Lillian Liem 6S 26

Date: 19-01-2004

Explain the concept of sustainable development and its important for the conservation of natural resources.

 

     Sustainable development refers to the way of development which meets the present needs without compromising the needs for a good quality of life in our future generations. To achieve sustainability, humans should minimize their impact on the environment during their activities, which include agriculture, industrialization and urbanization. The aim of sustainable development is to balance our economic, environmental and social needs, allowing prosperity for now and future generations. Sustainable development consists of a long-term, integrated approach to developing and achieving a healthy community by jointly addressing economic, environmental, and social issues, whilst avoiding the over consumption of key natural resources.

     To meets the needs of the growing human population, residential places should grow upwards rather than outwards. This results in an increase in population density and spaces are saved for other purposes. This also allows energy to be ulitized more efficiently, such as the use of mass transport instead of private vehicles

Wetlands, meadows, marshes and mangroves provide habitats for wildlife, keep air fresh, remove pollutants and provide flood control. The protection of these habitats is important to the maintenance of biodiversity. In order to maintain the Earth's biodiversity, we need to integrate concerns into economic policies and take measures to protect areas, habitats and species.

Sustainable development requires suitable supplies of clean water for drinking and cleaning. The water that is available in rivers and lakes is sometimes polluted, making it harmful to plants, animals and people. The cost of providing treatment works is usually much cheaper than the cost of dealing with disease and illness. Proper sanitation requires a good quality water supply - a lot of pollution in water comes from human waste. the sustainable use of the world’s water resources will be achieved through co-operation between countries which share a source of water, efficient water use, and a reduction in pollution and contamination.

On the other hand, some natural areas should be protected. For example, urban development should be avoid in valleys. It is because the topsoil in valleys is fertile and suitable for agricultural uses and it is vulnerable to erosion. Therefore, cautions developmental planning can help to help protect the environment.

Reduction in the use of motor vehicles can reduce the problems of air pollution, depletion of fossil furls, and land use in urbanization.

Recycling of waste helps to reduce the consumption of natural resources. For example, paper and aluminium can be recycled for further uses. Domestic refuse can also be used to generate power in power station.

Sustainable development involves maintaining our current rate of development whilst leaving suitable resources behind for later generations to continue to develop. In this context then, environmental problems must be tackled by considering their relationship with the state of the economy and the wellbeing of society. In fact, the environment, the economy and society taken together, include everything that we need to consider for a healthy, prosperous and stable life.