Environment and Development 227
and satisfactory environmental conservation and at the same time do not
create social hazards (e.g. serious accidents). Of course, this last attribute
allows for different interpretations, as for instance the view held by many
ecological movements that the concentration of power by technocrats constitutes a social hazard. Rational management of natural resources and the
use of softer technologies is to a certain extent an economic issue, because
the exploitation cost is significantly increased; therefore the cost of the final
product increases also, rendering development more expensive but also
more environmentally friendly.
Sustainable development is characterized by the following positions
and goals:
• Sustainability is inextricably associated with environmental, social
and economic problems.
• Environmental pressures are interdependent, since the environment is
a complex dynamic system.
• Ecological and economic problems are associated with many social
and political factors, such as unemployment, poverty, social exclusion,
women’s inferior status in many societies etc.
• Environmental damages do not stop at national borders.
• The revitalization of the economy is necessary, especially in developing countries where poverty reduces people’s ability to use natural
resources prudently, and intensifies the pressures on the environment.
• A less energy consuming and more socially just type of development
should be promoted.
• The increasing populations’ basic needs in the developing countries,
such as proper diet, necessary energy, housing, clean water, sanitary
living conditions and medical care, should be satisfied.
• Employment opportunities should be created that will ensure the
minimum necessary goods.
• Demographic stabilization is necessary everywhere, especially in big
cities of developing countries where deficiencies in housing, water,
sanitation and mass transportation are especially acute. The most
important outcome of a population increase deceleration will be more
livable cities.
tion level of the industrial countries, in combination with the increasing population and consumption of the developing countries, need
preservation and upgrading. The prospects of alternative solutions in
agricultural production, in the technologies used and in energy are
important for the decrease of atmospheric and water pollution.
• Technologies should be redefined, with a market shift towards the direction of products that are friendlier to the environment, with a longer life
span, that can be recycled or that be conducive to energy saving.
and satisfactory environmental conservation and at the same time do not
create social hazards (e.g. serious accidents). Of course, this last attribute
allows for different interpretations, as for instance the view held by many
ecological movements that the concentration of power by technocrats constitutes a social hazard. Rational management of natural resources and the
use of softer technologies is to a certain extent an economic issue, because
the exploitation cost is significantly increased; therefore the cost of the final
product increases also, rendering development more expensive but also
more environmentally friendly.
Sustainable development is characterized by the following positions
and goals:
• Sustainability is inextricably associated with environmental, social
and economic problems.
• Environmental pressures are interdependent, since the environment is
a complex dynamic system.
• Ecological and economic problems are associated with many social
and political factors, such as unemployment, poverty, social exclusion,
women’s inferior status in many societies etc.
• Environmental damages do not stop at national borders.
• The revitalization of the economy is necessary, especially in developing countries where poverty reduces people’s ability to use natural
resources prudently, and intensifies the pressures on the environment.
• A less energy consuming and more socially just type of development
should be promoted.
• The increasing populations’ basic needs in the developing countries,
such as proper diet, necessary energy, housing, clean water, sanitary
living conditions and medical care, should be satisfied.
• Employment opportunities should be created that will ensure the
minimum necessary goods.
• Demographic stabilization is necessary everywhere, especially in big
cities of developing countries where deficiencies in housing, water,
sanitation and mass transportation are especially acute. The most
important outcome of a population increase deceleration will be more
livable cities.
tion level of the industrial countries, in combination with the increasing population and consumption of the developing countries, need
preservation and upgrading. The prospects of alternative solutions in
agricultural production, in the technologies used and in energy are
important for the decrease of atmospheric and water pollution.
• Technologies should be redefined, with a market shift towards the direction of products that are friendlier to the environment, with a longer life
span, that can be recycled or that be conducive to energy saving.