For many people, the basic idea of sustainability focuses greatly on depletion of resources. Others consider that sustainability covers also (irreversible) pollution, conservation of nature and other environmental and ecological aspects. Some include the aspects of quality of human life, the human wellbeing.
Over the past thirty years hundreds of definitions of sustainability and sustainable development have been made. Many of these have one major item in common: to survive – for human beings – in the long run.
Though definitions may differ in scope, it is now widely accepted that sustainability comprises all three elements mentioned above. Thus sustainability is about