What's the meaning o f "Sustainability"

• Wikipedia: Sustainability is the capacity to endure. In ecology the word describes how biological systems remain diverse and productive over time. For humans it is the potential for long-term maintenance of well being, which in turn depends on the well being of the natural world and the responsible use of natural resources. Sustainability has become a wide-ranging term that can be applied to almost every facet of life on Earth, from local to a global scale and over various time periods. Long-lived and healthy wetlands and forests are examples of sustainable biological systems. Invisible chemical cycles redistribute water, oxygen, nitrogen and carbon through the world's living and non-living systems, and have sustained life for millions of years. As the earth’s human population has increased, natural ecosystems have declined and changes in the balance of natural cycles have had a negative impact on both humans and other living systems.  Paul Hawken has written that "Sustainability is about stabilizing the currently disruptive relationship between earth’s two most complex systems—human culture and the living world.”

•  Babylon: Sustainability (n). ability to suffer (loss or injury); ability to be supported (emotionally or physically); ability to keep going for a long time (Business); ability to be kept going, ability of being sustainable; ability to survive without human interference, keep in existence (Botany)

•   Merriam-Webster: 1. Capable of being sustained. 2. Of, relating to, or being a method of harvesting or using a resource so that the resource is not depleted or permanently damaged. 3. Of or relating to a lifestyle involving the use of sustainable methods

•  Bruntland Report for the World Commission on Environment and Development :"Development that  meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their      own needs” (1992)         

• WCED-The World Commission on Environment and Development "A process of change in which the exploitation of resources, the direction of investments, the orientation of technological development and institutional change are all in harmony and enhance both current and future potential to meet human needs and aspirations"

• Forum for the Future:"Sustainable development is a dynamic process which enables people to realize their potential and improve their quality of life in ways which simultaneously protect and enhance the earth's life support systems"

• Forum for the Future's Sustainable Wealth London project:"In essence sustainable development is about five key principles: quality of life; fairness and equity; participation and partnership; care for our environment and respect for ecological constraints - recognizing there are 'environmental limits'; and thought for the future and the precautionary principle".

• The Real World Coalition -1996, a definition based on the work of the World Commission on Environment and Development:"The environment must be protected… to preserve essential ecosystem functions and to provide for the wellbeing of future generations; environmental and economic policy must be integrated; the goal of policy should be an improvement in the overall quality of life, not just income growth; poverty must be ended and resources distributed more equally; and all sections of society must be involved in decision making".

•   The Dorset Education for Sustainability Network:"We cannot just add sustainable development to our current list of things to do but must learn to integrate the concepts into everything that we do."

• Learning for a Sustainable Future - Teacher Centre:"A sustainable future is one in which a healthy environment, economic prosperity and social justice are pursued simultaneously to ensure the well-being and quality of life of present and future generations. Education is crucial to attaining that future."

•   The shaky ground of Sustainable Development Donald Worster in Global Ecology :"The first and perhaps most difficult problem, one that seldom gets addressed, is the time frame…Is a sustainable society one that endures for a decade, a human lifetime, or a thousand years?"- 1993

Ref: (Global foot print) and (http://sustainabilityweb.blogspot.com)