school energy&environment

Ecosystems and Sustainability

In 1987 the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) issued its first report, the Brundtland Report (from the name of the Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland who at the time was President of the Commission). In 1992 was called the World Conference on Environment and the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro; on both occasions, the principle of “sustainable development” was officialized on a global scale. Sustainable development aims not to compromise the possibility of future generations of complying with their own development and counting on the same amount of resources we currently enjoy. This is possible only preserving the quality and quantity of our heritage and natural resources. Agenda 21 is the twenty-first century action plan and the official document approved by all the nations of the world in Rio de Janeiro. Since then, the United Nations “Commission on Sustainable Development” reviewing the implementation of Agenda 21 directives in all countries which have subscribed to the action plan.
Herman E. Dally, economist at the World Bank, in 1991 outlined sustainable development according to three essential aspects regarding the use of natural resources by mankind:

• using renewable resources at rates that do not exceed their capacity to renew themselves
• emitting slag and pollutants in the atmosphere without exceeding the carrying capacity of the environment
• stocking non-renewable resources on a regular basis over time