Book Description

The chapters in this volume are based on the papers that were presented at a seminar in March 1994 organized under the auspices of the newly established ILA Committee on Legal Aspects of Sustainable Development. The seminar focused on the legal principles and international practice of sustainable development and good governance as one of its constitutive elements. The book is divided into four parts: Evolution of Concepts, Participatory Development, Development Cooperation and Human Rights, and Sensible Economic and Social Policies. They reflect the holistic concept of sustainable development advanced by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature sustainable development. This concept implies that maintaining a quality of life for many generations is socially desirable, economically viable and ecologically sustainable. The volume highlights the principle of sustainable development as a major topic in international law embodied in the international instruments agreed upon at the UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro (1992). The introductory chapter discusses the interlinking of development and good governance, including human rights, democracy, and sensible economic and social policies as presented in the 1994 UN Agenda for development. The management of the economy, society and environment towards sustainability will be one of the most momentous discussions of our times. According to one author sustainable development is incompatible with continuous growth of the economy, while good governance appears to be incompatible with the achievement, within a reasonable time scale, of a non-growth society. Other provocative opinions make this volume a highly challenging source for any scholar interested in the subject.