Abstract
Sustainable development can be defined as a development model that aims to achieve environmental conservation together with social inclusion and economic prosperity. It requires efficient management of two types of infrastructure: green and socio-economic. Over the last three decades, the Brazilian Government has been designing and implementing innovative policies that can foster sustainable development across the country, but it has failed to incorporate these policies into individualized local development plans. Most municipalities (56.3%) in the Caatinga present very low to low scores in green infrastructure and very low to low scores in socio-economic infrastructure, indicating that they are fragile societies. The fact that municipalities with high scores in socio-economic infrastructure have low scores in green infrastructure indicates that the conventional development model based on the depletion of natural resources is the dominant mindset across the region. Genuine sustainable development in the Caatinga requires the restoration of green infrastructure and improvement of the existing socio-economic infrastructure to increase the regional population’s living standards.