• Sustainability - Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Economic sustainability takes this concept further:

• Economic Sustainability - Considers the ability of economies to maintain themselves when resources decline or become too expensive and when populations dependent on these resources are growing.

A Dilemma

• Developed countries continue to demand resources for their populations in increasing amounts.
• Less developed countries are supplying the resources that make the developed countries affluent.
• Rapidly increasing populations of developing countries are demanding more and more resources.

Agenda 21

Agenda 21 is a UN sustainable development programme. It states that governments are obliged to formulate national plans or strategies for sustainable development. It also states that sustainable development is essentially a local activity.

Strategies by Local Authorities

• Monitoring air and water quality.
• Promoting energy efficiency.
• Establishing effective recycling system.
• Creating efficient forms of public transport.
• Carrying out population management.

Local Population Management

Developing Countries:

• Training community nurses.
• Increasing female literacy rates.
• Making contraceptives readily available.

Developed Countries

• Train sufficient personal to care for the elderly.
• Consider the issues arising from falling birth ages, fewer children and a reduced workforce.