The environment is the basis of all life. Biology teaches us that everything is connected. Sustainable livelihood (SL) refers to fact that the ecosystem and all other systems, such as economic, social and cultural systems, are interrelated and affect each other daily. Sustainable livelihoods, in their simplest form, are about local efforts to alter behavior that has the ability to result in global changes. SL requires the rich to work with the poor, the privileged with the unprivileged, and the educated with the uneducated. This sharing of power and resources allows everyone, regardless of class, sex or standing, to be a part of a larger process to bring about a significant social and environmental change.
             Our Common Future, also known as the Bruntland Report, was written in the 1980's. This time was the first large push for environmentalists to bring the sustainability concept to the public. The report gives this quotation:
             Our global future depends upon sustainable development. It depends upon our willingness and ability to dedicate our intelligence, ingenuity, and adaptability-our energy-to our common future. This is a choice we can make. Sustainable development is ... development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
             From that point on, sustainability gained momentum in many forums, such as the United Nations, governments and corporations. SL attempts in the past that have failed did so because of the approaches they took. Too often, foreigners came to an area, told the people what to do, and then left. This put the people in a position of disadvantage because they were not able to define their needs and, in turn, their own future. More modern SL approaches allow local people to develop their own goals for their community, and then other nations or communities support them in achieving those goals. The concept of
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