ABSTRACT
The manner in which the phrase "sustainable development" (SD) is used and interpreted varies so much that while O'Riordan called SD a "contradiction in terms," Redclift suggests that it may be just "another development truism". Most people use the phrase "SD" interchangeably with "ecologically sustainable or environmentally sound development". In contrast, SD is sometimes interpreted as "sustained growth," "sustained change" or simply "successful" development. Taken literally, SD would simply mean "development that can be continued—either indefinitely or for the implicit time period of concern. Since ecological sustainability emphasizes the constraints and opportunities that nature presents to human activities, ecologists and physical scientists frequently dominate its discussion. Differentiating between ecological and social sustainability could be a first step toward clarifying some of the discussion. SD came into prominence in 1980, when the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources presented the World Conservation Strategy with "the overall aim of achieving SD through the conservation of living resources".
