focus environmental education – learning to be sustainable st.pölten, 12.4.2011 quality of life...
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FOCUS Environmental Education – Learning to be SustainableSt.Pölten, 12.4.2011
Quality of life and sustainable development – a great couple?
Dr. Ines Omann
Content
• A framework linking quality of life and sustainable development
• The inner and the outer context
• Methods to address the inner context
• Examples of projects
Ines Omann ESEE 2009 2
Why quality of life?
Ines Omann ESEE 2009 3
Quality of life has two determinants:
- Objective: capabilities one person has to fulfill his/her needs
- Subjective: perception of the fulfillment of these needs
„Quality of life ...defined as subjective well-being and personal growth in a healthy and prosperous environment“ (Lane 1996)
Back to the sources of SD
“Sustainable development is a development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their own needs“
What are needs? What is their link to well-being, capabilities, values, quality of
life, …?
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Concept of needs
• Most fundamental dimension of human flourishing
- Actions to fulfill needs require no further reasoning
• Internal driving force:
- Non-negotiable- Essential for health/well-being of individual
• Needs are universal in type, therefore abstract• Needs are not (un) sustainable• Examples: subsistence, participation, freedom
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What about you?
• What is it that you need right now?Subsistence, Protection, Affection, Understanding, Participation, Freedom, Leisure, Creation, Identity
• What can you do to meet your need?
• What are your strategies?
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Strategies
• Strategies serve to fulfil one‘s needs• They are chosen depending on values, culture,
preferences, resources and chances for realisation (determine lifestyles)
• Basic (subsistence) needs ask rather for materialistic strategies
• other needs: also immaterial strategies possible• choice of strategies can lead to (un)sustainable
development• Strategies are negotiable, concrete but not
universal
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List of needs and strategies (based on Max-Neef 1993)
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NEEDSBeing
(Qualities)Having
(Things)Doing (Actions) Interacting
(Settings)Subsistence Physical and
mental healthFood, shelter,
workFeed, clothes,
rest, workLiving
environment, social setting
Protection Care, adaptability, autonomy
Social security, health systems,
work
Co-operate, plan, take care of, help
Social environment
Affection
Understanding
Participation Receptiveness, dedication,
sense of humour
Responsibilities, duties, work, rights
Cooperate, dissent, express
opinions
Associations, parties, churches, neighbourhoods
Freedom Autonomy, passion, self-
esteem
Equal rights Dissent, choose, run risks, develop
awareness
Anywhere
IdlenessCreationIdentityTranscendence
Quality of life
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Human Flourishing
Resources
Freedom to choose
Strategies
Capabilities
Meaning of Life
Sustainable
DevelopmentCultureValues
Introducing capabilities and needs
Characteristics: green, small, fast, expensive Capabilities:
be seen, easy parking, rapidity,distinction
Needs: protection, leisure, freedom,identity
Needs are different from strategies (work, money, car) and from preferences (expressing the relative desirability of these strategies).
Well-being: hedoniceudaimonic:- psychological- social
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The capability approach (Sen)
• Capabilities determine the objective conditions, i.e. resources in human, social and material capital, and the freedom to choose which needs should be fulfilled and how.
• Focuses on
- what people are able to do and to be, - on the quality of their life, and - on removing obstacles in their life
so that they have more freedom to live the kind of life which they find valuable.jn
Ines Omann ESEE 2009 13
Ines Omann ESEE 2009 14
Human Flourishing
Sustainable
Development
ResourcesFreedom
to choose
Needs
Capabilities
Strategies
CultureValues
Meaning of Life
From resources to capabilities to needs
Resources (material and non-material) are required for capabilities.
Capabilities allow me to select a strategy in order to meet my needs.
Strategies are negotiable, concrete, but not universal Behaviour is concrete and changeable. Needs are abstract dimensions of human flourishing. Values and culture influence the importance of specific
needs and strategies.
Needs relate to what is important in each and every life our dependency on nature and society
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Well-being
Its hedonic part reflects the pleasure experienced and is linked to emotional well-being,
Its eudaimonic part reflects the striving to realize one’s personal and social potential; it gives meaning
Both can be seen as the subjective experience of one’s fulfillment of needs
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Ines Omann ESEE 2009 17
Human Flourishing
Needs
Hedonicwellbeing
Eudaimonic wellbeing
Sustainable
Development
ResourcesFreedom
to choose
Capabilities
Strategies
CultureValues
Flow
of L
ifeMeaning
of Life