Dimensions of Sustainable Development
Basically, sustainable development has four main pillars
(dimensions); social, economic, environmental and institutional. However, in
recognition of the growing importance of information and communication
technologies and the role they play in development, a fifth dimension on ICT is
added. This integration of social, economic, environmental, institutional, and
ICT is an imperative widely recognized by the community. Following are brief
definitions of these dimensions.
A - Social:
Development is considered to be socially sustainable when it
achieves social justice via equitable resource allocation, eradicates poverty,
and provides social services, such as education, health and others to all
members of the society, especially the most needy ones. The social dimension of
sustainable development is, thus, based on the notion that man constitutes an
important means of development and its prime target who should strive to
achieve this notion for both present and future generations.
B - Economic:
Economically, sustainability means providing economic
welfare at present and in the future, while paying more attention to the
"natural capital", which means the natural resources of economic
value, considered as the bases for the economic system, such as plants, soil,
animals, fish, and bio-environmental system such as air and water purification.
C - Environmental:
An ecologically sustainable system maintains a solid base of
natural resources and avoids excessive use of such resources. This involves the
conservation of biodiversity, attaining atmospheric balance, productivity of
soil as well as other systems of natural environment which are usually
classified as noneconomic resources. In tackling sustainable development
problems, environmentalists tend to focus on what is known as environment
borders". As a concept it means that each natural environment system has
certain limits
that should not be exceeded by
excessive consumption or else a deterioration in irrevocable natural system is
inevitable. Therefore, from an environmental point of view, sustainability
means setting limits for consumption, population growth and pollution, as well
as the faulty ways of production; including wasting waters, cutting the forests
or the soil erosion.
D - Institutional:
The institutional dimension of sustainable development is
concerned with the participation of all community members in the decision
making process and the acquisition of the information that affect their lives
transparently and accurately. It is also concerned with the organizations, such
as councils and committees, charged with the implementation of various aspects
of MDGs.
E - Digital (ICT):
Information
and communication technologies (ICT) are closely related to the abovementioned
four dimensions of sustainable development. The millennium development goals
and the recommendations of the international summit for information and
communication technology held in Geneva in November 2003 provided a suitable
methodological framework on how to make use of ICT in achieving sustainable
development. Therefore, the digital dimension has been added as a fifth
dimension of sustainable development.
