Sustainable Development

Abstract

The world's poor also have a negative impact on the environment, by depleting their resources and generating waste and pollution out of necessity and the lack of alternatives for survival. Humans, moreover, can alter their lifestyles and regulate private and social costs and actions to keep consumption and waste production within the limits of the natural world. Population control is often identified as an important step towards sustainable development, but it may not be the most appropriate approach because it is a largely intractable problem, and one which it is extremely difficult to enforce without impinging on basic human rights. Mongolian traditional lifestyles were replaced by so-called socialist lifestyles and associated public property rights. Environmental costs are not internalised; therefore, the price of a product almost never reflects its true cost to society. Conflict often arises over government policies and programmes, especially legislation and regulations that affect business.