A sustainable common future? The Brundtland Report in historical perspective

The term sustainability and phrase sustainable development were
popularised with the publication of Our Common Future, a report
released by the World Commission on Environment and Development
in 1987. Also known as the Brundlandt report, it introduced the
widely quoted definition of sustainable development: -development
which meets the needs of the present without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their own needs-. The
report argued that economic development and social equity were
necessary in order to protect the environmental and that the
goals of economic well-being, equity and environmental protection
could be reconciled if social and environmental considerations
were systematically integrated into all decisions affecting the
economy. Since the publication of the Brundtland report
sustainable development has been widely accepted as a guiding
principle, and yet the concept remains elusive and implementation
has proven difficult. This is caused by the fact that economic
development, social equity, and environmental protection are
contradictory areas that are difficult to be reconciled. As a
result the report is seen by many as a landmark in environmental
politics and diplomacy while others decry it as a missed
opportunity.


In a newly published book entitled Defining Sustainable
Development for Our Common Future. A History of the World
Commission on Environment and Development Iris Borowy critically
examines the history and impact of the Brundtland Commission. The
book explores how the work of the Commission brought together
contradictory expectations and world views in the concept of
sustainable development as a way to reconcile these profound
differences. This episode of Exploring Environmental History
examines these contradictions as well as the historical context
of sustainability with the author of Defining Sustainable
Development, Iris Borowy. She is a researcher at the Institute of
History, Theory and Ethics in Medicine of RWTH Aachen University,
in Germany.


Music credits: Where You Are Now by Zapac, Piano 8 by AT by
Martijn de Boer (NiGiD), Life Isnt Everything by Hans Atom.
All available from ccMixter