Analysis of historical events for conception of sustainability and sustainable development terms

Abstract

Sustainability and Sustainable Development (SD) is currently a set of suggestions to solve the natural degradation and ensure human well-being and environmental conservation. However, sustainability and DS are poorly understood by conceptual interpretation and/or practical application. Thus, this study aims to make a historical front of the evolution and analysis of the terms sustainability and DS. The methodology used is a literature review of studies published in international journals. The main results show that throughout history humans have been an agent of change on natural resources as a way to ensure their survival. Sustainability is linked to the concept of quality of systems and the DS to the process necessary to achieve sustainability, possessing distinct processes, but converging. The analysis of these concepts reveal the underlying information is essential for understanding and evolution of terms throughout history.