1.2. Concept of Sustainable Development
There are three main points of view of sustainability:
(1) Social sustainability refers to the continued satisfaction of the basic human needs
(2) Ecological sustainability refers to the continued productivity and function- ality of biological processes and ecosystem
(3) Economic sustainability refers to the continued economic growth, includes the principle of growth in real per capita income within the national economy.
Based on these three main points, the sustainable development is fairly large concept. The general definition includes social, ecological, and economic features.
The United Nations Commission on Environment and Development defines sustainable development as a development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. This definition characterizes sustainable development as a series of changes, among which the exploitation of natural resources and the steering of investments are all in harmony one with another and promote the abilities of both present and future generations. Even though the sustainability itself does not involve a very clearly defined concept, but the concept provides a kind of warning zone that the quantity and the quality of the natural resources should be left for the use of coming generations.
1.3. Natural Resources and Environment and Its Relation to Economic Activities
The relationship between economic and natural resources and environment is the heart of sustainable development. Natural resources are extracted from the nature and it uses as an input in the process of production to obtain good and services, or can be used directly as a final demand by household. The utilization of natural resources will result to the lessened stocks of natural resources and for some times are exhausted, especially for the non-renewable resources. Another problem regarding to the using of natural resources is environmental pollution in which it will result to the environmental degradation. These
