Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” (UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs Division for Sustainable Development, 2006a) However, different concepts have emerged on the manner of actualizing this definition. The particular concern that policy makers had over the application of sustainable development is the determination of the measure of what is sustainable. Since the late 1940s, consistent with the stabilization of the United Nations and fundamental rights, environmentalists and economists developed the idea that sustainable development involves the aggregate consideration of the ecological, economic, and social as well as the ethical aspects of reality in policy making and in practice. This led to the integration of eco-development in the programs of Third World countries. During the 1970s, the family of nations heightened its dedication to sustainable development so that in the Stockholm Conference, initial attempts were made to incorporate both environment and development issues in the international agenda. (Moffatt, 1995)
In the succeeding conferences, developments in efforts for the actualization of sustainable development occurred, particularly the Earth Summit in Rio de Janiero in 1992 where agreements on forest protection, climate change and biodiversity were reached together with the establishment of twenty-seven guidelines to aid in the practice of sustainable development. (Bodansky, 1995)
The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development dubbed as Agenda 21 constituted a complete plan of action to be implemented on an international scale but permeates into national and local programs. In 1992, more than 178 states adopted Agenda 21 starting the pace for the achievement of sustainable development in an international scale. In 2002, the complete implementation of Agenda 21 and commitment to the Rio principles were affirmed in the World Summit on Sustainable Development in South Africa. (UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs Division for Sustainable Development, 2006b)
Agenda 21 comprise the most decisive and workable agreement on sustainable development because not only does it provide guidelines for practice but it also invokes action through the incorporation of sustainable development into international law binding upon the states that adopted the Rio agreement. (Sitarz, 1993; Keating, 1993) Chapter 39 of Agenda 21 covers international statutory instruments and mechanisms to assists states in the promotion of sustainable development in the national and local levels. Provisions of this chapter provides for the accommodation of differences in the condition of the different states such as the case of Third World countries so that it encourages state leaders to evaluate international laws on sustainable development and the manner that the application of these laws would be consistent with their particular situation. (UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs Division for Sustainable Development, 2006c)
Apart from the adoption of Agenda 21 by most states, there are other agreements that formed part of international law on sustainable development adopted by states during the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janiero. The Convention on Biological Diversity came into force in December 1993. This involves the commitment of states to balance sustainable development and economic development. Three main goals constitute the thrust of the convention, which are biological diversity conservation, sustainable use if biodiversity components, and fair and equitable sharing of benefits derived from genetic resources. (Convention on Biological Diversity, 2006) In 2000, members of the convention adopted the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety covering the issue on genetic modification in relation to the maintenance of biodiversity. (Anderson, 2002)
The Framework Convention on Climate Change came into force in March 1994 with its Kyoto Protocol adoption in 1997. The Kyoto Protocol in an important portion on international law covering climate change because it provides for a system of compliance by states to cut-back on greenhouse gas emissions to prevent or at least delay the effects of global warming. (Chamber, 2001) It was only in 2005, that the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol was completed with the signature of states accounting for 55 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the world. However, one of the biggest greenhouse gas users, the United States failed to ratify the protocol. (Klepper and Peterson, 2005)
The Statement of Forest Principles was adopted in 1995 to cover the iussue of rapid deforestation, illegal logging and the depletion of other forest resources. (Humphreys, 1996) In 2001, the UN Economic and Social Council created the UN Forum on Forests with the goal of promoting “…the management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests and to strengthen long-term political commitment to this end…” (UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs Division for Sustainable Development, 2006b)
Sustainable Development and the European Union (EU)
Sustainable development is deeply rooted in the development of the European Union due to the previous commitments of the different member states to international conventions addressing sustainable development as well as the common global issues of global warming and its various effects such as flooding and change in weather patterns that all EU members face. Sustainable development as a principle surrounding the creation of the EU is fitting because the achievement of this encompassing goal requires interstate cooperation and this is achieved through the EU venue. Sustainable development issues such as the limiting greenhouse gas emissions, maintaining biodiversity and preserving forest resources are best achieved through cooperation. (Baker et al., 1997; Baker, 1997)
The Treaty on European Union or the Maastricht Treaty 1992 led to the creation of the European Union. Part of the objectives of the European Union contained in the treaty is the implementation of sustainable development in its member states. Sustainable development is an underlying principle in the creation of the European Union so that its policies, strategies and actions consider the balance between economic, social and environmental factors [Figure 1].
As the venue for the European action to achieve sustainable development the EU showed its determination to implement sustainable development in compliance with international law when it set out to develop sustainable plans embodying the objectives of the EU and determine the various areas where sustainable development is to be implemented as well determine the various strategies of achieving sustainable development in the context of the particular economic, social and environmental situation of every EU member. (Baker et al., 1997)
The European Union initially established its commitment to the achievement of sustainable development in mid-2001. It was during this time that the Gothenburg European Council approved the EU Sustainable Development Strategy. In 2002, the European Commission issued a communication covering the external element of sustainable development that was endorsed by Barcelona European Council. These comprised the complete EU Sustainable Development Plan. It was determined that the sustainable development strategy would be reviewed at the commencement in office of the Commissioner or every four years. In the 2005 review, it was determined that there is a need to adopt a ore comprehensive approach focusing on economic structural changes to achieve a production and consumption level that meets the objectives set for sustainable development. (Commission of the European Communities, 2005)
The EU’s approach to sustainable development is expressed in four components. First is the broad vision determining what is sustainable, which is the mutually reinforcing status of economic, social and environmental factors. The strategy on sustainable development envisions the region as having a more prosperous and just society living the promise of clean, safe and healthy environment. Second is the improvement in the manner of creating policies to arrive at an informed policy decision-making through the development of clear and understandable policies explaining to the people about the goals, issues and the trade-offs involved in the policy. Third is the identification of trends proven as not sustainable such as climate change, energy use, public health threats, poverty, ageing societies, existing natural resource management strategies, and land use. Fourth is the integration of international goals to the EU sustainable development strategy in compliance with international law. (Commission of the European Communities, 2005)
It is clear that the creation of the European Union is tied to sustainable development and the EU is pulling its efforts to live up to this principle as observed in the development and regular review of the sustainable development plan for Europe. As basis for the development of the sustainable development plan, environmental laws were enacted through various agreements. The Treaty of Amsterdam that became effective in 1999, provided for an encompassing perspective on sustainable development. In recognition of the fact that the achievement of the goals of sustainable development transcends borders led to the recognition of the European Union of its responsibility to look into the policies of the members of the European community to determine and address any incompatibilities with sustainable development. The Treaty of Amsterdam direct EU members to comply with the standards set for sustainable development. In 2001, the Treaty of Nice was enacted to provide a process for policy and decision-making of the EU members, covering a wide range of issues including environmental legislations, due to the recognition of the expansion of its membership and the rise of new issues. (Commission of the European Communities, 2005)
Sustainable Development and Future Environmental Laws
Sustainable development still has a future in building succeeding environmental laws because the concept is the most important guide for the development of legislations, policies and programs that integrates economic, social and environmental factors in decision-making and implementation. This is a timely concept especially during this period when the world is experiencing a vast array of the undeniable effects of the previous decades of environmental neglect. If the lack of consideration of environmental sustainability continues, the world is expected to deplete its irreplaceable natural resources in the next decades. No other concept expressed the concern for the environment in the context of actual conditions except sustainable development (Mirovitskaya and Ascher, 2001).
The concept of sustainable development comprises a significant foundation of environmental legislations. In international law, sustainable development has been enshrined in agreements such as Agenda 21 and other conventions so that removing the concept as the context for these legislations and future legislations would render the agreements indecisive and meaningless. In the case of the European Union, one of its founding principles is sustainable development so that this concept is expressed in its environmental legislations. If the concept were to be detached from future environmental legislations then the EU defeats its purpose of its existence as a cooperative union of states.
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