Sustainability of economic development has become the catchword since Brundtland Commission Report was published in 1987 and Rio Declaration in 1992 defined a set of principles that define actions and agreements in which biodiversity, climate change, forest management and conservation were accorded prominence along with a priority to be given to the poorest sections of population. The essence of sustainable development is to manage world economies in such a way that the present needs should be met without impairing the capacity to meet the future needs. The implication of such a strategy is that the growth rates will have to be moderated. Moreover, it has been stressed that quality of life, that can not be measured in monetary terms, should be taken into account. Reductions in adverse externalities such as chemical pollution, noise levels, air and water quality etc. should be taken as measures. Further, the cost of production should be inclusive of social and environmental costs.
The main issue associated with sustainable development is how to reconcile economic development and growth with open access public good and nature of the natural environment which consequently suffers from detrimental externalities. We feel that in a sense sustainable development, although initially partial only, can be achieved through various types of sustainability, e.g. sustainable agriculture, sustainable cities, sustainable ecological systems and sustainable tourism.