Sustainable Development is impossible without arresting Population Growth

Sustainable Development means concerns for protecting environment and avoiding depletion of non-renewable resources. It requires shifting from reliance on one resource to another. It refers to equity i.e equal access to resources. The growth of population and economic development are affecting the environment. More people means more pressure on resources, more consumption of energy, more production of wastes, including production of more green gases.

Sustainable Development is understood to be a principle of integration of economic and environmental concerns. It is a development that meets the needs of present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It is a principle of integration between ecological and economic concerns. It is based on the understanding that the goals of environmental protection and economic development are complementary to each other and one cannot be achieved without the other. Eradication of poverty is a key to sustainable development. It addresses issues of patterns of production and consumption, cultural diversity, health, armed conflicts, gender issues and financing for development.

Sustainable Development requires that a nation or society is able to satisfy its requirements-social, economic and others without jeopardizing the interest of future generations. The experts have evidence to prove that that we have almost reached a critical threshold beyond which ecological decline would lead to disaster. The rate of GNP is considered to be an indicator of economic performance of any nation. Increase in GNP indicates that economic health of the country is good but such increase in the ultimate analysis is based on high rate of consumption of natural resources of which environmental degradation is the result. In such a situation economic growth comes in conflict with the issues of environmental concerns.

It is futile to talk about environmental problems and sustainable development if the problems of inequality and poverty are ignored and the principle of intergenerational distribution of resources is not observed. Increased development and higher GNP are related to environmental damage and resource depletion. Therefore an element of resource generation and positive approach to environment have to be incorporated in developmental programmes.

It includes the:

1) Principles of precaution-preventive action in anticipation of damage.

2)Principle of intergenerational equity-It dictates that present generations should judiciously use the environmental services. It emphasizes that environmental benefits are a common endowment for all generations to come. e.g International court of justice stated in the case of Legality of Nuclear Weapons that the use of nuclear weapons would be of serious danger to future generations.

3)Principle of common but differential responsibility- it states that States have a common but differential responsibility to wisely manage environment. It emphasizes that uneven capacities of the countries in achieving sustainable development in terms of financial and technological resources and therefore it accepts that burden of sharing will have to be differential. It concerns the need to take into account different circumstances, particularly in relation to each state's contribution to the creation of particular environmental and its ability to prevent, reduce and control the threat.

4)Polluter pay principle-Those persons, enterprise or a state responsible for environmental damage will have to incur liability,

5)Equitable utilization of natural resources-It invokes the right to development as means of equitably meeting the development and environmental needs of future generations. Under the climate Change convention all state parties of the UNO undertake to be guided on the basis of equity. Here equity means -In the absence of rules, it provides flexible means of deciding the extent of rights and obligations of various States to be decided at subsequent date,

6)Principle of state responsibility-It arises in a situation when a state commits a breach of international obligation causing damage to other State. Thus a State may incur direct or indirect legal responsibility for any breach of legal obligation relating to environmental obligation e.g that certain limits be placed upon emission of a particular substance,

7)Principle of State cooperation-It is too clear that global problems cannot be managed without state cooperation. Every state must have a regard to the rights and interests of the other State.

8) Principle of  good neighborliness-  That is a state has a responsibility to use its territory in such a way that its actions do not injure another State.

9)Right to Development: There exists an inextricable link between environment and civil and political rights such as right to freedom, equality and dignity, and also between environment and economic rights with reference to right to live under adequate conditions and in environment that permits a life of well being and dignity. It is all about interdependence of all human rights whether civil, political, economic, social or cultural right.In this context the issue of poverty and underdevelopment is one of the concepts of both the right to development , including the human aspects of the right to sustainable development.

Sustainable Development of whole World will remain a mirage and distant dream if World is keeping its eyes still closed and not coming closer genuinely to arrest and control the menace of population growth which has already created much unbearable strain on the limited economic resources,ecology and damaged the environment adversely.