Sustainable Development in Mozambique 2001-2014: Evulution or Throwback

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to analyse the steps and progress towards the goals of Sustainable Development in the Mozambican territory, in the period from 2001 to 2014, through the application of the Sustainability Barometer (SB). The SB is a method of two-dimensional analysis that includes two subsystems, the human and the environmental, and it is from these subsystems that synthetic indices called the "environmental and human welfare index" are calculated. The study consisted of a bibliographical survey, where 40 indicators were selected. From this number, 16 were social indicators, 4 economic, 5 institutional and 15 were environmental indicators. The results revealed that Mozambique is at a "Potentially Unsustainable" level, in 2014, compared to the "unsustainable condition", in 2001, showing little progress in achieving socioeconomic and environmental well-being, which indicates the fragility in meeting the MDG targets, set by 2015.