The state's role in achieving sustainable development

Sustainable Development Debate

The state is the condition of a system entity or a governance entity like a country. This is an organized political community that lives under a government. A state can either be national or federal depending on the particular country's system of governance. Sustainable development is a human development mode whereby resources are used to meet the needs of humans and at the same time sustaining the environment and natural systems. Sustainable development ensures that the needs of humans are not met just in the present time but also met in generations to come. A sustainable state can be defined in different ways such as one where the utility for its consumption does not decline through time (Sustainable development commission,2013). It is also a state whose resources are properly managed so as to ensure production continues into the future. Sustainable development involves states that satisfy absolutely minimal conditions that ensures stability in the ecosystem. It is a state that maintains a yield of resources which is sustainable.

The state has a role in providing good governance which ensures that there is transparency, a reduction in costs of transactions, efficiency and centered towards the provision of services to the general public. The state is the single and most important actor in achieving sustainable development this is because it can come up with a framework with national planning policies that puts sustainable development at the core of the planning policy that will support sustainable growth and also protect the natural environment. This framework shows that the state is committed to the mainstream sustainable development when it comes to its policies. The policies set by the state pertaining to sustainable development cover several areas and these are; economic sustainability, social sustainability and environmental sustainability. Sustainable development by a state embraces all these concepts and does it in a balanced way (Sustainable development commission, 2013).

Economic sustainability

In this dimension of sustainable development it is only the sustainability in consumption as well as the contribution that the natural resources have in production that are focused on. This dimension deals with the possibility of society maximizing its generation's welfare in both the present and future and how resources will be allocated over time. Sustainable development is based on the fact that society needs to manage capitals which are of three types economic, natural or social. These three types of capital can be non-substitutable and their consumption might also be irreversible. All these three types of capital complement each other. Nonrenewable sources are exhaustible and for sustainable economic development there has to be an optimal consumption path for the non-renewable resources. This requires the investment in substitutes for the non-renewable resources which will ensure that if the resource is exhausted then there is an alternative available for use. Sustainable development aims to achieve a high constant per capita through investment in man-made capital in equal amounts as the depleted natural resources. This will lead to a sustained economic development regardless of the availability of the natural resource. This is because the man-made resource can be used in place of the natural resource (Hosford, 2011).

Economic development in a particular state can only be sustained if the total resources such as human capital, environmental resources, capital that can be reproduced and the exhaustible resources do not go down with time. This means that all these resources should always be constantly available, and their availability should not decrease. All these resources should be used in a sustainable way such that maximizes the level of their sustainable consumption. The state can therefore look at all the projects within a country and identify the resources that are needed for these projects. It is the work of the state to ensure that the resources identified are not depleted. The state can achieve this through the management of the resources .Most of the natural resources are state owned, therefore the state is best fit when it comes to the management of these resources (Norman,2010). The state puts up policies which will look at the management of these resources. Through state funded projects there can be development of man-made resource that can substitute the depleted natural resources. The state can thus increase funding in research to ensure that more and more man-made resources are available for use.

The state is also best fit when it comes to attracting investors internationally to make the state a vibrant economic community. The investors will identify both short- and long-term projects that will lead to sustainable development in the economy. The investments can only be done if they are approved by the state. The economic sustainable development framework set by the state will ensure that there is identification and deployment of various projects available in the state so that its development can start off. If the state does not have such a framework in place then any project identified can simply be a burden to the community. This is because the projects can start out well but without aid from investors through the state then the communities can not sustain them (Hosford, 2011).

Social sustainability

Many countries are same when it comes to the endowments of natural, human and physical capital. However, there is a difference when it comes to the economic development level that can be achieved in a particular country. There are three types of capital that can determine the economic growth process but in a partial manner however, there is a missing link between the three types of capital which is the social capital. Social capital is based on social norms and bonds which have an important role to play when it comes to sustainable development. Social capital emphasizes on the participation on a civic level as well as a horizontal association among people such as social networks. This is also through associated norms that have an influence on the productivity as well as a community's well being. Social capital also entails organizational features like norms of reciprocation, trust and networks that provide civil engagements. Social capital also entails the political and social environments that enable the development of norms as well as shaping up social structures .social capital extends to formal institutions like state, political regimes, rule of law, system used by courts as well as political liberties. Social capital is dependent on various social groups acting in their interest depending on support that is received from the state. Therefore, the state has a very big role to play when it comes to supporting of social capital which will in turn lead to sustainability at the social level. The state is also dependent on social stability so as to continuously carry out their operations.

Apart from social capital there are some social amenities that the state should ensure that they are sustained. The state has the power to create employment opportunities for citizens so as to eradicate poverty. High unemployment level within a state can lead to conflicts; unrest as well as agitation.tis can lead to destruction of property that is meant to be used by the citizens. Therefore, if the state provides employment opportunities for its people then the social facilities will be sustained. The state also has the mandate of providing health facilities through government initiated programs. The state ensures that they provide quality healthcare services to the entire population. These healthcare services provided should involve up-to-date technology. The state also ensures that the healthcare facilities are adequately maintained so that they can stay in good condition to be used in future. The state also provides schools which should be properly maintained so as to ensure that they can be used for a long period of time. The state should also carry out upgrade programs that will ensure these schools are constantly upgraded .the state builds roads that will be used by the population. These roads are constantly being maintained by the state and regularly upgraded.

Sustainable development therefore requires a broad response from different levels such the regulation of emissions, the production of green consumer products as well as developing plans that ensure adoption to drought conditions. This requires the efforts of the state to ensure that there is sustainable development for the future generation. Therefore the state has the power to drive sustainable development through the influence they have to the private and public sectors. The state is also a source of awareness building and education which is non-partisan. This is because the state has access to a lot of information as well as capacity building across all sectors. The state focuses on the use of clean technologies that will be beneficial to the economy and the environment. The state also adopts clean technology so that it can gain a competitive advantage in the global level. With the correct leaders in place the state can effectively achieve sustainable development (Accenture, 2011).

The leadership roles that the state should play are policy making; the state has the power to come up with policies for sustainable development. There should also be the conveners within the state who will speed up the scale as well as the scale of the policies that have v been set to ensure sustainable development. The investor is also a role of leadership within the state. The state has the power to source for investors who will come and foster sustainable development in the country. The other role is the operator role that involves the state being a catalyst in sustainable development through its establishment as a leader in sustainability. The state has big role to play when it comes to sustainable development. Therefore, I can confidently state that the state is the single actor when nit comes to sustainable development.