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UNIT 1 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT:
CONCEPT AND SCOPE
stmcture
1 .O Introduction
1.1 Objectives
1.2 Concept of Sustainable Development 1.2.1 Conceptual Aspects and Issues
1.3 Scope of Sustainable Development 1.3.1 Dimensions of Sustainable Development 1.3.1.1 Social Dimension 1.3.1.2 Economic Dimension 1.3.1.3 Environmental Dimension 1.3.1.4 Institutional Dimension 1.3.1.5 Digital (KT) Dimension 1.3.2 Principles/Prernises of Sustainable Development 1.3.3 Sustainable Development: Concerns and Ingredients of Good Vision 1.3.3.1 Nature of Our Concerns of Sustainable Development 1.3.3.2 Essential Ingredients of Good Vision of Sustainable Development
1.4 Let Us Sum Up
1.5 Answers to 'Check Your Progress' Questions
1.6 Glossary of Relevant Terms Used
1.7 References
1.0 INTRODUCTION
We all know that most societies aspire to achieve economic development to secure higher standards of living, both for themselves and for future generations. They also seek to protect and enhancethe quality of their environment, now and for their children. Reconciling these two aspirations is at the heart of sustainable development.Sustainable development aims at meeting the basic needs of all people in general and the poor majority in particular- their employment, food, energy, water, housing, etc., by ensuring the growth of agriculture,manufactures,power and services with due considerationfor environmental concerns.
Therefore,in this Unit, we attempt to present you the concept, meaning and scope of sustainable development with focus on its purpose and dimensions, and set out some basic principles and essential ingredients of good vision for sustainable development.
1. OBJECTIVES
After studying this unit, you should be able to:
@ (^) Explain the concept and meaning of sustainable development;
@ (^) Describe the scope and purposes of sustainable development;
@ (^) Appreciate the underlying principles and premises of sustainable development;
Introduction to Sustainable Development
Analyse various dimensions of sustainabledevelopment and the need for integration of the various dimensions of sustainability; and
Appreciate the nature of our concern for sustainable development. '
CONCEPT OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT Sustainabledevelopment basically merges economics and environmentalscience both in theoretical and practical perspectives. Several other articulationsconsider sustainable development as a process of development by which various environmental,economic and socialbenefits can be simultaneously and concurrentlymaximized.These articulations suggest that sustainable development, in short, is a blend of economic, social and ecological approaches, each of these being indispensableand complimentary to each other. Sustainable development (SD) is, in fact, a pattern of resource use that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only for the present generation, but also for generations to come.
Sustainabledevelopment is a socio-ecologicalprocess characterized by the fulfillment of human needs while maintainingthe quality of the natural environment indefinitely.The linkage between environment and development was globally recognized in 1980,when the International Union for the Conservation of Nature published the World Conservation Strategy and used the term "sustainable development". This term has been used as a unifying theme in presenting environmental and social concerns about worrisome trends toward acceleratedenvironmentaldegradation and social polarization in the 1970s and 1980s. The concept came into general usage after the Brundtland Commission Report (1987), formally called the Report of World Commission on Environment aid Development (WCED). WCED was set up by the United Nations General Assembly. Thus, the term 'sustainable development' was widely adopted by mainstream development agencies following the publication in 1987 of "OurCommon Future " by the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED), chaired by the then prime minister of Norway, Gro Harlem Brundtland.It stated that "sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromisingthe ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
It is now considered to be one of the most widely recognised definitions. As we can notice, it contains within it two key concepts:
the concept of 'needs', in particular the essential needs of the world's poor, to which overriding priority should be given; and
the idea of limitationsimposed by the state-of-art technology and socialorganization on the environment's ability to meet present and future needs."
The United Nations 2005 World Summit outcome document refers to economic development, social development and environmental protection as the "interdependent and mutually reinforcing pillars " of sustainabledevelopment.
Many definitions and images (visualizing sustainability) of sustainabledevelopment may coexist. Broadly defined, the sustainabledevelopment mantra enjoins currentgenerations to take a systems-approach to growth and development and to manage natural, produced and social capital for the welfare of their own and future generations.
1.2.1 conceptual Aspects and Issues Sustainable development does not focus solily on environmental aspects and issues. More brUadly, sustainable development policies encompass three general policy areas:
Introduction to Sustainable (^) development argue that it provides a context which is to improve o v d l sustahabilit)
Development where cutting-edge green development is unattainable. For example, a cuttifig-edge
treatment plant with extremely high maintenancecosts may not b sustainablein regions of the world with fewer financial resources. An environmentally ideal plant that is shat
down due to bankruptcy is obviously less sustainable than the one that is maiataiaable
by the community, even if it is somewhatless effective from an environmental standpht.
The United Nations Division for SustainableDevelopment lists the following areas B
Mountains Sustainable Concept^ Devt:lopment: rand Scope
National Sustainable Development Strategies
Oceans and Seas
Poverty
Sanitation
Science
T~hnology
Toxic Chemicals
Trade and Environment
Transport
Waste (Hazardous)
Waste (Radioactive)
Waste (Solid)
Waste Water
During the last ten years, different organizations have tried to measure and monitor those in proximity to what they consider sustainabilityby implementingwhat has been called sustainability matrix and indices.
iii) Real Purpose (Agenda) of Sustainability Development: Various writers have
commented on the population control agenda that seems to underlie the concept of sustainabledevelopment. Maria SophiaAguim (2002) writes: "Sustainable development is a policy approach that has gained quite a lot of popularity in recent years, especially in international circles. By attaching a specific interpretationto sustainability,population control policies have become the overriding approach to development, thus becoming the primary tool used to "promote economic development in developing countries and to protect the environment."
Mary Jo Anderson (2002) suggests that the real purpose of sustainable development is to contain and limit economic development in developing countries, and in so doing control population growth. It is suggested that thls is the reason the main focus of most programmes is still on low-income agriculture. Joan Veon (2004), a business-woman and international reporter, who covered 64 global meetings on sustainable development posits that: "Sustainable development has continued to evolve as that of protecting the world's resources while its true agenda is to control the world's resources.It should be noted that Agenda 2 1 sets up the global infrastructureneeded to manage, count, and (^) , control all of the world's assets."
Sustainable development is said to set limits on the developing world. While current 1-mtworld countries polluted sigdicantly during their development, the same countries encourage third world countries to reduce pollution, which sometimes impedes growth.
c:onsumerism.Development is considered to be socially sustainable when it achieves Sustainable^ Development: :,ocia]jushce via equitable resource allocation, eradicates poverty and provides social Concept^ and^ Scope r,ervices such as education, health, etc., to all members of the society, especially the inost needy ones. The social dimension of sustainable development is, thus, based on
I he notion that man constitutes an important means of development and its prime target
should be to strive to achieve this notion for both present and the future generations.
Ibcial sustainability is one aspect of sustainable development. Social sustainability I:ncompasses human rights, labour rights and corporate governance. In common with r:nvironmental s~stainability~social sustainabilityis the idea that future generations should
have the same or greater access to social resources as the current generation. Social
resources include ideas as broad as basic human rights and all other cultures.
1.3.1.2 Economic Dimension
Economically, sustainability means providing economic welfare to people at present and in the future, while paying more attention to the "natural capital". It means and includes the natural resources of economic value, considered as the bases for the economic system, such as plants, soil, animals, fish; and bio-environmental system
such as air and water purification.
Sustainability, thus, interfaces with economics through the social and ecological consequences of economic activity. Sustainability economics represents a broad interpretation of ecological economics where environmental and ecological variables and issues are basic but part of a multidimensional perspective. Social,cultural, health- related and monetary / financialaspects have to be integrated into the analysis. However, the concept of sustainabilityis much broader than the concepts of sustained yield of welfare, resources or profit margins.At present, the average per capita consumptionof people in the developing world is sustainablebut population numbers are increasing and individuals are aspiring to high consumption -Western lifestyles.The developed world population is increasing only slightly but consumption levels are unsustainable. The challenge for sustainabilityis to curb and manageWestern con~umptionwhile raising the standard of living of the developing world without increasing its resource depletion and environmental impact. This must be done by using strategies and technology that
break the link between economic growth on the one hand, and on the other, environmental
damage and resource depletion.
1.3.1.3 Erlvironmental Dimension
An ecologically sustainable systemmaintains a solid base of natural resources and avoids excessiveuse of such resources.This involves the conservationof biodiversity, attaining atmospheric balance, productivity of soil as well as other systems of natural environment which are usually classified as non-economic resources. In tackling sustainable development problems, environmentaliststend to focus on what is known as "environment borders". As a concept it means that each natural environment system has certain limits that should not be exceeded by excessive consumption, or else a deterioration in natural system is irrevocable and inevitable. Therefore, from an environmental point of view, sustainabdity means setting limits for consumption,populatiori growth, pollution and the faulty ways of production including wasting waters, cutting the forests or erosion of the soil.
Healthy ecosystems provide vital goods and services to humans and other organisms. There are two major ways of reducing negativehuman impact and enhancing ecosystem services. 13
lntroductiontoSu*inable i) Environmental management: This direct approach is based largely o n
I)e\eIol~nic~it (^) information gained Erom earth science, environmental science and conservation
biology. However, this is ultimately the management of a long series of indirect causal factors that are initiated by human consumption; so a second approach is through demand-management of human resource-use.
ii) Management of human consumption of resources: It is an indirect approach
based largely on information gained from economics. Herman Daly (1973) has suggested three broad criteria for ecological sustainability:
renewable resources should provide a sustainableyield (the rate of harvest should not exceed the rate of regeneration);
for non-renewable resources there should be equivalent development of renewable substitutes;and
waste-generation should not exceed the assimilative capacity of the environment.
1.3.1.4 InstitutionalDimension
The institutionaldimensionof sustainabledevelopmentis concerned with the participation of all community members in the decision-making process and the acquisition of the information that affects their lives transparently and accurately. It is also concerned with the organizations, such as councils and committeescharged with the implementation of various aspects of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
1.3.1.5 Digital (ICT) Dimension
Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are closely related to the abovementioned four dimensions of sustainable development. The millennium development goals and the recommendations of the internationalsummit for information and communication technology held in Geneva in November, 2003 provided a suitable methodological Eramework on how to make use of ICT in achieving sustainable development. Therefore, the digital dimension has been added as a fifth dimension of sustainable development.
1.3.2 Principles/Premises of Sustainable Development Some of the principleslpremisesunderlying the concept of sustainable development include the following:
Sustainable^ development is an alternative^ design for development,^ which, by definition should be environmentallybenign and eco-friendly.
That^ the^ present generation^ should^ meet its^ needs without^ compromisingthe ability of future generations to meet their needs, i.e. to ensure that the productive assets available to future generations are not unfairly diminished.
That those who enjoy the fruits^ of economic^ development^ today must not make future generations worse-off by excessively degrading the Earth's exhaustible resources and polluting its ecology and environment.
That^ there^ is^ a symbioticrelationship^ between^ consumerist^ human^ race^ and^ producer natural systems.
5 ) That environment and development are not mutually exclusive^ -^ healthy environment is essential to sustainaQledevelopment and healthy economy as well.
Intrductionto Sustainable (^) More than 200 million people have no access to safe drinking water. Development More than 500 million people have no access to proper sanitation.
More than 150million people are without proper shelter.
More than 500 million people are illiterate.
More than a million children die each year before they see their first birthday.
In the face of such a grim scehario, the question 'development for whom' needs an honest answer. There is no place here to present a detailed critique of development. But, at least a one-line statement is necessary - that development has failed the poor, and they need a development which is participatory, equitable and infused with strong considerationsof socialjustice. Labels of such a development-sustainableor whatever -do not matter to the poor; what matters to them is the equitability,call it sustainability, if one likes.
This is the backdrop that constitutes really the concerns of the current debates and discussions on sustainabledevelopment. The concerns are essentially related to:
global and transnational nature of threats (for example, climate change, ozone layer depletion, etc);
degradation of natural habitats (for example, forests and other eco-systems);
a (^) depletion of non-renewable natural resources (for example, stock of water, soil, minerals, wilderness areas);
diminution of land for agriculturalpurposes;
migration of people fiom rural to urban areas;
pollution of rivers, ponds and other water sources; and
environmentalpollution in urban industrial areas, especially in large cities.
Check Your Progress
Notes: a) Space given below the question is for writing your answer.
b) Check your answer with the one given at the end of this unit under "Answers to 'Check Your Progress' Questions."
- What are the dimensions and premises of sustainable development?
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. 1.3.3.2 Essential Ingredients of Good Vision of Sustainable Development
Towurds a Good The current explorations on sustainable development in our
midst today exemplify an approach that will permit continuing improvements in the present qualify of life at a lower intensity of resource-use, thereby leaving behind for h
future generations an undiminished or even enhanced stock of natural resources and Sustainable^ Development: other assets. The search is basically on for that process of development by which Concept^ and^ Scopc people develop themselves and their institutions in ways that enhance their ability to mobilize and manage available resources to produce sustainable and justly distributed improvements in the quality of life, consistent with their own aspirations.
For us (in India), sustainable development is both a challenge and an opportunity.The obstacles are, however,great and making the concept of sustainability precise is difficult. It is not possible to argue that there should be zero or bare minimum use of natural resources for development; successful development will inevitably involve some amount of depletion of natural resources, resulting in some degree of environmental damage. Further, policies and programmes of accelerating environmentally-responsible development will not happen by themselves. It is, therefore, important to seize the current opportunity to bring about real, if not radical, change. The challenge can be converted into opportunity when due consideration is given to its essential ingredients that determine our vision of sustainable development.
Ingredients of good vision: Some ingredients identified are presented below.
1) Recognizing the Complementarity of Economic Development and Sound EnvironmentaL Management: Economic development and sound environmental management are complimentary aspects of the same agenda (World Bank, 1992, p.25). Without adequate environmental protection, development will be undermined; and, without development, environmentalprotection will fail. Across the globe, there is growing consensus that policies of both economic growth and environmentalmanagement are not much in conflict with each other; they are more often complimentary.Good economic policies are good environment policies and vice versa, says World Development Report (1992). Economic growth need not be an enemy of environment, and the best policies for environmental protection will help, not hurt, economic development (World Bank, 1992, p. 178).
Planning and Providing for the Basic Needs of the Poor: For the poor, environment is an integral part of development.In their impoverished stale, the poor depend on the environment for their livelihood and sustenance.With few assets on which they can draw upon, the poor have no choice but to excessively degrade natural resources. They have to meet their urgent, short-term needs by preying upon the natural resources available in their surroundingenvironment.They care more about extracting what they can do today from environmentalresources than about conserving them for tomorrow; the result is often the very opposite of sustainability with excessive exploitation of their natural habitat.
In the process of meeting their basic needs through over-exploitationof natural resources, the poor become both the victims and agents of environmental damage. The niral poor resort to cultivating erosion-proneland sides and moving into tropical forest areas where crop-yields on cleared fields usually drop sharply after a few years. They 'mine' natural capital through, for example,excessive felling of trees for firewood, polluting rivers and ponds, and over-using some of the exhaustible and non-renewable natural resources. While the basic needs of the poor are partly met by excessive exploitation of natural resources within their reach, the poor usually bear the brunt of environmental degradation. They may also be the ones who suffer most when forests, which provide them free-fuel and cattle-feed are logged, or when factories pollute rivers that provide them water, fish, ctc. llle
in the quarters that play a major role in the planning and execution of economic (^) Sustainable Dt!velopment:
growth and industrial expansion, there is little regard to attending to the problems Concept^ and^ Scope arising out of the pace and processes of industrial growth.Also, while there is no dispute about the need for industrialization,the cause of worry is the environmental degradation on a frightening scale.The industrial units, no matter big or small, are pollumt in nature. Most of these units flout the regulatory controls with impunity and care little about the problems of pollution they create in the short- and long- run. The obsession with growth-oriented strategy has side-tracked the vital issues of environmental protection and desirable modes of production. Besides problems of pollution, there is another awesome problem of industrial growth, namely, the problem of "project displaced persons" (PDPs). There are many instances of development projects -factories, mines and dams -that have resulted in bringing untold misery to poor people whose land has been acquired in the name of 'public interest' without paying adequatemarket price. The ousted are always those people for whose interests nobody cares. The pet argument is that, displacement and human sacrifices are always unavoidable in economic development.
The mad rush to cities, i.e. the menacing pace of urbanization, the booming of cities and towns, has created mounting problems of sewage disposal, environmental sanitation, scarcity of space, paucity of safe drinking water, congestion on roads, sproutingof big slums and squattercolonies, large number of motor vehicles causing deafening noise and immense air pollution, and conversion of agricultural lands into habitation lands. The crisis of cities is growing each day and the pattern of urbanization seems frightening.
There are no easy answers to the twin problems of industrialization and urbanization. These are linked with different models of growth that we have pursued in the past (^) , five decades. The Gandhian strategy of economic development may perhaps provide a solution. If that be so, robust revival of village-based small and medium cottage industries and highest priority to rural development, seem to be the promising areas of planning for sustainable development.
Introduction to Sustainable Development 1.4 LET US SUM UP During the past 20 years, there has been a growing realisation that the present practices of development are unsustainable in nature. In other words, we are living beyond 0111. normal means. The loss of biodiversity due to felling of rainforests, over-fishing to the I ~cpativeeffect, our consumption-patterns, etc., is impactingour environment and climate. ( ) L I I - way of life is placing an increasing burden on the planet with a great stress or I sustainabilityof development.
Though sustainable development means different things to different peo;le9 the widely- used, accepted, most-frequently quoted international definition of sustainable development is from the report Our Common Future (also known as the Brundtland Report): "Sustuinuble development is developmelzt that meets the needs of the preserlt without compromisi~zgthe ability offuture generations to meet their own needs. " But, surprisingly, globally we are not even meeting thejust needs of the present in just manner, let alone considering the needs of future generations.
Sustainabledevelopment focuses on improving the quality of life of all of the Earth's citizens without increasing the use of natural resources beyond the capacity of the environment to supply them indefinitely. It requires an understanding that inaction has consequences and that we must find innovative ways to change institutional structures and influenceindividualbehaviour. It is about taking actiori, changing policy and practice at all levels, from the individual to the international.
Sustainable development is not a new idea. Many cultures over the course of human history have recognized the need for haqnony between the environment, society and economy. What is new is an articulation of these ideas in the context of a global, industrial and information society.
Progress on developing the concept of sustainable development has been rapid since
the 1980s. In 1992,leaders at the Earth Summit built upon the framework of Brundtland
Report to create agreements and conventions on critical issues such as climate change, desertification and deforestation. They also drafted a broad action-strategy -Agenda 2 1 - as the work-plan for environment and developmentissues for the coming decades. Throughout the rest of the 1990s, regional and sectoral sustainability plans have been developed.Awide variety of groups -ranging from businesses to municipal governments to internationalorganizations such as the World Bank - have adopted the concept and given it their own particular interpretations. These initiatives have increased our understanding of what sustainable development means within many differentcontexts.
Unless we start to make real progress towards reconciling these contradictions we face a future that is less certain and less secure. We need to make a decisive move toward more sustainable development. Not just because it is the right thing to do, but also because it is in our own long-term best interests. It offers the best hope for the future and whether at school, in the home or at work. we all have a part to play. Our small, every-day actions add up to make a big differe!iue in this regard.
1.5 ANSWERS TO 'CHECK YOUR PROGRESS' QUESTIONS
- Sustainable development (SD) is a pattern of resource-use, that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present but also for generations to come. Sustainability is a process 20 which tells of a development of all aspects^ of human life affecting^ sustenance.It
Ir~troductionto Sustainable ix) That sustainable development is accountable to the poor, and hence, it should
1)evelopment (^) ensure that the poor have adequate access to sustainable and secure
livelihoods.
- Sustainabledevelopment is both a challenge^ and an opportunity.- -^ The challenge can be converted into opportunity when due considerationis given to its essential ingredients, some of which are identified here. Without adequate environmentalprotection, development will be undermined; and, without developmentenvironmentalprotection will fail. Economic growth need not be an enemy of environment and the best policies for environmental protection will help, not hurt, economic development. Alleviatingpoverty is both a moral imperative and a requisite for environmental sustainability, and there exist substantial synergies between alleviating poverty and protecting environment. Without population control sustainable development is neither possible nor feasible, however great may be the efforts. Sustainable development is equitabledevelopment; the development that does not bypass the poor and does not deceive the disadvantaged.
Attending to the problems created by accelerated pace of industrialization and urbanization is very essential for sustainabledevelopment.
1.6 GLOSSARY OF RELEVANT TERMS USED
Biodiversity: It is a shorthand for biological diversity -the variability among living organisms. It includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems.
Ecosystem: Adynarnic complex of plant, animal and micro-organism communities and their non-living environment, interacting as a functional unit.
Genetic diversity: The variation in the genetic composition of individuals within or among species; the heritable genetic variation within and among populations.
Greenhouse Eflect: The rise in temperature that the Earth experiencesis because of certain gases in the atmosphere (water vapour, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane, etc.) which trap energy from the Sun. Because of their warming effect, these gases are referred to as green-house gases. Without them, more heat would escape back into space and the Earth's average temperature would be about 33"C, colder. Similarly, their rapid accumulation in the atmosphere can lead to rising temperatures.
Human caphl: The knowledge, skills and competence are attributes embodied in individuals that facilitatethe attainment of personal well-being.
Natural capital: The renewalble and non-renewable resources that enter the production process and satisfy consumption-needs,as well as environmentalassets that have amenity and productive use, and natural features such as the ozone layer that are essential for supporting life.
Public good: A special kind of externality in consumption where the availability of a good to one individual does not reduce its availability to others (non-rivalry) and the supplier of the good cannot exclude anybody from consuming it (non-
Renewable resource: A resource that is capable of being replenished through Sustainable^ Delielopment: natural processes (e.g. the hydrological cycle) or its own reproduction, generally Concept^ and Scope within a time-span that does not exceed a few decades. Technically, metal-bearing ores are not renewable, but metals themselves can be recycled indefinitely.
SacZal capiWl: The networks and shared norms, values and understanding that facilitate co-operation within and between groups.
Ā§tukeholder: Sonlebody who has a "stake" or "interest" in a public policy, programme or, in some uses of the term, a corporation's activities.
Sustainable development: Adevelopment path along which the maximisation of human well-being for today's generations does not lead to decline in future well- being.
@ (^) ThreshoU: When used in reference to a species, an ecosystem, or another natural system, it r e f a to the level beyond which further deteriorationis likely to precipitate a sudden, adverse, and possibly irreversible change.
1.7 REFERENCES
Gale, Robert J. P. 1991. Environment and Development:Attitudinal Impediments to
Policy Integration, Environmental Conservation, Vo1.18, No.3.
Hasna Vancock, A. M. 2007. Dimensions of sustainability. Journal of Engineering for Sustainable Development: Energy, Environment, and Health, 2(1): 47-57.
Herman Daly. (Ed). 1973. Toward a Steady-State Economy. San Francisco, CA: Freeman.
Herman Daly, and Cobb, J. 1989. For the Common Good: Redirecting the Economy Toward Community, the Environment and a Sustainable Future. Boston: Beacon Press.
Joan Veon. 2004. Sustainable Development, Agenda 2 I and Prince Charles. August 13,2004 NewsWithViews.com
Maria SophiaAguirre. 2002. Sustainable Development: Why the Focus on Population, International Journal of Social Economics, 29: 12.
Mary Jo Anderson. 2002. Sustainable Development Voices. (Online Edition). Lent- Easter Vol.XVII, No. 1.
United Nations. 1987. "Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development." General Assembly Resolution 42/187, 11 December 1987.
United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. 1992. Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. Nairobi: United Nations Environment Programme.
UNESCO. 2001. Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity Adopted by the 3 1st Session of the General Conference of UNESCO. Paris, 2 November.
World Bank. 1992. World Development Report 1992: Development and Environment. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
World Commission on Environnient and Development (WCED). 1987. Our Common Future. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
