Difference between revisions of "Sustainable development" - New World Encyclopedia
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| − | [[Image:Sustainable development.svg|right|350px|thumb|Sustainable development sits at the | + | [[Image:Sustainable development.svg|right|350px|thumb|Sustainable development sits at the convergence of three factors: social, economic, and environmental.]] |
| − | '''Sustainable development''' is defined as balancing | + | '''Sustainable development''' is defined as balancing the protection of the [[natural environment]] with the fulfillment of human needs so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but in the indefinite future. The term has prompted a global recognition of the close linkage between environmental health and human development, as well as the need to alter social and economic policies to minimize the human impact on the planet. |
| − | First coined in 1980 | + | First coined in 1980 by the [[International Union for the Conservation of Nature]], "sustainable development" came into general usage following publication of the 1987 report of the [[Brundtland Commission]], which had been convened by the [[United Nations]] four years earlier. The commission’s oft-quoted definition casts sustainable development as economic and social growth that "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" (United Nations Department of Social and Economic Affairs). |
| − | + | The concept of sustainable development integrates social, economic, and environmental policy. It considers both ''development'' (a traditional economic and political goal) and ''sustainability'' (an ecological goal). Several United Nations texts, most recently the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document, refer to the "interdependent and mutually reinforcing pillars" of sustainable development as economic development, social development, and environmental protection. | |
| − | However, sustainable development is not a precisely defined term, | + | However, sustainable development is not a precisely defined term, and a wide array of views has fallen under its umbrella. Moreover, critics of the term note that it continues to participate in an [[anthropocentric]] (human-centered) viewpoint, which sees the natural environment as being in the service of human needs. They also point to its inherently capitalistic perspective: it assumes that consumption of material resources is the most important contribution to human welfare. |
| − | Despite the possible conceptual and practical limitations of the term, its | + | Despite the possible conceptual and practical limitations of the term, its impact on global awareness of environmental responsibility must also be emphasized. Sustainable development signals a shared belief that there are ultimate, biophysical limits to human growth. As established by the Brundtland Commission's defintion, sustainable development is not an issue limited to national borders, but one involving the entire human community. |
==Origins of the term and available definitions== | ==Origins of the term and available definitions== | ||
| − | The Brundtland Commission, formally the | + | The Brundtland Commission, formally the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED), is known by the name of its chair [[Gro Harlem Brundtland]]. The commission was created in 1983 to address growing concern "about the accelerating deterioration of the [[Natural environment|human environment]] and [[natural resources]] and the consequences of that deterioration for [[Economic development|economic]] and [[social development]]." In establishing the commission, the United Nations General Assembly recognized that environmental problems were global in nature and determined that it was in the common interest of all nations to establish policies for sustainable development (United Nations Division for Sustainable Development). |
The Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity ([[UNESCO]], 2001) elaborates the concept further by stating that "...cultural diversity is as necessary for humankind as biodiversity is for nature”; it becomes “one of the roots of development understood not simply in terms of economic growth, but also as a means to achieve a more satisfactory intellectual, emotional, moral and spiritual existence." In this vision, cultural diversity is the fourth policy area of sustainable development. | The Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity ([[UNESCO]], 2001) elaborates the concept further by stating that "...cultural diversity is as necessary for humankind as biodiversity is for nature”; it becomes “one of the roots of development understood not simply in terms of economic growth, but also as a means to achieve a more satisfactory intellectual, emotional, moral and spiritual existence." In this vision, cultural diversity is the fourth policy area of sustainable development. | ||
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{{Multicol-end}} | {{Multicol-end}} | ||
| − | == | + | ==Common principles== |
| − | + | Despite differences in the conception of the term, a number of common principles are embedded in most charters or action programs to achieve sustainable development, sustainability, or sustainable prosperity. These include: | |
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | * Dealing transparently and systemically with risk, uncertainty and [[irreversibility]]. | + | * Dealing transparently and systemically with risk, uncertainty. and [[irreversibility]]. |
| − | * Ensuring appropriate valuation, appreciation and [[Restoration ecology|restoration]] of nature. | + | * Ensuring appropriate valuation, appreciation, and [[Restoration ecology|restoration]] of nature. |
| − | * Integration of environmental, social, human and economic goals in policies and activities. | + | * Integration of environmental, social, human, and economic goals in policies and activities. |
| − | * Equal opportunity and [[Participation (decision making)|community participation]]/[[Sustainable community]]. | + | * Equal opportunity and [[Participation (decision making)|community participation]]/[[Sustainable community]]. |
* [[Conservation biology|Conservation]] of [[biodiversity]] and [[Ecological health|ecological integrity]]. | * [[Conservation biology|Conservation]] of [[biodiversity]] and [[Ecological health|ecological integrity]]. | ||
* Ensuring inter-generational equity. | * Ensuring inter-generational equity. | ||
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* The need for good governance. | * The need for good governance. | ||
| − | + | ==Criticism of the term and alternative conceptions== | |
| + | Some people now consider the term "sustainable development" to be too closely linked with continued [[economic development|material development]]; they prefer to use terms like "sustainability," "sustainable prosperity," or "sustainable genuine progress" as the umbrella terms. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Many [[environmentalists]] have criticized some interpretations of the term "sustainable development" as an [[oxymoron]], claiming that [[economic policies]] based on concepts of growth and continued depletion of resources cannot be sustainable, since that term implies that resources will remain constant. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The differences in the conception of "sustainable development" reveal tensions between cultures and academic disciplines (e.g., between economists and ecologists). [[Green development]] is generally differentiated from sustainable development in that former prioritizes what its proponents consider to be environmental sustainability over economic and cultural considerations. However, proponents of sustainable development argue that it provides a context in which to improve overall sustainability where cutting-edge green development is unattainable. For example, a modern treatment plant with extremely high maintenance costs may not be sustainable in regions of the world with less financial resources. An environmentally ideal plant that is shut down due to bankruptcy is obviously less sustainable than one that is maintainable by the indigenous community, even if it is somewhat less effective from an environmental standpoint. | ||
===Weak versus strong sustainability=== | ===Weak versus strong sustainability=== | ||
| − | + | Thus, a distinction between different degrees of sustainability should be made. The debate currently focuses on the sustainability of the economy and the environment, which can in other words be considered as a relationship between [[natural capital]] (the sum total of nature's resources) and manufactured or man-made capital. | |
''Weak sustainability'' is advocated by the [[Hartwick's Rule]], which states that so long as total [[capital]] stays constant, sustainable development can be achieved. I.e., as long as the diminishing natural capital stocks are being substituted by gains in the man-made stock, total capital will stay constant and the current level of consumption can continue. The proponents of weak sustainability believe that economic growth is beneficial, as increased levels of [[income]] lead to increased levels of environmental protectionism. This approach is also known as the ''substitutability paradigm''. | ''Weak sustainability'' is advocated by the [[Hartwick's Rule]], which states that so long as total [[capital]] stays constant, sustainable development can be achieved. I.e., as long as the diminishing natural capital stocks are being substituted by gains in the man-made stock, total capital will stay constant and the current level of consumption can continue. The proponents of weak sustainability believe that economic growth is beneficial, as increased levels of [[income]] lead to increased levels of environmental protectionism. This approach is also known as the ''substitutability paradigm''. | ||
| − | Conversely, supporters of ''strong sustainability'', such as [[Herman Daly]], believe that natural capital and man-made capital are only complementary at best. In order for sustainable development to be achieved, natural capital has to be kept constant independently from man-made capital. This model is known as the ''non-substitutability paradigm''. | + | Conversely, supporters of ''strong sustainability'', such as [[Herman Daly]], believe that natural capital and man-made capital are only complementary at best. In order for sustainable development to be achieved, natural capital has to be kept constant independently from man-made capital. This model is known as the ''non-substitutability paradigm''. |
| + | |||
| + | What is being revised conceptually and practically under the strong model of sustainable development is a definition of nature in which nature is not reduced to a passive instrument, only figured in terms of usefulness for humans. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Definitions, metrics and indices== | ||
| + | Sustainability can be defined both qualitatively, as an ethical/ecological proposition such as that offered by the Bruntland definition, and quantitatively in terms of system life expectancy and the trajectory of certain factors or terms in the system. Quantitative analysis in sustainability thinking typically uses [[system dynamics]] modeling as systems are often non-linear and so-called [[feedback loops]] are key factors. So, for instance, important human ecological sub-systems that could be analyzed or modeled in this way might include the [[nitrogen cycle]] in [[sustainable agriculture]], or the depletion of [[oil reserves]]. | ||
| + | |||
| + | During the last ten years, different organizations have tried to measure and monitor the proximity to what they consider sustainability by implementing what it has been called [[sustainability metric and indices]]. Some of the major attempts to define sustainable development quantitatively include: | ||
| + | |||
| + | *The Natural Step/System Conditions of Sustainability. Following the Brundtland Commission's report, one of the first initiatives to bring scientific principles to the assessment of sustainability was by Swedish cancer scientist [[Karl-Henrik Robèrt]]. At the core of the process lies a consensus on what Robèrt came to call [[The Natural Step|the natural step framework]]. The framework is based on a definition of sustainability, described as [[The Natural Step#System conditions of sustainability|the system conditions of sustainability]] (as derived from [[System theory]]). In the natural step framework, a sustainable society is one which does not systematically increase concentrations of ''substances extracted from the earth's crust,'' or ''substances produced by society''; that ''does not degrade the [[Natural environment|environment]]'' and in which people have the ''capacity to meet their needs worldwide' (TNS Canada).' | ||
| + | *Life Cycle Assessment. [[Life Cycle Assessment]] is a "composite measure of sustainability." It analyses the environmental performance of products and services through all phases of their life cycle: extracting and processing raw materials; manufacturing, transportation and distribution; use, re-use, maintenance; recycling, and final disposal (Canadian Architect). | ||
| + | *[[Ecological footprint]] analysis. An estimate of the amount of land area a human population, given prevailing technology, would need if the current resource consumption and pollution by the population is matched by the sustainable (renewable) resource production and waste assimilation by such a land area. One of the striking conclusions to emerge from ecological footprint analyses is that it would be necessary to have 4 or 5 back up planets engage in nothing but agriculture for all those alive today to live a Western lifestyle. | ||
| − | + | In 1997 the [[Global Reporting Initiative]] (GRI) was started as a multi-stakeholder process and independent institution whose mission has been "to develop and disseminate globally applicable Sustainability Reporting Guidelines". The GRI uses [[ecological footprint]] analysis and became independent in 2002. It is an official collaborating centre of the [[United Nations Environment Programme]] (UNEP) and during the tenure of [[Kofi Annan]], it cooperated with the [[UN Secretary-General]]’s Global Compact. | |
| − | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
| − | *Baker, S. | + | *Baker, S. 2006. ''Sustainable Development''. New York, NY: Routledge. ISBN 041528211X |
| − | *United Nations. 1987. [http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/42/ares42-187.htm | + | *author. date. [http://www.canadianarchitect.com/asf/perspectives_sustainibility/measures_of_sustainablity/measures_of_sustainablity_lca.htm Measures of sustainability]. Canadian Architect. Retrieved on: [[June 30]], [[2007]].</ref> |
| − | *United Nations Division for Sustainable Development. [http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/docs_sdissues.htm | + | *TNS Canada [http://www.naturalstep.ca/system-conditions.html System Conditions]. Retrieved on: 20078-07-15.</ref> |
| + | *United Nations Department of Social and Economic Affairs. 1987. [http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/42/ares42-187.htm Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development.] United Nations. Retrieved April 12, 2007. | ||
| + | *United Nations Division for Sustainable Development. 2005. [http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/docs_sdissues.htm Sustainable Development Issues.] United Nations. Retrieved May 12, 2007. | ||
==External links and resources== | ==External links and resources== | ||
Revision as of 01:57, 20 October 2007
Sustainable development is defined as balancing the protection of the natural environment with the fulfillment of human needs so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but in the indefinite future. The term has prompted a global recognition of the close linkage between environmental health and human development, as well as the need to alter social and economic policies to minimize the human impact on the planet.
First coined in 1980 by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, "sustainable development" came into general usage following publication of the 1987 report of the Brundtland Commission, which had been convened by the United Nations four years earlier. The commission’s oft-quoted definition casts sustainable development as economic and social growth that "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" (United Nations Department of Social and Economic Affairs).
The concept of sustainable development integrates social, economic, and environmental policy. It considers both development (a traditional economic and political goal) and sustainability (an ecological goal). Several United Nations texts, most recently the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document, refer to the "interdependent and mutually reinforcing pillars" of sustainable development as economic development, social development, and environmental protection.
However, sustainable development is not a precisely defined term, and a wide array of views has fallen under its umbrella. Moreover, critics of the term note that it continues to participate in an anthropocentric (human-centered) viewpoint, which sees the natural environment as being in the service of human needs. They also point to its inherently capitalistic perspective: it assumes that consumption of material resources is the most important contribution to human welfare.
Despite the possible conceptual and practical limitations of the term, its impact on global awareness of environmental responsibility must also be emphasized. Sustainable development signals a shared belief that there are ultimate, biophysical limits to human growth. As established by the Brundtland Commission's defintion, sustainable development is not an issue limited to national borders, but one involving the entire human community.
Origins of the term and available definitions
The Brundtland Commission, formally the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED), is known by the name of its chair Gro Harlem Brundtland. The commission was created in 1983 to address growing concern "about the accelerating deterioration of the human environment and natural resources and the consequences of that deterioration for economic and social development." In establishing the commission, the United Nations General Assembly recognized that environmental problems were global in nature and determined that it was in the common interest of all nations to establish policies for sustainable development (United Nations Division for Sustainable Development).
The Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity (UNESCO, 2001) elaborates the concept further by stating that "...cultural diversity is as necessary for humankind as biodiversity is for nature”; it becomes “one of the roots of development understood not simply in terms of economic growth, but also as a means to achieve a more satisfactory intellectual, emotional, moral and spiritual existence." In this vision, cultural diversity is the fourth policy area of sustainable development.
Some research activities start from this definition to argue that the environment is a combination of nature and culture. The Network of Excellence "Sustainable Development in a Diverse World," which is sponsored by the European Union, works in this direction. It integrates multidisciplinary capacities and interprets cultural diversity as a key element of a new strategy for sustainable development.
The United Nations Division for Sustainable Development lists the following areas as falling within the scope of sustainable development:
|
|
|
Common principles
Despite differences in the conception of the term, a number of common principles are embedded in most charters or action programs to achieve sustainable development, sustainability, or sustainable prosperity. These include:
- Dealing transparently and systemically with risk, uncertainty. and irreversibility.
- Ensuring appropriate valuation, appreciation, and restoration of nature.
- Integration of environmental, social, human, and economic goals in policies and activities.
- Equal opportunity and community participation/Sustainable community.
- Conservation of biodiversity and ecological integrity.
- Ensuring inter-generational equity.
- Recognizing the global integration of localities.
- A commitment to best practice.
- No net loss of human capital or natural capital.
- The principle of continuous improvement.
- The need for good governance.
Criticism of the term and alternative conceptions
Some people now consider the term "sustainable development" to be too closely linked with continued material development; they prefer to use terms like "sustainability," "sustainable prosperity," or "sustainable genuine progress" as the umbrella terms.
Many environmentalists have criticized some interpretations of the term "sustainable development" as an oxymoron, claiming that economic policies based on concepts of growth and continued depletion of resources cannot be sustainable, since that term implies that resources will remain constant.
The differences in the conception of "sustainable development" reveal tensions between cultures and academic disciplines (e.g., between economists and ecologists). Green development is generally differentiated from sustainable development in that former prioritizes what its proponents consider to be environmental sustainability over economic and cultural considerations. However, proponents of sustainable development argue that it provides a context in which to improve overall sustainability where cutting-edge green development is unattainable. For example, a modern treatment plant with extremely high maintenance costs may not be sustainable in regions of the world with less financial resources. An environmentally ideal plant that is shut down due to bankruptcy is obviously less sustainable than one that is maintainable by the indigenous community, even if it is somewhat less effective from an environmental standpoint.
Weak versus strong sustainability
Thus, a distinction between different degrees of sustainability should be made. The debate currently focuses on the sustainability of the economy and the environment, which can in other words be considered as a relationship between natural capital (the sum total of nature's resources) and manufactured or man-made capital.
Weak sustainability is advocated by the Hartwick's Rule, which states that so long as total capital stays constant, sustainable development can be achieved. I.e., as long as the diminishing natural capital stocks are being substituted by gains in the man-made stock, total capital will stay constant and the current level of consumption can continue. The proponents of weak sustainability believe that economic growth is beneficial, as increased levels of income lead to increased levels of environmental protectionism. This approach is also known as the substitutability paradigm.
Conversely, supporters of strong sustainability, such as Herman Daly, believe that natural capital and man-made capital are only complementary at best. In order for sustainable development to be achieved, natural capital has to be kept constant independently from man-made capital. This model is known as the non-substitutability paradigm.
What is being revised conceptually and practically under the strong model of sustainable development is a definition of nature in which nature is not reduced to a passive instrument, only figured in terms of usefulness for humans.
Definitions, metrics and indices
Sustainability can be defined both qualitatively, as an ethical/ecological proposition such as that offered by the Bruntland definition, and quantitatively in terms of system life expectancy and the trajectory of certain factors or terms in the system. Quantitative analysis in sustainability thinking typically uses system dynamics modeling as systems are often non-linear and so-called feedback loops are key factors. So, for instance, important human ecological sub-systems that could be analyzed or modeled in this way might include the nitrogen cycle in sustainable agriculture, or the depletion of oil reserves.
During the last ten years, different organizations have tried to measure and monitor the proximity to what they consider sustainability by implementing what it has been called sustainability metric and indices. Some of the major attempts to define sustainable development quantitatively include:
- The Natural Step/System Conditions of Sustainability. Following the Brundtland Commission's report, one of the first initiatives to bring scientific principles to the assessment of sustainability was by Swedish cancer scientist Karl-Henrik Robèrt. At the core of the process lies a consensus on what Robèrt came to call the natural step framework. The framework is based on a definition of sustainability, described as the system conditions of sustainability (as derived from System theory). In the natural step framework, a sustainable society is one which does not systematically increase concentrations of substances extracted from the earth's crust, or substances produced by society; that does not degrade the environment and in which people have the capacity to meet their needs worldwide' (TNS Canada).'
- Life Cycle Assessment. Life Cycle Assessment is a "composite measure of sustainability." It analyses the environmental performance of products and services through all phases of their life cycle: extracting and processing raw materials; manufacturing, transportation and distribution; use, re-use, maintenance; recycling, and final disposal (Canadian Architect).
- Ecological footprint analysis. An estimate of the amount of land area a human population, given prevailing technology, would need if the current resource consumption and pollution by the population is matched by the sustainable (renewable) resource production and waste assimilation by such a land area. One of the striking conclusions to emerge from ecological footprint analyses is that it would be necessary to have 4 or 5 back up planets engage in nothing but agriculture for all those alive today to live a Western lifestyle.
In 1997 the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) was started as a multi-stakeholder process and independent institution whose mission has been "to develop and disseminate globally applicable Sustainability Reporting Guidelines". The GRI uses ecological footprint analysis and became independent in 2002. It is an official collaborating centre of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and during the tenure of Kofi Annan, it cooperated with the UN Secretary-General’s Global Compact.
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Baker, S. 2006. Sustainable Development. New York, NY: Routledge. ISBN 041528211X
- author. date. Measures of sustainability. Canadian Architect. Retrieved on: June 30, 2007.</ref>
- TNS Canada System Conditions. Retrieved on: 20078-07-15.</ref>
- United Nations Department of Social and Economic Affairs. 1987. Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development. United Nations. Retrieved April 12, 2007.
- United Nations Division for Sustainable Development. 2005. Sustainable Development Issues. United Nations. Retrieved May 12, 2007.
External links and resources
- Nobel Prize for Sustainable Development - International initiative for a Nobel Prize for Sustainable Development
- Appropedia - a Wiki focused on sustainable international development and poverty reduction
- Sustainable Development in Amazonia
- International Institute for Sustainable Development International non-profit organization for sustainable development.
Template:Energy related development
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