All
philosophy in two words - sustain and abstain
- Epictetus
2.0 Introduction As the new millenium settles down one realises
that owing to the large global population and their activities significant
impacts are occurring on the land, the air, the water and the flora and fauna.
A great majority of the technologies, - characteristic of the industrial society
of 1990s, have been invented during the last 50 years. Most of the natural
resource consumption and pollution have also been caused within this period
(Chodkiewicz 1990). The realisation that unless corrective measures are taken
the capacity of the Earth to sustain life may be in jeopardy gave rise to
various schools of thoughts. Initial reactions were characterised by an overall
acceptance that growth cannot be continued indefinitely and imminent or certain
exhaustion of natural resources will lead to doomsday. A rapprochement between
the diverse concepts were attempted by International Union for Conservation
of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) which coined the term 'Sustainable
Development' (IUCN 1980). The concept of sustainable development tried to
bring about a complete change in the philosophy that lies behind the ways
in which people interact with the environment and a change in the methodology
with which the interactions occur (Middleton 1995). The concept also tried
to meet the requirements of a shift in development paradigm towards equitable
growth where social objectives were recognised as distinct from and as important
as economic objectives (Munasinghe 1993).
2.1 The Origin of Sustainable Development Concept
After the end of the Second World War, UNESCO played a pioneering role and
initiated some serious discussions on striking a balance between economic
activities and environmental stress. In 1948 on the basis of recommendations
of a UNESCO conference held in Fontainebleau, France, the International Union
for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) was established. Amongst
the many remarkable achievements of IUCN is included the publication of a
document on the state of protection of nature in the world in 1950. The document
can be stated to be one of the principal ancestors of the Brundtland report
(Vaillancourt 1990).
However, till the 1970s human attitude towards natural resource exploitation
was largely free from guilt. While little attention was paid to the nature's
assimilative capacity to deal with pollutants, natural resources were considered
to be infinite for all practical purposes. More often than not the terms development
and economic growth were considered synonymous (Soussan 1992).
2.1.1 The Limits to Growth Theory
The ongoing debate on economic growth vis-à-vis environmental crisis was actually
launched with the publication of the report of a study conducted under the
aegis of the Club of Rome. The report titled 'The Limits to Growth' (Meadows
et al. 1972) claimed to establish that with the existing pattern of resource
use the human society is destined to be doomed within the next century. Although
later studies have conclusively established that the limit to growth theory
was built up on false premises, it had the desired effect of leading the world
to environmental awakening. Reactions to the Club of Rome's report were varied.
Diverse opinion emerging from various quarters set the course of events to
follow.
A watershed in the current thinking on Resource Economics has been marked
with the Publication of Kenneth Boulding's most famous essay, - "The Economics
of the Coming Spaceship Earth" (Boulding 1966, cited in Pearce and Turner
1990 and compiled in Daly 1980). Boulding (1966) vividly portrayed the dichotomy
between the 'throughput economy' and the 'economics of the Spaceship Earth'.
Closely after, in 1968, a conference of intergovernmental experts was organised
in Paris. The conference report, although restricted to conservation of biological
resource, for the first time used the concept "the Spaceship Earth" while
stressing the need to maintain the conditions which permit human sustenance.
The United Nations Conference on Human Environment (UNCHE) was held in Stockholm
in June 1972. Perhaps the greatest achievement of the Conference was in putting
environmental protection as a real agenda before the entire world cutting
across the North South divide. In the 109 point action programme proposed
by UNCHE'72, development with concern to environment and management of natural
resources from the point of view of environment were given priority. The action
plans, inter-alia, urged the United Nations to create a permanent programme
on environment. This paved the way for creation of the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP) with its headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya.
2.1.2 The Eco-development and the Alternative Development
Concepts
The concept of 'Eco-development' was floated in the first meeting of the governing
council of UNEP in June 1973. Eco-development is a type of development which
takes into account the ecological stress and long-term effects.
The essential principles of eco-development are:
* The provision of basic needs.
* Participation for the community itself.
* The use of appropriate or intermediate technology.
An attempt was made to reconcile development and environment by advocating
a 'New International Economic Order' and through 'Alternative Development'.
In 1974, in the seventh special session of the U. N. General Assembly a declaration
and an action plan on the New International Economic Order was adopted. The
'Alternative Development' proposed self-reliant endogenous development centred
on real needs and in harmony with the Nature. Needless to mention such a development
paradigm, in addition to being vague, undermined resource requirements for
development and thus, - being far from real premise, was a non-starter.
From 1977 onwards many international development agencies have made it mandatory
to include environmental assessment in the project planning. Meanwhile, as
a measure to bring together ecology and economics the concept of 'eco-development'
was being pursued in some quarters (Strong 1977, Sachs 1977, Sachs 1980).