Rao, D.P. 
  
2.0 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT 
Sustainable development of natural resources refers to maintaining a fragile 
balance between productivity functions and conservation practice through 
identification and monitoring of problem areas, and calls for application of 
alternate agriculture practices, crop rotation, use of bio-fertilizers, energy - 
efficient farming methods and reclamation of unutilized and under-utilized lands. 
Although the importance of the role of holistic and systemic approaches to 
solutions for large scale and complex socio-economic problems has been 
emphasized for many years, it does not appear to have been seriously advocated 
or experimented for management of natural resources. The sustainable 
development paradigm is built on the premise that neither of the two objectives- 
economic development and environmental protection - can be ignored and that 
an acceptable balance must be achieved between the two (Haimes, 1992). The 
World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED, 1987) defined 
sustainable development as that which meets the needs of the present without 
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The 
Food and Agriculture Organization (1989) defined it as 'sustainable development 
is the management and conservation of natural resources base and the 
orientation of technological and institutional changes in such a manner as to 
ensure the attainment and continued satisfaction of human needs for present 
and future generations. Such sustainable development conserves land, water, 
plant and animal genetic resources, is environmentally non-degrading, technically 
appropriate, economically viable and socially acceptable’. 
Since the unsustainable patterns of production and consumption in the 
industrialized society and developing countries have led to environmental 
degradation, the Governments of the different countries made a commitment to 
foster sustainable development at the Earth Summit of 1992 in Reo de Janeiro. 
Agenda 21 of the summit addresses these issues in detail and identifies the 
action items for sustainable development. One of the issues which is addressed 
in the Agenda is the conservation and management of natural resources for 
development. It could be achieved by planning and management of land 
resources, combating deforestation and conservation of biodiversity, combating 
desertification and drought, protection of the quality and supply of fresh water, 
protection of the oceans and coastal areas, rational use and development of their 
living resources, and protection of the atmosphere from pollution. 
For sustainable development of natural resources Hurni (1997) has advocated an 
approach viz. sustainable land management (SLM) and is of the view that the 
natural resources can potentially be used in a sustainable way if appropriate land 
management technology, regional planning and the policy framework 
complement a purposeful way in accordance with the principles and concepts of 
each other in SLM. Sustainable land management (SLM) has been defined as “a 
  
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International Archives of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. Vol. XXXIII, Part B7. Amsterdam 2000.