Exploration of the Concept of Sustainable Development and its Implications for the Individual and the Humanities

Sustainable development as a concept was unpopular until the popular definition of the concept in the Brundtland Report of 1987, where it was explained as “the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. It was through this definition that the concept has been perceived until recent times when scholars began to interrogate the definition to give a more elaborate definition which truly portray sustainable development as a concept with multi-sectoral and multi-disciplinary implications and application. Today, the concept of sustainable development has direct implication on every sphere of human life such as the society, the economy, and the environment including every institution of governance at private or public, national or international and multi-national levels. The concept of sustainable development is designed to protect and preserve the present socio-economic and ecological activities with the view to striking equilibrium among social, economic and environmental forces with the goal of creating a better community for every individual and transferring same to the next generation so that the decisions of today will not impede their developmental pursuits. If the objective of sustainable development is to be fully achieved without also compromising the need of the future generations, responsibility is placed on the individual, economy, environment, health care, governance and international partnerships and  relations.