Episode 1 : Birth of Modern Sustainability | Sustainable Development | SDG Plus

The year was 1945 and World War 2 had just ended. There was a high level of agreement amongst the powerful nations who shared the experience of two world wars that the failure to deal with economic problems after the first world war had led to the second world war. Therefore, expansion of international trade and having a functional payment system were recognized as two critical factors for development post- WW2.

The Bretton Woods Agreement that was ratified in 1945 - forming the bedrock for rebuilding the international economic system post WW2- "Bretton Woods" established a system of payments which defined all currencies in relation to the US dollar itself convertible into gold. The world then entered a new period of escalating growth known as the Golden Age of capitalism. Economic prosperity extending from the end of the Second World War in 1945 to the early 1970s, with the collapse of the Bretton Woods monetary system, (when President Richard Nixon severed the link between the dollar and gold).

The unprecedented industrial and commercial expansion in Western countries after WW2 led to rapid population growth, pollution and resource depletion at alarming rates. By the 1960s, the idea of continuous progress and rapid capitalism was losing much of its sheen. People started to see progress for what it was - a justification for the reign of the free market; colonial exploitation of non-western societies and a complete disregard for the biosphere.

The publication of Rachel Carson's book Silent Spring in 1962 is seen as a turning point for the Western population in understanding the connections between the environment, the economy and social well-being. In her book, Rachel Carson revealed that the chemical industry was spreading disinformation on the use of pesticides and government officials were accepting these claims unquestioningly. This in turn, caused the public reaction that revealed the growing conflicts between corporate organizations politics and society.

Even though Silent Spring ignited the environmental movement in the developed nations, reduction of pesticide happen only in some parts of the world and proved to be a band-aid solution to what was a greater and broader environmental threat. As environmental issues started becoming more severe, anxiety was being expressed in different published literature, highlighting that economic development could endanger the survival of humanity. This period also saw the birth of critical environmental movements and organizations around the world - Dasholigram Swarajya Sang, the Labour cooperative started by Chandi Prasad Bhatt, which led to the Chipko movement and nonviolent forest conservation movement in India which became a rallying point for future environmental problems all over the world Friends of the earth and Greenpeace - were being set up and being more outspoken about environmental problems.

The green belt movement in Nairobi Kenya a community led holistic movement on preventing desertification by planting trees, community development and capacity-building this growing concern among the public was globally acknowledged during the United Nations conference on the human environment held in Stockholm in 1972 the Stockholm conference led to the establishment of ministries of the Environment all over the world and the establishment of the United Nations Environment Programme. Despite the momentum gained from the Stockholm conference in 1972 in the following years the global environmental challenges were not being adequately addressed and some of these challenges had even grown the reason that was commonly cited was that no major country in the world was willing to give up economic growth whether they were developed or developing countries. However, there was a desperate need to establish a holistic method of managing development without destroying the environment.

Finally, in 1983 the UN created the Brundtland Commission to save the environment and natural resources and prevent the deterioration of economic and social development. The chairperson of the Commission was Groharlem Brundtland - former prime minister of Norway. The people behind the Commission sensed the widespread feeling of frustration and inadequacy among the global population towards the UN's inability to address global issues and deal effectively with them.

The mandate for the Brundtland Commission was to re-examine the critical issues of Environment and development and to formulate innovative, concrete and realistic action proposals to deal with them; strengthen international cooperation on Environment and development; raise the level of understanding and commitment to action on the part of individuals, voluntary organizations, businesses, institutes and governments. The iconic contribution of the Brundtland Commission was the publishing of the report "our common future" in 1987. The report coined and popularized the term sustainable development and defined it as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

The definition is famous because it brings social economic and environmental issues under one roof. The openness to interpretation of the definition meant it was widely accepted by different groups, organizations and countries. here's the quick recap.

Expansion of international trade and having a functioning payment system governed economic development post-world War 2. The Golden Age of capitalism resulted in rapid population growth, resource depletion and pollution at an alarming rate. Global authors and movements highlighted the dangers of economic growth and brought attention to the world of environmentalism.

The UN addressed the growing public concern in its conference on the human environment held in Stockholm in 1972. The UN Stockholm conference did not adequately address environmental and social challenges resulting in the formation of the UN's Brundtland Commission. The Brundtland Commission published our common future in 1987 which provided a holistic definition for sustainable development.

thanks for watching hope you enjoyed our video if you did leave us a like and subscribe if you haven't already and let us know in the comments what you'd like us to cover next if you'd like to learn more about sustainability assess your skills and interact with like-minded people come join our SDG Plus community. The tests and evaluations are on our website.