<P> The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD; also known as Rio 2012) was the third international conference on sustainable development, which aimed at reconciling the economic and environmental goals of the global community . An outcome of this conference was the development of the Sustainable Development Goals that aim to promote sustainable progress and eliminate inequalities around the world . However, few nations met the World Wide Fund for Nature's definition of sustainable development criteria established in 2006 . Although some nations are more developed than others, all nations are constantly developing because each nation struggles with perpetuating disparities, inequalities and unequal access to fundamental rights and freedoms . </P> <P> In 2007 a report for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency stated: "While much discussion and effort has gone into sustainability indicators, none of the resulting systems clearly tells us whether our society is sustainable . At best, they can tell us that we are heading in the wrong direction, or that our current activities are not sustainable . More often, they simply draw our attention to the existence of problems, doing little to tell us the origin of those problems and nothing to tell us how to solve them ." Nevertheless, a majority of authors assume that a set of well defined and harmonised indicators is the only way to make sustainability tangible . Those indicators are expected to be identified and adjusted through empirical observations (trial and error). </P> <P> The most common critiques are related to issues like data quality, comparability, objective function and the necessary resources . However a more general criticism is coming from the project management community: How can a sustainable development be achieved at global level if we cannot monitor it in any single project? </P> <P> The Cuban - born researcher and entrepreneur Sonia Bueno suggests an alternative approach that is based upon the integral, long - term cost - benefit relationship as a measure and monitoring tool for the sustainability of every project, activity or enterprise . Furthermore, this concept aims to be a practical guideline towards sustainable development following the principle of conservation and increment of value rather than restricting the consumption of resources . </P>

According to reed (forest development the indian way) sustainable development means