Ecologically sustainable development (ESD) is defined as:

Using, conserving and enhancing the community’s resources so that ecological processes, on which life depends, are maintained, and the total quality of life, now and in the future, can be increased (National Strategy for Ecologically Sustainable Development, Commonwealth of Australia 1992). 

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In the Signposts for Australian Agriculture (Signposts) framework, development is interpreted as an overall increase in the value of our capital assets - the sum of various capitals such as produced capital, human capital, social capital and natural capital. Sustainable development is interpreted as the situation where the overall value of our capital assets continues to increase over time. This interpretation of sustainable development aligns with the concept of inclusive wealth in ecological economics (Arrow et al 2003, Dasgupta and Maler 2001).

Sustainable development and ecologically sustainable development are treated as equivalent terms although it could be argued that the definition of ESD places additional requirements on natural capital. The Signposts framework caters for either view.

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