University of Pardubice Jan Perner Transport Faculty Transport and ...

protection, ensuring that resources are healthily recoverable, so they can be enjoyed by the
coming generation. 4
Brundtland Commission, Sustainable development was defined as a “development that meets the
needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own
needs”. 5 The term refers to achieving economic and social development in ways that do not
exhaust a country's natural resources.
Sustainable development has been defined as “maintaining a delicate balance between the human
need to improve lifestyles and feeling of well-being on one hand, and preserving natural
resources and ecosystems, on which we and future generations depend.’’
1.2 Brief history of sustainable development
Around 1970 sustainability became a big issue that concerned the earth and humans. With word
sustainability came along the term sustainable development. In 1970 the UN held the first
international Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm, which brought together
industrialized and developing nations to discuss the right of all humans to a healthy and
productive environment.
The concept of sustainable development emerged from the post-War environmental movement,
which recognised the negative impacts of human growth and development on the environment
and communities.
In 1974, the term ‘sustainable’ had become a central issue in a document of another international
organization. At a world conference in Bucharest (Science and Technology for Human
Development) the ecumenical ‘World Council of Churches’ (WCC) discussed a new socio-
ethical guideline. Partisans of a theology of liberation and ecologically minded advocates of a
4 MUNIER, Nolberto. Introduction to sustainability: road to a better future. Dordrecht; New York: Springer, 2005.
ISBN 1-4020-3557-8
5 Sustainable Development: From Brundtland to Rio 2012: http://www.unece.org
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