There was a time, several decades ago, when problems of environmental quality were widely regarded as being unique to the heavily industrialized regions of Europe and North America. Industrial development was associated with air and water pollution, over reliance on chemicals, overcrowding, etc. In recent years, however, it has become clear that massive environmental degradation has in fact occurred in the developing world. Urban areas have experienced seriously diminished air and water quality. And this environmental deterioration in developing countries was not just a matter of aesthetics or quality of life, but rather a more serious issue involving the diminishment of economic productivity and the acceleration of social dislocation.
Sustainability is fundamentally a matter of renewable resources.
When non-renewable resources are used, they automatically become unavailable to future generations. Sustainable development refers to those policies of economic growth that do not reduce the long-run productivity of the natural resource assets on which a country's income and development depend. Policies to increase equity within nations and between developed and developing countries. Policies to reduce high rates of population growth. Policies to conserve and enhance the resource base.