SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Since 1982 parliamentarians around the globe have been deliberating on the impact of population issues. The inclusion of the word "development" in the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Cairo Conference was a landmark event as it was the result of a major international consensus to position the population issue in the context of sustainable development. Sustainable development is a concept at the opposite end of the notion asserting that population increase leads to greater national strength. The concept of sustainable development was defined in the report by the World Commission on Environment and Development entitled "Our Common Future" as "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs". Sustainable development is the ultimate goal in solving the population issue because population itself is not the problem; the problem lies in the fact that an ever-increasing population cannot continue to live within the confines of the Earth without some stabilisation and consumption changes being made. The concept of sustainable development is therefore closely linked with other issues such as the environment and food security and must be the basis for development activities throughout the world in order for future generations to live with dignity.

International Conference of Parliamentarians Population and Development, Cairo, 1994.