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Sustainable development is about:
"ensuring a better quality of life for everyone, now and for generations to come"
The concept of sustainable development came to the forefront of political thinking at the United Nations Earth Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Representatives form over 170 nations, including the UK, met to discuss the declining state of the global environment and to consider the impact this was likely to have on our future development.
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The result of the Earth Summit was "Agenda 21" - an "action plan" for all nations designed to tackle the global threats to our long-term survival and well-being.
To see agenda 21 in full, visit http://sedac.ciesin.org
Agenda 21 recognises that too often, when decisions are made, economic, social and environmental issues are considered in isolation and therefore proposed actions which emphasised the need to integrate economic, social and environmental considerations to address the challenges we face today and respond to the needs of future generations. Agenda 21 focused on a list of measures to holistically tackle issues such as global warming, infant mortality, food and fuel crisis, poverty and disease and people's livelihood.
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Whilst many issues raised at Rio were of global importance, Agenda 21 recognised that many of the solutions require action at a local level. To reflect this Agenda 21 called on all local authorities to produce a "Local Agenda 21" for their own area - a local action plan to promote sustainable development.
In 1999, The Government published the UK Strategy for Sustainable Development "A Better Quality of Life"
To see the UK Strategy go to www.sustainable-development.gov.uk
And in April 2001 East Sussex County Council published the sustainable development strategy for East Sussex " A Sustainable East Sussex"
To see the Strategy go to www.eastsussexcc.gov.uk
The next World Summit on Sustainable Development (Earth Summit 2002) is due to take place in September 2002 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
For further information go to www.unedforum.org or www.earthsummit2002.org
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A Sustainable Development Strategy for Hastings and St Leonards was published in April 2001. The strategy was developed in partnership with Hastings Trust, Hastings Voluntary Action and Hastings Borough Council and through extensive public consultation.
The Strategy contains 10 Quality of Life themes:
Each theme has Quality of Life Objectives, Indicators, Actions and Targets. There are over 250 actions in the Strategy which local groups, organisations, and individuals aim to achieve to contribute towards making Hastings and St Leonards a more sustainable place to live, work and play.
The Sustainable Development Strategy for Hastings and St Leonards is available for download from this site.
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If you would like to find out about more about the Sustainable Development Strategy please contact us.
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This page last updated: 14/05/2003