11.5 Sustainable Development

Taking the definition provided by Dr. Lisa Benton-Short in the TEDtalk below sustainability can be viewed as ‘the three Es’. The three Es are: 1. Environment- i.e. ecological integrity; 2. Economics – i.e. degree of economic development;  3. Equity – i.e. social justice; good human health and well-being. Where these three categories overlap we find the realm of  sustainability,

Please listen to this TEDtalk by Dr. Lisa Benton-Short – an urban geographer at George Washington University – to gain an understanding where the the UN’s Sustainable Goals originated and why they are crucial to all of our well-being.

The idea of sustainable development was adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015 providing a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future.

This blueprint consists of  17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries – developed and developing – in a global partnership. Ending poverty, countering land and soil degradation and fighting other deprivations “must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests“.

The image below gives you an overview of all 17 SDGs.

Each goal of the SDG framework serves as an aspiration of what U.N. member countries hope to ideally achieve in the future. Each goal has targets to help in achieving the goal, and each target has several indicators for measuring progress.  If you visit The 17 Goals on the United Nations website, you will be able to click onto each goal independently providing you with more information defining the goal and how the goal is envisioned to be achieved.