Learning Outcome: Students will be able to : a) discuss about the characteristics of sustainable development b) grasp the scope of discussion under sustainable development as a branch of law

1. Sustainable
Development:
An Introduction
Preeti Kana
Sikder
Assistant Professor
Department of Law &

2. Pre-Class Poll
1. Which one of the following best describes
'development'?
1: Collective process of change that improves quality
of life for human beings and other communities
2: Process of improvement that enhances the quality
of life for civilised people
3: Process of change toward improvement of human
life.

3. Pre-Class Poll
2. What is sustainable development? ( Single
Choice)
1: A method for solving global problems
2: A way of understanding the world
3: Both of the above

4. Prof. Jeffery Sachs, Columbia University
 Advised Dr. Brundtland on
a Health Commission
during 2000, 2001 which
provided inputs to the
Millennium Development
Goals.
 Was the Special advisor on
the MDGs in 2001
 Author of the book ‘The
Age of Sustainable
Development”

5. Sustainable
Development
The Background

6. Population of the World Today at 1:25 PM
(Source: Worldometer)

8. These billions of people are looking for their
foothold in the world economy
They are doing so in a world economy that is increasingly
interconnected through trade, finance, technologies, production
flows, migration, and social networks. The scale of the world
economy, now estimated to produce $90 trillion of output per year
(a sum called the gross world product, or GWP), is unprecedented

10. The world economy is not only remarkably
unequal but also remarkably threatening to
Earth itself
for a species that depends on the beneficence of nature, or on
what the scientists call “environmental services,” we are doing a
poor job of protecting the physical basis of our very survival! The
gigantic world economy is creating a gigantic
environmental crisis, one that threatens the lives and
wellbeing of billions of people and the survival of millions of
other species on the planet, if not our own.

11. “The girl who silenced the world for five minutes”
 In 1992, at age 12, Severn Cullis-Suzuki
raised money with members of an
organisation she formed (ECO) to attend
the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.
 Along with group members Michelle
Quigg, Vanessa Suttie, and Morgan
Geisler, Cullis-Suzuki presented
environmental issues from a youth
perspective at the summit, where she
gave her speech.

12. “I am only a child, yet I know, if all the money that is spent on
war was spent on finding environmental answers, ending poverty and
making treaties, this world would be a wonderful place to live.”
__ Severn-Cullis-Suzuki (1992)

13. “At school, even in kindergarten, you teach us how to behave in
the world. You teach us to not fight with others, to work things
out. To respect others. To clean up our mess. To not hurt other
creatures. To share, not be greedy. Then why do you go out and do
things you tell us not to do?
You grown-ups say you love us…but I challenge you, make yours
actions reflect your words.”
__ Severn-Cullis-Suzuki (1992)

14. Key points from Suzuki’s Speech at Rio+20
 Human beings have become a
geological force forcing unwanted
transition
 Sustainable transition has not been
made, have not come close
 There was more to the story -
Insufficient citizen engagement,
relocalising, can’t wait for leaders to do
things for us
 Success of current economy remains
the foremost priority for politicians even
when ecosystems decline
 Ample collusion between Governments
and Corporations is evident
 The current global meta-strategy is to
turn everything from nature into profit
 Massive paradigm shift still needed for
humanity to exist with dignity
 We are desperate to hear the truth,
some one to cut through the
rationalisation of the destruction of our
planet
 Intergenerational Love can stop
intergenerational crimes

15. As an intellectual pursuit,
sustainable development
tries to make sense of the
interactions of three
complex systems: the
world economy, the global
society, and the Earth’s
physical environment.
The Development We
Deserve

16. Aim of studying Sustainable Development
is to understand the world and of to help
improve the world
• How do the economic, the social, the environmental, the political, the
cultural factors fit together?
• How do we make the world both prosperous, fair and also environmentally
sustainable, so that our numbers, and our economy don't overrun the
physical planet itself?

17. What is Sustainable Development?
In short tautology, it means ‘development that is
sustainable.’
Development can be defined as a collective process of
change toward improvements in quality of life for human
beings and their communities.
Sustainability can be seen to refer to the need for
development to be integrated, socially, economically and
environmentally sound, oriented to the long-term, and
hence, able to last.

18. Two dimensions of Sustainable
Development
Normative Analytical

19. Two dimensions of Sustainable
Development
Normative
Method for
Solving Global
Problems
Analytical
A way of
Understanding the
World

20. Dimensions of Sustainable Development
Economic
How the markets
function
Societal
How our Communities
work
Environ
mental
What is our resources
Political
How Our
Governments
Function

21. Normative Dimension
It recommends a set of goals to which the world should
aspire

22. Normative Dimension of Sustainable
Development
 In this normative (or ethical) sense, sustainable development
calls for a world in which economic progress is widespread;
extreme poverty is eliminated; social trust is encouraged
through policies that strengthen the community; and the
environment is protected from human-induced degradation.
 the normative side of sustainable development envisions four
basic objectives of a good society: economic prosperity;
social inclusion and cohesion; environmental sustainability;
and good governance by major social actors, including
governments and business.

23. The term “sustainable” as applied to ecosystems goes back a
long way. Fisheries managers, for example, have long used the
concept of the “maximum sustainable yield” to denote the
maximum fish catch per year consistent with a stable fish
population.
In 1972, at the UN Conference on the Human Environment in
Stockholm, the challenge of maintaining sustainability in the
context of economic growth and development was first brought
to the global forefront.

24. Steps taken in 1992
 At the United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development, in the 1992 Rio Declaration, States committed to
“the further development of international law in the field of
sustainable development” (Principle 27).
 In the 1992 Agenda 21 States elaborated that this involved the
“further development of international law on sustainable
development, giving special attention to the delicate balance
between environmental and developmental concerns”

25. More Steps Taken in 2002
 The 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development Johannesburg Declaration
specifically commits to “assume a collective responsibility to advance and
strengthen the interdependent and mutually reinforcing pillars of sustainable
development - economic development, social development and environmental
protection - at the local, national, regional and global levels” (para. 5).
 The Johannesburg Plan of Implementation mandated the UN Commission on
Sustainable Development to “(e) Take into account significant legal developments
in the field of sustainable development, with due regard to the role of relevant
intergovernmental bodies in promoting the implementation of Agenda 21 relating
to international legal instruments and mechanisms.” (para 148 at e)

26. Steps in 2012
In the final outcome document for the Rio+20 Summit (“The Future We Want”), the aim
of sustainable development was put this way:
 We also reaffirm the need to achieve sustainable development by: promoting
sustained, inclusive and equitable economic growth, creating greater opportunities
for all, reducing inequalities, raising basic standards of living; fostering equitable
social development and inclusion; and promoting integrated and sustainable
management of natural resources and ecosystems that supports inter alia economic,
social and human development while facilitating ecosystem conservation,
regeneration and restoration and resilience in the face of new and emerging
challenges. (UN General Assembly 2012, para. 4)

27. What is Sustainable Development Law?
 the concept of sustainable development, in international law, requires
accommodation, reconciliation and integration between
economic growth, social justice (including human rights) and environmental
protection objectives, towards participatory improvement in collective quality of life
for the benefit of both present and future
generations.
 The term ‘sustainable development law’ describes an emerging corpus of
international legal principles and instruments which address the intersections
between international economic,
environmental and social law (including human rights law), towards development
that can last for the benefit of present and future generations.

28. Dimensions of Sustainable Development Law
the concept of sustainable development has a dual nature in
international law. It can be considered an interstitial norm,
which serves to reconcile other conflicting norms related to the
environment, the economy and social development (including
human rights), and
also simply the object and purpose of many international
treaties and legal instruments.

29. Sky and Water, by MS Echer
Changes happen slowly
towards the goal of transition,
but they happen surely and
over time, they bring about a
completely different image, a
completely different social
configuration, such that it's
impossible to recognize what
existed from looking at what
exists, and needs to look at all
the steps in between.

30. Sky and Water, by MS Echer
The steps in between
unsustainability, trajectories,
and transitions towards
sustainability as similar they
need to happen in a whole
range of different domains.
They need to happen in terms of
what science we have and the
kind of technical knowledge we
have.

31. Sources used for this Lecture
CISDL Concept Paper, What is Sustainable
Development, Montreal, 2005
Age of Sustainable Development, Prof. Jeffery
Sachs, Columbia University Press
Beyond the Sustainable Development Goals:
Addressing Sustainability and Development, Arun
Agarwal, University of Michigan, 2020

32. Thank you