Abstract
Sustainable development has been extensively discussed in the past few years, and is still a great matter of concern nowadays. In fact, there is no single way to deal with this subject, except choosing a guideline of this workshop avoiding “clichés”. Its main objective is therefore to study the viability and the feasibility of sustainable development as a growth economic model. We may begin with a note about definitions. In this workshop, the term “sustainable” means that the practice, process, system or product so described allows people to meet their current needs without compromising future stocks of environmental capital, such as productive topsoil, clean air, fertile forests, abundant fish stocks or genetic diversity of both plants and animals. A veteran field biologist called sustainability 'taking care of capital and living off the interest'; but even within this interpretation the term can be defined widely or narrowly depending upon one's objectives and perspective. Against a background of an increasing depletion of oil, during the last quarter of this century, there has been an growing global concern for rethinking development, reexamining the traditional mode of development based on the logic of industrialism, reviving public interest in the uncertain future of the natural environment and nonrenewable resources, and reinforcing the focus on the question of sustainability. Due to increasing environmental challenges to widespread industrialization, there has been a considerable shift in developmental thinking toward a mode of development termed "sustainable" or enduring.
