Sustainable Development

Sustainable development and social inclusion are two of VOV INTERNATIONAL  core principles for the bettering of the world.VOV INTERNATIONAL believes in ecological sustainability, the protection of biodiversity, and the preservation of the richness of the planet for future generations.

Most of the SDGs and its Action Agenda directly aim at sustainability of people, planet, prosperity and partnership for achieving them by 2030. One of the highest priorities of VOV INTERNATIONAL is advocating for the integrity of the environment. We maintain that countries have a responsibility to uphold the Paris Agreement and other environmental treaties and conventions that they have signed.

VOV INTERNATIONAL recognizes that environmental issues are developmental issues. Without a healthy environment, the earth will not be able to sustain future societies and economies.   The uncontrolled use of natural resources such as forests, land, water and fisheries have caused distressing changes and unnecessary pressure on the global ecosystem.   Unfortunately, this profound impact on natural resources is primarily due to the over-consumption and over-production of a powerful minority.

Dwindling supplies of fresh water, pollution, ozone depletion, deforestation, global warming, and degradation of agricultural land and the impact of militarization on the environment are all the result of unsustainable overuse or abuse of resources.   Moreover, though these environmental changes are a result of overuse by rich countries, they often have a stronger and more severe effect on poorer developing countries, as depletion of the earth’s resources increases inequality, poverty and conflict.

Sustainable development would ensure that resources are used in a manner that addresses the needs of the present without compromising the livelihood of future generations. Striving for the ability of future generations to meet their own needs reinforces the indivisibility of human dignity and the collective responsibility to one another and to the greater community of life.

Economic development, social development and environmental protection are interdependent and mutually reinforcing components of sustainable development.  Increasing the productive capacity of poor people increases both their well-being and that of their communities and societies.  This empowers people by facilitating their participation in resource conservation and environmental protection, and facilitates a partnership of all humanity.

This would include improving access to sustainable livelihoods, entrepreneurial opportunities and productive resources, including land, water, credit, technical and administrative training as well as appropriate technology. Essential is the strengthening of efforts to broaden the human capital of societies through universal access to basic social services including education, health care, nutrition, clean water and sanitation.

Achieving sustainable development depends on the full integration of impoverished people into economic, social and political life, with particular emphasis on the empowerment of women.   It is only through such a holistic approach that we can begin to see improved standards of living, better protected and managed ecosystems and a safer, more prosperous future for all.

The World Environment Day (WED) is annually celebrated on June 5th. The day was established in 1972 by the UN General Assembly to mark the commencement of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment.

Resources

• Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
• Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD)
• United Nations Environment Program (UNEP)
• United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
• Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
• The Encyclopedia of Earth
• Convention on Biological Diversity