A definition of sustainable development can be: to meet the basic needs of people today without ruining the chances of future generations to do the same.
In earlier modules we learnt that development can occur when economies are strong and can provide for all the people in a country. In South Africa, where so many people are presently living in poverty, we need economic growth before our economy will be able to provide sufficient resources to overcome poverty.
Economic growth also has to be greater than population growth otherwise more and more people will form part of the poor. In the greater global environment there is a serious concern whether economic growth all over the world is sustainable. The main concern is around environmental issues. As more and more people populate the planet they consume more food and use up more of the earth’s natural resources. Economies have to grow to look after the increasing numbers of people and economic growth is very often at the cost of environmental protection.