23 Concept of Ecologically Sustainable Development

Tanushree Shaw

epgp books

 

 

 

Contents:

 

1.      Learning Outcomes

2.      Introduction

3.      The emergence of Sustainable Development

4.      The goals of Sustainable Development

5.      Summary

    Learning Outcomes:

 

After studying this module students would be able to understand:

  • the concept of Ecologically Sustainable Development.
  • the importance of Ecologically Sustainable Development in the modern era.
  • the principles and goals of Ecologically Sustainable Development.

    Introduction

 

It has been over half a century now, since sustainable development as a concept held ground in the development process. On the way to achieve rapid economic growth, countries around the world have been exploiting their natural resource reserves at alarming rates. The relationship between development and environment has given birth to the sustainable development concept. The central idea of sustainable development is that global ecosystems and humanity itself can be threatened by neglecting the environment. The concept of sustainable development goes beyond development of the marginalized sections whose identity and survival is at threat because of the destruction to the environment, forest depletion, etc. that were their habitats. Sustainable development encompasses issues of ecological imbalance, health and sanitation, law and human rights, bio degradation, social issues such as communal harmony, gender issues, poverty and population.

 

Environmental economists are concerned that the long-term neglect of the environmental assets is likely to jeopardize the durability of economic growth (Thampapillai, 2002). Sustainable development therefore “involves maximizing the net benefits of economic development, subject to maintaining the services and quality of natural resources over time” (Pearce and Turner, 1990, p. 24). Its concern is about balancing the objectives of economic growth and attending to environmental considerations.

 

There are several definitions which have seen the sustainable development either ecologically or economically. The ecologists have associated the sustainability with the preservation of the status and function of ecological systems. And the economists that consider sustainability are interested about the maintenance and improvement of human living standards (Stoddart, 2011). In the words of Robert Solow (1999) “if sustainability is anything more than a slogan or expression of emotion, it must amount to an injunction to preserve productive capacity for the indefinite future” (P. 267). According to the classical and most often used definition given by the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development (the Brundtland Commission) in 1987, development is sustainable if it “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (Dernbach, 1998; Dernbach, 2003; Cerin, 2006;; Stoddart, 2011). Although this standard definition brings the term “sustainable development” into common use, it has created ambiguity in application (Redclift 1992; Daly 1996; Payne and Raiborn 2001). Much of the debate around the definition seeks to answer the two questions “What should be sustained” and “What should be developed” (Kates et al., 2008). They focused on the importance of intergenerational equity which recognizes the long-term scale of sustainability in order to address the needs of future generations (Dernbach, 1998 & Stoddart, 2011). This concept of conserving resources for future generations is one of the major features that distinguish sustainable development policy from traditional environmental policy, which also seeks to internalize the externalities of environmental degradation.

 

Today, sustainable development aims to improve the quality of life in a comprehensive manner, including economic prosperity, social equity and environmental protection. Economic, social, environmental and cultural aspects must be integrated in a harmonious manner to enhance the intergenerational well-being (World Bank, 2003). Thus, the overall goal of sustainable development (SD) is the long-term stability of the economy and environment; this is only achievable through the integration and acknowledgement of economic, environmental, and social concerns throughout the decision making process (Holmberg, 1992 & Reed, 1997). In other words, a given set of economic, environmental, and social indicators would be aggregated into a single indicator that becomes a universal measure of sustainability. These three aspects are:

 

Economic: An economically sustainable system must be able to produce goods and services on a continuing basis, to maintain manageable levels of government and external debt, and to avoid extreme sectoral imbalances which damage agricultural or industrial production.

 

Environmental: An environmentally sustainable system must maintain a stable resource base, avoiding over-exploitation of renewable resource systems or environmental sink functions, and depleting non-renewable resources only to the extent that investment is made in adequate substitutes. This includes maintenance of biodiversity, atmospheric stability, and other ecosystem functions not ordinarily classed as economic resources.

 

Social: A socially sustainable system must be able to achieve distributional equity, adequate provision of social services including health and education, gender equity, and political accountability and participation.

 

The key principle of sustainable development is the integration of environmental, social, and economic concerns into all aspects of decision making. All other principles in the sustainable development framework have integrated decision making at their core (Dernbach, 2003; Stoddart, 2011). It is this deeply fixed concept of integration that distinguishes sustainability from other forms of policy.

 

Institutionally, government organizations are typically organized into sectoral ministries and departments. This works fairly well until the system encounters something very comprehensive and highly integrated in nature, such as sustainable development. In practice, sustainable development requires the integration of economic, environmental, and social objectives across sectors, territories, and generations. Therefore, sustainable development requires the elimination of fragmentation; that is, environmental, social, and economic concerns must be integrated throughout decision making processes in order to move towards development that is truly sustainable (Dernbach, 2003 & Stoddart, 2011).

Fig 1: Human Sustainability is interrelated with many social, physical and environmental factors

 

The Emergence of Sustainable Development

 

Recognition of deteriorating environmental trends led to the 1972 UN Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm which, in turn, led to the creation of UNEP and IIED. Since then, worldwide acceptance of the importance of environmental issues has grown enormously. The World Conservation Strategy (IUCN/UNEP/WWF,1980) and, subsequently, the report of the World Commission on Environment and Development – the Brundtland Commission (WCED, 1987) – were developed in response to increasingly informed analyses of the links between environment and development. The World Conservation Strategy emphasized the need to ‘mainstream’ environment and conservation values and concerns into development processes.

 

 

Fig 2: Sustainable Development

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org

 

The report of the Brundtland Commission emphasized the social and economic dimensions of sustainability, revealing links between, for example, poverty and environmental degradation. The follow-up to the World Conservation Strategy, Caring for the Earth: A Strategy for Sustainable Living (IUCN/UNEP/WWF,1991) went further, elaborating principles for the practical integration of environmental, social and economic concerns. The Brundtland Commission Report entitled Our Common Future (1987) defined sustainable development as “development, which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. The 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, put the concept of sustainable development on national and international policy agendas. Agenda 21 has become the most prominent and influential – but non-binding instrument in the environment and developmental field and is a guiding document for sustainable development in most regions of the world. It’s most important impact has been to focus attention on the core concept of sustainable development, providing policy-makers with a point of reference for linking environmental, social and economic issues. Agenda 21 remains a powerful document that provides long-term vision for balancing economic and social needs with the capacity of the earth’s resources and ecosystems. Twenty years post Rio, the goals of Agenda 21 have not been fully realized and there is universal agreement that efforts must be redoubled to enhance sustainable development that is equitable as well as ecological. Apart from the Earth Summit, the 1990s also saw a number of UN conferences on a variety of issues concerned with sustainable development and the challenges that need to be overcome to achieve it. The issues were:

 

Biodiversity (Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Nairobi, 22 May 1992 [www.biodiv.org]),

 

Climate (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC), New York, 9 May 1992 [www.unfcc.de/]),

 

Desertification (United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa (CCD), Paris, 17 June 1994 [www.uncod.de/]),

 

Endangered species (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), Washington, 3 March 1973 [www.wcmc.org.uk/cites/]),

 

Hazardous waste (Basel Convention on the Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal (Basel), Basel, 22 March 1989 [www.unep.ch/basel/index/html]),

 

Heritage (Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, 23 November 1927 [www.unesco.org/whc]),

 

Migratory species (Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), Bonn, 23 June 1979[www.wcmc.org.uk.cms]),

 

Ozone (Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer, Vienna, 22 March 1985; and Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, Montreal, 16 September 1987 [www.unep.org.org/ozone/]),

 

Sea (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Montego Bay, 10 December 1982 [www.un.org/depts/los/losconv1.htm]),

 

Wetlands (Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat (Ramsar Convention), Ramsar, 2 February 1971 [www.ramsar.org/]).

 

The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in 2002 at Johannesburg resulted in Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (JPOI). JPOI reiterated the importance of achieving internationally agreed development goals embedded in the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and international agreements since 1992, including those contained in the United Nations Millennium Declaration, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Convention on Biodiversity, Convention to Combat Desertification and non-binding targets of the Forestry Principles.

 

The Constitution of India and relevant amendments that have been incorporated over the years, reinforce the policy and legal basis of sustainable development in India. The Preamble, which lays down the ‘basic features’ and remains the ‘soul’ of the Constitution promises to all Indian citizens justice encompassing the social, economic and political, equality of status and opportunity and the dignity of the individual. The pillars of sustainable development are embedded in the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution, which lay down the framework for social justice in India. Article 21 conferring the Right to Life has been subject to the broadest interpretations by the judiciary to encompass right to clean environment, right to livelihood, right to live with dignity and a number of other associated rights. The Directive Principles of State Policy often referred to as the ‘conscience’ of the Constitution are intended to ensure ‘distributive justice’ and that political democracy in India is accompanied side by side with social and economic democracy. In addition to the state mandate to ensure social and economic justice, the Directive Principles also enjoins a duty upon the state to protect and improve the environment and safeguard the forests and wildlife. The Executive, Judiciary and the Legislature have given expression to these normative ideals in innovative ways in response to demands from the people, and national and international exigencies. The National Environmental Policy (NEP) of 2006 articulates the spirit of ‘sustainable development’; it states that only such development is sustainable, which respects ecological constraints and the imperatives of social justice. The NEP highlights the consensus around the sustainable development concept through three foundational aspirations: first, that human beings should enjoy a decent quality of life; second, that human beings should become capable of recognizing the finiteness of the biosphere; and third, that neither the aspiration of a good life, nor the recognition of the limits of the biophysical world should preclude the search for greater justice in the world. The NEP 2006 also asserts that the most viable basis of environmental conservation is to ensure that people gain better livelihood from the act of conservation of natural resources than from environmental degradation.

 

The Goals of Sustainable Development

Fig 3: Goals of Sustainable Development

Source: yaounde.site.unicnetwork.org

 

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has been one of the leading organizations working to achieve the Millennium Development Goals MDGs. They developed new set of goals for Sustainable development. The new set of goals, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), aims to end poverty and hunger by 2030. World leaders, recognizing the connection between people and planet, have set goals for the land, the oceans and the waterways. The world is also better connected now than it was in 2000, and is building a consensus about the future we want- a) End Poverty. b) End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture. c) Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. d) Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. e) Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. f) Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. g)   Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all. h) Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all. i) Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation. j)   Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns. k) Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. l) Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development. m) Protect, restore and promote Sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss. n) Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels o) Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development.

 

Summary

 

The aim of sustainable development is to improve the quality of life in a comprehensive manner, including economic prosperity, social equity and environmental protection. Economic, social, environmental and cultural aspects must be integrated in a harmonious manner to enhance the intergenerational well-being. There are three aspects of sustainability i.e. Economic, Environmental and Social. Sustainable development requires the elimination of fragmentation; that is, environmental, social, and economic concerns must be integrated throughout decision making processes in order to move towards development that is truly sustainable. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) new set of goals for Sustainable development i.e. the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), aims to end poverty and hunger by 2030.

 

World leaders, recognizing the connection between people and planet, have set goals for the land, the oceans and the waterways. The world is also better connected now than it was in 2000, and is building a consensus about the future we want- a) End Poverty. b) End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture. c) Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. d) Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. e) Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. f) Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. g) Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all. h) Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all. i) Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation. j) Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns. k) Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. l) Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development. m) Protect, restore and promote Sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss. n) Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels o) Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development.

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References

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    Suggested Readings

  • Aggarwal A, Paul V, and Das S. 2009. Forest Resources Degradation, Livelihoods and climate Change in Green India: Looking Back to Change Track. New Delhi: The Energy and Resources Institute
  • Borne, G., & Borne. 2010. Sustainable development. In D. Mulvaney (Ed.), Green politics: an A-to-Z guide. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
  • Carley, Michael, and Christie, Ian, 1993. Managing SustainableDevelopment. London: Earth scan, 1992; Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
  • Douglas, Jim; Markku Simula.2010.The Future of the World’s Forests: Ideas vs Ideologies. Springer New York
  • Ekins P. 2001. Economic Growth and Environmental Sustainability: The Prospects for Green Growth. New York: Routledge.
  • Gadgil, M and Guha, R. 1993. This Fissured Land: An Ecological History of India. New Delhi: Oxford University Press
  • Jamison, A. (2001) Ecological Transformations: Sustainable Development, Public Participation, and the Making of Green Knowledge, London: Cambridge
  • Middleton, Nick. 2003.The Global Casino: An Introduction to Environmental Issues. 3d ed. Hodder Arnold London
  • Peet, R. and Watts, M. (eds) (1996) Liberation Ecologies: Environment, Development, and Social Movements, London: Routledge
  • Redclift,  M. (1992)  ‘Sustainable Development and  Popular  Participation:  A  Framework  for Analysis’,  in Ghai,  D. and Vivian,  J.  M. (eds)  Grassroots  Environmental  Action:  People’s
  • Participation in Sustainable Development, London: Routledge
  • Shrivastava, A. Kothari (2012), Churning the Earth: The Making of Global India, Delhi: Viking/Penguin.
  • World Bank. 2006. India: Unlocking opportunities for forest dependent people, agriculture and rural development sector unit South Asia region, World Bank.