Introduction to Sustainable Development

Course Code: PADM 2055

Cr. Hours 2
 CHAPTER ONE
Understanding development
 Introduction
 Humanity in the 21st century is facing various

environmental, social and economic problems.

 Almost every government, various international

organizations and private stakeholders are facing

challenges.

 The climate change effects and resources scarcity are

constantly increasing, while their impact is not limited to

a state but rather spread all around the world.

 Cont’d
 This, non-border parameter of environmental, social
and economic problems, has rendered them into
collective problems demanding joint efforts in order
to reach a solution, or at least to mitigate the
problems or their impact.
 Different approaches concerning successful ways to
tackle(block) these problems exist.
 Cont’d
 Most of these approaches lead to joint efforts,
which need a specific framework(agenda) in order
to reach fruitful and solution-oriented policies.
 One successful approach is the sustainable
development strategy framework.
Definition of development & Sustainable development

 Sustainable development is the “development that meets

the needs of the present without compromising the ability

of future generations to meet their own needs”.
( Brundtland Commission).

 SD is a matter that primarily concerns states and

enterprises, but it also concerns citizens equally.

 Cont’d
 Development thinking centered on the idea of the progress of

human communities did not really begin until after World War

I, and did not flourish until after World War II.

 The first published long-term national development plan was the

Soviet Union's First Five-Year Plan, adopted in 1929.

 According to Ivan Illich, the modern intellectual

(academic/rational) history of development began on January

10, 1949.
 Cont’d
 From that time onward, development efforts focused on the
achievement of rapid economic growth.
 The motivation for striving/struggling for economic growth
was not originally to alleviate poverty, but rather to achieve
rapid industrialization.
 Attention was focused on capital accumulation (buildup)
and central planning for the allocation of that capital, all
to expedite/advance growth through industrialization.
 Cont’d
 Industrialization was understood not so much as a
means for reducing the number of poor people, but
as a means for strengthening the nation as a whole,
particularly in its relationships with other nations.
 After World War II national development efforts
focused on the achievement of rapid economic
growth.
 In the early stages the central purpose was the
 Cont’d
 Only later, beginning in the 1950s, did the alleviation of
poverty become a central concern.
 It soon became evident that there was little direct linkage
between economic growth and the extent/range of
poverty.
 New strategies were designed to achieve growth-with-
equity.
 Some efforts were made to take account of non-
economic, physical quality-of-Life indicators of
 Cont’d
 Emphasis has remained on the material aspects of
development, but in the 1970s some writers gave
attention to the non-material dimensions of
development.
 It is now argued that development should be understood
in terms of the condition of consciousness of
individuals, particularly in relation to their views of
their capacities and rights to act in the world.
 Cont’d
 Moreover, it now seems increasingly obvious(clear)
that the natural unit of development is not the
nation and not the individual but the community.
 Social development requires the development of
community consciousness.
 At any level of society, development is best
understood as the increasing capacity to identify,
analyze, and solve one's own problems.
 Cont’d
 Development should be understood in terms of "the
realization(understanding) of the potential of human
personality (character/behavior)". (Dudley Seers).
 Development involving a transformation of
consciousness(awareness).
 This transformation to involve individuals changing
from seeing themselves as victims(losses) to seeing
themselves as being in control of their own worlds.
 Cont’d
 The basic natural unit of development is not the
individual, the nation, or the world, but rather the
community. (Freire).
 Ultimately, then, the transformation of
consciousness at issue is not merely that of separate
individuals,
 Rather, development means the transformation of
community consciousness. (Paulo Freire).
 Cont’d
 Development encompasses “change” in a variety of aspects of
the human condition. ( Chambers’ (2004:)).
 Development refers to a process of change in growth and
capability(ability/skill) over time, function of both maturation
and interaction with the environment.”( Libert, Poulos, and
Manner(1979)).
 Maturation is the process by which we change, grow, and
develop throughout life.
 “Development means a progressive series of changes that occur in
orderly predictable pattern as a result of maturation and
experience.”( E.B. Hurlock(1959))
 Cont’d
 “Development is the series of changes which an

organism undergoes in passing from an

embryonic(early) state to maturity.”(Webster’s

Dictionary).

 Development is a process that creates growth,

progress, positive change or the addition of

physical, economic, environmental, social and

demographic components.
 Cont’d
 The purpose of development is:

 a rise in the level and quality of life of the population.

 the creation or expansion of local regional income and

employment opportunities, without damaging the resources

of the environment.
 Development is visible and useful, not necessarily
immediately, and
 It includes an aspect of quality change and the creation of
conditions for a continuation of that change.
 Cont’d
 The international agenda began to focus on development
beginning in the second half of the twentieth century.
 An understanding developed that economic growth did
not necessarily lead to a rise in the level and quality of
life for populations all over the world; but,
 there was a need to place an emphasis on specific
policies that would channel(distribute) resources and
enable social and economic mobility for various layers
of the population.
 Cont’d

 Through the years, professionals and various researchers

developed a number of definitions and emphases for the
term “development.”
 Amartya Sen, developed the “capability approach,”
which defined development as a tool enabling people to
reach the highest level of their ability, through granting
freedom of action, i.e., freedom of economic, social and
family actions, etc.
 Cont’d
 This approach became a basis for the measurement of
development by the HDI (Human Development Index),
which was developed by the UN Development Program
(UNDP) in 1990.
 Martha Nussbaum developed the abilities approach in the
field of gender and emphasized the empowerment of
women as a development tool.
 Cont’d
 In contrast, professionals like Jeffrey Sachs and Paul
Collier,

 focused on mechanisms that prevent or oppress

development in various countries, and cause them to
linger (stay) in abject(hopeless) poverty for dozens
(lots) of years.
 These are the various poverty traps, including civil wars,
natural resources and poverty itself.
 poverty traps means a situation that makes it very
 Cont’d
 The identification of these traps enables relating to political,
economic and social conditions in a country in an attempt to
advance development.
 One of the emphases in the work of Jeffrey Sacks is the
promotion of sustainable development, which believes in
growth and development in order to raise the standard of
living for citizens of the world today, through relating to the
needs of environmental resources and the coming
generations of the citizens of the world.
 Cont’d
 Development is the result of society's capacity to organize
resources to meet(see) challenges and opportunities.
 Society passes through well-defined stages in the course of
its development.
 They are nomadic(travelling) hunting and gathering, rural
agrarian, urban, commercial, industrial, and post-industrial
societies.
 Cont’d
 The word “development” is widely used to refer to a
specified/definite state of advancement or growth.
 It could also be used to describe a new and advanced idea
or product; or
 an event that constitutes (create/establishes) a new stage
under changing circumstances.
 Generally, the term development describes good change.
But how do you tell which change is good?
 Cont’d
 In this regard, researchers explain three ways that the term

“development” is used: HERE B

A. Development as a vision:
 Here, the term is used to describe how desirable a society or a region
is, possibly with regard to what it can become.
 Visual development is a key part of infant and child development.

 First, vision is the main sensory channel for information about objects,
space, and people beyond our body surface.
 Visual capabilities develop rapidly in infancy, underpinning(supporting)
the child's developing understanding of the physical and social world.
 Cont’d
 Your Personal Development suggests that it is important to have a
vision for your future.
 A vision here means a picture of what and where you want to be in
life.
 You might think of this as identifying what success looks like for you in
work, in your personal life, or perhaps in sport and hobbies.
 In other words, your vision needs to give you a broad picture of
where you are going: what sort(kind) of life you want, how you
want to live, what you want to achieve.
 It does not, however, have to be in huge detail.
 Cont’d

B. Development as a historical process:

 This refers to social change that occurs over
extended(long) periods of time due to inevitable
processes.
 For instance, it is widely believed that both communism
and capitalism are an inevitable outcome of
progress(Development).
 Cont’d
C. Development as action:
 This refers to deliberate(careful) action to change things for
the better, as with providing aid to alleviate hunger.
 All of these are definitions of development, but when it
comes to distinguishing between nations that are more
developed than others, or when describing some other
international aspect, usually more meaning is implied in the
word.
 Cont’d

 The dimensions(scope) of development are extremely

diverse, including economic, social, political, legal and

institutional structures, technology in various forms

(including the physical or natural sciences, engineering and

communications), the environment, religion, the arts and

culture.
 Cont’d
 The term development should not be equated with the term growth.

 However growth is a precondition to development; mere growth of an economy

does not make it a developed economy.

 In some countries, the process of economic growth has been accompanied(go along
with) by economic development.

 This, however, is not necessary. Though development without growth is

inconceivable(unthinkable), growth without development is possible.

 Generally Development is not purely an economic phenomenon but rather a multi-

dimensional process involving reorganization and reorientation(change direction) of
entire economic AND social system.
 Cont’d
Development is process of improving the quality of all human lives
with three equally important aspects. These are:

1. Raising peoples’ living levels, i.e. incomes and consumption, levels

of food, medical services, education through relevant growth processes.

2. Creating conditions conducive(advantageous) to the growth of

peoples’ self-esteem through the establishment of social, political and
economic systems and institutions which promote human dignity(self-
worth) and respect.

3. Increasing peoples’ freedom to choose by enlarging the range of

their choice variables, e.g. varieties of goods and services.
1.1.1. Alternative Interpretations of Development

A. Development as Economic Growth

 too often commodity output as opposed to people is

emphasized-measures of growth in GNP.

 Gross National Product (GNP) is the total value of all

finished goods and services produced by a country's citizens

in a given financial year, irrespective of their location.

 GNP also measures the output generated by a country's

businesses located domestically or abroad.

 Alternative Interpretations of Development……….Cont’d

B. Development as Modernization

 emphasizes process of social change which is required to

produce economic advancement; examines changes in social,
psychological and political processes.

 How to develop wealth oriented behavior and values in

individuals; profit seeking rather than subsistence(survival)
and self-sufficiency.

 Shift from commodity to human approach with investment in

education and skill training.
 Alternative Interpretations of Development……….Cont’d

C. Development as Distributive Justice

 view development as improving basic needs.

 Interest in social justice which has raised three issues:

1. Nature of goods and services provided by governments

2. Matter of access of these public goods to different social

classes.

3. How burden of development can be shared among these

The objectives of development

Several objectives of development is:

 Self-reliance,

 industrialization,

 modernization,

 Economic growth and social justice.

 Objectives of development..............Cont’d

A. Economic growth

 Development Strategy and Planning have tried to increase

the stock of capital goals, viz., machinery, tools, equipment

and infrastructure facilities.

 it helps labour force to produce a steady(stable) flow of

goods and services which ultimately leads to an increase in

the rate of savings and capital formation.

 Cont’d
 Seek to achieve a balanced rate of growth, that is, a
balance between industry, agriculture, light industry
(industry producing consumer goods) and heavy industry
(industry producing capital goods).

 The underlying objective behind the setting of plan targets

and allocating the resources to various sectors has been
economic growth.
 Objectives of development..............Cont’d

B. Self-reliance

 A country can be regarded as economically independent

only if it follows the path of development according to its
own needs, resources and values.

 The developing countries cannot become self-reliant unless

and until they are able to detach themselves from the
dependency relationship which they have with other
countries in trade, investment and technology.
 Cont’d
Different dimensions of self-reliance:

 Reduction in the dependence on foreign aid.

 Diversification of domestic production.

 reduction in imports for certain critical commodities ; and

 Promotion of exports to enable us to pay for imports from our

own resources.

 Through achievement of self-reliance, a country is able to ensure

a more equal relationship with the world economy and reduce its
vulnerability(weakness) to outside pressures and disturbances.
 Objectives of development..............Cont’d

C. Industrialization

 The development of capital good industries has been

assigned a key role in the growth profile of the country.

 Emphasis has been laid on the production of basic materials

and goods like coal, steel, machines, electricity, chemicals

etc.

 This is essential for setting up of infrastructural facilities

end accumulation of capital.

 Cont’d
Industrialization creates

employment opportunities,

It leads to expansion of capital and consumer goods,

availability of job at higher levels of income,

capital formation ad increase in rate of growth.

 Objectives of development..............Cont’d

D. Modernization

 The term “modernization” means a variety of structural and

institutional changes in the framework of economic activity.

 A shift in the sectoral composition of production,

diversification of activities, advancement of technology and
institutional innovation have all been a part of the
drive(energy) for modernization.

 Application of science and technology in production raises

the output level and accelerates the pace of economic growth.
 Cont’d
 To bring out modernization, efforts have been made to
promote industrial growth and diversification.

 Besides this, the strategy for modernization, involves a shift

in the industrial sector towards industries producing basic
materials and capital goods and the growth of the public
sector in industry.
 Objectives of development..............Cont’d

E. Social Justice

 One important cause of underdevelopment and backwardness is

widespread and multi-dimensional inequalities.

 Social, economic, political and cultural spheres are marked by serious

disparities(inequalities) in developing countries.

 There is no use of political rights (guaranteed in the Constitution) if

social inequalities continue to persist.

 For removing poverty, unemployment, regional imbalances and

income inequalities and for making democracy effective, it is very
essential to introduce greater equity.
 Cont’d
The objective of Social Justice:

a. increase in the living standards of the poorest groups

in society.

b. reduction in inequalities in asset distribution.

c. removal of Poverty and unemployment.

d. bringing about balanced regional growth ; and

e. Uplift of backward classes.

 Cont’d
The concept of development must incorporate the following
elements:

I. Economic growth cannot be equated with development.

 In fact, there is no guarantee that growth of investment,

capital formation, industries and national income would by
themselves bring about overall development, which would
lead to better lives for the poor.
 Cont’d

 Hence development must be viewed in its totality as one

single, unified concept incorporating social, political,

cultural and economic dimensions.

 development elements……. Cont’d

II. Social justice is basic to development

III. Development has to be a participative exercise

 It is not one in which a select minority of the elite

controls and directs the process of development
 development elements……. Cont’d

IV. Self-reliance is an integral part of development.

It means that the developing countries should be

able to participate in the development process on
the basis of full equality in international relations
for the mutual benefit of all concerned.

V. Due to scarcity of natural resources, it is essential

that the pursuit of growth should lead to neither
excessive(extreme) nor imbalanced use of those
resources in order to maintain their natural balance.
END OF CHAPTER ONE