Introduction

In 1987 the World Commission on Environment and Development—known as the Brundtland Commission—presented a new idea, sustainable development. The Commission’s report defined this new concept as “development which meets the needs of current generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (WCED 1987: 43). The implications of this definition were immediately obvious. Not only was it a call to reshape current public policy to live within sustainable carrying capacity, but it also highlighted the need to focus on the welfare of future generations.