Sustainability: a voyage, rather than a harbour …

1. Sustainability: a voyage, rather than a harbour …

2. Sustainability: a concept to describe the relationship betweenpeople, their environment, & its resources • introduced by World Conservation Strategy 1980: integrating conservation & development is necessary “… because unless patterns of development that also conserve living resources are widely adopted, it will become impossible to meet the needs of today without foreclosing the achievement of tomorrow’s.” • popularised by WCED 1987 Our common future: “… sustainable development is that which meets the needs of current generations without prejudicing the needs of future generations.” • The twin pillars of sustainable development:respect and concern for people & ecosystems … (Caring for the earth: IUCN/WWF/UNEP 1991) Development is likely to be sustainable if: • it improves the quality of human life • it conserves the Earth’s vitality & diversity

3. Sustainability: the focus of international dialogue about “environment & development” • UN Conference on the Human Environment (Stockholm) 1972 • UN Conference on Environment & Development (Rio) 1992 “… nothing less than a transformation of our attitudes & behaviour ….” www.un.org/geninfo/bp/enviro.html • UN Millennium Development Goals 2000www.un.org/millenniumgoals- A Sen. 1999. Development as Freedom • Mainstreamed into contemporary culture,but not yet sufficient transformation of behaviour …- Tallories Declaration - Education for Sustainabilitywww.iisd.org/educate/declare.htm- The Rough Guide to a Better World- ….

4. Sustainability initiativesInternationally www.un.org/millenniumgoals

5. Sustainability: An elegant concept, but difficult to define ... sustainable development sustainability place environmental time time • complex, many dimensions • dynamic, not static • how to define, measure & monitor? “a voyage rather than a harbour”(Carew-Reid et al 1993) economic people social prosperity ACT Sustainability Policy 2003 www.sustainability.act.gov.au Barbier 1987

6. Sustainability implies interdependence “recognition of interdependence is at the core … • the health of society depends on environmental services (natural, spiritual) and on economic health (“hard to be green when you’re in the red”) • economic health depends on access to resources, the environment’s capacity to assimilate waste, and on the skills of people • the health of the environment & its capacity to provide services depends on structure & efficiency of the economy & society’s respect for the environment…” ACTSustainability Policy 2003 - www.sustainability.act.gov.au

7. Implementing sustainabilityis not straightforward ... • “the sustainable forest is controversial for good reason: any one definition represents particular values at others’ expense”“Sustainable is a political word that denotes conflict. It symbolises resistance to change that people do not want, and demands for change that they do. It identifies a search for means to stabilise conditions and a social process that is bound to change them.” (Romm 1993) • contemporary Australian examples:agriculture, forests, transport, waste, water …

8. Sustainability initiativesInternationally www.wbcsd.org

9. Sustainability initiativesAustralian examples National: • Ecologically sustainable developmentwww.environment.gov.au/esd/index.html State: • South Australia Sustainability & Climate Change Officewww.premcab.sa.gov.au/dpc/department_sustainability.html • Victorian Commissioner for Environmental Sustainabilitywww.ces.vic.gov.au Local: • links from: www.environment.gov.au/esd/links/local.htmlwww.marion.sa.gov.au/web/webmar.nsf/lookup/Sustainability Community • www.ecoaction.com.au • slc.anu.edu.au

10. Sustainability: easier to know when we’re regressing? “It is impossible to solve today’s problems by thinking the way we thought when we created the problems” - Einstein

11. Sustainability: how might we begin to understand it? 1. Signs of unsustainability … (Caring for the Earth 1991)- rising populations & resource consumption- poverty & debt- resource depletion- pollution & global change … 2. Indicators of human development/ environmental health …- UN Development Program HD Index (hdr.undp.org);- World Bank Sustainable Development Report (econ.worldbank.org/wdr);- Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (www.millenniumassessment.org, www.greenfacts.org) 3. Indicators of (environmental) sustainability …- global sustainability reporting framework (www.globalreporting.org)- global Environmental Sustainability Index (www.yale.edu/esi)- sectoral or national State of the Environment reporting

12. Sustainability reporting frameworks: global multisectoral www.globalreporting.org

13. Sustainability reporting frameworks: global multisectoral www.globalreporting.org/ReportingFramework/G3Guidelines/

14. Sustainability indicatorsInternationally mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg/default.aspx

15. Environmental Sustainability Index: overall scores www.yale.edu/esi > Summary for Policymakers

16. ESI: clustering for comparison & response www.yale.edu/esi > Summary for Policymakers

17. State of the Environment reporting variety of forms & sources:examples: • Conservation of the world’s ecosystems UN Environment Program: World Conservation Monitoring Centre www.unep-wcmc.org • State of the World’s Forests; State of the World’s Fisheries & Aquaculture UN Food & Agriculture Organisation www.fao.org/forestry; www.fao.org/fi • Environmental quality and access to resources World Resources Institute (USA-based NGO) earthtrends.wri.org • Australia’s State of the Environment reportingwww.environment.gov.au/soe

18. More ways to engage withresponses to the challenge of sustainability More reading & listening… • What is sustainability? • www.aries.mq.edu.au/portal/links/sustain.htm • The Natural Edge Project www.naturaledgeproject.net • The Rough Guide to a Better World www.dfid.gov.uk/roughguide/default.asp • The ABC’s Rick Farley Lecture Series www.abc.net.au/rn/bigideas/stories/2007/1842533.htm