Sustainability

Sustainability is the ability to exist constantly. In the 21st century, it refers generally to the capacity for the biosphere and human civilization to coexist. It is also defined as the process of people maintaining change in a balanced environment, in which the exploitation of resources, the direction of investments, the orientation of technological development and institutional change are all in harmony and enhance both current and future potential to meet human needs and aspirations.

Definitions and concepts

Sustainability is studied and managed over many scales (levels or frames of reference) of time and space and in many contexts of environmental, social and economic organization. The concept of sustainability draws on scientific understanding of human-nature interactions as well as on agreement about the nature of human values and the shared responsibility to sustain conditions for life on Earth.

History

The history of sustainability traces human-dominated ecological systems from the earliest civilizations to the present day. This history is characterized by the increased regional success of a particular society, followed by crises that were either resolved, producing sustainability, or not, leading to decline.

Domains of sustainability

Sustainability can be understood as a socio-ecological process characterized by the pursuit of a common ideal. An ideal is by definition unattainable in a given time and space. However, by persistently and dynamically approaching it, the process results in a sustainable system.

See also

• Sustainable development
• Environmental sustainability
• Sustainable living
• Sustainable agriculture
• Sustainable energy
• Sustainable transport
• Sustainable design
• Sustainable architecture
• Sustainable tourism
• Sustainable city
• Sustainable business
• Sustainable fashion
• Sustainable technologies

External links

• United Nations Sustainable Development Goals