Question

The most popular definition of sustainable development is given by:
1. World Development Report
2. UNDP Report
3. Brundtland
4. IMF Report

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 3 : Brundtland

The correct answer is Brundtland.

• World Commission On Environment And Development (WCED)
  • The commission was set up in 1983 by the United Nations and is also known as Brundtland Commission, after the name of Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland.
  • Environmental challenges like ozone depletion, global warming led to the formation of the Brundtland Commission.
  • It is an international group of environmental experts, politicians, and civil servants.
  • The commission was given the responsibility of proposing long-term solutions for bringing about sustainable development and continuing it into the 21st century.
  • The concept of 'sustainable development' and ways to achieve that, was introduced by the Brundtland Report also known as 'Our Common Future' released in 1987.
  • The Brundtland Report within the major topic of sustainable development included other topics like - the role of the international economy, population and human resources, food security, species and ecosystems, energy, industry, and also proposed legal principles for environmental protection.
  • However, the Brundtland Report is most popularly known for its definition of sustainable development as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” 
  • The Brundtland Report also talked about the increasing global population. According to the report, the global population in the 21st century would be somewhere between 7.7 billion and 14.2 billion people with more people living in cities than in rural areas.
  • The report also stated that though some of the highest population growth rates were among developing countries, the environmental impact of an additional individual born in an industrialized country was much greater than that of one born in a developing country.

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• The Brundtland Report also urged the United Nations to establish the UN Programme of Action on Sustainable Development to carry out the directives outlined in the report. The report laid the foundations for the Rio Summit of 1992, which then ultimately led to the creation of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development.