Sustainable development

Sustainable development is that development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It is a process of change in which the exploitation of resources, the direction of investment, 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. It must rest on political will. There are three key concepts: needs; limitations on the environment's ability to meet present and future needs; and maximum sustainable yield, or carrying capacity, which must be defined after accounting for system-wide effects of exploitation.