Sustainable development (Brundtland Report)

It requires the right balance between 3 intimately interconnected pillars, summarized by the 3 P’s:

• the economic dimension (prosperity)* (with no sacralization at the expense of the other two dimensions)

• the ecological dimension (planet)

• the human dimension (people).

The main aim of development is to satisfy human needs and aspirations. (2)
In its broadest sense, sustainable development aims to foster a state of harmony between human beings and between man and nature. (3).

* Graines de Paix prefers the term “P” to the more commonly used “profit”.

Here are some key extracts from the Brundtland Report:

Part 1: Common concerns, ch. 2: Towards sustainable development

Two concepts are inherent in this notion:

• the concept of “needs”, and more specifically the essential needs of the most disadvantaged, to whom the highest priority should be given, and

• the idea of the limitations that the state of our techniques and social organization impose on the environment’s capacity to meet current and future needs. (1)

Source: Our Common Future, Report of the UN World Commission on Environment and Development,
chaired by Mrs Harlem Brundtland (known as the Brundtland Report) 1987
Part 1: Common concerns, chapter 2: Towards sustainable development.

(1) Ch. 2, Introduction
(2) Ch. 2, paragraph I: The concept of sustainable development
(3) Ch. 2, paragraph IV: Conclusion.

Conclusion (full text)

In its broadest sense, sustainable development aims to foster a state of harmony between human beings and between man and nature.

In the specific context of the development and environmental crises of the 1980s, which national and international political and economic bodies have not resolved – and may not be able to resolve – the pursuit of sustainable development requires the following:

• a political system that ensures effective citizen participation in decision-making,

• an economic system capable of generating surpluses and creating technical skills on a sustained, autonomous basis,

• a social system capable of finding solutions to the tensions arising from unbalanced development,

• a production system that respects the obligation to preserve the ecological base for development,

• a technological system always on the lookout for new solutions,

• an international system that promotes sustainable solutions for trade and financing,

• a flexible, self-correcting administrative system.

These conditions are in fact the objectives that should be set by all those who undertake activities, national or international, in the field of development. What counts is the sincerity with which these objectives are pursued, and the effectiveness of corrective actions. (Bolded by us).

Commentary by Graines de Paix:

Thus, the Brundtland Report clearly emphasizes the importance of the human dimension in sustainable development, mentioning as its primary goala state of harmony between human beings, even before between man and nature.

We recommend that this human dimension be re-emphasized in education for sustainable development, in order to provide the pedagogical tools for the peaceful resolution of development conflicts.