1. An
introduction to the sustainable development
When we give a definition to sustainable development, first and
foremost, we have to figure out what means sustainable and what is development
respectively. Development is a comprehensive process involving economic as well
as social and environmental changes, while sustainability is an inherently dynamic,
indefinite and contested concept. Sustainable development can, therefore, be
seen as an unending process, which is defined not by fixed goals or the
specific means of achieving them, but by an approach to creating change through
continuous learning and adaptation.
Nowadays, as survival and development have been regarded as the two
policy priorities in the developing country, sustainable development gets
another definition. It could also be called “equitable and balanced”， meaning
that, in order for development to continue indefinitely, it should balance the
interests of different groups of people, within the same generation and among
generations, and do so simultaneously in three major interrelated
areas-economic, social, and environmental. 《Soubbotina 9-10》 This definition concerning the
links between sustainable development and people’s livelihood 《from survival to
a better living condition》 , follows from the ambivalent and frequent
references to poverty eradication as ‘an overarching objective’ of sustainable
development, that is the desirable outcome of a successful development process
– and an essential requirement for sustainable development – that is a means to
an end.
2. Poverty as a threat to sustainable
development
In each country as well as
globally, the most critical problem of sustainable development is eradicating
the existing or the potential poverty. This is because poverty is not only an
evil in itself, but also stands in the way of achieving most other goals of
development, from clean environment to personal freedom and rights, and even to
the stability and equality of the society, which goes against the theory an
practice sustainable development proposed.
2.1 poverty with higher social inequality
Poverty is one of the reasons that increasing the population rate.
As far as the poor people concerned, big families and more children are the way
to have a better survival, because more labor means more food and drink would
be produced and found. This is why in most developing countries, population
keeps a rapid growth. The consequences has been predicted that in the future,
particularly in the next 50 years, the additional population will pose many
economic, social, and environmental challenges, not only for these poor people
themselves, the countries they belong to, but also for the entire global
community. Whether these additional people could be access to or afford to
social resources and services, such as education and health services, jobs,
food and drink, is critical for the possibility of global sustainable
development. Then the question of equity is on the debate. People in the
developed country may criticized that it is not equal to them because the
additional people will shrink the share of social services and resources, while
the so-called additional ones also argue it is not equal for they fail to
access to enough basic needs.
Another inequality caused by poverty and population is gender
inequality, and it brings gender
asymmetry. The poor people mainly rely on the natural resources. Males are
often been considered as a capital and the major productivity. For example, in Ethiopia and Ghana,
the two countries largely depend on agriculture and are made up of many poor
people, which women’s status is generally low in both
countries. Traditionally in Ghana, customary inheritance practices
left widows with limited land or resources. In Ethiopia, traditional practices
also transfer land to
males. Labor is a productivity constraint for poor female-headed
households without an adult male in rural Ethiopia, because women usually do
not plow with
oxen due to social norms. Labor is a constraint for women in Ghana as well, in
part because they are
obligated to work first on their husband’s crops. Women in both
countries have heavy, time-consuming domestic task burdens. 《World Bank 12》
2.2 poverty with lower economical growth
The poor developing countries are accounted
for about 85% of the world’s population, however, they only generates less than
22% of the globe GDP. The reasons are obvious. The poor people always own lower
productivity, fo the low health levels and the lack of education makes them fail
to acquire the knowledge and skills needed by the modern society. The lower
productivity directly leads the lower income. For example, in Hungary the
richest 20% of the population received about 4.5 times income more than the
poorest, while in Brazil the richest received income over 30 times more than
the poorest. Lower income and human poverty tend to be accompanied by such
social deprivations as high vulnerably to adverse events 《for example,
diseases, economic crisis, or natural disaster》, voicelessness in most of
society’s institutions, and powerlessness to improve one’s living
circumstances. 《Soubbotina 33》 furthermore, it also influences economic
investment. Economists generally assume that people are willing to save for
future consumption grows with their incomes. However, to the poor ones, most of
they can not afford to plan for the future and save. Thus in poor countries,
where a great amount of their incomes has to be spent to meet their current
needs, especially the urgent needs. Under this context, the national saving
rates doom to be lower, which have a big influence on the needed domestic
investment in both physical capital and human capital. For instance,
Sub-Saharan Africa consistently has the lowest saving rate and the smallest
pool of saving. On the contrary, the high-income countries save a smaller share
of their GDP with a larger pool of savings, which give them a chance to have
varies investments. Followed by, their economy’s productivity can be increased
and incomes can also be raised. It is easy to figure out that poverty worsened
the overall economic growth, owing to the lower productivity, lower incomes and
savings. Such economic growth can be socially unsustainable which in return
will lead to social stress and conflict, detrimental to further growth.