ABSTRACT
Sustainable development is fundamentally about reconciling development and the environmental resources on which society depends. This chapter identifies some of the major characteristics of past development patterns and processes, and highlights the core impacts of these on the various resource functions which the environment provides. This is essential for understanding the challenges of sustainable development for decision-makers at all levels, in terms of supporting agricultural and industrial production in the future, dissipating the by-products of production and consumption, ‘cleaning up’ the effects of past development and protecting the environment from further damage.
