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Environmentally sound & sustainable (development)
J.R.E.Harger
Introduction
What does the call to sustainable development represent ?
The call to "sustainable development" is supposed to lead us to some form of equilibrium with Gaia's requirements for maintaining a "workable" biosphere. Be that as it may, it is we, that is the greater numbers of humankind that are determining a reality by willing it so as a kind of generic fact, as development is still based on the idea of convert more, produce more, live better with Gaia the great provider. There may not be a future, so that being the case, accomplishment doesn't have the same enticement, there will always be an accomplishment waiting to be accomplished in eternity. We can never get out of that reality and in some senses urgency becomes relative.
At this stage all we can do is, entice, seduce, stretch, offer, give and give and give more. We are really talking about merging with spiritual families which we hopefully may be doing now, as you read this message, merging with others who hold our vision, because we have an urgent need to hold the vision. We are suggesting that formation of focus groups provides a way to gather enough "critical mass" to alter the reality. While some may differ in thinking much work is required in the past (lives) to change the present and the future and whereas others may be more inclined to proceed directly forward, we can agree that it is worthwhile in itself. On the other hand it could also be a mirage, just another way to renew an old cycle-set and, once again merely establish the foundation of the new cycle towards civilization. At worst we might continue the continuum of cycles instead of transcending the cause.
Background assessment
The question concerning an operational definition of sustainability has been raised on several occasions following release of the wording provided by "The World Commission on Environment and Development" (WCED), "Our Common Future".
As part of the concept of "environmentally sound and sustainable development" (ESSD) the WCED <1> defines "sustainable development" as "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs". By itself, the latter statement is unbounded and involves an appeal to "inter-generational equity" with the consequent implicit assumption that the future will somehow be able to take care of itself through increasingly effective and efficient technological adjustments regardless of the quality of available resource base.
The phrase "environmentally sound and sustainable development" (ESSD) can thus be re-worded as "environmentally sound development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs". The words "environmentally sound" have intuitive appeal but do not not specify immediately operational or measurable criteria for use as the basis for a quantifiable definition.
Currently, the world population distribution between developed and developing countries is 24:76. In the case of energy (electricity) for instance, "needs" specified as "per capita resource use" already span a range, of 40:1 for "most developed" to "developing" countries. For liquid hydrocarbons this is 60:1, for gasoline alone 390:1, for all solid fuels (including wood) 14:1. Consumption of copper by the U.S.A. is higher than that of India, on a per capita basis by 245:1 and so forth <2>. In developed countries there is currently no reason to suppose that per-capita resource-use "needs" are leveling off. Likewise, there is no reason to suppose that the per-capita resource-use aspirations of the developing countries will be any less.
A United Nations Workshop (Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific-ESCAP/United Nations Development Program-UNDP) on implementation of the regional strategy on environmentally sound and sustainable development, 1- 5 July 1991, Rayong, Thailand, therefore insisted that the concept of "sustainable development" should be more carefully examined in order to provide an operational link between "environmentally sound and sustainable development" (ESSD) and (the) variables used for monitoring, based on strongly stated environmental objectives ... "to quantitatively evaluate movement.
towards or away from the goal of ESSD". The workshop also called for the development and strengthening of ESSD performance criteria and indicators.
Further definitions of sustainability
The relationship between sustainability and development has been addressed on many occasions. The problem involves the necessity for an accommodation between the requirements of potentially unlimited growth and energy use with the dictates of a finite system, the second law of thermodynamics and the inevitability of increasing dis-order (entropy).
In a gross sense, the question of specifying "environmentally sound" involves definition of the the extent to which the global ecosystems, which are themselves "counter entropy", can accommodate the effects of increased entropy without terminal break-down. The discredited phrase "absorptive capacity of the environment" is thus identical to the idea of "environmentally sound development". The item which is missing from most attempts to develop a definition combining "environmentally sound" with "sustainability" relates to the concept of "balance" between the undesirable effects of development and the continuing requirements for the expression of a competent biosphere.
The following definitions relating to sustainability in terms of "balance" were generated at the Ecological Society of America's meeting on an "International Sustainable Biosphere Initiative" Cuernavaca, Mexico, 3-5 June 1991.
"Sustainable" biosphere: "An originally self-sustaining (and gently evolving) biosphere now has to be made sustainable by judicious human interference" - remedying past and present negative interference. The aim therefore is: "to arrive at ecologically sound and sustainable use (and enjoyment) of the world's ecosystems, meeting the basic needs of mankind today without jeopardizing the needs and management use options of future generations". ("Ecologically sound": biological functions of the ecosystem remain basically intact or resilient) in time and space - not counting natural perturbations. (W. G. Sombroek).
The concept of sustainability implies the use of ecological systems (the biosphere) that satisfies current needs without compromising the needs or options of future generations. (Ian Noble)
Sustainability implies: (1) Improved economic well-being without jeopardizing future needs; (2) Appropriate use of resources without obvious degradation setting in; (3) Resource use in a manner that would contribute to equity and social justice and avoid serious disruptions; (4) Appropriate use of resources in a manner that optimizes maintenance of cultural and biological diversity. (P.S. Ramakrishnan)
Environmentally sound and sustainable development results from human actions which permit continued development with the environment as the final arbitrator. It is development which permits further development without terminally closing off larger options <3>. An ecologically sustainable biosphere will have the following properties: (1) will not depend on excessive fossil carbon subsidies; (2) will retain sufficient biodiversity to enable accommodation to all possible global change scenarios; (3) will provide food, fiber, shelter, recreation and appropriate chemical by-products to maintain human populations which do not exceed the carrying capacity; (4) can be sustained by energy subsidies which do not exceed those required to ensure a credible standard of living for the world's population. (J.R.E.Harger)
"Sustainable". Though there are themes common to many of the published definitions, there is no universally accepted definition of "sustainable". A review of the literature conjures up Humpty Dumpty's assertion when questioned by Alice: "When I use a word, it means what I choose it to mean, neither more nor less", or the person who said he could not define sin but he sensed it when it was near. Several refer to satisfying human needs but, apart from an occasional reference to post-harvest losses, there is almost exclusive concentration upon production systems within the farm perimeter. There appears to be little concern for what happens between farms and consumers. (Dr. W. G Sombroek presented the following summary relating to "sustainable agriculture")
The following descriptors of "Sustainable Agriculture" have been taken from various publications:
Being derived from from the Latin "sustenire", "to sustain" literally means "to uphold or to keep from falling". This may suggest maintenance of the status quo: that sustainable agriculture is a static concept. To some observers, sustainable implies indefinitely. History illustrates that with little or no population increase various traditional systems of slash-and-burn may be sustainable if the period between successive exhaustive cultivations is long enough for regeneration of the natural vegetative ground cover.
One commentator questions whether proscription of agro-chemicals is a sensible end in itself and should not the objective be to design farming systems in which such substances are only complementary to other measures. It was noted that many of the farmers on the Great Plains of the U.S.A. whose topsoil blew away during the 1930s used little if any chemical fertilizer, pesticide or herbicide. The same is true of lands in the semi-arid tropics that were turned into desert either by overgrazing or overcultivation: repeated planting and harvesting with little restoration of nutrients.
Several emphasize sustainable systems are specific to locations, to prevailing agro-ecological and socio-economic conditions. One writer cautions that foreign agencies do not try to impose upon poor African countries what seems desirable in N. America and Europe. The urgent need in many developing countries is quickly to increase food and fuel production which may in the short term be in conflict with an ideal state of ecological conservation.
An experienced Indian scientist wrote recently: "You hear a call these days from parts of the First World which urges a return to low-input technology ..... that is the worst advice that can be given to farmers in Third World countries. With the population pressures they have, they can't afford to go back to low input technology. That is what they had for thousands of years .. Farmers in developing countries need even more sophisticated technologies than the ones they are using today."
As an example of a "non-balance" or "economic" definition, the International Agricultural Research Center defines a sustainable system "as one with a non-negative trend in measured output" (quoted in Asian Development Bank, "Sustainable Agricultural Development", Agriculture Department Staff Paper No 1, Manila, 1991).
An overt appeal to the second law of thermodynamics in defining sustainable development has been made by D.G.Smith <4>: "sustainable development is development that minimizes resource use and the increase of global entropy". Although useful in centering the idea of entropy, the definition is minimalist in terms of rates and volumes and maximalist in terms of efficiency but defers the question of specifying limits.
Smith <4> also notes that although WCED gave a meaning to "sustainability" the word is now defined and re-defined by its users depending on their interest. Thus the co-ordinator of Asia-Pacific Peoples Environment network observes: "the term 'sustainable' from the ecological point of view means the maintenance of the integrity of the ecology. It means a harmonious relation between humanity and nature, this is harmony in the interaction between individual human beings and natural resources". "The term 'sustainable' from the point of view of non-ecological elites means 'how to continue to sustain the supply of raw materials when existing sources of raw materials run out" <5 in 4>.
Tjhe United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) declares that "Environmentally sound and sustainable development is not business as usual. Current models of economic development have swelled superficial increases in standards of living, based on material possessions, at the expense of health and our future. Sustainable development means change and sacrifice for long-term gain. The alternative is massive and irreversible ecological destruction" <6 in 4>.
Discussion
A systematic analysis of the current situation associated with CO2 increases and global warming suggests that three courses of action must be implemented immediately:
Regardless of what actions we are driven to take, the empirical record of carbon dioxide concentrations trapped in the air- bubbles of polar ice over the past 150,000 years together with the more immediate atmospheric measurements, clearly indicate that global change will surely affect each and every person on the planet within the space of one generation or less. In strict obedience to physical law, these patterns from the past tell us that the mean global temperature is likely to rise by 3-4 degrees centigrade in response to the first doubling in effective greenhouse gas concentrations since the 1800's. At present rates of increase, this may be expected to take place sometime around the year 2025 or so. If ozone losses continue and the resultant ultra violet radiation depresses oceanic plankton populations the consequent release of carbon dioxide from the world's seas will considerably hasten this process.
Although individual policy actions which may be undertaken by nations or by regional groupings in an attempt to deal with these problems are far from clear we can never the less draw some rough conclusions at this time. Recent attempts by the UN system to direct the world in adoption of a policy of environmentally sound and sustainable development (ESSD) for further action provides us with a case in point. In a crude sense, we may define ESSD as development which permits further development without terminal closure of larger options. A general approach towards defining the potential for progression of civilization throughout the world has thus been encapsulated in the phrase "environmentally sound and sustainable development" which means that only human actions which permit continued development, with the environment as the final arbitrator, can be considered as fulfilling an acceptable strategy for social activity at all levels.
The challenge at this stage is to elaborate useful models which will permit specification of such action. We know what we should like the phrase "environmentally sound and sustainable development" to mean, but we currently have no clear idea as to how this can be attained in practice but it is now obvious that the control of global climate through management of atmospheric
carbon dioxide concentrations must be a major element in such a process and for this it is essential to preserve existing biodiversity.
In view of the foregoing remarks, it is necessary to embark on a program to sentisize as broad a range of people as possible to the current array of environmental problems facing humankind at the end of the 20 th. Century. Under the present state of affairs, no one agency or country has the necessary resources to ensure that the goal of human survival can be achieved and it is now apparent that we cannot any longer afford to pay lip-service to the notion of co-operation while at the same time seeking to maximize individual and nation-state holdings at the expense of the global community at large.
References
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