Sustainable Development Study Notes

Introduction

Agricultural growth, industrialization, urbanization and advances in science cut mortality and caused rapid population growth, raising demand for natural resources and leading to their overuse.
Sustainability rests on four pillars: cultural vitality, economic health, environmental responsibility and social equity.

Year	Event
1962	Rachel Carson's book Silent Spring
1972	UN Conference on the Human Environment, Stockholm (16 June): sustainability first featured
1980	IUCN introduces the term sustainable development
1987	Brundtland Commission (WCED, 22 members, headed by Gro Harlem Brundtland of Norway) submits Our Common Future
1992	Earth Summit, Rio de Janeiro: Rio Declaration, Agenda 21, CSD, CBD, UNFCCC; Earth Charter
1997	Kyoto Protocol
2000	Millennium Development Goals
2002	Johannesburg Earth Summit
2012	UNCSD (Rio 2012, Rio+20), Rio de Janeiro, 13 to 22 June: the third such conference
2015	2030 Agenda with 17 SDGs adopted (September); Paris Agreement at COP21 (12 December)

The Brundtland Report named the environment, the economy and society: the triple bottom line.
Sustainable development meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

17 goals and 169 targets, adopted by 193 Member States; in force from 1 January 2016, to be achieved by 2030.
Goal 1 no poverty; 2 zero hunger; 3 good health; 4 quality education; 5 gender equality; 6 clean water and sanitation; 7 affordable and clean energy; 8 decent work and economic growth; 9 industry, innovation and infrastructure; 10 reduced inequalities; 11 sustainable cities; 12 responsible consumption and production; 13 climate action; 14 life below water; 15 life on land; 16 peace and justice; 17 partnerships.
Forests cover 30 per cent of the Earth's surface; 13 million hectares are lost every year.

Earth's temperature has risen about one degree Fahrenheit in the last 100 years: global warming.
Causes: burning fossil fuels, transportation and deforestation.
Effects: rising temperatures, a longer frost-free season, sharper wet and dry contrasts, more droughts and heat waves, sea level rise of 0.1 to 0.25 cm a year since 1900, and an ice-free Arctic in summer before mid-century.
Responses: mitigation (reduce greenhouse gases) and adaptation (lower the risks).
Mitigation measures: cleaner energy, energy saving (CFL bulbs), green driving, reduce-reuse-recycle, re-forestation and organic farming.

A watershed is an area drained by a stream, where water flows under gravity to a common drainage channel.
Planning steps: map boundaries, inventory resources, drainage, land use, soil, erosion areas and water quality.
India: programmes since the early 1970s, such as DPAP, DDP, RVP, NWDPRA and IWDP.

It is the most economical way to raise the ground water table and improves ground water quality by dilution.
Two techniques: surface storage (tanks, ponds, check dams, weirs) and ground water recharge (recharge pits, wells, trenches).

Eight steps: screening, scoping, impact analysis, mitigation, reporting, review, decision-making, post monitoring.
India: introduced in 1978; Environmental Clearance mandatory from 27 January 1994; new notification in September 2006; mandatory for 30 categories.

Baripada, a tribal hamlet on the Maharashtra-Gujarat border, conserves 445 hectares of forest.
Sweden leads the SDG index; India ranks 116 out of 157.