Lecture on a breof history of sustainable devleopment as well as some of the philisophical isses that make it difficult to define

1. MSc Sustainable Development
Gregory Borne

2. 1. Background to SD
2. Political evolution and time line
3. Perspectives
4. Inter-disciplinarity
5. Sustainability Science
6. Activity

3. •Understanding
sustainable
development is a
personal journey
•The following is my
interpretation of the
important issues
•Develop your own
approach
(epistemology)

5.  Development that meets the needs of the
present without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their own needs
(Brundtland 1987-Our Common Future )
 Development?
 Needs?
 Compromise?

6.  Oxymoron- Contradiction in terms
 Fuzzy concept –means all things to all people
no real world relevance, ineffective for policy
development
 Worse still - A means for continuing legitimisation
of global strategies of development which will
continue the hegemony of the northern
industrialised countries

7.  Acceptance- of the unsustainable nature current
developmental pathways –creation of global risks such as
global warming
 Focal Point- A concept that disparate organisations and
institutions can come together around and try to look for
solutions
 Orchestration of the sciences – Promotes inter-
disciplinarity –New world views that reflect real world
problems

8.  Not just an academic subject of study but:
◦ a paradigmatic shift in the way we look at the
world, nature and humankind;
◦ a change that requires rigorous thinking about the
interconnections and interdependencies between
the physical, the social and the intellectual worlds

10. Time Line
1962
Rachel Carson publishes "Silent Spring". Detrimental effects of pesticides on
the environment, particularly on birds. Carson accused the chemical industry
of spreading disinformation, and public officials of accepting industry claims
uncritically.
1968 –
Paul Ehrlich publishes book "Population Bomb"
“The battle to feed all of humanity is over. In the 1970s hundreds of millions
of people will starve to death in spite of any crash programs embarked upon
now. At this late date nothing can prevent a substantial increase in the world
death rate”
The Club of Rome. Its goal is to pursue a holistic understanding of and
solutions to the 'world problematique'.
The UN General Assembly authorizes the Human Environment Conference to
be held in 1972.

11. Picture of the Earth by the
crew of the Apollo 17
United Nations Conference
on Human Environment held
in Stockholm
United Nations Environment
Programme
Club of Rome publishes
"Limits to Growth".
OPEC oil crisis fuels limits to
growth debate

12. 1980-2012
1980 - Independent Commission on International Development publishes "North:South - A Programme
for Survival" (Brandt Report). It asks for a re-assessment of the notion of development and calls for a
new economic relationship between North and South.
1982 - The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea is adopted. It establishes material rules concerning
environmental standards as well as enforcement provisions dealing with pollution of the marine
environment.
1983 - World Commission on Environment and Development forms. Chaired by Norwegian Prime
Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland, the commission works for three years to weave together a report on
social, economic, cultural, and environmental issues.
1987 - "Our Common Future" Brundtland Report) published. It ties problems together and, for the first
time, gives some direction for comprehensive global solutions. It also popularizes the term "sustainable
development".
1987 - Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer is adopted
1988 - Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change established with three working groups to assess the
most up-to-date scientific, technical and socio-economic research in the field of climate change.
1992 - U.N. Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio de Janeiro. It results in
the publication of Agenda 21, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Framework Convention on
Climate Change, the Rio Declaration, and a statement of non-binding Forest Principles.
2002- WSSD – World Summit on Sustainable Development
2012-Rio + 20 – Institutional change for sustainable development/ Green economy

13.  http://www.earthsummit2012.
org/beta/sustainable-
development-timeline

14. 3. Perspectives

15. Three Pillars approach
Emphasizes the integration between
economy, environment and society
A good starting point for
understanding SD but a more
complex perspective is needed

16.  STRONG Vs WEAK SD

17.  A radical reordering of economic, social and
environmental relationships
 Changing the existing developmental
processes significantly
 Alter processes of consumption and
Production
 Alterations to the capitalist ethos and what
this means –Capitalism doesn‟t work
 Eco-Centric

18.  Operating inside the existing system but
greening capatalism.
 Technological fixes – Green technology
(Ecological Modernisation)
 Behavioural change – Incentives taxation
 Fiscal Behavioural
 Anthropocentric

19. Metaphor Domain Description
Ethical Paradox Ethical Refers to the inconsistency between
the term sustainable and development
Natural Capital Stock Material Refers to the quantifiable natural
assets of the earths biosphere upon
which development is based, a position
utilised frequently in the natural
sciences
Fairness Social Includes issues of social equity , equal
rights for development, democracy,
public participation and empowerment
Eco-form Spatial Refers to the built environment and the
sustainability of human habitat
Integrative Management Refers to a holistic perspective on
management sustainable development, considering ,
economic, social and environmental
perspectives
Global Discourse Political Refers to a unifying global discourse,
the unifying image of one earth
Utopian Visionary Refers to the achievement of a perfect
sustainable society.

20. 3.Disciplines and
Inter-disciplinarity

21.  Why are today's problems different from
previous centuries or even decades?
Climate Change
 Complex
 Uncertain
 Ambiguous
 Non –linear

22.  The very nature of these problems causes
challenges traditional disciplines
 As Jeffrey Sachs recognises
 „The problems just refuse to arrive in the neat
categories of academic departments‟
 Sachs, J. (2008) Common Wealth, Economics
for a Crowded Planet

23. Structuring modes of academic practice
Communities of scholars who:
 Specialize in some aspects of knowledge;
 Share interests, concepts, methods and ways
of knowing the world
 Share a particular way of thinking about the
nature of reality and knowledge

24. Mono-disciplinarity Approach using one discipline alone
Uni-directional disciplinarity Approach driven largely by one
discipline
Multi-disciplinarity Involvement of multiple disciplines but
with little or no integration of
knowledge. Competition
Inter-disciplinarity Several disciplines working together to
produce knowledge greater than the
sum of the whole. Cooperation
Trans-disciplinarity Integrated knowledge across several
disciplines that leads to new
knowledge paradigms within the
disciplines themselves as well as
research results

26. Is it a science which seeks to maintain the scale
of human society within physically defined
carrying capacity of planet?
◦ Interdisciplinary endeavor: ecology, biology,
physics, chemistry, etc. plus policy sciences
◦ Transdisciplinary endeavor: ethics,
philosophy, psychology, economics, cultural
values, etc.

27. Sustainability
Goals
Social Environmental
Systems systems
Sustainability Science

28.  Multiple issues have to be considered
Apossible approach is the following
matrix

29. Meeting Human Needs for…
while Preserving Life Support Systems of…

30.  A system is a perceived as a whole whose elements are
interconnected
 Systems thinking has developed a substantial body of
knowledge drawn from a number of areas of study including:
 Cybernetics, ecology and complexity theory
 Emphasises the positive and the negative interactions within
a system.

32.  The use of pesticides on crops is one
example of how a solution to one problem
has created greater problems. While
trying to combat a pest or disease to
improve food production, pesticides in
many cases have disrupted ecosystems,
some of which indirectly support the crop
being grown and have had adverse health
effects on people from pesticide residues
on food crops

33. TRADITIONAL SCIENCE  SUSTAINABILITY SCIENCE
 Mechanistic  Evolutionary
 Curiosity-driven  Problem-driven; problem-solving
 Value free  Value inclusive
 Divide and conquer  Integrate and be open
 No direct policy user  Potential users included
 Reduce and eliminate the rest  Systemic, complex system
 Expert / corporate dominated  Extended peer-reviewed
 Profit /prestige seeking  Socially relevant
 Linear evolution of  Non-linear evolution of knowled
knowledge  Place-based analysis
 Product focused  Process focused, capacity buildin
(paper, patent, …)

34.  Metaphors of Sustainable Development

35. Metaphor Domain Description
Ethical Paradox Ethical Refers to the inconsistency between
the term sustainable and development
Natural Capital Stock Material Refers to the quantifiable natural
assets of the earths biosphere upon
which development is based, a position
utilised frequently in the natural
sciences
Fairness Social Includes issues of social equity , equal
rights for development, democracy,
public participation and empowerment
Eco-form Spatial Refers to the built environment and the
sustainability of human habitat
Integrative Management Refers to a holistic perspective on
management sustainable development, considering ,
economic, social and environmental
perspectives
Global Discourse Political Refers to a unifying global discourse,
the unifying image of one earth
Utopian Visionary Refers to the achievement of a perfect
sustainable society.

36.  What might be the problems of using this
sort of framework for Understanding SD
 Says little about the use of sustainable
development in political contexts
 Cross overs between metaphors – the
metaphors are not exclusive

37.  Fill in the Blanks
 What issues do you think should go in the
description Colum?
 What is wrong with the Knowledge Map?
 What is missing?
 How would you change it?