PRINCIPLE FIVE
Maintain and, if possible, enhance the
quality of human life
 Quality of life—or “livability”—differs from community to community.
It has many components: income, education, health care, housing,
employment, legal rights on the one hand; exposure to crime,
pollution, disease, disaster, and other risks on the other. One town
may be proud of its safe streets, high quality schools, and rural
atmosphere, while another thinks that job opportunities and its
historical heritage is what makes it an attractive place to live.
Each locality must define and plan for the quality of life it wants
and believes it can achieve, for now and for future generations. A
sustainable community’s resources and opportunities are available to
everyone, regardless of ethnicity, age, gender, cultural background,
religion, or other characteristics.
PRINCIPLES
|
5.1 |
Humans have the right to live
meaningfully, and the requirement to act responsibly
Human beings are at the centre of concerns for sustainable
development. They are entitled to a healthy and productive
life in harmony with nature. |
|
5.2 |
Participation by
indigenous people should be encouraged
Indigenous people and their communities and other local
communities have a vital role in environmental management and
development because of their knowledge and traditional
practices. Recognition and support of their identity, culture
and interests and enable their effective participation in the
achievement of sustainable development is essential. |
|
5.3 |
Involving minorities is
vital to the development of diverse and sustainable
communities
Minorities have a vital role to play in all aspects of
sustainability. Their full participation is therefore
essential. |
|
5.4 |
Efforts to reduce and eliminate poverty
should be taken
All people shall cooperate in the essential task of
eradicating poverty as an indispensable requirement for
sustainable development, in order to decrease the disparities
in standards of living and better meet the needs of the
majority of the people of the world. |
|
5.5 |
Today’s youth should be mobilized to
ensure a better future for everyone
The creativity, ideals and courage of the youth of the world
should be mobilized to forge a global partnership in order to
achieve sustainable development and ensure a better future
for all. |
|
5.6 |
The basic necessities of
life must be made available to all
Physical and biological needs that are required by humans to
sustain life; food, water, oxygen, bowel & bladder
elimination, sleep and protection from extreme temperatures
must be provided first and foremost. |
|
5.7 |
The maintenance and
improvement of health should be at the center of concerns
regarding the environment and development
Human health relates to all matters of physical, mental, and
social wellbeing, and not merely the absence of disease or
infirmity. The main concern with sustainability in health is
the ever-increasing resource demand. It can be argued that
this demand for health services is one of the principle
drivers for rapid and non-sustainable economic activity. The
maintenance and improvement of health should be at the center
of concerns regarding the environment and development. |
|
5.8 |
The human need for
mobility of people, raw materials, manufactured goods, food,
water, and wastes must be met with minimal impact to natural
resources
The human need of mobility of people, raw materials,
manufactured goods, food, water, and wastes must be met with
minimal impact to natural resources. In much of the world the
transportation system is dependent upon the burning of a form
of fossil fuel, which directly and powerfully connects the
human need for transportation with the environmental impacts
transportation creates. |
|
5.9 |
Safety needs include
feeling protected from harm and free of anxiety and should be
promoted
Human safety needs include feeling protected from harm and
free of anxiety. Security and safety measures, such as those
for anti-terrorism and force protection, must be considered
within a total project context, including impacts on
occupants and the environment, regardless of the level of
protection deemed appropriate. |
|
5.10 |
The human need of feeling closeness,
love, and affection is integral part of an individual’s well
being
The human need of feeling closeness, love, and affection is
integral part of an individuals well being and therefore is
vital to providing for a lasting model of sustainability. The
need for love and belonging is met when friends are made,
acceptance by others is received and a person is able to give
and receive affection. |
|
5.11 |
Individuals have an innate need to feel
valuable and worthwhile
Individuals have a innate need to feel valuable and
worthwhile. We all have a need for a stable, firmly based,
high level of self-respect, and respect from others. When
these needs are satisfied, the person feels self-confident
and valuable as a person in the world. Only when individuals
satisfy this need do they become valuable participants in
sustainably. |
|
5.12 |
Learning, understanding and creativity
are involved in meeting a person’s potential
Learning, understanding and creativity are involved in
meeting a person’s potential. Goal setting, developing
talents and skills are necessary to developing an
individual’s personal lifestyle. |
|
5.13 |
People should have access to information
on family planning that encourages responsible reproductive
decisions
Family planning programs are among the most successful
public health interventions because of the incontrovertible
link between improved maternal health and child, family, and
community health. The relationships between health, natural
resource utilization, poverty, and economic development are
complex. But, whichever of these issues one chooses to
emphasize, family planning interventions are a necessary part
of the solution. |
Principles of Sustainability
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