SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT" A CRITICAL

REVIEW SHARACHCHANDRA M. LELE (A

SUMMARY)
Submitted by Vikant Dev (M2018WPG016)

Environment-development debate has taken a turn and morphed into the

catchphrase of sustainable development which has taken limelight in the
international aid agencies, a ray of hope for developmental and environmental
activists gaining a broad-base support. But nevertheless, there is the other
side too which creates echoes in the arena asking for the clear definition of the
same. It is in danger of becoming a cliché due to the vagueness and no clear
boundaries for defining the same. No common consensus has been reached in
the various sectors of defining the same due to the prevailing rigid attitudes but
the fact is that it is an amalgamation of the social and environmental
perspectives which calls for the new kind of policy formulation which is a mix of
both the perspectives which is pivotal for the concept of development.

For the same to happen the definition is not of much importance rather a
cleaning of the mirror of the same concept is the required part to be done
which the author has done by going into the evolutionary processes of the
concept which took the form of the mix of physio-social phenomena regardless
of the ideological differences.

The word Sustainable development has been used widely by various

authorities and sometimes is used interchangeably with the environmental
development which is sometimes interpreted as sustaining the ecology and on
the other hand for the successful overall development. A raw etymological
dissection of the same would simply mean sustained growth both quantitative
as well as qualitative over a long term which would contain both the means
and objectives for the same to be achieved. But this is generally not the case.
In rational terms this indefiniteness of the long-term functioning does overlooks
the environmental as well as social limits. This should not be mixed with the
higher growth rates in the agriculture in the third world as many unsustainable
factors are underway in achievement of the same. It has also been used in
terms of increasing welfare but if we want to achieve the development which is
for longer term many factors are to be taken into account. As a bigger picture
the whole idea of sustained welfare increasing has no pathway or an end.

A common definition which generally is accepted by most is the maintenance

of the human well-being by maintaining the ecological conditions at certain
levels. But this definition is itself dominated by the ecological arena. The same
concept is used in the social sphere too in terms of the desired levels of social
values, etc. in the social science arena.

In actuality it must be a mix of both keeping in light the ever-changing world.

The evolution of the concept has been there from the 1980s where it evolved
as the issue of ecological sustainability and then encompasses the
development of the community as its part including the down trodden, self-
reliance, cost effectiveness and people centric. But this also lack the direction
to what is to be achieved through the same. An addendum was made by the
inclusivity of the future generations to the same giving it a new twist.

Due to the above developments in the concept many have started thinking that
there exists a connection between the environmental problems and the
developmental lacking which reinforces each other in a longer term. All this
has given rise to the programs in the developing countries to develop them for
a longer run and sustainable development including the participatory methods
as a paradigm. On the other hand, the sustainable development has also been
instrumental in raising the questions to change the technological processes,
ensure the participation of the grassroot level, pragmatic use of resources
trying to unite everyone.

Nevertheless, the above inclusivity has its own weaknesses in terms of the
shaping a concept which is mix and balance of the internal and external
factors. One of the major being the poverty and environmental degradation
relationship which by no means is a linear linkage but is a complex of causes
and the solution for same is suggested in terms of the techno-economic ones
and have shunned to include the patterns of over consumption, wrong
technological usages, short term decisions into the same.
On the conceptual levels, the growth and sustainability are not seen in clash
with each other and environmental degradation & poverty, again emphasising
on economic growth. But if by any chance this doesn’t lead to both defeats the
sustainable development as a concept itself.

There is another view of ecological sustainability but does not clearly defines
the sustainability part of the same. So, it becomes imperative that the meaning
of the concept may be taken into the arena where it tries to engulfs the diverse
interests and trade-offs. This can be done by dissection of the various
components of the concept which it self has a whole lot of components like the
understanding of ecological and environmental sustainability. Changes in the
current economical systems of the neo-classical policy makers converting the
economics into the one which has inclusivity for the ecological part too. On the
other hand, the social side of the same is really complex one and the analysis
of the same aren’t there in the literature.

Yet, another thing which has taken forefront is the participation in terms of
social justice and equity and to work at the local levels using them as the
participants in the process of the same. But the distinctions in the terms like
participation, equity and decentralization hasn’t been bothered about which
has also led to ‘NGOization of Sustainable Development’. This has no where
lead to a success in Sustainable development.

In the policy arena, the international agencies have completely ignored the
larger global trade arena which needs to be shaped in accordance for
achieving the sustainable development in terms of monetary systems rather
promoting free trade as means to sustainable development overlooking the
impact on environment and erratic & uneven gains.

Agriculture is one of the pivots on which the humans and the concept of
sustainable development is made to thrive but here also there is a lack of
conceptual clarity in terms of what is sustainable agriculture? As many of the
expert take it as maintaining the growth of agriculture with no environmental
impacts taken into account. And the international agencies make contradictory
statements for the same.

In the end the author urges that the differences between the two proponents of
the Sustainable development i.e. the environmentalist and the developmental
activist may be kept aside for a more inclusive and conceptually strong
foundation of the sustainable development as if it is half as successful as
envisaged will impact the world and humanity greatly. Thus allowing the
concept to evolve in a precise manner maintaining its flexibility and diversity to
chalk out the strategies.