What is sustainable development?

[Iniko Ujaama]

As I teach Social Studies at a secondary school I have annually to teach about sustainable development. This is also very often in the news as international organizations, environmental groups and national government in the Caribbean and elsewhere are increasingly talking about it.  Recently here in St. Lucia, a programme got underway where an Association of Hoteliers established a fund that their guests can contribute to so that they could undertake "sustainable development" projects in the communities around the island. These have led me to think more about terms like sustainable development and whether in the Caribbean these can be dealt with without addressing the wider historical issues. I for instance find some difficulty in seeing sustainable development being addressed within an industry such as tourism as it is currently organized here. How do persons here understand the term sustainable development?

[Historysoul]

I have recently left secondary school and I have quite an interest in learning about development and more so sustainable development.I am skeptical about the term though.For me I have always heard the way to achieve sustainable development is through education, healthcare and economic diversity.However,some how as I further my studies I am begining to realise that sustainable development is suppose to be development that best suits the society for which it is to enchance.However, here in the Caribbean that seems like sustainable development is being influenced by very Euro-centric ideals of what it means to be developed.An this I think hampers sustainabilty in the region.However,my opinion is that for sustainable development to be achieved at least to some extent ,I think that monoculture needs to be replaced with more diversity  and that is just one step closer to sustainabilty.

[Tyehimba]

The concept of sustainable development is one of the current buzzwords around. In 2015 the United Nations approved a 2030 Development Agenda "Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, thereby replacing the Millennium Development Goals. This agenda aims to end poverty in all forms and to facilitate the sustainable use of resources. Governments, NGOs and global financial organisations have incorporated this concept into their policy frameworks.

I quite agree that it is Eurocentric... It uses ideas of development that do not challenge power structures or address the subservient place of the Caribbean and global south in world affairs. It makes fancy promises to end poverty while not addressing the historical and structural causes of power. Also, talking about the environment, while ignoring the injustices of various peoples, is part of what contributes to environmental damage. Sustainable development  is a distraction from other issues that people should be paying attention to.