Introduction:
Sustainable development is the organizing principle for meeting human development goals while at the same time sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services upon which the economy and society depend. The desired result is a state of society where living conditions and resource use continue to meet human needs without undermining the integrity and stability of the natural system. Sustainable development can be classified as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations.
Sustainable Development (SD) implies economic growth together with the protection of environmental quality, each reinforcing the other. Sustainable Development, thus, is maintaining a balance between the human need to improve lifestyles and feeling of well-being on one hand, and preserving natural resources and ecosystems, on which we and future generations depend. SD may also be defined as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (Brundtland Report, 1987).
Indicators of Sustainable Development
A sustainable development indicator can generally be understood as a quantitative tool that analyses changes, while measuring and communicating progress towards the sustainable use and management of economic, social, institutional and environmental resources.
The following are certain characteristics that all the SD indicators have in common: • Alert a problem before it gets too bad • Helps recognize what needs to be done to fix the problem • Build clarity and accountability • Reflect a sense of purpose • Illustrate relationships • Show trends Such multidimensional SD indicators that possess all these characteristics and show the links among a community’s economy, environment, and society are described below: Gross National Happiness (GNH) Human Development Index (HDI) Ecological Footprint (EF) The Happy Planet Index (HPI)
1. Ecological footprint Measure: Ecological Footprint Measure (EFM) compares human consumption of natural resources with Earth’s ecological capacity to regenerate them. This indicator is an estimate of the amount of space on the earth that an individual uses in order to survive using existing technology. This space includes the biologically productive land and water area that produces the resources consumed by that individual such as food, water, energy, clothing, and building materials. It also includes the amount of land and water required to assimilate the wastes generated by that person. In other words, the ecological footprint measures a person's demand on the bio-capacity of the Earth.
The Footprint then can be compared to how much land and sea area is available. Biologically productive land and sea includes cropland, forest and fishing grounds, and do not include deserts, glaciers and the open ocean. Ecological Footprint is a measure of human impact on Earth's ecosystem and reveals the dependence of the human economy on natural capital. Ecological footprint analysis is widely used around the Earth in support of sustainability assessments. It enables people to measure and manage the use of resources throughout the economy and explore the sustainability of individual lifestyles, goods and services, organizations, industry sectors, neighborhoods, cities, regions and nations.
2. Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare (ISEW): The Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare (ISEW) is an economic indicator intended to replace the Gross Domestic Product, which is the main macroeconomic indicator of System of National Accounts (SNA). Rather than simply adding together all expenditures like the gross domestic product, consumer expenditure is balanced by such factors as income distribution and cost associated with pollution and other unsustainable costs. It is similar to the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI).
The Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare (ISEW) is roughly defined by the following formula.
ISEW = personal consumption
+ public non-defensive expenditures
- private defensive expenditures
+ capital formation
+ services from domestic labour
- costs of environmental degradation
- depreciation of natural capital
3. Gross National Happiness (GNH): Gross National Happiness (GNH) is an attempt to define quality of life in a more holistic and psychological terms than Gross National Product. The four pillars of GNH are the promotion of equitable and sustainable socio-economic development, preservation and promotion of cultural values, conservation of the natural environment, and establishment of good governance. Gross National Happiness (GNH) conventional development models stress economic growth as the ultimate objective. GNH is based on the assertion that true development of human society takes place when material and spiritual development occur side by side to complement and reinforce each other. The term was coined by Bhutan’s King Jigme Singye Wangchuck in 1972. It serves as a unifying vision for the Five Year planning process and all the derived planning documents that guide the economic and development plans of Bhutan.
4. Human Development Index (HDI): The HDI measures the average achievements in a country in three basic dimensions of human development: 1. A long and healthy life, as measured by life expectancy at birth. 2. Knowledge, as measured by the adult literacy rate and the combined primary, secondary, and tertiary gross enrolment ratio. 3. A decent standard of living, as measured by the log of gross domestic product (GDP) per capita at purchasing power parity (PPP) in USD. The index was developed in 1990 by Indian Nobel prize winner Amartya Sen, Pakistani economist Mahbub ul Haq.
5. The Happy Planet Index (HPI): The Happy Planet Index (HPI) is an index of human well-being and environmental impact. The index challenges other well-established indices such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the Human Development Index (HDI). The Happy Planet Index is an innovative measure that shows the ecological efficiency with which human well-being is delivered. HPI value is a function of its average life satisfaction, Life expectancy at birth, and ecological footprint per capita.
6. Genuine progress indicator (GPI): Genuine progress indicator (GPI)is a metric that has been suggested to replace, or supplement, gross domestic product (GDP). The GPI is designed to take fuller account of the well-being of a nation, only a part of which pertains to the size of the nation's economy, by incorporating environmental and social factors which are not measured by GDP. The GPI separates the concept of societal progress from economic growth. GPI is an attempt to measure whether the environmental impact and social costs of economic production and consumption in a country are negative or positive factors in overall health and well-being. By accounting for the costs borne by the society as a whole to repair or control pollution and poverty, GPI balances GDP spending against external costs.
Sustainable development is the organizing principle for meeting human development goals while at the same time sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services upon which the economy and society depend. The desired result is a state of society where living conditions and resource use continue to meet human needs without undermining the integrity and stability of the natural system. Sustainable development can be classified as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations.
Sustainable Development (SD) implies economic growth together with the protection of environmental quality, each reinforcing the other. Sustainable Development, thus, is maintaining a balance between the human need to improve lifestyles and feeling of well-being on one hand, and preserving natural resources and ecosystems, on which we and future generations depend. SD may also be defined as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (Brundtland Report, 1987).
Indicators of Sustainable Development
A sustainable development indicator can generally be understood as a quantitative tool that analyses changes, while measuring and communicating progress towards the sustainable use and management of economic, social, institutional and environmental resources.
The following are certain characteristics that all the SD indicators have in common: • Alert a problem before it gets too bad • Helps recognize what needs to be done to fix the problem • Build clarity and accountability • Reflect a sense of purpose • Illustrate relationships • Show trends Such multidimensional SD indicators that possess all these characteristics and show the links among a community’s economy, environment, and society are described below: Gross National Happiness (GNH) Human Development Index (HDI) Ecological Footprint (EF) The Happy Planet Index (HPI)
1. Ecological footprint Measure: Ecological Footprint Measure (EFM) compares human consumption of natural resources with Earth’s ecological capacity to regenerate them. This indicator is an estimate of the amount of space on the earth that an individual uses in order to survive using existing technology. This space includes the biologically productive land and water area that produces the resources consumed by that individual such as food, water, energy, clothing, and building materials. It also includes the amount of land and water required to assimilate the wastes generated by that person. In other words, the ecological footprint measures a person's demand on the bio-capacity of the Earth.
The Footprint then can be compared to how much land and sea area is available. Biologically productive land and sea includes cropland, forest and fishing grounds, and do not include deserts, glaciers and the open ocean. Ecological Footprint is a measure of human impact on Earth's ecosystem and reveals the dependence of the human economy on natural capital. Ecological footprint analysis is widely used around the Earth in support of sustainability assessments. It enables people to measure and manage the use of resources throughout the economy and explore the sustainability of individual lifestyles, goods and services, organizations, industry sectors, neighborhoods, cities, regions and nations.
2. Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare (ISEW): The Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare (ISEW) is an economic indicator intended to replace the Gross Domestic Product, which is the main macroeconomic indicator of System of National Accounts (SNA). Rather than simply adding together all expenditures like the gross domestic product, consumer expenditure is balanced by such factors as income distribution and cost associated with pollution and other unsustainable costs. It is similar to the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI).
The Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare (ISEW) is roughly defined by the following formula.
ISEW = personal consumption
+ public non-defensive expenditures
- private defensive expenditures
+ capital formation
+ services from domestic labour
- costs of environmental degradation
- depreciation of natural capital
3. Gross National Happiness (GNH): Gross National Happiness (GNH) is an attempt to define quality of life in a more holistic and psychological terms than Gross National Product. The four pillars of GNH are the promotion of equitable and sustainable socio-economic development, preservation and promotion of cultural values, conservation of the natural environment, and establishment of good governance. Gross National Happiness (GNH) conventional development models stress economic growth as the ultimate objective. GNH is based on the assertion that true development of human society takes place when material and spiritual development occur side by side to complement and reinforce each other. The term was coined by Bhutan’s King Jigme Singye Wangchuck in 1972. It serves as a unifying vision for the Five Year planning process and all the derived planning documents that guide the economic and development plans of Bhutan.
4. Human Development Index (HDI): The HDI measures the average achievements in a country in three basic dimensions of human development: 1. A long and healthy life, as measured by life expectancy at birth. 2. Knowledge, as measured by the adult literacy rate and the combined primary, secondary, and tertiary gross enrolment ratio. 3. A decent standard of living, as measured by the log of gross domestic product (GDP) per capita at purchasing power parity (PPP) in USD. The index was developed in 1990 by Indian Nobel prize winner Amartya Sen, Pakistani economist Mahbub ul Haq.
5. The Happy Planet Index (HPI): The Happy Planet Index (HPI) is an index of human well-being and environmental impact. The index challenges other well-established indices such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the Human Development Index (HDI). The Happy Planet Index is an innovative measure that shows the ecological efficiency with which human well-being is delivered. HPI value is a function of its average life satisfaction, Life expectancy at birth, and ecological footprint per capita.
6. Genuine progress indicator (GPI): Genuine progress indicator (GPI)is a metric that has been suggested to replace, or supplement, gross domestic product (GDP). The GPI is designed to take fuller account of the well-being of a nation, only a part of which pertains to the size of the nation's economy, by incorporating environmental and social factors which are not measured by GDP. The GPI separates the concept of societal progress from economic growth. GPI is an attempt to measure whether the environmental impact and social costs of economic production and consumption in a country are negative or positive factors in overall health and well-being. By accounting for the costs borne by the society as a whole to repair or control pollution and poverty, GPI balances GDP spending against external costs.
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