Sustainable development means different things to different people
Sustainable development means different things to different people, but the most frequently quoted definition is from the)also known as stainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
Sustainable development § Sustainable development focuses on improving the quality of life for all of the Earth's citizens without increasing the use of natural resources beyond the capacity of the environment to supply them indefinitely. It requires an understanding that inaction has consequences and that we must find innovative ways to change institutional structures and influence individual behaviour. It is about taking action , changing policy and practice at all levels, from the individual to the international.
Sustainable development § Sustainable development is not a new idea. Many cultures over the course of human history have recognized the need for harmony between the environment, society and economy. What is new is an articulation of these ideas in the context of a global industrial and information society.
There are 3 particular features of SD that we will focus on § § § Issues of SD directly or indirectly affect and are affected by everyone. So, it is a domain in which everyone is a stakeholder. This domain provides opportunities to consider how systems theories and methodologies have been and can be used in practice. Many practitioners working in this domain have not explicitly used systems approaches but they with hindsight- recognized the need to think and act more systematically and to adopt learning approaches, usually when crises on protests at decisions and actions have occurred.
Engaging with sustainable development (SD). § § § Exploring your understanding of SD. SD can be described as “bringing environmental and development issues together with the future in mind”. Searching for “system” in SD situations. (There are 3 newspapers articles in Boxes 1, 2, and 3 which offer some different perspectives on transport, environment and global warming. ) The nations of “hierarchy” and ‘levels” are important in systems practice, useful in structuring and grouping elements when exploring a system of interest There are many different hierarchies which individuals find meaningful in the domain of SD.
Engaging with sustainable development (SD). § The independence of human and our environment – human and non-human subsystems – means that systems practice in the domain of sustainable development and cannot concentrate on human factors alone. § It is essential that political, economic, social, biological and physical dimensions be seen as parts of one system, so that we recognize the effects of our actions. § (Refer to table 1 on page 20 - Hierarchies for structuring SD situations).
Engaging with sustainable development (SD). § The concepts of hierarchies and system levels are central to SD, where individuals’ actions are relevant to a range of levels. § Hierarchies are important to consider because systems possess emergent properties that their sub-systems do not. § It is not always possible to predict what properties may emerge at different system levels in different people’s SD systems of interest. § But for a system practitioner in this domain, it can be helpful to recognize different system levels to work out how to facilitate interaction and to realize that these systems will not simply be a sum of their parts. § Different observers will attach different importance to different hierarchies, with the choice of level always being observer dependent.
Engaging with sustainable development (SD). § § § Contextualizing SD in terms of historical events. In exploring SD situations we will need to understand some of the references to the history that others make The concepts of “environment” and “development” are used and understood in many ways. In T 306, environment is a systems concept, referring to the context for a system of interest. Whereas, when talking about sustainable development, the term environment is used to refer only to the ecological, natural on biophysical environment
Engaging with sustainable development (SD). § The term development will be used in several ways, for example, to describe: – World development in two different ways § a historical process of change § deliberate efforts by all kinds of organization and social movements as attempts aimed at progress and improvement – Particular site-based infrastructural projects, such as roads and § supermarkets, in the sense of new developments or redevelopments. § Systems of interest are not static-their boundaries and characteristics change with time and observer choice.
Predictions § § Whilst concerns about the future maybe well founded, the future is unknowable and often turns out to be profoundly different from the fantasies of both pessimists and optimists. Many of the disasters forecast in the past have been avoided by technological developments. The forecasts of future disasters are made precisely to encourage people to avoid them. There are several factors that seem to us to make the current forecasts of future problems different in principle from the past.
Predictions § This principle difference is that the scale of human activity on earth is now approaching the same scale as the natural cycles that occur around the globe. § Human engagement with parts of ecosystems is causing hundreds of species to become extinct each year and the effects of human activity are evident well
Predictions § beyond the immediate locations in which we live. Many of the resources that were used to drive industrial development in the 19 th century are now exhausted. § Water extraction rates exceed the annual flow of some rivers. However they do not run dry because waste water is returned to them. § Another difference is that with the increased scale of human activities comes an increase in associated effects and disparities between rich and poor. § Some claim that poverty is the main cause for environmental degradation, others have stressed that wealth is the main cause for environmental degradation. § Action by one or a few countries alone would be ineffective unless matched by others.
- Slides: 12