Comparative study of the state of sustainability between iran and turkey using the triangular sustainable development model

Abstract

The world is experiencing rapid population growth, specially in cities rather than villages and other human habitats. As a result, our surrounding environment is facing more pressure than ever before. Limited resources, climate change, poverty, pollution, economic inflation, and various other issues are warning us to take positive action. Sustainable development is the global solution to alleviate this pressure and make the planet Earth a better place to live. The assessment and evaluation of sustainability trends, positions, and situations are crucial for achieving SDGs (sustainable development goals). This paper aims to assess the sustainability of Iran and Turkey in a comparative study conducted over six periods from 2003 to 2018. We have chosen 19 indices, related to the Sustainable Development Goals 2021, to evaluate both countries. The assessment models of this study are the Triangular model of sustainable development, and the SMART (Simple Multi Attributes Rating Technique) combined with Shannon Entropy weighting method. Our findings reveal that both countries have experienced a very weak sustainability situation (Level E), although Turkey has ranked slightly higher than Iran. Tracking the sustainability trends over the designated periods shows that Iran remained in a state of weak unsustainability in two phases, while Turkey transitioned from weak sustainability to weak unsustainability in three phases. The final sustainability points for Iran and Turkey in the social aspect were 0.769 and 0.817, respectively, representing a significant decrease compared to 0.803 and 0.842, respectively, comparing to 15 years earlier.