Poverty is a poor term for such a debilitating condition suffered by billions. It does little to describe the suffering, the deprivation, the precariousness and the lack of hope facing those people low down on the world’s development ladder. It is morally, logically and socially unacceptable. Poverty of ideas in addressing such inequality and inhumanity is equally worrying. That poverty abounds greatest in the most fragile areas and degraded environments is no mere coincidence. These persistent and perennial problems need new thinking as well as sustainable or perennial solutions. Quick fixes alone won’t work. In 1972, the Brundtland Commission defined as “ sustainable ” any development that meets the needs of the present generation, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Since then the human population has increased by 3.5 billion people. Sadly this increased population is placing additional burdens on the limited natural resource base, and what is equally worrying is that 925 million of the world’s poorest people still languish in hunger. Most progress towards development has come at a great cost to our environment – simply put, we have exceeded our planetary boundaries. Clearly, sustainable development is as supreme, and even more urgent, a challenge now as it was 40 years ago
Année de publication
2011
Auteurs
Galudra, G.; Agung, P.; Suyanto S W; Pradhan U P; van Noordwijk, M.
Langue
English
Mots clés
carbon, climate change, emissions, land use
Géographique
Indonesia
