What is sustainable development?

The World Commission on Environment and Development (the Brundtland Commission) defined sustainable development as "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." In other words, development is essential to satisfy human needs and improve the quality of human life. At the same time, development must be based on the efficient and environmentally responsible use of all of society's scarce resources - natural, human, and economic.

[ Promoting Equity ] [ Improving Our Quality of Life and Well-being ] [ Sustaining Our Natural Resources - Sustainable Jobs, Communities and Industries ] [ Meeting Our International Obligations ]

Sustainable development has multiple objectives. In planning for development, there must be deliberate consideration of how to maintain the quality of the environment, human well-being, and economic security. The Brundtland Commission, in Our Common Future, and subsequently Agenda 21 set out recommendations for developed and developing nations regarding sustainable development strategies concerning clean air and water, water supply, energy, land use, housing, waste treatment, transportation, and health care. The same advice applies locally. Just as the economic development of a country is linked to its environment and citizens, a community takes into account this interconnectedness in planning for the future. Both face the same set of challenges.

In Canada, the concept of sustainable development has been integrated into federal legislation and into amendments to the Auditor General Act in 1995, which established the office of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development. Departments are required to prepare sustainable development strategies and to table them in Parliament. Other milestones in Canada's transition to sustainable development are illustrated in the historical path below.

Historical Path

The following illustration highlights some of the landmarks along Canada's path toward sustainable development.

1885 Canada's First National Park   1909 Canadian Commission on Conservation   1962 Silent Spring   1968 The Club of Rome   1970 International Development Research Centre   1971 Federal Department of the Environment   1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment   1976 United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat I)   1980 World Conservation Strategy   1983 World Commission on Environment and Development (Brundtland Commission)   1987 Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer   1988 National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy   1990 International Institute for Sustainable Development   1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (Earth Summit)   1995 Federal Sustainable Development Strategies   1996 Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development Third Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP3) to the Convention on Biological Diversity, Buenos Aires, Argentina United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II)   1997 Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly (Earth Summit+5) Third Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Kyoto, Japan   1998 Fourth Conference of the Parties (CoP4) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Buenos Aires, Argentina Fourth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP4) to the Convention on Biological Diversity, Bratislava, Slovakia.   1999 Fifth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Bonn, Germany   2000 The Millennium Assembly Extraordinary Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, Cartagena, Colombia, 22-24 February 1999, and Montreal, Canada, 24-29 January 2000 Fifth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP5) to the Convention on Biological Diversity, Nairobi, Kenya, 15-26 May 2000 Sixth Conference of the Parties (CoP6) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, The Hague, The Netherlands Women 2000: Gender Equality, Development and Peace for the 21st Century (Beijing +5)   2001 Commission on Sustainable Development, Ninth Session, New York (CSD 9) Commission on Sustainable Development, Tenth Session, New York (CSD 10) Special Session of the UN General Assembly for an Overall Review and Appraisal of the Implementation of the Habitat Agenda (Istanbul +5)   2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (Rio +10) The Sixth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, (CoP 6) ~ The Hague, Netherlands, 7 to 19 April, 2002