Author : Rumana Reza
Introduction:
International system depends on a complex set of interactions between people, economic systems and the natural environment. The rapid growth of the 21st century has affected these relationships, both positively and negatively. Too much pollution has put great stress on the environment. Economic growth has created huge wealth in some areas of the world, but left others behind. That’s why we see the word “sustainable development” everywhere these days. To understand the essential elements that support healthy societies and a healthy planet, we have to know about it. This assignment will try to explain the term, known as sustainable development and also examine the complex relationships between the economy, society and the environment.
What is sustainable
development:
There are so many
definitions on sustainable development. Simply, we can define it as a linkage
among economy, society & environment. Moreover, it’s a process which is maintaining
a delicate balance between the human need to improve lifestyles and feeling of
well-being on one hand, and preserving natural resources and ecosystems, on
which we and future generations depend. It doesn’t imply in any encroachment
upon national sovereignty.
In 1960’s, to give a concept
on sustainable development, at first, Arthur Lewis focused on development.
According to him, when people achieve the power to select with own choice then
it’d be called as development. He also admitted that using of nature and
environment at different ways is the other name of development. In 1970,
sustainability was known as a equilibrium with basic ecological support system.
In 1987, under the direction of Norway’s
ex prime minister Brundtland , the United Nations
released the Brundtland Report, which defines sustainable
development as 'development which meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.'[1]
Types of Sustainable Development:
Conceptually sustainable development has three parts:
1. Economically sustainability
2. Social sustainability
3.Environmental sustainability
But there is a debate on the types of
sustainable development. According to scholars who work on indigenous people,
say that it has 4 pillars:
1. Economical
2. Social
3. Environmental
4. Cultural bio-diversity
Sustainable Development and Economic Growth:
Every economy must use some nonrenewable resources, but
sustainable development implies conservation or recycling of these resources
and greater reliance on renewable. On the consumption side, an important distinction
must be drawn between wants and needs. In contrast to the standard economic
paradigm, in which “dollar votes” command the marketplace and determine which
goods are to be produced, sustainable development implies putting a priority on
supplying basic needs before luxury goods. Also in contrast to standard
economic growth theory, sustainability implies limits to macroeconomic scale. Rather than projecting rates of growth indefinitely into the future,
some maximum level is postulated based on the carrying capacity of the area. This in turn implies a maximum level of population above
which carrying capacity—the level of population and consumption that can be sustained
by the available natural resource base—will be exceeded and living standards
must fall.
Population and Sustainable Development:
For developing economies with rapid population growth rates, it means that limiting population growth is a critical element in successful development. For industrialized economies, the role of population is different. In much of Europe and in Japan, population has stabilized, and for countries such as Germany and Russia concern has shifted to an emerging pattern of population decline. In the United States, however, population increase continues to put pressure on both national and global ecosystems. U.S. per capita consumption means that each additional U.S. resident creates several times the additional resource demand of, for example, an additional resident of India. This means that population policy must be an essential element of sustainable development. Population policy must include elements of education, social policy, economic policy, and health care, including contraceptive availability, and often runs into conflict with established religious and social mores. Still, this difficult area, generally little considered in standard economic development models, is crucial for sustainability.
Agriculture and Sustainable Development:
Modern food production is based on input-intensive agriculture, meaning that it depends heavily on additional fertilizer, pesticides, water for irrigation, and mechanization. All of these in turn depend on fossil fuel energy.
Traditional agriculture, based on solar energy, animal power, and
human labor, has generally produced lower yields than modern agriculture. The
concept of sustainable
agriculture combines elements of traditional and modern
techniques. It emphasizes maximum use of renewable resources such as crop wastes
and animal manure, as well as crop rotation, intercropping of different plant types,
agro forestry, efficient irrigation, minimum-till techniques, and integrated
pest management. It is still an open question whether this form of agriculture
can equal the yields achieved with input-intensive techniques, but its
environmental impacts are less damaging, or even beneficial to the environment.
Energy and Sustainable Development:
A similar issue arises as to whether renewable energy sources (including solar energy) have the capacity to replace fossil fuel dependence. The challenge is a daunting one, because renewable now supply less than 10 percent of energy in the industrialized nations. The picture is different in developing nations, where a large portion of current energy supply comes from biomass (wood, plant, and animal wastes). Efficient use of biomass and maintenance of forest resources can thus play an important role in energy policy.. The industrialized nations now account for three-quarters of global energy use (though only one-quarter of global population), increased energy consumption in developing nations could possibly be offset by reductions in rich nation energy use. Negotiations over global climate policy suggest that such a Trade off may be essential to reduce overall human impacts on the world’s climate.
Sustainable Management for Natural Resources:
Sustainable natural resource management implies a combination of economic and ecological perspectives. The economic theory of natural resource management shows how many management systems for resources such as forests and fisheries can lead to depletion or even extinction of the resource. Proper incentives and institutions can promote sustainable management. Current management systems for many of the world’s fisheries and forests, however, are far from sustainable. In the area of industrial pollution management the standard economic approach is to analyze the costs and benefits of various forms of pollution control to determine an economically optimal policy. But it is insufficient for sustainability. The best pollution control policy can be overwhelmed by growth in pollution-generating activities, especially those that produce cumulative pollutants. Attention has therefore begun to focus on the new concept of industrial ecology as a more comprehensive approach to pollution control.. The application of industrial ecology techniques has potential both for restructuring existing industrial systems and for economic development in Latin America, Asia, and Africa. In all these areas, sustainable development offers a new theoretical paradigm different from the standard economic approach
Criticism:
Though the concept of sustainable development was highly appreciated but critics also criticized it for some rising issues:
■
Some scholars say that this
concept acting as trump card for developed countries. They’re interfering in
LDCs national politics and direct them directly or indirectly in the name of
sustainable development. So, this concept mostly serves those developed
counties’ purpose.
■
Foreign direct investment has been studied for its impacts on
development and its impacts on environment but rarely for both at the same
time. Despite an occasional nod to the environment, development scholarship as
a whole tends to focus on economic goals—growth, industry upgrading, or poverty
alleviation. Environmental analysts, on the other hand, often take the economic
benefits (or costs) of foreign direct investment (FDI) as a given and seek to
uncover evidence of negative or positive externalities for the natural
environment.
■ The
IT industry poses risks to occupational and community health stemming from the
highly toxic chemicals used in production and assembly. At the center of all IT
products is a microchip—a highly manufactured silicon wafer on which hundreds
or even thousands of transistors have been etched. Beyond water and energy,
microchip fabrication requires an intensive use of a wide variety of solvents,
acid solutions and alcohol. A survey by the US EPA in 1995 listed thirty-one
categories of chemicals used in photolithography alone, one of the last stages
of manufacturing.
■
“ U.N. agencies have documented the region’s growing problems with air,
soil, and water contamination, the result of urbanization and the modernization
of agriculture. Working Group studies documented and analyzed the environmental
track record in specific countries and sectors:
• El Salvador has shifted from an
agro-exporter to a labor exporter, with benefits to the rural environment as
land pressures eased but with heavy costs in urban areas.
• Central America as a region has seen
demand grow for some of the agricultural products – bananas, sugar, melons –
that impose the heaviest environmental costs.
• Mexico has transformed
itself from a resource-dependent, closed economy to an export-driven
manufacturer, but weak environmental enforcement has allowed rising levels of
air pollution and unsustainable resource use.
• Brazil has seen rising
demand for agro-exports, such as soy, but the expansion threatens fragile lands
and ecosystems.
• Argentina has benefited from
imported technology through liberalization, but the environmental record has
been mixed, with some improved practices in industry and agriculture but little
institutional capacity to spread such benefits.
• Chile has been the only
country in the hemisphere to see faster growth rates, but its dependence on
natural resource-based exports has increased.” 2
Planning for sustainability:
In that respect, there is now a gathering consensus about what “planning for sustainability” means in practice. In broad terms, it should:
• focus on specific sustainable outcomes and improving
quality of life
• promote the highest quality development and most
beneficial land use in the most appropriate locations at the right time
• prevent inappropriate development
• ensure prudent use of natural resources
• integrate social, economic and environmental
benefits – win-win outcomes
• provide a longer term perspective
• protect critical natural capital; avoid, or if not possible,
minimize environmental damage
• include new techniques for assessing and calculating
the longer term impacts of development
• be better resourced, with better training for
planners and local councilors
• be based on a strong national framework
Conclusion:
Nothing is out of criticism; every concept has
both positive and negative impacts.
We have to try to achieve the
best one. “It is believed that in order to avoid
these obstacles the General System of Green Preferences (SIGPREVERDE is the
Spanish acronym) should be established and made available to developing
countries only.”3 But it’d be not
fruitful if we abuse or misuse our opportunities. Moreover, we can say, there
are lots of obstacles that every country more or less has to face. But the
gainers are those countries who deal all the obstacles with strong policy
making. Sustainable development isn’t curse for them ; it’s a chance to try to change their fate .
Reference:
2. Globalization & the Environment:
Lessons from the Americas
The Henreich Boll
Foundation North America, Page-10
3. The Relationship between Trade & Sustainable development of Agriculture in Central America
By Carlos Pomareda & Carlos Murillo, page-15
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