Health Environment and Sustainable Development.

Abstract

Although there are multiple definitions of sustainability, it can be defined as the balance of a species and the resources of its environment [1]. Globally, the diverse definitions of the term embedded the concept of improving and maintaining an individual’s well-being in the long term by recovering, adjusting, or preserving environmental systems [2,3]. Sustainability is based on simultaneous benefits regarding economic, social, and environmental factors. Among all the factors contributing to sustainability, innovational and technological advances have become the most relevant elements defining a population’s health [4]. These elements connected to sustainability have been described in different reports and recommendations, such as the Brundtland Report [5,6]. This report is the beginning of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), establishing an agenda for 2030 to minimize emissions and reduce climate change. This agenda includes 17 SDGs with 169 targets, with a high interest in sustainability, including health systems, human health, the social environment, social equality, and education in sustainability. Some goals integrate the environment and health, such as Goal 3, known as “Good Health and Well-being”, and those related to the environment (Goal 13 focused on Climate Action, Goal 14: “Underwater: conservation of marine fauna”, and Goal 15: “Life on land: conservation of terrestrial ecosystems”) since they directly affect people’s health and quality of life. Moreover, one goal is integrated transversal to achieve other goals, with this being Goal 4, “Quality Education”. This goal integrates the necessity of achieving sustainable education, which is related to Goal 1, “No Poverty”, and education on sustainability that bases on creating environmental awareness. Furthermore, as with Goal 6: “Ensure access to water and sanitation for all” or Goal 7: “Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy”, the idea is that these goals are integrated with each other making them more inclusive