
ii) Integrated Management
iii) Process of Improvement
iv) Employee Education
v) Prior Assessment
vi) Customer Advice
vii) Facilities and Operations
viii)Precautionary Approach
ix) Research
x) Transfer of Technology
Check Your Progress 2
1. Your answer should include the following points:
The Integrated Systems approach refers to the designing and adopting
of the SD strategies and plans, which integrate environmental, social
and economic dimensions and recognise their linkages.
The UN has given areas for transition.
Issues in transition.
Importance of Integrated Systems approach.
Implementation of Integrated Systems approach.
2. Your answer should include the following points:
Human development refers to the human well-being, which is an integral
goal for any society or a government to achieve.
53
Concept of Sustainable The World Happiness Report (WHR) is made by the United Nations
Development
Sustainable Solutions Network. Human development is a process and,
at the same time, a result, focusing on the results of wider possibilities
to choose.
It can be defined in the easiest way as a process of expanding options:
every day, a human being makes a series of economic, social, political
and cultural choices. The ultimate goal of human development is not to
create greater wealth or achieve greater economic growth, but the
expansion of choices for every human being.
Main areas of focus in the WHR.
3. Your answer should include the following points:
All nations are making an effort to build a “Green Economy” which
signifies human well-being and social equity together with reducing
environmental risks and ecological scarcity.
The concept of green accounting considers the environmental damage
that is caused by the activities of the humankind but is not included in
the traditional accounting system.
Herman Daly, an economist, gave two principles to guide SD, which
are :
- Harvest rate must be equal to or lower than regenerative rates
(sustained yield).
- The waste emission rates must be equal to or lower than the natural
assimilative capacities of the ecosystems into which they are
emitted.
4. Your answer should include the following points:
India has also aligned itself with the SDGs by following a holistic
approach, that is, the integrated approach, also called Triple Bottom
Line approach, towards them.
Through consistent growth and social inclusion initiatives, India has
been able to reduce poverty, improve education levels, aggressively
expand basic infrastructure capacities, conserve our rich biodiversity
and build partnerships for sustainable development. Poverty – monetary
and multidimensional, has fallen considerably in recent years.
Health insurance coverage programmes covering over 500 million
people have been successfully rolled out.
Over 100 million household toilets have been built since October 2014.
All our villages and over 99 per cent of our households are electrified.
Our forest cover, between assessments in 2017 and 2019, has increased.
India’s technical assistance programmes reach 160 countries across the
world.
We have jumped 79 places in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business
ranking of countries in the past five years, moving from 142 in 2014 to
63 in 2019. Jointly with France, India has facilitated the formation of
the International Solar Alliance, bringing together countries that are
well-positioned to invest aggressively in solar energy.
54
 Approaches to Sustainable
UNIT 4 GOALS OF SUSTAINABLE Development

DEVELOPMENT*

Structure
4.0 Objectives
4.1 Introduction
4.2 From Millennium Development Goals to Sustainable Development Goals
4.3 Nature of Sustainable Development Goals
4.4 Conclusion
4.5 Glossary
4.6 References
4.7 Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises

4.0 OBJECTIVES
After reading this Unit, you should be able to:
Describe the Millennium Development Goals;
Discuss the nature of Sustainable Development Goals; and
Examine the performance of Sustainable Development Goals in India.

4.1 INTRODUCTION
The United Nations (UN) Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are eight
goals that UN Member States agreed to achieve by 2015. The UN Millennium
Declaration was signed in September 2000 in which the world leaders committed
to fight against poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation
and discrimination against women. The reference value for evaluating the success
of MDGs was 1980 levels (WHO, 2018). The MDGs have been considered as a
historic landmark in global mobilisation of resources towards the betterment of
the societies worldwide. The goals and targets were time-bound and considered
as a global report card for the fight against the varied problems the world
populations faced from 2000 to 2015.

The UN adopted a fresh set of goals at the expiry of the time period in 2015,
which were called the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 192 Member
Nations of the UN pledged to the agreement of achieving the Agenda 2030.
There are 17 SDGs that will be discussed in this Unit. These goals have 169
targets in total. They were adopted due to the reason that sustainable development
had gained importance all around the globe because of the problems being faced
due to climate change. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has made it imperative
that we, as humans, work towards a sustainable environment and development.
The SDGs must be achieved through integrated solution, so that the three
components-economic, social and environment, are simultaneously achieved since
they are all interrelated and interdependent. Let us now understand the nature of
MDGs and SDGs.
*
Contributed by Dr Anupama Puri Mahajan, Former Post-doctoral fellow, Department of Public
Administration, Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla 55
Concept of Sustainable
Development 4.2 FROM MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT
GOALS TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
GOALS
The Global Development Agenda defined by the UN include eight MDGs, which
are:
1) Eradicate poverty and hunger;
2) Achieve universal primary education;
3) Promote gender equality and empower women;
4) Reduce child mortality;
5) Improve maternal health;
6) Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases;
7) Ensure environmental sustainability; and
8) Develop a global partnership for development.
In 2015, since the time period for the MDGs got over, a new agenda was
formulated for global development called Agenda 2030 and the goals were called
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). There are some differences between
the MDGs and SDGs, which are briefly given below:
Zero Goals: The target in the MDGs was to reach half-way, but the SDGs
have been designed for completing the job. The goals are supposed to achieve
zero level, for example, zero hunger or zero preventable child deaths.
Universal Goals: When the MDGs were decided upon, the strategy
employed was more of “rich donors aiding recipients”, but the world has
come a long way from then. The UN realised that the problems existed in
the developed nations also and the integral problem is of rising inequalities
within instead of between rich and poor countries. The SDGs cover the
targets for all nations.
Comprehensive: The SDGs are more comprehensive than MDGs, as they
are inclusive of more focal areas.
Hunger: The concerns of empowering women, mobilising everyone and
partnerships with local governments are considered, as the three pillars for
ending hunger. The SDGs have better coverage than the MDGs with respect
to gender and people’s participation at all levels.
Inclusivity:The MDGs had been formulated via a top-down process, while
the SDGs have been prepared through consultations with more than 100
countries and millions of online citizen inputs.
Hunger and Poverty: ‘Poverty’ and ‘Food and Nutrition Security’ are two
separate goals in SDGs, whereas they had been clubbed together in MDGs.
Funding:The MDGs did not have the concept of sustainability of funds and
depended on the aid from the donors from the rich developed countries.
SDGs focus on sustainability, inclusive economic development and
strengthening the countries’ revenue generation capabilities, so that they
56 can deal with their social challenges.
 Peace Building:Peace is an essential element in a society in order for it to Goals of Sustainable
Development
prosper and grow socially as well as economically. The countries that have
been governed well have economically prospered in peaceful conditions.
The SDGs have peace as a goal, whereas MDGs have not focused on it.

Data Revolution: Monitoring, evaluation and accountability are essential

for sustainable development. Another target of SDGs is to ‘increase
significantly the availability of high-quality, timely and reliable data
disaggregated by income, age, race, ethnicity and migratory status, disability,
geographic location and other characteristics relevant in national contexts’.

Quality Education: A major goal of MDGs was to achieve universal primary

education, but they did not concern itself with the quality of education. The
SDGs, on the other hand, have progressed to focus on the quality of education
and have developed indicators to assess it.

From the above analysis of MDGs and SDGs, it is clear that SDGs are better
formulated, but this does not imply that the job is done. On the contrary, it has
just begun and till 2030, the goals have to achieved, which is a difficult task. The
world economy was facing a recession before it was hit by the pandemic COVID-
19 and now rigorous efforts will have to be made to get back on track. No one in
the present generation has seen any pandemic and there are no precedents for
them to administer safeguards against it. In 1919, Spanish Flu spread like a
pandemic across the globe. It took innumerable lives and damaged the economy
beyond repair. After 100 years, a new pandemic in Covid-19 has surfaced and
the countries have had to amend their disaster management laws to cope with
[Link] countries are now dealing with the revival of economies so that SDGs
can be focussed upon.

Check Your Progress 1

Note: i) Use the space given below for your answer
ii) Check your answer with that given at the end of the Unit.
1. Examine the transition from Millennium Development Goals to Sustainable
Development goals.
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................

4.3 NATURE OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

GOALS
This is the Anthropocene Age, that is, the human-driven age of the planet. The
human activity is pushing the capacity of global ecosystem functions, which
might result in disasters. This era is distinct because there are extreme pressures
on earth systems like the carbon, nitrogen, and water cycles. There are numerous
environmental crises, which are adversely impacting the earth and population.
57
Concept of Sustainable There are mass migrations and displacements of people due to disasters like
Development
submerging of islands, floods or famines. These challenges have made
international agencies to realise that the planet needs sustenance and can be saved
only with setting up of an agenda.

In 2015, the UN set up the Agenda 2030, which enumerated 17 SDGs and 169
targets to which 193 Member Nations pledged their support. They were
implemented in 2016. This Section will deal with the SDGs, with special reference
to India, according to the Voluntary National Review (VNR) Report that has
been prepared by the NITI Aayog for the UN. It is important to understand how
India is trying to achieve these goals, as it is home to one-sixth (17 per cent) of
all humanity.

India uses the approach of ‘whole of society’, which comprises of engagement

of the Union Government with all 37 sub-national governments, local
governments (over 700 districts), civil society organisations, communities and
private sector for the implementation and evaluation of the SDGs. Since the
world has entered the last decade before the end-date of 2030 regarding SDGs, it
has been called the “Decade for Action”. India is the first nation to formulate an
‘SDG India Index’, and has developed a robust ‘SDG Localisation Model’(NITI
Aayog, 2020).

Given below are the SDGs from the perspective of localising SDGs:

SDG 1: No Poverty - End poverty in all its forms everywhere

The first goal, seems impossible and daunting. It is a very tough task to end
poverty in all forms everywhere by 2030. India has been successful in designing
effective strategies in an environment of diminished opportunities for livelihoods.
It has focussed on steadily increasing its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rate at
8 per cent between 2018-2023, but the pandemic COVID-19 has been a major
setback. The Government has followed a multi-pronged strategy with targeted
programmes at vulnerable sections of the society by:
Developing infrastructure and support services;
Creating productive assets;
Developing skills;
Supporting entrepreneurship; and
Promoting social protection measures aimed at reducing risks from natural
and other disasters.
Given below are the measures that India is taking to gradually reduce poverty
with an aim to end it by 2030:

Social Protection and Safety Nets: National Social Assistance Programme

covers the vulnerable sections (elderly, disabled, children, women and
widows) through its flagship schemes like the Mahatma Gandhi National
Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA), which allows for 100 days
of work in a year per family. It increased the employment rate to about 12
per cent in the fiscal year 2019-2020. An additional INR 400 billion was
allocated for the benefit of workers in the aftermath of COVID-19.

58
 Access to Basic Services:India included other parameters in the pursuit of Goals of Sustainable
Development
elimination of poverty like well-being; access to nutrition, healthcare
facilities, drinking water and sanitation; affordable housing; electricity; clean
cooking; roads and utilities. Another area that is focussed upon is financial
inclusion of the populations with no contacts with banks in order to give
them access to banking, credit, insurance and pension under schemes like
Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana; and Pradhan Mantri Gareeb Kalyan
Yojana.

Strengthening Livelihood Opportunities and Skilling Ecosystem:

Agriculture is instrumental in providing livelihood to around 59 per cent of
the Indian population and is instrumental in boosting growth, creating jobs
and reducing poverty. The Government of India has pledged to work for
doubling the farmers’ income by 2022 although it seems a huge task with
consequences of pandemic to cope with in the backdrop. Some schemes
helping in this field are the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana(Prime
Minister Crop Insurance Scheme) and Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee
Yojana (Prime Minister Irrigation Scheme). Ecosystem is being developed
for skilling to achieve more productive employment. Some initiatives taken
are:
Reorienting the skilling curriculum according to the demands of the
industry;
Creating infrastructure to promote entrepreneurship; and
Encouraging rural business models for start-ups etc.
Monitoring Progress: India monitors and evaluates its schemes and
outcomes through the SDG India Index.
The challenges in the future are regional variance, rapid urbanisation,gender
equality, education, employment and human resource development.
SDG 2: Zero Hunger – End hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition
and promote sustainable agriculture
Food security is integral to removing poverty. SDG 1 also comprises the provision
of nutritious food. 40 per cent of child-deaths occur due to under-nutrition in
India. Food security depends upon various factors like:
i) Domestic food production;
ii) Capacity to import food; and
iii) Access to food, which is dependent upon the household’s purchasing capacity.
Given below are the measures that India is taking to achieve the goal of zero
hunger:

Food Security: India has the largest Food Security Programme in the world
as a legal entitlement under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013.
The approach shifted from welfare to rights-based one with the passing of
the said Act. It covers two-thirds of India’s population with the senior female
member of the household’s name on the ration cards. Antyodaya Anna Yojana
(AAY) facilitates eradication of hunger.

Nutrition Security:Children in India face the issue of undernutrition 59

Concept of Sustainable resulting in stunted growth under the age of five due to problems like
Development
sanitation, genetics, environment and food intake. Some schemes helping
in this area are Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana and the Scheme for
Adolescent Girls.

Agricultural Productivity: Food security depends on various factors and

the efforts to increase agricultural productivity, which will move towards
the path of doubling the farmers’ income. The growth factors are:
Improved crop productivity;
Increased livestock productivity;
Cost-effective production processes;
Increased cropping intensity;
Crop diversification;
Better prices; and
Non-farm occupations.
Monitoring: The distance to cover targets so far in India has reached 35 on
a scale of 0 to 100 on the SDG India Index.

The future challenges are the nutritional requirements of women; stunted growth
and anaemia; adaptive climate and sustainable agriculture.

SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being – Ensure healthy lives and promote well-
being for all at all ages

India has made good progress in providing healthcare under the National Health
Policy, 2017. Being the largest supplier of vaccines and drugs in the world, its
vaccination programmes against diseases has been acclaimed worldwide. Special
initiatives have been launched to achieve the SDG 3. Some of them are:

Universal and Affordable Healthcare: Ayushman Bharat is a programme

that provides inclusive health care to at-risk communities and primary
healthcare without cost. Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana provides for
healthcare to 100 million vulnerable families up to INR 5 lakhs per family
per year. It has 10 million beneficiaries for cashless treatment.

Affordable Healthcare: The Government provides medicines at affordable

prices, which has considerably reduced the out of pocket expenditure of
patients.

Medical Infrastructure: The benchmark for this type of infrastructure for

doctor-patient ratio is 1:1000, whereas India has a ratio of 1:1456. To remedy
this situation, since 2014, 141 new medical colleges have been sanctioned.

Reducing Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR): India was successful in

reducing the MMR from 130 in 2014-2016 to 122 in 2015-17, which is 6.15
per cent. It has to reach the target of 70 by 2030.

Reducing Neo-natal and Under-five Mortality: The infant mortality rate

and neo-natal has considerably declined by more than 13 per cent and 8 per
cent respectively.
60
 Eliminating Communicable and Non-Communicable Diseases: India has Goals of Sustainable
Development
seen a decline in all communicable and non-communicable diseases like
polio (zero patients), Malaria, Tuberculosis or TB and Lymphatic Filariasis.

India ranked at 61 in the progress of SDG 3 on its SDG India Index on a scale of
0-100. It still has many challenges in all the areas like:
i) Affordability and the cost of healthcare;
ii) Health worker density; and
iii) Lack of health awareness.
The health system has now geared up with exemplary resilience to manage
COVID-19 pandemic with effective containment, treatment, surveillance and
tracking systems.

SDG 4: Quality Education – Ensure inclusive equitable quality education and

promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

‘Leaving no one behind’ is the clarion call in today’s agenda of sustainable

development. It requires human capital so that all children are able to get
secondary education. The goal is to impart affordable education of quality without
any discrimination based on caste, gender or colour. There has been an increase
in the number of schools, enrolment and retention of children in schools. Given
below are some major areas regarding the quality of education in terms of
educational outcomes, especially, in the public education sector:

Early Years: The National Early Childhood Care and Education Policy 2013
emphasises on the survival, growth and development of children, so that
they can receive pre-primary education, which is integral for school
education. Services like immunisation, growth monitoring, supplementary
nutrition, health check-ups, and referral services are provided through
Anganwadi Centres and the Integrated Child Development Services Scheme.

Elementary and Secondary Education:Education was made a Fundamental

Right under The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE)
Act, 2009 for children up to 14 years. The percentage of dropouts has been
steadily decreasing, while enrolment numbers have increased but Net
Enrolment Ratio is very low at 51.77 per cent for higher secondary and
higher education levels. The government has been working tirelessly at
improving the numbers, while bringing gender parity and providing for basic
services like toilets and clean drinking water in schools.

Improved Educational Outcomes at Primary and Secondary Levels:

The modernisation of education focuses on functional literacy; numeracy;
critical and cognitive thinking skills. The number of trained teachers and
proficiency levels in language and mathematics in children has increased.

Higher Education:The number of university level institutions has grown

by 37 per cent and the number of colleges by 9 per cent over the last five
years. Gender Parity Index also increased from 92 in 2014-15 to 100 in
2018-19, which implies that women’s access to learning opportunities has
improved.

61
Concept of Sustainable Skill Development and Vocational Education:A strong network of
Development
Industrial Training Institutes provide long-term skill development training
to youth. The government scheme Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana
ensures that the youth are given skill training to inculcate industry relevant
skills to secure a better livelihood.

Gender and Disability Sensitive Educational Facilities: India has been

working towards making educational facilities sensitive to the needs of
children with disabilities like making ramps; special hygiene rooms; requisite
teaching materials; so that there is an inclusive learning environment.

SDG 4 ranks 58 on the SDG India Index, which means that there is a long way to
go. India has to work on improving the quality of education to enter the ranks of
major global university rankings.

SDG 5: Gender Equality – Achieve gender equality and empower all women
and girls

The Constitution of India talks of equality of gender as one of its principles.

India has worked at a fast pace to reduce the gender gap for the past five years.
Given below are the efforts that have been made to achieve SDG 5:

Social Protection and Livelihoods: Women’s economic participation is

integral to social protection and livelihood. It is being powered through
new technologies and skill development with schemes like MNREGA, which
states that women must comprise of 33 per cent of the beneficiaries of gainful
employment. The Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana (National Rural Livelihoods
Mission) aims to mobilise and organise women, build their skills, make
credit easily accessible and make them aware of Self-Help Groups (SHGs).
India has 10 million bank-linked SHGs with 87.66 per cent women being a
part of it.

Skilling and Financial Inclusion:The Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana

has been instrumental in strengthening financial inclusion as 54 per cent of
the bank accounts opened have been of women. 97 per cent of women have
been enrolled in long-term skill development courses.

Political and Economic Participation: Representation is steadily increasing

although it is low. It increased from 11.4 per cent in 2014 to 14.4 per cent in
2019. More women are participating in the voting process and it has increased
to 68 per cent, more than men.

Social Empowerment:The Girl Child Ratio has been dropping, which is

matter of worry. Awareness campaigns are going on to reverse this trend
like The Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (Save and Educate the Girl Child).

The SDG 5 ranks 42 on the SDG India Index. India needs to gear up and do
better in the areas given below:
i) Strengthening gender-based data systems;
ii) Access to resources with respect to rural and urban women;
iii) Promoting women’s entrepreneurship; and
iv) Improving economic participation of women.
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SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation – Ensure availability and sustainable Goals of Sustainable
Development
management of water and sanitation for all

India has 4 per cent of the world’s fresh water resources, whereas it has 17 per
cent of its population. The demand for water will be doubled by 2030. While
sanitation battle is being fought since many years, many children under 5 years
of age have died due to water-borne diseases. India has been declared open
defecation free, but it is a continuous struggle. Given below are measures being
taken regarding SDG 6:
Safe and Affordable Drinking Water for all: A new and unified Ministry
of Jal Shakti has been constituted to ascertain governance of water and its
challenges. About 96 per cent of households have access to safe drinking
water. Jal Shakti Abhiyan (campaign) is working for water conservation,
rain water harvesting and renovation of water bodies.
Water Quality: Ground and surface water issues are being tackled by a
multi-pronged strategy by the Central Water Commission. The rivers are
being cleaned because of contamination.
Sanitation and Hygiene for all: The flagship initiative of the Swachh Bharat
Mission has focussed on constructing 109 million household and community
toilets. The numbers of toilets have increased from 88.8 per cent to 97.22
from 2017 to 2019.
India stands at 88 rank for SDG 6 on the SDG India Index. India has to deal with
challenges like localised data systems on water; maintenance of gendered access
to toilets; re-skilling of sanitation workers and their targeted improvement; and
sustaining the sanitation behaviour changes against open defecation.
SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy – Ensure access to affordable, reliable,
sustainable and modern energy for all
The SDG 7 aims at universal access to electricity and clean cooking fuel. It aims
at enhancing energy efficiency. India’s energy mix is being diversified by widening
the renewable choices like solar, wind, hydro and waste-to-energy conversion.
Under the Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana – Saubhagya (Each
house gets electricity), nearly all households in India’s 603,175 villages have
been electrified. Given below are the measures that India has been taking to
achieve SDG 7:
Universal Access to Electricity: Reliable, affordable and continuous
electricity supply is being aimed at via structural reforms in which supply
codes and performance standards; regulation and financial restructuring of
power distribution companies are being enforced. India has jumped ranks
from 137 in 2014 to 22 in 2019 on the Ease-of-Doing-Business on the
parameter of ‘getting electricity’.
Renewable Energy: The renewable energy installed capacity has increased
by about 75 per cent from 2014 to 2020 and India has pledged to a 40 per
cent of its energy to be renewable at the Climate Action Summit hosted by
the UN Secretary General in 2019.
Clean Energy-Cooking Energy: The percentage of clean cooking energy
in households has increased from 63 per cent in 2015 to 96 per cent in 2018.
Several programmes have been implemented to facilitate it. 63
Concept of Sustainable Energy Efficiency: The government has enforced standards and labelling
Development
to target household appliances that reduce household power consumption.
The wide supply of LPG cylinders to low-income households has
considerably helped in the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions.

Strengthening International Cooperation: India is leading the search for

renewable energy solutions, for example, signing an agreement with
Germany on technical cooperation. India has spearheaded the establishment
of International Solar Alliance with France to work on innovative policies,
financial instruments and capacity building measures in enhancing solar
energy programmes.

India has ranked 70 on the SDG India Index for SDG 7. Its challenges are to
achieve low-carbon energy security; domestic technology development and
manufacturing capacity augmentation in order to make energy more affordable.

SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth – Promote sustained, inclusive

and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent
work for all

India has the third largest entrepreneurship ecosystem in the world as a key pillar
of the economic prosperity strategy. Economic growth is one of the key
components of sustainable development and India’s economy has been growing
at 7 per cent since 2014, However, the pandemic has put a halt to that, as it has to
the entire global economic growth. Given below are the steps being taken
regarding the achievement of the SDG 8:
Funding Small Enterprises: Start-up India is a flagship scheme of the
Government of India to drive economic growth and generate large-scale
employment opportunities. Procedure simplification and funding support
have eased opening up of companies. The Micro Units Development and
Refinance Scheme (MUDRA) scheme provides financial support to small
and micro enterprise sector.
Structural Reforms:Many structural reforms have been taken to reach closer
to the goal of ‘decent work’ like:
i) The enactment of The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, which
simplifies procedures related to debt default and boost credit availability;
ii) Corporate tax has been reduced; and
iii) Goods and Services Tax Act, 2016 has been enacted to reduce the
manufacturing cost and subsume a number of indirect taxes resulting in
lower consumer prices.
Ease of Doing Business: India launched its Make-in-India Programme not
to attract foreign investors but to manufacture in India in 2014. It has helped
in boosting jobs and economy. It was initiated by making regulatory process
simple and eliminating obsolete laws. India ranks 63 on the Ease of Doing
Business Index (2019).
Decent Work and Labour Welfare: 40 Central Acts and multiple State
Level Acts promote labour rights, and make sure that the workplaces are
safe and secure for workers.
64
 Skilling Ecosystem: Approximately 33 per cent of India’s population is Goals of Sustainable
Development
young (15-24 years), hence India launched the ‘Skill India” programme in
2015, which focuses on short-term vocational education. This has led to an
increase in the monthly wages.

India ranks 64 on the SDG India Index for SDG 8, which implies that it has to
work hard to overcome challenges regarding SDG 8. Some of the major challenges
of this SDG are:
i) Increasing agricultural productivity;
ii) Creating alternate channels of employment;
iii) Improving the existing 77.7 per cent literacy rate;
iv) Bettering health indicators like mortality rate, life-expectancy, etc.
v) Formalising the labour system, so that there is more coverage of labour
protection under laws.
SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure – Build resilient infrastructure,
promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation; and foster innovation

India considers industrialisation as an effective means through which higher

prosperity is achieved with minimum impact on the environment. It is possible
with innovation and modern infrastructure, which ensure sustainable development.
Given below are the main initiatives being taken to achieve SDG 9 in India:

Ease of Doing Reforms: More than 7000 reforms have been taken to simplify
government processes to save time and costs and ease the burden on
businesses; thereby improving India’s Ease-of-Doing-Business rank from
79 places to 63 in 2019.

Design and Innovation Ecosystem: The share of expenditure on research

and development (R&D) has increased by 11 per cent in 2017-18 from 3.52
in 2015-16. The number of designs to be patented has increased by a large
number. India is engaged in active R&D cooperation with 44 countries.

Start-up Ecosystem: Start-ups conduct innovative and untested business

activities, which become extremely lucrative and useful in time. They need
support to identify, nurture and accelerate new start-ups.

Infrastructure Development: Infrastructure development is essential for

the economy to grow. India launched the Bharatmala Programme to build
roads through corridors, feeder routes, corridor efficiency improvement and
international connectivity. There has been an increase of 17 kms per day
road construction in 2014-15 to 29.7 kms per day in 2018-19. Also, the
cargo handling capacity of the 13 major ports is an 89 per cent increase.

Telecommunications: Communication technologies have to be of first grade

regarding connectivity and internet speed. India has managed to launch 5G
and increase its network of cables for internet and telephone links.

The pandemic has put breaks on the rapid economic growth that India had been
making. India ranks 65 on the SDG India Index and has to improve to reach the
targets of SDG 9 like:
65
Concept of Sustainable i) Growth of industrial production to meet sustainable industrial development
Development
targets; and
ii) Addressing industrial waste water management.
SDG 10: Reduced Inequities – reduce inequality within and among countries

SDG 10 aims at equality in all dimensions in areas of income, gender, social,

political and economic. It drives countries to have enhanced representation and
voice for developing countries in decision-making in international institutions.
India has a strong legal framework to check any inequities, but the reality is
somewhat away from the target. Many initiatives and steps are being taken to
deal with the issues to achieve SDG 10, which are given below in brief:

Promoting Income Growth: Income generation among the vulnerable

sections of the society will bring them closer to the mainstream economy.
MNREGA helps in giving assured employment, while there are many other
schemes under which beneficiaries are getting cash deposits in their bank
accounts through the direct benefit transfer system based on AADHAR
(Unique Identification Number).

Promoting Equality of Opportunities and Outcomes: There has been a

decrease in dropout rates in schools and gender disparity has impacted the
Gender Disparity Index. Education for all is important for creating equal
opportunities for everyone regardless of caste or gender.

Designing Specialised Development Programmes: Many programmes

have been launched to target groups of vulnerable sections of the society to
reduce inequities like Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao; Support to Training and
Employment Programme for Women (STEP) and Deendayal Disabled
Rehabilitation Scheme for persons with disabilities.

Social Protection Measures: Social protection including health and

education, in the form of pensions to vulnerable sections is being given
through many schemes.

Financial Inclusion:The number of Self-Help Groups (SHGs) has been

increasing in India with the mobilisation of 6.1 million rural women into
entrepreneurship-based SHGs.

Promoting Sustainable Migration and a Migrant-friendly Support

System: There is a gap between the quantitative and qualitative aspects of
labour supply and demand. Migrant workers face many problems because
of market uncertainties and now specifically with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The SDG India Index ranks SDG 10 at 64 implying a lot of work that needs to be
done to reduce inequities in the society. The areas that need attention to achieve
SDG 10 are:

i) Better data sets disaggregated by gender, social category, income levels,

religion and region.

ii) The elderly, which is 8.6 per cent of the India’s population, need social
protection and measures.
66
iii) Public service delivery of goods and services need better governance and Goals of Sustainable
Development
implementation.

iv) Better managed urban basic services systems, development of diverse and
remunerative livelihood systems.

SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities – Make cities and human
settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
The Government of India through its various schemes, missions, programmes
and initiatives that are in tune with SDG 11 promotes inclusive and sustainable
urbanisation, as well as aims to develop capacities for participatory, integrated
and sustainable human settlement planning and management. The initiatives being
taken by the Government of India for SDG 11 are:
Housing for all: Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (urban housing) ensures
in-situ slum redevelopment, credit linked subsidy scheme and partnership
with private sector. By the end of Financial Year 2019-20, out of the demand
of 11.2 million housing, 3.2 million houses have been completed.
Sustainable Urbanisation and Mobility: The National Urban Transport
policy focuses on environment-friendly sustainable transport along with non-
motorised transport innovations. The Sustainable Urban Transport Project
is also being implemented in select cities for the promotion of sustainable
transport. Disaster risk resilient cities and energy conservation building codes
are being followed.
SDG 11 ranks at 53 on the SDG India Index. The challenges that need special
focus to achieve the targets of this goal are:
i) Weak capacity of urban local bodies – their financial autonomy, taxation
powers and fund generation capabilities;
ii) Air pollution;
iii) Large cities have larger ecological footprints; and
iv) Congestion and interlinked problems.
SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production – Ensure sustainable
consumption and production patterns
Resource use efficiency, green employment, equitable access to basic services
and better quality of life are integral to sustainable consumption and production.
India has supported the ten-year framework of Programme on Sustainable
Consumption and Production (10YFP). Given below are some initiatives that
are being taken to achieve SDG 12:
Sustainable Food Systems: Agriculture productivity has been focussed upon
under programmes like Soil Health Cards and the National Mission on
Sustainable Agriculture. Climate smart agriculture is a part of the solution
while, surface and rainwater harvesting are being developed and promoted.
Resource Efficiency: India, the second largest consumer of materials, is
focussing upon augmenting resource efficiency and increasing the use of
secondary raw materials to decouple growth from environmental impacts.
The National Resource Efficiency Policy includes four important elements:
67
Concept of Sustainable i) Sustainable consumption of virgin resources;
Development
ii) High material productivity with efficient circular approaches;
iii) Minimisation of waste; and
iv) Creation of employment opportunities.
Sustainable Construction and Buildings: Green building and construction
principles is the trend now and India ranks third (2018) on the global listing
of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). The government
has established the Green Rating for Habitat Assessment (GRIHA), and the
Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC).
Public Procurement:Public organisations have employed environmental
energy efficiency criteria in their procurement decisions.
Sustainable Tourism:In 2019, tourism accounted for 8.1 per cent of all
employment. However, 2020-21 years can be written off as the pandemic
years. India has still operationalised the Comprehensive Sustainable Tourism
Criteria for tour operators, accommodation and beaches; and backwaters,
lakes and rivers.
Waste Management:India has adopted a sustainable development
framework based on ‘precaution’ and ‘polluter pays’ principles.
SDG 12 ranks 55 on the SDG India Index. The challenges and way forward
include the following:
i) Sustainable supply chain;
ii) Sustainable waste management because of population growth; and
iii) Stop waste of food produced (40 per cent of food goes waste according to
the Food and Agricultural Organisation)
SDG 13: Climate Action – Take urgent action to combat climate change and
its impacts
India is ranked among the top 10 countries in the Climate Change Performance
Index 2020 on account of low levels of per capita emissions and energy use, as
well as ‘well-below-2oC’ renewable energy targets. India is taking the following
measures:
i) Climate action in Policies, Strategies and Planning;
ii) Fulfilling global responsibilities;
iii) Generating clean energy;
iv) Reducing emission intensity; and
v) Improving disaster risk reduction and preparedness.
SDG 13 ranks 60 on the SDG India Index. India must address the issues of:
i) Disaster resilience;
ii) Green technologies; and
iii) Meeting energy needs.
SDG 14–Life below Water – Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas
and marine resources for sustainable development
68
India regularly monitors possible pollution by oil, sea cargo, sewage and garbage, Goals of Sustainable
Development
as well as air pollution by ships. Given below are the efforts being made regarding
SDG 14:
i) Containing marine pollution;
ii) Conserving mangroves and coral reefs;
iii) Protecting marine and coastal ecosystems; and
iv) Promoting sustainable marine fishing.
SDG 14 ranks between 23 and 65 on the SDG India Index for its nine coastal
states. The challenges and the way forward include the following major points:
i) Improving sustainability across the shoreline for maintenance of fish
catchments;
ii) Scaling up of sustainability practices in fishing around the Indian coast;
iii) Finding markets at international level in fish operations by upgrading
certification, auditing and labelling;
iv) Enhancing and facilitating timely finances; and
v) Addressing the problem of indebtedness of fishermen due to adoption of
mechanised boats.
SDG 15: Life on Land

The SDG 15 focuses to protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial
ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat diversification and halt and
reverse land degradation and biodiversity loss. The government has primarily
adopted three strategies for conservation, development and management of forests
– afforestation through natural and artificial regeneration, protection and
management. The government is upscaling its efforts in:
i) Managing forests;
ii) Conserving wetlands and water bodies;
iii) Protecting wildlife;
iv) Combating desertification; and
v) Conserving biodiversity.
SDG 15 ranks at 66 on the SDG India Index. India needs to focus on areas like
green industrialisation choices; skill development for geo-ecological zones; and
long-term programmes for saving of endangered faunal species.

SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

SDG 16 focuses on the promotion of peaceful and inclusive societies for

sustainable development, provision of access to justice for all and building
effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels. India is working in
the areas of:
i) Reducing violence;
ii) Access to justice;
iii) Accountable and transparent institutions;
69
Concept of Sustainable iv) Ethics in governance; and
Development
v) Legal identity for all.
SDG 16 ranks at 72 on the SDG India Index. The government must take more
proactive steps in areas of upgrading data concerning offences and violence;
digitisation of the society in all areas; and data privacy and security.

SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

India is working towards strengthening the means of implementation and
revitalisation of global partnership for sustainable development. The areas of
focus are:
i) Augmenting domestic resource mobilisation;
ii) Improving public expenditure;
iii) Promoting entrepreneurship and private sector;
iv) Strengthening the south-south cooperation;
v) Coalition-based approach; and
vi) Improving data, monitoring and accountability.
Check Your Progress 2
Note: i) Use the space given below for your answers.
ii) Check your answers with those given at the end of the Unit.
1. What are Sustainable Development Goals? Discuss the features of SDG 1 to
SDG 5 and explain the efforts that India is making to achieve them.
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2. Write a short note on SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation.
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3. Describe SDGs 7, 8, 9 and 10 with special reference to India.
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4. Briefly discuss SDGs 11 to 17 in context of India. Goals of Sustainable
Development
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4.4 CONCLUSION
SDGs in a pandemic hit world assume even more importance to combat the
problems of health and economy. International cooperation among countries is
essential to move together globally towards 2030 although each country has to
face specific individual [Link] and science are making new leaps
everyday, which necessitate building institutional capacities of governments for
proper governance of frontier technologies. India’s philosophy of Vasudhaiva
Katumbhkam, meaning that ‘the world is one’ is depicted in the SDGs. The
approaches and interventions to ‘leave no one behind’ are crucial to India’s
implementation of SDGs. Recognising this, the country has consciously adopted
a paradigm shift from a ‘whole of government’ to ‘a whole of society’ approach
by engaging all key stakeholders. This Unit discussed all the Sustainable
Development Goals in detail.

4.5 GLOSSARY
Anthropocene Age:This is the Anthropocene Age, that is, the human-driven age
of the planet. The human activity is pushing the capacity of global ecosystem
functions, which could result in disasters.

Decade for Action: Since the world has entered the last decade before the end-
date of 2030 regarding SDGs, it has been called the “Decade for Action”.

Deendayal Disabled Rehabilitation Scheme: The umbrella Central Sector

Scheme of this Ministry called the “Scheme to Promote Voluntary Action for
Persons with Disabilities” was revised w.e.f. 01.04.2003 and was renamed as the
“Deendayal Disabled Rehabilitation Scheme (DDRS)”. However, while revision
of the Scheme took place in 2003, the cost norms of 1999 had remained
unchanged. The revision of the cost norms has become imperative to compensate
for the price rise. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for Industrial workers has
risen by 38 per cent from 1999 to 2007. It has been decided to revise the cost
norms for honoraria, recurring items and nonrecurring items of expenditure. The
Scheme has also been revised to the extent that there has been widening of the
scope of the model projects.
Objectives of this Scheme are as follows:
Create an enabling environment to ensure equal opportunities, equity, social
justice and empowerment of persons with disabilities.
Encourage voluntary action for ensuring effective implementation of the
People with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities and Protection of Rights) Act
of 1995. 71
Concept of Sustainable ICDS: The Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme was launched
Development
with the objectives to: i) improve the nutritional and health status of children in
the age-group 0-6 years; ii) lay the foundation for proper psychological, physical
and social development of the child; iii) reduce the incidence of mortality,
morbidity, malnutrition and school dropout; iv) achieve effective co-ordination
of policy and implementation amongst the various departments to promote child
development; and v) enhance the capability of the mother to look after the normal
health and nutritional needs of the child through proper nutrition and health
education.

In order to achieve these objectives, a package of six services namely:

i) Supplementary Nutrition (SNP), ii)   immunisation, iii) health check-up, iv)
referral services, v) pre-school non-formal education and vi) nutrition & health
education were initiated.

MGNREGA: It was initiated with the objective of “enhancing livelihood security

in rural areas by providing at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in
a financial year, to every household whose adult members volunteer to do
unskilled manual work”. Another aim of MGNREGA is to create durable assets
(such as roads, canals, ponds, wells). Employment is to be provided within 5 km
of an applicant’s residence, and minimum wages are to be paid. If work is not
provided within 15 days of applying, applicants are entitled to an unemployment
allowance. Thus, employment under MGNREGA is a legal entitlement.

National Food Security Act 2013: It aims to ensure food security in India,
chiefly by providing cereals at subsidised prices through the Targeted Public
Distribution System (TPDS) for about two-thirds of households.

Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY): The government came out with
this PMJDY scheme to install a framework of financial inclusion that incentivises
people to move into the formal credit system. Provision of Zero Balance Account
and facilities such as RuPay Cards have been quite a popular boost for the lower-
strata of people. Objectives of PM Jan-Dhan Yojana are to:
Cover all households in the country with banking facilities, and opening a
bank account for each household.
Provide an integrated framework of formal credit to the citizens.
Ensure the transfer of subsidies through the Direct Benefit Transfer
(DBT) mode in a single place.
Offer various kinds of banking services like the basic savings bank account,
remittances facility, insurance, and pension to the unbanked population.
Expand the net of financial security for the population.
Promote financial inclusion within the nation.
Provide micro-insurance facilities to the people.
Create a Credit Guarantee Fund to cover the defaults in overdraft accounts.
Establish a direct connection between the government and the unbanked
population, thus eliminating the need for money-lenders and middle-men.
Promote the habit of saving among individuals.

72
 Embark on a journey of financial literacy programme to let people know Goals of Sustainable
Development
about the financial services being offered by the country’s banking system.
Provide banking services and banking outlets within 5 KM distance of every
village.
Ensure the accessibility of financial products at an affordable cost.
Inculcate financial technology into the banking system by roping in e-KYC,
IMPS etc.
Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) : The new Crop Insurance
Scheme is in line with One Nation – One Scheme theme. It incorporates the best
features of all previous schemes and at the same time, all previous shortcomings
/ weaknesses have been removed. The PMFBY will replace the existing two
schemes National Agricultural Insurance Scheme as well as the Modified
National Agricultural Insurance Scheme. The objectives of Pradhan Mantri Fasal
Bima Yojana are to:
Provide insurance coverage and financial support to the farmers in the event
of failure of any of the notified crop as a result of natural calamities, pests
and diseases.
Stabilise the income of farmers to ensure their continuance in farming.
Encourage farmers to adopt innovative and modern agricultural practices.
Ensure flow of credit to the agriculture sector.
Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana: It was launched in the year 2016 by
Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with the other provisions of the Taxation
Laws (Second Amendment) Act, 2016. It came into effect from 17th December
2016 under the Ministry of Finance.  

Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana:The overreaching vision of this Yojana

is to ensure access to some means of protective irrigation to all agricultural farms
in the country, to produce ‘per drop more crop’, thus bringing much desired rural
prosperity. The objectives of the scheme are:
Achieve convergence of investments in irrigation at the field level
(preparation of district level and, if required, sub-district level water use
plans).
Enhance the physical access of water on the farm and expand cultivable
area under assured irrigation (Har Khet ko Pani).
Integration of water source, distribution and its efficient use, to make best
use of water through appropriate technologies and practices.
Improve on - farm water use efficiency to reduce wastage and increase
availability both in duration and extent.
Enhance the adoption of precision - irrigation and other water saving
technologies (More Crop per Drop).
Enhance recharge of aquifers and introduce sustainable water conservation
practices.
Ensure the integrated development of rainfed areas using the watershed
approach towards soil and water conservation, regeneration of ground water,
arresting run off, providing livelihood options and other activities.
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Concept of Sustainable Promote extension activities relating to water harvesting, water management
Development
and crop alignment for farmers and grass root level field functionaries.
Explore the feasibility of reusing treated municipal waste water for peri -
urban agriculture.
Attract greater private investments in irrigation.

Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana : It is a Maternity Benefit Programme

that is implemented in all the districts of the country in accordance with the
provision of the National Food Security Act, 2013 with the following objectives
:
Providing partial compensation for the wage loss in terms of cash incentives
so that the woman can take adequate rest before and after delivery of the
first living child.
The cash incentive provided would lead to improved health seeking behaviour
amongst the Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers.

4.6 REFERENCES
WHO. (2019).Millennium Development Goals. Retrieved from https://
[Link]/topics/millennium_development_goals/en/
NITI Aayog. (2020). India VNR, Decade of Action – Taking SGDs from Global
to [Link] Delhi, India: NITI Aayog.
The Hunger Project. (2015). Open Working Group on Sustainable Development
Goals. Retrieved from [Link]
goals/en/

4.7 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

EXERCISES
Check Your Progress 1
1. Your answer should include the following points:
Zero goals
Universal goals
Comprehensive
Hunger
Inclusivity
Hunger and poverty
Funding
Peace building
Data revolution
Quality education
Check Your Progress 2
1. Your answer should include the following points:
SDG 1: No Poverty - End poverty in all its forms everywhere
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 SDG Localisation Model Goals of Sustainable
Development
Voluntary National Review
SDG 2: Zero Hunger – End hunger, achieve food security, improve
nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being – Ensure healthy lives and promote
well-being for all at all ages.
SDG 4: Quality Education – Ensure inclusive equitable quality education
and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
SDG 5: Gender Equality – Achieve gender equality and empower all
women and girls
2. Your answer should include the following points:
SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation – Ensure availability and sustainable
management of water and sanitation for all:
- Safe and Affordable Drinking Water
- Water Quality
- Sanitation and Hygiene
3. Your answer should include the following points:
Efforts made by India to achieve the SDGs
SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy – Ensure access to affordable,
reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.
SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth – Promote sustained,
inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive
employment and decent work for all.
SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure – Build resilient
infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and
foster innovation.
SDG 10: Reduced Inequities – reduce inequality within and among
countries.
4. Your answer should include the following points:
SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities – Make cities and human
settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production – Ensure sustainable
consumption and production patterns.
SDG 13: Climate Action – Take urgent action to combat climate change
and its impacts.
SDG 14 – Life below water – Conserve and sustainably use the oceans,
seas and marine resources for sustainable development.
SDG 15: Life on Land.
SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.
SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals.

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