الفهرس 
literature reviewOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Sustainability has been a term newly defined, but always referred to in different ways throughout history. It simply means the ability of a certain area to support its population and their current material needs, without jeopardizing’ the chance for future generations to exist. Many disciplines have discussed the subject of sustainability and sustainable development. Furthermore, this research addresses it from the natural resources consumption point of view, This view might be a little narrow as it only considers ecological sustainability disregarding the other two components of development and sustainability, that are, economical and community development. This dissertation discusses the need for this discipline to reach and attain sustainability. The aims of the research are simply: to understand what the urban environment was and it was composed of as well as to define the mutual impact of each component on the other; to define and compare different environmental assessment techniques and emphasizing the most appropriate for use in developing countries, discussing different examples featuring its use in managing natural resources; and to identify the extent of applicability’ of the above knowledge in plotting the ecological footprint map of Egypt, stating the present state of ecological balance. These objectives were achieved throughout the chapters of the research. This dissertation consists of five chapters. It starts with an introduction defining the research background, research value, aims, scope of research, methodology and thesis structure. Moreover, this research is mostly analytical, as it studies and examines different environmental an natural components, followed by an in-depth coverage of sustainability. This is followed by analysis of the ecological footprint method, succeeded by a case study of applying the. previous knowledge. The introduction is followed by chapter I, that is a literature review covering the historical background of different environmental and ecological management techniques, ranging from the times of the ancient Greeks till modern and contemporary times. Moreover, the second part of this chapter defines the natural environment and natural resources.