Book excerpt: Formed of a collection of papers from the 5th International Conference on Environmental and Economic Impact on Sustainable Development, the included works examine the most serious problems affecting sustainable development. The papers consider the impact of economic constraints on the environment, taking into account the social aspects as well as the over-use of natural resources. Uncontrolled development can also result in damage to the environment in terms of the release of toxic substances and hazardous waste. Therefore, decisions have to be made as to whether some forms of development are compatible with environmental protection, particularly in cases of possible serious contamination and toxicity. More constructive and progressive approaches are required to ensure sustainability. A major motivation is to learn from past failure, to avoid repeating similar mistakes, while attempting to prevent emerging threats to environmental and ecological systems. Fundamental to these concepts is the analysis of the inherent risk and the development of appropriate strategies.