Once upon a time, the word
"sustainability" wasn't commonly used. When people depended
only on their local environment, if they took too much of
something, there wouldn't be enough the next year. If they
survived, they would learn not to take more than the local
resources could cope with again or face the
consequences.
Nowadays, as we import
foods, goods and services from all over the world, it is hard
to know if we are using too much: according to the statistics, if
everyone consumed resources like an average UK resident, we'd
need 3 planets to support the world's population. It's
sometimes hard to see the effects of this over-consumption of
resources as they are felt in far flung places in the world (often
out of sight, out of mind), or are being stored up to affect future
generations. Sustainable Development is about bringing
society towards a way of life that can be continued indefinitely
without adverse effects to others elsewhere in the world, or to the
ability of future generations to survive.
The first time this surfaced
"officially" on the international scene was in 1992, when the Earth
Summit was used as a launching platform for Agenda
21 (now known as Sustainable Development), a plan for
achieving sustainable development in the 21st Century. Over 100
heads of state attending the Earth Summit adopted Agenda 21 for
their countries, and this included the UK.
Every local authority in Britain was
asked to develop Local Agenda 21 (LA21) strategy, to improve the
quality of life by tackling issues such as pollution, waste,
transport, energy, nature conservation, health and poverty.
As the debate moved on from Agenda
21, these actions were incorporated into the Richmondshire
Local Strategic Partnership's (LSPs)
Sustainable Community
Strategy.
Recognising the importance of
achieving sustainable development, the UK Government set out
strategies for how this would be achieved in the UK. The strategy
'
Securing the future' identified priority areas for
action:
- Sustainable consumption and production
- Climate change and energy
- Natural resource protection and environmental enhancement
- Sustainable communities, where people want and can afford to
live, work and socialise.
For more on what we're doing locally, see the Sustainable Development in Richmondshire page,
and for our actions on the natural environment in particular, see
Biodiversity in Richmondshire.
How the Council is working to achieve sustainable development
and the priorities identified in 'Securing the future' is
set out on the "What is the council
doing" section of the Councils website. There are also
sections with advice for individuals /
households, community
groups, on business energy &
resource efficiency to help everyone cut their costs &
carbon emissions, and for schools on
resources available for lessons on climate change and
sustainability.
For further information on sustainable development in government
visit the UK Government website for sustainable
development.