"Sustainable development is development which meetsthe needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generationto meet their own needs." - World Commission on Environment and Development,OurCommon Future, pp. 4, Oxford University Press, New York, 1987. Thisdefinition has been formulated by the World Commission on Environment andDevelopment {WCED}, led by the norwegian prime minister Gro Harlem Brundtland,in 1987.The word development in this definition implicates two important aspectsof the concept: It is omnidisciplinary, it cannot be limited to a numberof disciplines or areas, but it is applicable to the whole world and everyoneand everything on it, now and in the future. Secondly, there is no setaim, but the continuation of development is the aim of the development.The definition is based on two concepts:the concept of needs, comprising of the conditions for maintainingan acceptable life standard for all people, andthe concept of limits of the capacity of the environmentto fulfill  the needs of the present and the future, determined bythe state of technology and social organisation.The needs consist firstly of basic needs such as food, clothing, housingand employment. Secondly, every individual, in every part of the worldshould have the opportunity to try and raise his or her life standard abovethis absolute minimum. The limits consist of natural limitations like finiteresources, but also of declining productivity caused by overexploitationof resources, declining quality of water and shrinking of biodiversity.For our common future, it would therefore be best if needs are best fulfilledwhile limits are not increased, but preferably decreased. This would leadto the quite simple conclusion that all political, technical and socialdevelopments can easily be evaluated in the light of sustainable developmentby these two arguments. Any development should help fulfill needs and shouldnot increase limitations.
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