sustainable development. sustainable development: definition “sustainable development seeks to...
TRANSCRIPT
Sustainable Development
Sustainable Development: Definition
“Sustainable Development seeks to meet the aspirations and the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
History of the Concept
Elaborated by the Brundtland Commission
Endorsed at the U.N. Conference on Environment and Development (Rio de Janeiro, 1992)
Addresses controversy on whether growth and development are inherently destructive to the environment.
Lack of sustainability results both from affluence and poverty
Endorsed by Development Organizations
Concerns of developed and developing countries
Development and environment not incompatible
Need to eradicate poverty
Some forms of development more sustainable
Efficiency and win-win approaches
Technology transfer
Policy development
Is SD a useful concept?
Or, is it a misleading concept and a contradiction in terms?
Measuring Sustainable Development
The ESI
http://www.ciesin.columbia.edu/indicators/ESI/
Objectives Add substance to the concept
Compare countries
What drives sustainability
ESI Variables
Environmental Systems
Reducing Environmental Stresses
Human Vulnerability
Social and Institutional Capacity
Global Stewardship
ESI 2001 Ranking
Rank Country1 Finland2 Norway3 Uruguay4 Sweden 5 Iceland
….141 Haiti142 Uzbekistan143 Iraq144 Turkmenistan145 Taiwan146 North Korea
Are Richer Countries More Sustainable?
The Environmental Kuznets Curve
Measuring Sustainable Development
Ecological footprints:
http://www.progress.org/
Measures “the amount of renewable and non-renewable ecologically productive land area required to support the resource demands and absorb the wastes of a given population or specific activities”
Measuring Sustainable Development
Surce of dashboard:
http://esl.jrc.it/dc/ef_rp/ef_fvc.htm