Introducation and Milestones

Question 1

Definition Sustainability- Brundtland Report 1987

Answer 1

“Meeting needs of present generation
without compromising ability of future
generations to meet their needs”

• valid for all countries and all human beings
• fulfillment of basic needs
• intergenerational and intragenerational

Question 2

Strong sustainability

Answer 2

natural capital cannot be viewed as a mere stock of resources, non-substitutability of natural capital

Question 3

Weak sustainabilty

Answer 3

total value of the aggregate stock of capital, which should be at least maintained or ideally increased for the sake of future generations

Question 4

Strong and Weak Sustainanbilty

Answer 4

dieses Bild mit den Kreisen

Question 5

Sustainable Development and Decoupling Concept

Answer 5

-Graph mit x-Achse als Zeitleiste, Graphen (v.o.) Human well-being, GDP, resource use, environmental impact

-Sustainable development would entail economic
growth with ‘different content’ from present:
growth with improved equity and
distribution and without degradation of
environment -> decoupling growth from
environmental degradation

Question 6

Innovative Aspects of the Sustainable Development Concept

Answer 6

• Development : sustainability doesn’t mean stopping “economic and social” development
• Needs : environmental, social and economic factors
• Present generation: knowing current state of the art (present targets)
• Future generation: long term targets
• Monitoring practice to assess development

Question 7

Milestones of Sustainable Development Concept

Answer 7

1972 - The Limits to Growth
1987 - Brundtland Report
1992 - Rio Declaration
2012 - Rio+20
2015 - Sustainable Development Agenda & Goals

Question 8

State of the Art
Data and Databases

Answer 8

know the present conditions, to know how far we are from sustainability
State of the art of the considered areas–> Available data–> Indicators–> Databases