Environment and Sustainable Development

Without plants, this vital process would cease, leading to a rapid decline in atmospheric oxygen, making the planet uninhabitable for most life forms.

Air pollution is a negative outcome of human activity, which is detrimental to trees and the environment; it is not a function they perform.

• The Amazon Basin encompasses 7,000,000 km². (2,700,000 sq mi), of which 5,500,000 km² (2,100,000 sq mi) are covered by the rainforest.
• The majority of the forest is contained within Brazil, with 60% of the rainforest, followed by Peru with 13%, Colombia with 10%, and with minor amounts present in Venezuela, French Guiana, Bolivia, Ecuador, Suriname.
• More than 30 million people of 350 different ethnic groups live in the Amazon which are subdivided into 9 different national political systems and 3,344 formally acknowledged indigenous territories.
• More than 56% of the dust fertilizing the Amazon rainforest comes from the Bodele depression in Northern Chad in the Sahara desert. The dust contains phosphorus, important for plant growth.
• The region is home to about 2.5 million insect species, tens of thousands of plants, and some 2,000 birds and mammals. To date, at least 40,000 plant species, 2,200 fishes, 1294 birds, 427 mammals, 428 amphibians, and 378 reptiles have been

This is primarily caused by adverse changes brought in by human activities, which ultimately lead to ecological imbalance. All these factors are interconnected and contribute to the overall degradation of the environment.

It is a natural geological process that can be caused by physical factors like freezing water expanding in cracks, or chemical reactions like acid rain dissolving minerals. This is distinct from erosion, which involves the movement of these broken-down materials.

Air conditioning, while essential for comfort, consumes significant amounts of energy and often uses refrigerants that contribute to climate change, making it a technology that can negatively impact the environment.

The 1972 meeting in Stockholm was a key moment for international environmental policy, and a global think tank called the Club of Rome did publish "The Limits to Growth" that year, but the SDGs themselves are a more recent initiative.

The famous definition from the Brundtland Commission Report emphasizes that development must meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. This requires balancing all three pillars—economy, environment, and society—for long-term well-being.

• It is a global network established in 2012 by the United Nations (UN).
• It aims to promote practical solutions for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at national and international levels.
• It focuses on mobilising expertise by connecting universities, research institutions, and national laboratories to identify and develop solutions for tackling critical sustainability challenges.
• The Secretariat of the SDSN is located in Paris, France; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and New York, US.
• Only 16% of SDG targets are on track to be achieved by 2030, with 84% showing limited or reversed progress.
• Since 2020, global SDG progress has stagnated, particularly for SDGs 2 (Zero Hunger), 11 (Sustainable Cities), 14 (Life Below Water), 15 (Life on Land), and 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions).
• Significant reversals in progress is observed in obesity rates (SDG 2), press freedom (SDG 16), red list index (SDG 15), sustainable nitrogen management (SDG 2), and life expectancy at birth (SDG 3), influenced by Covid-19 and other factors.
• Progress towards SDG9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), is showing slightly positive trends.