Sustainable Development

What is Sustainability?

Most people in the world today have an immediate and intuitive sense of the urgent need to build a sustainable future. They may not be able to provide a precise definition of "sustainability" indeed, even experts debate that issue but they clearly sense the danger and the need for informed action. They smell the problem in the air; they taste it in the water, they see it in more congested living spaces and blemished landscapes; they read about it in the newspapers and hear about it on radio and television. The stories that carry the message may be about pollution alerts or the bans on driving and closed beaches that result from them, or about hunger and famine, growing health problems such as asthma and allergies, unsafe drinking water, "greenhouse gases" and the threat of global warming and rising ocean levels, the destruction of the world's forests and the expansion of its deserts, the disappearance of species, the large-scale death of fish and birds caused by oil spills and pollution, or about forest fires, floods, dust storms, draughts and other so-called "natural" disasters. Or they may be about many other matters suggesting increasing levels of distress and desperation: inexplicable violence and outbreaks of war, mass migrations, the rise of intolerance and racism, the denial of democratic freedoms, corrupt practices that enrich the few at the expense of the many, rising prices and resource scarcities, growing unemployment and slipping standards of living for many of the world's inhabitants. Yet, if the future looks increasingly problematic, there is no retreating into the past, into time-honoured practices and values, for these, too, have been irreversibly altered by the profound transformation of society in the wake of the industrial and post-industrial revolutions. Attempts to do so usually end in frustration and sometimes in violence and nihilism. Some important and interrelated factors contributing to the rising concerns and problems of people around the world are the following: the rapid growth of the worlds population and its changing distribution, the persistence of widespread poverty, the growing pressures placed on the environment by the worldwide spread of industry and the use of new and more intensive forms of agriculture, the continuing denial of democracy, violations of human rights and the rise of ethnic and religious conflicts and violence, gender inequity, and the very notion of "development" itself, what it has come to mean and how it is measured. These factors are probably more accurately regarded as symptoms rather than as causes as they themselves are the consequences of thinking, values and practices in social, economic and political affairs that have put the world on an "unsustainable" path. It is, therefore, not only necessary to deal with the problems, but even more essential, to see the interrelations among these problems and recognize the fundamental need to develop

a new perspective rooted in the values of sustainability. It is this need which makes education the key to creating a sustainable future.

Background of Sustainable Development

Sustainable development is a new term that grew out of the conservation/environmental movement of the 1970's. While the conservation/environmental movement asked questions about preserving the Earth's resources, sustainable development includes questions about how human decisions affect the Earth's environment. At its heart is the simple idea of ensuring a better quality of life for everyone, now and for generations to come. A widely-used international definition is 'development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs'. In other words, when people make decisions about how to use the Earth's resources such as forests, water, minerals, gems, wildlife, etc., they must take into account not only how much of these resources they are using, what processes they used to get these resources and who has access to these resources. Are enough resources going to be left for your grandchildren to use and will the environment be left as you know it today? The term "Sustainable Development" in itself links the concepts of society, environment, economy and development. "Sustainable development is a simple idea of ensuring, through new lifestyles, a better quality of life for everyone, now and for generations to come. " The concept of sustainable development has been around for a number of decades: Some landmarks along the way 1972 The United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm considers the need for a common outlook and for common principles to inspire and guide the peoples of the world in the preservation and enhancement of the human environment. 1987 The World Commission on Environment and Development chaired by the Prime Minister of Norway, Mrs Gro Harlem Bruntland, publishes a report Our Common Future (The Bruntland Report) which brings the concept of sustainable development onto the international agenda. It also provides the henceforth most commonly used definition of sustainable development describing it as development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

1989 The issues raised by Our Common Future are discussed at the UN General Assembly leading to the passage of resolution 44/228 which calls for a UN Conference on Environment and Development. 1992 Nearly 180 countries meet at the 'Earth Summit' (UN Conference on Environment and Development) in Rio de Janeiro to discuss how to achieve sustainable development. The Summit agrees the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development which sets out 27 principles supporting sustainable development. Also agreed is a plan of action, Agenda 21, and a recommendation that all countries should produce national sustainable development strategies. Why do we need Sustainable Development? Because the need for development is as great as ever, but future development cannot simply follow the model of the past. This is true for the world as a whole, and for every community in every country. The global picture is striking. A quarter of the world's people have to survive on incomes of less than US$1 a day. A fifth have no access to health care. Huge though the challenge may seem, it is becoming larger: the world's population will increase by half, another three billion people, by 2050. In the past, economic activity tended to mean more pollution and wasteful use of resources. To clean up the mess has been costly. A damaged environment impairs quality of life and, at worst, may threaten long term economic growth for example, as a result of climate change. And too many people have been left behind, excluded from the benefits of development but often suffering from the side-effects. We have to find a new way forward. This is the challenge of sustainable development. For the future, we need ways to achieve economic, social and environmental objectives at the same time, and consider the longer term implications of decisions. We need to improve the efficiency with which we use resources. We need thriving cities, towns and villages based on strong economies, good access to services and attractive and safe surroundings. And we need international co-operation to overcome environmental problems, to allow trade to flourish and to help the world's poorest people as we move towards a more global society.

Towards a Deeper Reflection on Sustainable Development In the light of the vast array of definitions and descriptions of sustainable development, the best way to understand it is an evocative vision rather than as a nearly defined concept. We can hence delimit the notion of sustainable development as follows: Sustainable development is perhaps more a moral precept than a scientific concept, linked as much with notions of fairness as with theories of global warning. Sustainable development involves the natural sciences and economics, but it is primarily a matter of culture. It is connected with values people cherish and with the ways in which they perceive their relationship with others. Sustainable development is a response to the unavoidable need to develop a new approach to relations between peoples and a new understanding of habitat the foundation and nourishing source of human existence. Sustainable development occurs when we acknowledge the relationship between human needs and the natural environment. The interdependence of humans and the environment necessitates a refusal of the obsessive pursuit of any single development or environmental objective to the detriment of others. The environment cannot be protected in a way that leaves half of humanity in poverty. Linking social, economic and environmental concerns is a crucial aspect of sustainable development. Creating such links demands a deeper, more ambitious way of thinking about education, one that retains a commitment to critical analysis while fostering creativity and innovation. In short, it demands an ethic and value system sensitive to the value of cultural identity and multicultural dialogue. To avoid false dilemmas, we must understand sustainable development as a new and viable long-term relationship between human beings and their habitat, one that places humanity in the forefront. But from the methodological point of view, we can also affirm what sustainable development should be by formulating its opposite: Sustainable development does not embody a new, fully formed theory of human existence. Rather, it incarnates a plea for integral thinking thinking responsive to the complexity of the real systems of everyday life. Sustainable development is not a magic answer; it is a new vision of the future. It requires, on the one hand, that the countries of the North take radical steps to address problems related to consumption, production and their impact. On the other hand, developing countries must promote fairness, alleviate poverty, reinforce justice and

democracy, adopt development strategies that benefit all strata of society, and address today's serious environmental problems.

Sustainable development is not a new method of analysis. It is a new way of looking at reality. It requires that we reject four intolerable and commonplace features of contemporary life that put the future of the world in jeopardy: (a) inequality, caused by excessive confidence in the distribution of savings revenue in times of crisis; (b) instability, brought about by an excess of State intervention, lax monetary policies and inflationary processes; (c) inefficiency, caused by countries turning in on themselves, accompanied by market shifts that seriously affect the rural areas; and finally, (d) exclusion and inequality which are still very much in evidence and wrongly accepted as inevitable. Sustainable development is not an end in itself but a way of managing possible feasible scenarios for the future and fostering new approaches to social dialogue. It is about searching for ways of promoting new equilibria, new priorities and new options and possibilities, while maintaining harmony in all things. The idea of sustainable development brings nothing new. It is an invitation to goodwill in fostering prevention, risk control and harmony. It contributes to the creation of new synergy among social actors and of strategies that promote more efficient and transparent governance. Sustainable development is not a new way of dividing society into sectors. It reflects and promotes a quest for unity, a respect for multiculturality, acceptance of diversity and integrative responses to the complex problems we are obliged to face. Sustainable development does not imply the affirmation of a neo-liberal economic model; rather, it proposes (a) a world of solidarity that would accompany profound changes in existing economic arrangements; and (b) a reassurance of democratic procedures. Sustainable development is not new utopian vision. Rather, the call for sustainable development is an alarm bell set off by the lack of respect for humane values in everyday life. Sustainable development is not an abstraction. Rather, it is rooted in common sense and gives value to what is essential, thus placing it at the service of new ways of living. A commitment to sustainable development is in no way a search for new forms of government that ensure the continued exercise of power by minorities in ways that reflect a disregard for human security, freedom and autonomy. Equitable Development

This concept often presented as a corollary to sustainable development is a relatively new element in the debate. It has been put forward by certain economists and social scientists in response to the growing inequalities within and between countries. Proponents of equitable development propose to establish a new international division of labour oriented towards promoting more equitable trade relations between developed and developing countries. Such a scheme, it is contended, would make it possible for developing countries to finance efforts aimed at reducing poverty, improving environmental protection, education, employment, housing, health care including family planning and social security. However, such policies would only be possible if the developed countries, which hold the reins of world economic power, become convinced that the long-term security and well being of all countries depends on a concerted campaign to overcome demographic and environmental problems. At present, there is little evidence that is about to occur. Moreover, while no one would deny the need to strengthen the economies of developing countries and improve the welfare of their peoples, the experience of the past decades demonstrates that in the struggle for justice and against poverty, a major effort to establish, consolidate and extend democracy is often a prerequisite. Perhaps the road to economic reform begins with political reform. Most proponents of equitable development insist that if constraints are required, those who should make the greatest sacrifices are the affluent, both because their lifestyles are imposing the heaviest burden on the environment and because they can best afford to bear the burden. Thus, the debate over environmental issues tends, inevitably, to interact with the struggle for greater equity. Behind both issues, of course, is the reality of growing populations whose basic needs must be met without destroying the ecosystems of the planet. In the context of education, to work towards sustainable development means: - To place a system of values and ethics at the centre of society's concerns. - To encourage a meeting of disciplines, a linking of knowledge and of expertise, and to render out understanding more integrated and contextualized and so, in turn, to open up new horizons for justice and equality (equity). - To encourage lifelong learning, starting at the beginning of life and grounded in life one based on a passion for a radical transformation of society and a change in the moral character of society. - To advance new conceptions rooted both in traditional scientific rationality and in popular beliefs and consciousness, drawing on these as a source of humane understanding and a pointer to collective wisdom.

- To encourage the refinement of locally based processes of change and of integral community advancement, one not marked by a passive receptivity to or a mindless repetition of homogeneous development models. - To give priority to fundamental critical questions, to the method as a means of approaching tangible realities, by promoting dialogue among the sectors of society and a real interdisciplinary approach. - To elevate once again the importance of social subjectivity and of the qualitative dimension of social life. - To encourage new alliances between the State and civil society in promoting citizens' emancipation mediated by the practice of democratic principles while fully acknowledging the complexities inherent to every human reality. - To promote a culture of citizenship and give value to social actors (such as, nongovernmental organizations and other sub-groups). - To mobilize society in a concerted effort so as to eliminate proverty and all forms of violence and injustice that each day work to jeopardize the future and the maintenance of a good quality of life. - To valorize aesthetics, the creative use of the imagination, an openness to risk and flexibility, and a willingness to explore new options. - To assert the importance of local communities and their ties with the entire Earth and, indeed, with the universal. - To identify and pursue new human projects in the context of a planetary consciousness and a personal and communal awareness of global responsibility. - To engender new hopes and ways of channelling the valuable energies and resources of entire nations. - To seek understanding, to anticipate, to imagine and to contextualize. - To reach a stage in which the possibility of change and the real desire for change are accompanied by a concerted, active participation in change, at the appropriate time, in favour of a sustainable future for all. - To instil in the minds of all people a conviction of the values for peace in such a way as to promote the creation of new lifestyles and living patterns. - To develop to the maximum the potential of all human beings throughout their lives so that they can achieve self-fulfilment and full self-expression with the collective achievement of a viable future.