Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 1.2 The economic development
process in its environmental context.
(Adapted from Boulding 1966.)
The interaction of economic and social development with the natural environment and
the reciprocal impacts between human actions and the biophysical world have been
recognized by governments from local to international levels. Attempts have been made
to manage the interaction better, but the EC report, Towards Sustainability (CEC 1992),
revealed disquieting trends that could have devastating consequences for the quality of
the environment. Such EU trends included a 25 per cent increase in energy consumption
by 2010 if there was no change in current energy demand growth rates; a 25 per cent
increase in car ownership and a 17 per cent increase in miles driven by 2000; a 13 per
cent increase in municipal waste between 1987 and 1992, despite increased recycling; a
35 per cent increase in the EU's average rate of water withdrawal between 1970 and
1985; and a 60 per cent projected increase in Mediterranean tourism between 1990 and
2000. Such trends are likely to be even more pronounced in developing countries, where,
because population growth is greater and current living standards lower, there will be
more pressure on environmental resources. The revelation of the state of the environment
in many central and eastern European countries, and worldwide, added weight to the
urgency of the situation. 1
The 1987 Report of the UN World Commission on Environment and Development
(usually referred to as the Brundtland Report, after its chairwoman) defined sustainable
development as “development which meets the needs of the present generation without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (UN World
Commission on Environment and Development 1987). Sustainable development means
handing down to future generations not only “man-made capital”, such as roads, schools
and historic buildings, and “human capital”, such as knowledge and skills, but also
“natural/environmental capital”, such as clean air, fresh water, rain forests, the ozone
Search WWH ::




Custom Search