1. What is aid?
As we know, aid is given by one country to another country in the form of money or resources. The country that gives the aid is the donor, the country who gets the aid is the recipient.
The sources of aid are the governments of more developed countries which is often [aid for from taxes, and there are NGO's who provide aid from voluntary contributions. If you have ever giving money to Comic or Sport Relief, you have contributed to this and development projects in Africa.
Short term aid is designed to help to sort out short term problems, where as long term aid is used to encourage sustainable development.
The advantages are that the donors gain the feel good factor. It has many advantages such as it immediately saves lives and the flow of aid will continue to keep helping people in need, but after a disaster there is always a risk that the government of the day will be disorganised.
Long Term Aid is good for the donor countries because both companies and individuals can work in long term development projects overseas. In the recipient countries new jobs and industry is created. This provides new skills and employment for local people. There will be agricultural improvements which will lead to better crops. There will be new infrastructure such as schools and hospitals. Trade may continue long term.
But, often the aid will be tied. This means that the recipient country will be reliant on the donor country. Local people may not have the appropriate skills to be employed in new developments. And may not reach senior posts. Agricultural change may also not be sustainable- when the NGO leaves the area will the locals have the means to carry on? Will the government be able to fund schools, hospitals and health care after the NGO's like the Red Cross or the UN leave?
Top Down Aid is coordinated by government or international organisations which make the donor feel in control. But big projects can cost millions of pounds so donors may be cautious so that they keep control of the funds.
The advantages to the recipient countries include improvements to the country as a whole because of the nature of the project- it is called capital investment. Large projects like Dams, benefit the whole country and often beyond into the wider region.
But ordinary people don't always benefit.
Bottom Up Aid is aid from NGO's so individuals give to charities. This gives people the feel good facts. And there is the feeling of a direct link between the donor and the recipient.
For the recipient countries NGO's work with local communities and they build a relationship and involve them in the project. Because of the structure of this type of aid, money isn't lost to corrupt governments, and often projects are more sustainable. But on the downside, charity funds may reduce in economic recession.
2. What is sustainable development?
Form Wikipedia:Sustainable development is the organizing principle for meeting human development goals while at the same time sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services upon which the economy and society depends. The desirable end result is a state of society where living conditions and resource use continue to meet human needs without undermining the integrity and stability of the natural systems.
While the modern concept of sustainable development is derived mostly from the 1987 Brundtland Report, it is also rooted in earlier ideas about sustainable forest management and twentieth century environmental concerns. As the concept developed, it has shifted to focus more on economic development, social development and environmental protection for future generations. It has been suggested that "the term 'sustainability' should be viewed as humanity's target goal of human-ecosystem equilibrium (homeostasis), while 'sustainable development' refers to the holistic approach and temporal processes that lead us to the end point of sustainability".
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While the modern concept of sustainable development is derived mostly from the 1987 Brundtland Report, it is also rooted in earlier ideas about sustainable forest management and twentieth century environmental concerns. As the concept developed, it has shifted to focus more on economic development, social development and environmental protection for future generations. It has been suggested that "the term 'sustainability' should be viewed as humanity's target goal of human-ecosystem equilibrium (homeostasis), while 'sustainable development' refers to the holistic approach and temporal processes that lead us to the end point of sustainability".
ere to edit.