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Provides an advanced interdisciplinary analysis of the policy issues associated with applying the concept of "sustainability” within the field of development studies in both urban and rural contexts of the developing and developed world.
Areas of focus selected from topics such as:
Taught as a seminar, discussions will be enhanced with case studies, simulation games, lab exercises, and student presentations.
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This is a graduate-level course designed to introduce the student in
an integrative manner to the exciting field of Sustainable
Development Policy and related fields, e.g. Science and Technology for Sustainability--see Course
Objectives. The course will first explore the historical
development of "sustainability" as a concept and it will then look at
how the concept of sustainability has influenced real-world practice in
various development sectors: health, knowledge management, agriculture,
natural resource management, poverty reduction, and so on.
Following is a brief introduction to some of the key sectoral issues and
themes within the overall field (more will be presented in the
course).
Key Class Resource Materials:
The resources listed under RESEARCH TOOLS provides the key resource links-by-theme publications, research groups, online courses, for you to consult and use during the course. See also Class Bibliographic Resources - SPOL 624 - Nature Society Thought as well as LINKS ON ENVIRONMENT - CULTURAL ECOLOGY. See also online resources produced by the VGD (Virtual Geography Department) and its various resource groups including cultural geography, world regional and area studies and others such as the EES (Earth's Environment and Society). FORUM on Science and Technology for Sustainability - Harvard - soon to be at AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science)- ***KEY OVERVIEW DOCUMENTS
Key Textbooks:**See: Earthscan book list on DEVELOPMENT STUDIES and UN Millennium Development Library
See also condensed version: Human Impact on the Earth by William B. Meyer (Author)
Key Web Documents and web sites:
History of the Sustainability and Development Concepts:
See also: History of ecological ideas (nature/society thought)
Environment vs. Development >> Sustainable Development
**Trojan Horse Terms (need for "appropriate thinking") and reconciling of theory and practice (semantic, political, and moral minefield):
-developmentalism
-environmentalism
-sustainability
-global change
-etc.
Prior to 1972 > Two separate cultures and little or no integration
Disciplinary biases: - economics, social change, modernization theory, ecology, biology, etc.
Historical Benchmarks in DEVELOPMENT: concepts, theories, Ideologies:
Readings:
- Adams, W.M. 1991. Green Development: Environment and Sustainability in the Third World. Routledge Press.
- Black, Maggie. 2002. The No-Nonsense Guide to International Development. Verso Publishers.
- Desai, Vandana and Robert B. Potter. 2002. The Companion to Development Studies. Arnold & Oxford University Press.
- Escobar, Arturo. 1995. Encountering Development: The Making and Unmaking of the Third World. Princeton University Press.
- Harrison, Lawrence E. 2000. Underdevelopment Is a State of Mind. Madison Books.
- Holmberg, Johan. 1992. Making Development Sustainable: Redefining Institutions, Policy, and Economics. Island Press.
- Johnston, Bruce F. and William C. Clark. 1982. Redesigning Rural Development: A Strategic Perspective. John's Hopkins University Press.
- Leys, Colin. 1996. The Rise and Fall of Development Theory. Indiana University Press.
- Marshall, T. 1997. Dimensions of sustainable development and scales of policy-making, in S. Baker et al (eds) The Politics of Sustainable Development.
- Rahnema, Majid and Victoria Bawtree. 2001. The Post-Development Reader. Zed Books.
- Sachs, Jeffrey D. 2005. The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time. Foreword by Bono
- UN 2005 Millennium State of the Future - Sustainable Development Index - See: UN Millennium Goals Report 2005 (PDF) - The 2005 Summit - see also 2005 State of the Future by Jerome C. Glenn and Theodore J. Gordon
Historical Benchmarks:
-Beginnings:
-The "enlightenment"
-Marx and Hegel
-Adam Smith
-Mahatma Gandhi, India
-Mao Zsedung, China
-Post-WW II - Truman/Eisenhower Eras:
-1947 Marshall Plan
-January 20, 1949 - Truman's Inaugural Address - later POINT FOUR PROGRAM (precursor to USAID)"benefits of scientific advance and industrial progress must be made available for the 'underdeveloped areas'. What we envisage is a program of development based on the concepts of democratic fair dealing"
-1944 - Bretton Woods conference = World Bank and IMF (International Monetary Fund)
-1945 - United Nations founded-1948/49 - Cold War Begins
-Marshall Plan ("care packages" - World war II)
-Era of modernization theory (growth poles, leading sectors, primate cities, "trickle-down economics, industrialization-urbanization focus, Keynesian economics (government as leading development, de-colonization, etc.)
-1955 - Non-Aligned Movement formed - Bandung Conference (President Nehru of India, Nkrumah of Ghana, Fidel Castro of Cuba, Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, etc....
-THIRD WORLD term and concept launched vs.
-FIRST WORLD (capitalist west) vs.
-SECOND WORLD (Communist Eastern Bloc)
Kennedy Era:
-1960 - John F. Kennedy - UN Decade of Development > Alliance for Progress > Peace Corp > etc.
ODA (Overseas Development Assistance) target set = 1 %GNP for Official Development Assistance
-1969 Lester Pearson Commission (ex-Canadian Prime Minister) = "grand assize" on the impact of development assistance or "aid".
"the climate surrounding foreign aid programs is heavy with disillusion and distrust".
-1972-74 Six-day War + Oil Embargo,
-1973 OPEC founded, etc.
DEVELOPMENT REASSESSED
-Books: The Ugly American, Ugly Russian...
-Paolo Freire, Brazil = opposition to developmentalism = conscientizacion
-1973 E.F. Schumacher = book, Small is Beautiful - "appropriate technology"
-Julius Nyerere = Ujamaa-New theoretical formulations and conflicting perspectives - Post-Green Revolution, Neo-Liberalism, Neo-conservatism, etc....etc.:
-Grassroots Development ("bottom-up" development) - Appropriate technology movement
-Dependency theory grows - Latin America - problems of "terms of trade" - primary vs tertiary economies,
-World Systems Theory
-Monetarism - IPE (International Political Economy) - SAPs (Structural Adjustment Programs)
-Modernization critiqued, e.g. rise of shanty-towns, "hyper-urbanization, Ziph curves (unbalanced urban growth, etc.
NIEO & Cold-War
-1973 - Robert McNamara (President of World Bank) - Third World countries to target funds to lowest 40% (poorest of the poor)
-1974-1975 - Group of 77 = UN Special Sessions = NIEO (New International Economic Order)
-even Henry Kissinger goes along with discussions for "restructuring debt and global financial institutions
-1982 - Mexico suspended interest payments on debt...
-Non-OPEC nations go into crisis = "Lost Decade" of Latin America (1980s)Regionalization Terms / BLOCS:
-North vs. South
-LDC s vs. DCs
-Underdeveloped
-Industrialized
-Developing
-Economies in Transition
-"haves" vs"have-nots"
-World Bank categories, e,g, Least developed, Oil-exporting etc.1980-90s - FADS / MANTRAS in development as "cures/reforms":
-Redistribution with growth
-Meeting Basic Needs
-Integrated Development
-Poorest of the Poor
-Expanding civil society1980-1992 Reagan/Thatcher era = "enabling environment& civil society" (NGO-sector takes-off)
1989 - Fall of Berlin Wall / New World Order ?
1992 - Rio Summit (joining of "sustainability" and "development" as guiding principles (see more under "history of sustainability")
2000 - UN Millennium Declaration - see also UN Millennium Goals (MDGs) -
2001 "9/11"
2003 - Iraq War
2005 - State of the Future - Sustainable Development Index - See: UN Millennium Goals Report 2005 (PDF) - The 2005 Summit - see also 2005 State of the Future by Jerome C. Glenn and Theodore J. Gordon
HISTORICAL SUMMARY - WWII - 1989 (Fall of Berlin Wall)
Theoretical Explanations in Development and Sociocultural Change:
Readings:
- Adams, W.M. 1991. Green Development: Environment and Sustainability in the Third World. Routledge Press.
- Black, Maggie. 2002. The No-Nonsense Guide to International Development. Verso Publishers.
- Desai, Vandana and Robert B. Potter. 2002. The Companion to Development Studies. Arnold & Oxford University Press.
- Escobar, Arturo. 1995. Encountering Development: The Making and Unmaking of the Third World. Princeton University Press.
- Harrison, Lawrence E. 2000. Underdevelopment Is a State of Mind. Madison Books.
- Holmberg, Johan. 1992. Making Development Sustainable: Redefining Institutions, Policy, and Economics. Island Press.
- Johnston, Bruce F. and William C. Clark. 1982. Redesigning Rural Development: A Strategic Perspective. John's Hopkins University Press.
- Leys, Colin. 1996. The Rise and Fall of Development Theory. Indiana University Press.
- Marshall, T. 1997. Dimensions of sustainable development and scales of policy-making, in S. Baker et al (eds) The Politics of Sustainable Development.
- Rahnema, Majid and Victoria Bawtree. 2001. The Post-Development Reader. Zed Books.
- Sachs, Jeffrey D. 2005. The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time. Foreword by Bono
- UN 2005 Millennium State of the Future - Sustainable Development Index - See: UN Millennium Goals Report 2005 (PDF) - The 2005 Summit - see also 2005 State of the Future by Jerome C. Glenn and Theodore J. Gordon
Grand vs. Mini-Models of Social Change:
The Sociocultural System: a Model for Change
Mini-Models:
- Innovation vs. invention
- Diffusion
- Ecological
- Acculturation
- Modernization
- Urbanization
- Psychological
Other Theories:
- Economic - spatial
- Technological
- Historical
- Ideological
- Revolutionary
Categories of Change:
Political, Ideological, and Policy Perspectives on Development:
**International Political Economy & Relations:
Realism / Neo-Realism
-Focus on tne "international system" (sovereign states)
-States are selfish and competitive
-Primary concerns are security and sovereignty
-Primary descriptors: strong vs. weakIdealism:
-Focus on international law and rights
-cooperation possible ("collective security" via multilateral efforts)
-Descriptors: Rich vs. Poor
-Focus on "common good & distributive justice & human rights"
-Ideology: "One Earth" (globalism, world political economy)Neo-Marxism
-World Systems theory
-Dependency theory ("underdevelopment")
-Focus on class relations
-Structure change sought ("terms of trade" and "power relations")
Ideologies in Development:
See: Ideologies of Development, from Jon Moris, Utah Sate University
ECCLECTICISM IN DEVELOPMENT THEORY - Post-1980s Critique / theoretical changes
-Induced development: neo-liberalism critques begins(diffusion of innovations) - social investments as vital contribution rather than drain to economic productivity
Ruttan & Hayami Agricultural Development (1971, 1985) - induced innovation
Esther Boserup (Intensification) - The Conditions of Agricultural Growth
Monte Sahlins (Java/Indonesia) - Agricultural involution In Indonesia-reactions to early Green Revolution (IRRI, CIMMYT, etc)
-problems of land reform, technology, etc...Punjab
-Land reform in Japan/ East Asia
-Drought in Africa (Sahel) - Small-farmer focus - "Farming Systems" - agroecology, agroforestry, etc.
-ICRISAT, IVRD, ICRAF, etc...Johnston, Bruce F. and William C. Clark. 1982. Redesigning Rural Development: A Strategic Perspective. John's Hopkins University Press.
Bi-Modal vs Uni-Modal agricultural/rural development
Three-pronged development - types of services and investments need to be in balance (bi-modal vs uni-modal):
a) Production
b) Consumption
c) OrganizationMotives in Development: political, strategic, economic, humanitarian
Expatriates:
-altruism/humanitarianism
-Money & power
-Social status / desire for higher sandard of living
-travel to "exotic" places
-professional/career advancement
-escape from confining careers / lifestylesNationals / Locals
Recipients / Beneficiaries
Policy and Management Issues in Development:
***See PDF - PPT(Lecture_8: BIOL 549 - Policy In SD)
Readings:
- Adams, W.M. 1991. Green Development: Environment and Sustainability in the Third World. Routledge Press.
- Black, Maggie. 2002. The No-Nonsense Guide to International Development. Verso Publishers.
- Desai, Vandana and Robert B. Potter. 2002. The Companion to Development Studies. Arnold & Oxford University Press.
- Escobar, Arturo. 1995. Encountering Development: The Making and Unmaking of the Third World. Princeton University Press.
- Harrison, Lawrence E. 2000. Underdevelopment Is a State of Mind. Madison Books.
- Holmberg, Johan. 1992. Making Development Sustainable: Redefining Institutions, Policy, and Economics. Island Press.
- Johnston, Bruce F. and William C. Clark. 1982. Redesigning Rural Development: A Strategic Perspective. John's Hopkins University Press.
- Leys, Colin. 1996. The Rise and Fall of Development Theory. Indiana University Press.
- Marshall, T. 1997. Dimensions of sustainable development and scales of policy-making, in S. Baker et al (eds) The Politics of Sustainable Development.
- Rahnema, Majid and Victoria Bawtree. 2001. The Post-Development Reader. Zed Books.
- Sachs, Jeffrey D. 2005. The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time. Foreword by Bono
- Turner II, B.L., William C. Clark, Robert W. Kates, John F. Richards, Jessica T. Mathews, William B. Meyer, et al. 1990. The Earth as Transformed by Human Action: Global and Regional Changes in the Biosphere over the Past 300 Years. Cambridge University Press.
See also condensed version: Human Impact on the Earth by William B. Meyer (Author)
- UN 2005 Millennium State of the Future - Sustainable Development Index - See: UN Millennium Goals Report 2005 (PDF) - The 2005 Summit - see also 2005 State of the Future by Jerome C. Glenn and Theodore J. Gordon
-Definition to theory (What to Why?)
-Theory to practice (Why to How?)
- Policy - strategic”thinking vs.
- Management - routine”implementation
- Decision-making - choosing from competingalternatives
- Policy-making -
Pattern of purposive/goal-oriented choice and pattern of action extending over timeinvolving many decisions, some routineand others not routine (
Policy and Evaluation Research:
- Identification of problems andIssues
- Formulation of policies (strategies) to combat problems
- Implementation & administration
- Monitoring effects of policies
- Evaluation
Means= continuous/process - Formative evaluation
Vs.
Ends= Summative evaluation
Approaches to Policy-making:
- Optimizing vs satisfying”
- Blueprint” vs learning (adapting)
- Feasibility vs. desirability
- Thinking thru vs Acting Out (doing)
- Looking backward vs. Looking forward
Analysis of Effects & Impacts:
- Equity effects: gender, rural vs. urban, ethnic, etc.
- Distributional effects
- Implementation effects, e.g. transparency, accountability, good governance, evaluation
Fallacies in Development (questionable assumptions)
-Development is a unilinear process (progress, positivism)
-Development means imitating the West
-Development Studies only apply to the Third World
-Tendency to blame the victim (pushed by expert desire to find and define problems)
-Development Theories tend to limit options (tendency to focus on one idea...fads)
-Development only brings positivesCautions:
- You can’t always get what you want
- You shouldn’t always want what you can get”
- Most facts are only dimly perceived
- Most truths only partial and changing
- Consensus vs controversy
Dilemmas in Development
-Economic: development for whom ??
-Political: why do countries help each other?
-Individual: who should implement development?Redemptive (Christian ??) Development:
-Fundamental - treats casuses not just symptoms
-Redemptive/Healing - restores image of God, holistic
-Visible - focus on "real-world"
-Personal / small-scale - people-oriented
-Prophetic - consciousness raising, calls for change and repentance
-Empowering - helps people to take control of their own lives and gives identity and worth
-Integrated - meets spiritual and material needs
-Enhances "community fellowship"
-Adaptable / flexible
-Culturally Sensitive
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Historical Benchmarks in the SUSTAINABILITY concept:
Readings:
- Edwards, Andres. 2005. The Sustainability Revolution: Portrait of a Paradigm Shift . New Society Publishers.
- Holmberg, Johan. 1992. Making Development Sustainable: Redefining Institutions, Policy, and Economics. Island Press.
- Leys, Colin. 1996. The Rise and Fall of Development Theory. Indiana University Press.
- National Academy of Science. 1999. Our Common Journey: A Transition Toward Sustainability.
- United Nations General Assembly. 2000. United Nations Millennium Declaration (United Nations, New York), A/RES/55/2. - See = 2000 - UN Millennium Declaration - see also UN Millennium Goals (MDGs)
- WCED 1987. Our Common Future (Brundtland Report). Oxford University Press.
EARLY HISTORICAL ROOTS:
-19th century: European parks/city-beautiful ideas (hunting preserves)
-George Perkins Marsh, 1864: Man and Nature: or, Physical Geography as Modified by Human Action.
-Colonialism - Conservation in the tropics, hunting preserves, etc.:
-Kew (Royal Botanical Society)
-"ecological managerialism", (anti-erosion in tropics)
-Dustbowl in America - effects in Africa, India, etc.
-IOPN (1934)
-IUCN (1950) Parks & Hunting (safaris - Hemingway, Teddy Roosevelt)-Scientific/Ecologic Global Study Research begins:
-Michigan studies (succession along lake, etc.)
-Glomar Explorer (undersea work)
-1957 (IGY) - Antarctica, Oceanography
-Global climate modeling begins
-MAB-IBP (1960-70s)
-Man's Role in Changing the Face of the Earth. University of Chicago, 1956.-Ecological Crisis writings:
-1970 Paddock brothers- book: Famine 1975
-Rachel Carson, Silent Spring
-Garrett Hardin, Tragedy of the Commons
-Rene Dubos, Only One Earth
-Barry Commoner...on nuclear problem, etc
-Donella Meadows et al (Club of Rome), Limits to GrowthWCS = World Conservation Strategy
Precursors:
-IUCN (1969) New Delhi Assemby
-1972 Stockholm Conference - EARTH DAY
-UNEP founded (1972)
-1974 - Regional Seas Programme - UNCLOS I, II, III
-1977 - UN Conference on Desertification (Sahel Drought) - PACD (Plan of Action to combat desertification)
-1974 UN Conf. on New & Renewable Sources of Energy - Declaration of the Cocoyoc (Mexico) - ECODEVELOPMENT = linking poverty, development and environment
-1976 - UN Habitat Conference (Vancouver)
(1987) - Brundtland Report - UN Report "Our Common Future" of 1987 (commonly known as the Brundtland Report*)1987 - Earth as Transformed by Human Action (ET) Symposium. Clark University. October 25-30. Worcester, MA.
See book: Turner II, B.L., William C. Clark, Robert W. Kates, John F. Richards, Jessica T. Mathews, William B. Meyer, et al. 1990. The Earth as Transformed by Human Action: Global and Regional Changes in the Biosphere over the Past 300 Years. Cambridge University Press.
See also condensed version: Human Impact on the Earth by William B. Meyer (Author)
1990 - Launch of the ESSE consortium (Earth System Science Education):
Website = ESSE21 (Earth System Science Education for the 21st Century) - many resources - see LLU-ESSE21 Project -
See also:
- What is ESS (Earth System Science)?
- Earth System Science in a Nutshell - online module
- Bretherton Diagram (full model)
- IGARSS '97 Paper - "What is Earth System Science" by Johnson, Ruzek, Kalb - Download as MS Word Document
1992 - Rio Summit and Agenda 21 / The Earth Charter (Rio Declaration)
-PREPCOM 1 -4 (1989 - 92)
-Global conventions: climate (Montreal Protocol), biodiversity, forest principles
-Earth Charter (Declaration of Principles)
-Agenda 21 - Program of Action
-New financial resources/mechanisms
-New Institutions, e.g. permanent Secretariats (Commission on Sustainable Development), Earth University (Costa University), GEF, IPCC, Regional groups, e.g. forum of "Islands states", etc....etc.
-New organizations (NGOs & GRSOs) - GLOBAL FORUM e.g. IIED,1997 UNEP - Nairobi Declaration
1999 - Our Common Journey: A Transition toward Sustainability. NAS (National Academy of Sciences).
-FORUM on sustainability science (Harvard, etc.)
-Key Documents (FORUM) and Member Network
-Mexico City Synthesis Workshop:
Science and Technology for Sustainable Development. International Council for Science, Initiative on Science and Technology for Sustainability, and Third World Academy of Sciences. 2002. ICSU Series on Science for Sustainable Development, No. 9. Paris: ICSU.
http://www.icsu.org/Gestion/img/ICSU_DOC_DOWNLOAD/70_DD_FILE_Vol9.pdfThe Workshop brought together leaders of, and participants in, more than a dozen fact-finding studies, discussions, conferences, and workshops conducted by the international scientific and technology community over the two years leading up to the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD).
2000 - Beginnings of Biocomplexity in the Environment Research Agenda - NAS (National Academy of Sciences) and NSF (National Science Foundation)
ex. Complex Environmental Systems: Synthesis for Earth, Life,
and Society in the 21st Century-- abstract - full report (PDF)
a ten-year outlook for environmental research and education
Click here to go to the NSF ERE site.2000 -UNEP - Malmo Declaration
2000 - Millennium Development Summit & MDGs - 2000-2015 -
**Millennium Declaration - see also UN Millennium Goals (MDGs)
-UN Millennium Project (Earth Institute and others)
-Capacity 21 - UNDP - Agenda 21 resources
-Earthscan Books - UN Millennium Development Library
-THE MILLENNIUM PROJECT - GLOBAL FUTURES STUDIES & RESEARCH (UNU)
-UNDP - Millennium Development Goals
-UN MDGs - list of them...
-Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (WRI and others)
-UN Habitat - MDGs
-HDR (Human Development Resport)
-Investing in Development - A Practical Plan to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Millennium Project2002 - Johannesburg Summit - World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) - see LINKAGES (IISD)
-IISD -International Institute for Sustainable Development - portal of documents
-Road from Johannesburg: What was achieved and the way forward (PDF)
-WSSD Plan of Implementation - UN/ESA
-WSSD – Johannesburg Declaration - UN/ESAKofi Annan (May 2002 speech) - WEHAB (SDIN transcript)
What Did the World Summit on Sustainable Development Mean for Conservation?: Reflections on the Implications of the WSSD Outcomes - IUCN (PDF document)
-WEHAB Framework Papers (Water, Energy, Health, Agriculture, Biodiversity)
- A Framework for Action on Agriculture
- A Framework for Action on Energy
- A Framework for Action on Health and Environment
- A Framework for Action on Water & Sanitation
- A Framework for Action on Biodiversity & Ecosystem Management
2001-2003 - GISD - (Geographic Information for Sustainable Development)
2005 - One Planet, Many People: Atlas of Our Changing Environment
A collection of spectacular "before and after" satellite images for 80 sites around the world, the United Nations Environment Programme's One Planet, Many People documents the dramatic and, in some cases, damaging changes sweeping the earth. A stellar panel--including Steve Lonergan , director of UNEP's Division of Early Warning and Assessment--launched the book in a live webcast.
-2005 - Launch of the Earth Portal (ManyOne.net) - ESRI User Conference (July 27, 2005) - ManyOne - Earth Portal - resources
-UN Millennium Goals Report 2005 (PDF) - The 2005 Summit - see 2005 State of the Future by Jerome C. Glenn and Theodore J. Gordon
-May 2005 MEA (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment)
See = Overview Synthesis Report: Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Synthesis Report downloads - PDF) - SEE also - MEA Powerpoint Presentations (Findings - full slide show) (20-minute presentation) (MA Board Statement)2006 - NRC (National Research Council) of the National Academy of Sciences. Worshop Documents: Contributions of Remote Sensing for Decisions about Human Welfare (January 30-31, 2006.) -
- See White Papers.BACK TO TOP
Definitions of sustainability and sustainable development:
See: What is Sustainable Development? Goals, Indicators, Values, and Practice.
Kates, Robert W., Thomas M. Parris, and Anthony A. Leiserowitz. 2005. Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development 47(3): 8-21. http://sustainabilityscience.org/ists/docs/whatisSD_env_kates_0504.pdf1. Kai Lee (Compass & Gyroscope) :
"Three goals that overlap & potentially conflict:
a) respect for environmental constraints to avoid irreversible damage to natural systems,
b) economic efficiency--enough to permit prosperity among a great majority of societal members
c) Fair enough (equity) in outcome to maintain citizens'support for the governing order.
Other factors:
a) Legacy - links our interest with those of our descendents
b) Continuity - must begin from the present unequitable/unsustainable world we now live in.
2. John Haskett (USDA/ARS):
Sustainability can be broken down into three constituent parts:
a) Integrity of the physical/biological system (balance between input and output)
b) additional layer of social and cultural feasibility
c) socially and ethically desireable
A system can then be said to be sustainable "overall" when it can be demonstrated that it can be maintained indefinitely within its physical/biological parameters, that it is within the range of possible behaviors of the society in which it occurs, and that its persistence in its current state is in fact desirable.
3. Heather Callahan (Choosing a Sustainable Future):
"Sustainable development is a strategy for improving the quality of life while preserving the environment for the future...living of 'interest' rather than consuming natural capital"
4. WCED (World Commission on Environment and Development) and WCS (World Conservation Strategy):
"sustainable development is founded on responsibility for nature and to all people now and into the future. To be sustainable, development must:
*maintain the ecological processes that sustain the productivity, adaptability, and capacity for renewal of lands, waters, and all life on Earth.
*maintain biological diversity--the variety of life in all its forms.
*use renewable resources at rates within their capacity for renewal, and nonrenewable resources at rates that ensure their availability until they can be replaced by acceptable substitutes.
*Be economically efficient, producing optimal combination of outputs by means of the most efficient combination of inputs...
*Be equitable, expanding opportunities for the disadvantaged today, and passing to future generations and inheritance of assets at least as valuable as that of today.
*Respect the diversity of human cultures and values.
*Empower individuals and communities to control their own lives, and determine their own social and economic objectives.
5. EPA - EMAP (Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program):
Sustainability is the ability of an ecosystem to sustain its potential or actual biological productivity over the long term.
6. Robert Costanza (University of Maryland):
Given working definitions of autonomy and self-organization, we can define sustainability as follows:
Sustainability is the relationship between dynamic human economic systems and larger, dynamic, but normally slower-changing ecological systems, such that human life can continue indefinitely, human individuals can flourish, and human cultures can develop--but also a relationship in which the effects of human activities remain within the bounds so as not to destroy the health and integretiy of self-organizing systems that provide the environmental context for these activities. (Source: Ecosystem Health: New Goals for Environmental Management.Island Press).
7. CGIAR-TAC:
Sustainable agriculture should involve the successful management of resources for agriculture to satisfy human needs while maintaining or enhancing the quality of the environment and conserving natural resources (TAC-CGIAR 1988).
8. ZPG:
A society is NOT sustainable when it is consuming renewable resources faster than they can be replenished. Together, the population, its standard of living, and the technologies used to support its lifestyles determine whether or not a society is sustainable. And easy way to express this relationship is I=PAT; or Impact = Popilation X Affluence X Technology.
9. 1988 Council of Educators in Landscpae Architecture:
Developments which contribute to human well-being and at the same time are in harmony with the natural environment. While human activity will have altered native patterns, a sustainable landscape will work with native conditions in its structure and function.
10. UNCED 1987:
A sustainable condition for this planet is one in which there is stability for both physical and social systems, achieved through meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
11. Robert Chambers:
"sustainable rural livelihoods" = secure access to sufficient stocks and flows of food and cash to meet basic needs.
12. Harvard - Forum on Science and Technology for Sustainability (Kates and Paris):
"This transition is seen as one where a stabilizing world population meets its needs and reduces hunger and poverty while maintaining the planet's life support systems and living resources"--Kates & Parris (1).
Classification of Environmental Security Perspectives and Ideologies:
Source: Unpublished paper: Barbara Baudot (St. Lawrence College). Environmental Security and the Res Publica: An Analysis of Environmentalism and an Alternative for the Future. Presented at a conference on Environmental Security 1993, Chantilly, France.
1993) ICSE/SORISTEC Conference Participant (International Consortium for the Study of Environmental Security). Held January 6-9, 1993 in Chantilly, France. Geopolitics of the Environment and the New World Order: Limits, Conflicts, and Insecurity.
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The NGO/GRSO Phenomenon: Non-governmental Organizations and Grassroots Support Organizations, etc.
Key Readings:
Weiss, Thomas G. and Leon Gordenker. 1996. NGOs, the UN and Global Governance. Boulder, Colorado: Lynne Rienner Publishers.
Fisher, Julie. 1993. The Road from Rio: Sustainable Development and the Nongovernmental Movement in the Third World. Praeger.
Role of Civil Society and the Enabling Environment
-transparency
-good governance
-accountabilityCategories of Development Actors:
Types Public Private Donors States (Bilateral) Foundations Multilateral Agencies Individuals Implementors Government Agencies PVOs, NGOs Consulting Firms ("Beltway Bandits") Recipients States PVSs, NGOs, Individuals/Groups .
Types of Organizations in Development
**Other Classifications: Julie Fisher. 1993. The Road from Rio. Praeger.
a) LDAs = Local Development Organizations
b) LG = Local government
c) LINGOS = Little NGOs (Indonesia)
d) INGO = International NGO
e) GONGOs = Government sponsored NGOs
f) GRO = grassroots organizations
g) GRSOs = Grassroots support organizations
h) IAs = Interest Associations
i) BINGOs = Big NGOsWATCHDOG NGOs
- Better Giving Bureau - National Charity Reports index
- Developmentex - The Development Executive Group
- Charity Watch - American Institute of Philanthropy
- Idealist - Action without Borders
- Evangelical Council for Financial accountability
- GuideStar - Connecting People with Nonprofit Information
- Charity Choice.com -
- Wall Watchers - Ministry Watch
EXAMPLES OF ORGANIZATIONS
1. Multilateral Official, multi-member-sovereign state-based entity and relationships are treaty-based under international law. PAHO, UN System, IADB, IBRD (World Bank), UNDP, EU (European Union), WHO, FAO, UNICEF, UNRISD, UNEP, UNFPA
DAC-OECD Glossary - Development Co-operation Directorate of the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) - see "About the OECD"
2. Bilateral Official, single-state (inter-state) relationships; agreements between two sovereign states. SIDA, USAID, DANIDA, DIFID, GTZ, CIDA-ACDI, etc.
See: DAC-OECD Glossary - Development Co-operation Directorate of the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) - see "About the OECD"
3. IGOs - Inter-governmental Organizations (UN and EU perspective) and NGOs
See: Strengthening the Partnership between the
United Nations and Non-governmental Organizations"Semi-official" non-governmental organization (non-state actors) that function in a "multilateral" manner. often with support and legitimacy granted by an international board or charter, often with some official recognition from states (Bilaterals or Multilaterals). The term is also used by many as a generic term for civil society in general, to distinguish non-profit vs. for-profit organizations. CGIAR (Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research) - Centers - World Agroforestry Center, IWMI INCAP (Instituto Nutricional para Centro America y Panama)
InterAction - American Council for Voluntary International Action:
InterAction is the largest alliance of U.S.-based international development and humanitarian nongovernmental organizations. With more than 160 members operating in every developing country, we work to overcome poverty, exclusion and suffering by advancing social justice and basic dignity for all.
ICRC - International Committee of theRed Cross
IDRC - International Development Research Centre (Canada)
Earth Council (Costa Rica)
IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change)
See: The UN and Civil Society
Partnerships for Sustainable Development (DESA)
CSD - Commission on Sustainable Development
4. PVOs (U.S.A.)
See: Advisory Committee On Voluntary Foreign Aid (ACVFA)
Private Voluntary Organization (most commonly UN/EU definition), also an NGO but some use this term (U.S.) for:
A) Sectarian (church-based or "faith-based" organizations)
B) Non-sectarian (non-church-based organizations)
Non-sectarian:
InterAction - American Council for Voluntary International Action:
InterAction is the largest alliance of U.S.-based international development and humanitarian nongovernmental organizations. With more than 160 members operating in every developing country, we work to overcome poverty, exclusion and suffering by advancing social justice and basic dignity for all.
PACT (Private Agencies Collaborating Together, Inc. ),
Mercy Corps (MC)
