1. Concept of sustainable development

1.1 Meaning

"Our house is burning and we're looking the other way. Nature, mutilated and overexploited, can no longer replenish itself, and we refuse to admit it. Humanity is suffering. It suffers from maldevelopment, in the North as in the South, and we are indifferent. The earth and humanity are in peril, and we are all responsible". These were the words of Jacques Chirac at the Johannesburg World Summit in September 2002.

It's true that our planet is in a bad way. Global warming, due in part to human activity, is now recognized as a global threat. Water is scarce and polluted. Soil, too, is polluted. Toxic waste is spreading. Forests have shrunk by 2.4% since 1990. Wildlife is dwindling. And more than a quarter of mammal species and 12% of bird species...