The principles of ecologically sustainable development in Australia and internationally

The meaning of ecologically sustainable development (ESD) has been described as "elusive", as it differs from one jurisdiction to another. Legislation may omit a definition or refer to the need to achieve ESD without specifying what it is or how it should be achieved. Commonwealth legislation refers to ESD by defining its principles, which are:

• decision-making processes should effectively integrate both long-term and short-term economic, environmental, social and equitable considerations;
• the precautionary principle - if there are threats of serious or irreversible environmental damage, lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason for postponing measures to prevent environmental degradation;