FOCUS Environmental Education – Learning to be SustainableSt.Pölten, 12.4.2011

Quality of life and sustainable development – a great couple? 

Dr. Ines Omann

Content

• A framework linking quality of life and sustainable development

• The inner and the outer context

• Methods to address the inner context

• Examples of projects

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Why quality of life?

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Quality of life has two determinants:

- Objective: capabilities one person has to fulfill his/her needs

- Subjective: perception of the fulfillment of these needs

„Quality of life ...defined as subjective well-being and personal growth in a healthy and prosperous environment“ (Lane 1996)

Back to the sources of SD

“Sustainable development is a development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the

ability of future generations to meet their own needs“

What are needs? What is their link to well-being, capabilities, values, quality of

life, …?

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Human Flourishing

Sustainable

Development

Needs

Concept of needs

• Most fundamental dimension of human flourishing

- Actions to fulfill needs require no further reasoning

• Internal driving force:

- Non-negotiable- Essential for health/well-being of individual

• Needs are universal in type, therefore abstract• Needs are not (un) sustainable• Examples: subsistence, participation, freedom

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Human Flourishing

Sustainable

Development

StrategiesNeeds

What about you?

• What is it that you need right now?Subsistence, Protection, Affection, Understanding, Participation, Freedom, Leisure, Creation, Identity

• What can you do to meet your need?

• What are your strategies?

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Strategies

• Strategies serve to fulfil one‘s needs• They are chosen depending on values, culture,

preferences, resources and chances for realisation (determine lifestyles)

• Basic (subsistence) needs ask rather for materialistic strategies

• other needs: also immaterial strategies possible• choice of strategies can lead to (un)sustainable

development• Strategies are negotiable, concrete but not

universal

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List of needs and strategies (based on Max-Neef 1993)

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NEEDSBeing

(Qualities)Having

(Things)Doing (Actions) Interacting

(Settings)Subsistence Physical and

mental healthFood, shelter,

workFeed, clothes,

rest, workLiving

environment, social setting

Protection Care, adaptability, autonomy

Social security, health systems,

work

Co-operate, plan, take care of, help

Social environment

Affection

Understanding

Participation Receptiveness, dedication,

sense of humour

Responsibilities, duties, work, rights

Cooperate, dissent, express

opinions

Associations, parties, churches, neighbourhoods

Freedom Autonomy, passion, self-

esteem

Equal rights Dissent, choose, run risks, develop

awareness

Anywhere

IdlenessCreationIdentityTranscendence

Quality of life

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Human Flourishing

Resources

Freedom to choose

Strategies

Capabilities

Meaning of Life

Sustainable

DevelopmentCultureValues

Introducing capabilities and needs

Characteristics: green, small, fast, expensive Capabilities:

be seen, easy parking, rapidity,distinction

Needs: protection, leisure, freedom,identity

Needs are different from strategies (work, money, car) and from preferences (expressing the relative desirability of these strategies).

Well-being: hedoniceudaimonic:- psychological- social

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The capability approach (Sen)

• Capabilities determine the objective conditions, i.e. resources in human, social and material capital, and the freedom to choose which needs should be fulfilled and how.

• Focuses on

- what people are able to do and to be, - on the quality of their life, and - on removing obstacles in their life

so that they have more freedom to live the kind of life which they find valuable.jn

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Human Flourishing

Sustainable

Development

ResourcesFreedom

to choose

Needs

Capabilities

Strategies

CultureValues

Meaning of Life

From resources to capabilities to needs

Resources (material and non-material) are required for capabilities.

Capabilities allow me to select a strategy in order to meet my needs.

Strategies are negotiable, concrete, but not universal Behaviour is concrete and changeable. Needs are abstract dimensions of human flourishing. Values and culture influence the importance of specific

needs and strategies.

Needs relate to what is important in each and every life our dependency on nature and society

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Well-being

Its hedonic part reflects the pleasure experienced and is linked to emotional well-being,

Its eudaimonic part reflects the striving to realize one’s personal and social potential; it gives meaning

Both can be seen as the subjective experience of one’s fulfillment of needs

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Human Flourishing

Needs

Hedonicwellbeing

Eudaimonic wellbeing

Sustainable

Development

ResourcesFreedom

to choose

Capabilities

Strategies

CultureValues

Flow

of L

ifeMeaning

of Life

Thank you for your attention!

• This session: contributions focusing on capabilites and WB

• Afternoon session:– Felix: Re-introducing Needs into

Sustainable Development– Johannes: Conceptualizing 'Mode-3

Science'

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