From the ability to meet the needs of future generations Sustainable Development, a development model that can meet the needs of today’s generations without giving wood, entered the world agenda towards the end of the 20^th century and became a global implementation plan with the international treaties signed in 1990s.

  The concept of sustainable development defines the common denominator in the economic and social development goals of the countries as sustainable. This common goal, which also embraces the future, is aimed at enabling everyone to meet their basic needs and expectations for a better life. The implementation of a development strategy with poorly established relations between the environment and socioeconomic development can meet the current needs, but the basic needs of people in the future because it is not clear which boundary will cause environmental catastrophe and environmental degradation is often irreversible. For this reason, a holistic assessment of the economic and social structure and environmental interaction in an integrated way from the opportunities of present and future generations to development of the past.

  During the UN Conference on Human Environment (Stockholm Conference), held between 5 and 16 June 1872 in Stockholm, many countries with different socioeconomic structures and development levels came together for the first time on the topic of “Environment”. At the end of the conference, the UN Declaration of the Human Environment was adopted.

  For the first time, the concept of sustainable development was defined in the Brundtland Report, prepared by the World Commission on Environment and Development in 1987, as “development that meets today’s needs without compromising the ability to meet the needs of future generations.”

  The UN Conference on Environment and Development (Rio Conference), held at Rio de Janeiro between 3 and 14 June 1992, was an important step in the adoption of a set of principles for nations to adopt environmentally responsible forms of governance. In this framework, in addition to Agenda 21, which is and action plan, the Rio Declaration and Forest Principles were also adopted. Furthermore, during the Conference, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the UN Convention on Biological Diversity were opened for signature. The UN Convention to Combat Desertification, which was prepared in line with the decisions taken at the Rio Conference, was opened for signature in 1994.

  The Millennium Declaration and the Millennium Development Goals, adopted by governments at the UN Millennium Summit in 2000, which set out a universal framework for development and the Millennium Development Goals, are considered as a tool for developing countries to cooperate with developed countries for our common future. Within the context of ensuring environmental sustainability in the Millennium Development Goals, the principles of harmonizing sustainable development principles with national policies and programs and reversing the losses in environmental resources, reducing the loss of biodiversity, and halving the population who cannot reach healthy drinking water in a sustainable manner were included.

  The “World Summit on Sustainable Development” was held in Johannesburg between August 26 and September 4, 2002 in order to monitor the outcomes of the Rio Conference and to harmonize the efforts of countries and related stakeholders to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. As a continuation of these efforts, 20 years after the 1992 Rio conference, the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio + 20) was held in Rio de Janeiro from 20 to 22 June 2012. As             a result of the Rio + 20 Summit, a document called “The Future We Want” was adopted as a roadmap for development.    

                                                                            Umut Karadeniz