Sustainable development and environmental protection

Abstract

Sustainable development is a recently developed concept that was introduced in order to overcome the shortcomings of previous forms of development; first of all, the neglect of environmental issues. Sustainable development aims to establish an equilibrium among economic, environmental and social dimensions of development. Yet, despite an extensive use of this term, it needs better understanding in order to make easier its implementation. Taking this into account, this paper reviews various interpretations and meanings of the sustainable development discourse, focusing on the relation between sustainability and environmental protection issues.