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Sustainable Development

whats in a name?Ren Kemp

UNU-MERIT

Phd Programme

Innovation Studies and Development (2006-2007)

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HarrisPrior to the second half of the twentieth century, theidea of development as we know it today barelyexisted

Economic growth became the original developmentmodel, asking for structural adjustment indeveloping countries

But such policies failed to provide basic needs toall and created many problems in themselves

This led to the notion of SD

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Sustainable developmentWas the central term of the WCED (1987) reportOur common future

Sustainable development came to be formulatedas a different kindof growth, one that is notharmful to the environment and brings wealth topeople all over the world

In this meaning sustainable development isabout conservation rather than preservation

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Principle-based approachesNon-declining natural capital (daly) or non-declining welfare (Solow)

Avoiding over-exploitation of renewableresource systems, maintenance of biodiversity,atmospheric stability

Distributional equity, adequate provision of

social servicesPolitical accountability and participation

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Gibsons principles of SDHuman-ecological systems integrity: Build human-ecologicalrelations to maintain the integrity of biophysical systems in order tomaintain the irreplaceable life support functions upon which humanwell-being depends.

Sufficiency and opportunity: Ensure that everyone has enough for adecent life and that everyone has opportunities to seek improvementsin ways that do not compromise future generations' possibilities for

sufficiency and opportunity.Equity: Ensure that sufficiency and effective choices for all are pursuedin ways that reduce dangerous gaps in sufficiency and opportunity (andhealth, security, social recognition, political influence, etc.) between therich and the poor.

Efficiency and throughput reduction: Provide a larger base forensuring sustainable livelihoods for all which reducing threats to thelong term integrity of socio-economic systems by avoiding waste andreducing overall material and energy use per unit of benefit.

Democracy and civility: Build our capacity to apply sustainabilityprinciples through a better informed and better integrated package ofadministrative, market, customary and personal decision makingpractices.

Precaution: Respect uncertainty, avoid even poorly understood risks ofserious or irreversible damage to the foundations for sustainability,desi n for surprise and mana e for adaptation.

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In defining SD one shouldavoid two extremes

One is what might be called mere sustainability simply ensuring that economic production can remainsteady or increase

The other one is to include every desirable goal in it:environmental conservation, improved health andeducation, gender equity, participatory democracy,

peace and international cooperation as this is notanalytically useful (it does not help to addresstradeoffs, deep-rooted social conflicts and already-existing environmental damage)

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Robinson sees a need for

different definitionsany attempt to define the concept precisely, even if itwere possible, would have the effect of excludingthose whose views were not expressed in that

definition

Open definitions of sustainable development helpcommunities and groups of actors to definesustainability programmes and action that befits their

concern. Without such flexibility, no action may comefrom such interactions or only actions which meetofficial sustainability aspects, such as global warming

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My own viewIs to let communities define SD (based on theirvalues, moral positions, informed by

understandings afforded by science abouteffects and consequences)

To have environmental policies and othersectoral policies (education, science, etc.) in thepursuit of SD

I am not against official sustainability concernsand targets, laid down in sustainabilitystrategies at the national or local level, but atoo narrow range of goals may act as a

straightjacket.When used there should be mechanisms to

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The reason being thatSustainable development is not about making progressin terms of 3 or 4 parameters but about achieving apositive process of social change that proceeds in such

a fashion that it avoids generating internalcontradictions that would undermine the possibility offurther advance

What is to be sustained is not a predeterminedenvironmental feature but a process of development

that implies improvement or advance, with multiplebenefits environmental ones but also economicbenefits and social benefits.

flexible interpretations allows for a multitude of actors --possibly the whole of society -- to be involved, allowing forlocally adapted solutions

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The vagueness of SD is often

deploredFrom a governance perspective such disagreement is anessentialpart of sustainable development, one that makesoperationalisation and implementation difficult simply because:

there are different ideas of what sustainable development

amounts to for actors in various sectors (e.g., energy,transport, agriculture, food systems, waste management);existing solutions tend to be sustainable within these sectorsrather than across the whole of society:new developments bring new risks that cannot beanticipated;

it is a long-term, open-ended project that precedes andsupersedes limited term, democratically electedgovernments;it involves trade-off decisions on highly contested issues thatcause dilemmas

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Sustainability cannot be translated into ablueprint or a defined end state from which

criteria can be derived and unambiguousdecisions can be taken to get there (Mog)

The non-sustainability of present systems canbe used as a guide

High-input agriculture agricultureOver-depletion in world fisheries

Fossil-fuel based energy use

Sustainability is not an end-state

to be reached

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What science can doOperationalise elements of SD

Offer tools for evaluation and critical analysis

Assess the (non)sustainability of existing and futuresystemsHighlight consequences of action

Offer models of adaptive management at theprogramme level and national level

While accepting that sustainability is itself theemergent property of a conversion about what kindworld we collectively want to live in now and in thefuture (Robinson)

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What have we learned?SD can be taken to mean, sustained economic growthwhich is not at the expense of important environmentalqualities but contributes to well-being, especially of the

poor.Sustainable development is an inherently indeterminateandcontestedconcept, which cannot be translated into a blueprintfrom which criteria can be derived and unambiguous decisionscan be taken to get there.

Sustainable development is both about protection andcreation

Core requirements and general rules must beaccompanied by context-specific elaborations

Transparency and public engagement are key

characteristics of decision making for sustainability

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Silent

Spring

Limits to

Growth

Organic

Growth

Sustainable

Growth

Qualitative

Growth

Sustainable

Development

Preserving

Nature

Sustainable

Human

Development

Anticipatory

Democracy

Figure 1. Evolution of the Sustainability Concept

Source: Mesarovic

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SD helps us reflect upon what we want accepting that our wants are varied andconflicting

It is a core element of a reflective societywhich is conscious about risks, system-wideeffects (externalities) in which governance

modes are geared towards continuedlearning

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The perspective of transition management helpssocieties to work towards alternative systems, in areflexive manner, through the exploration of multiple

paths and strategically chosen experiments and top-down instrument choices fostering learning atdifferent levels. It helps to work towards asustainability transition even when no one knows whata sustainable society would actually look like and the

very idea of achieving sustainability is illusory

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Possible questionsDoes the notion of SD have value?

Can you work with it?

Should there be a common definition?

Is sustainability a non-scientific concept (as Robinsonsays)?

Can the sustainability of a project or instrument beassessed?

What role for innovation?Does it make sense to talk about sustainabletechnologies?