sustainable development. the concept of sustainable development emerged as the means by which...

Sustainable Development


• The concept of sustainable development emerged as the means by which biodiversity and natural resources might be saved while allowing humans to prosper

• Was generated at the World Conservation Strategy (IUCN/UNEP/WWF 1980), from a UN conference in 1972


• So what is sustainable development?• It means many things to many

people• However, most are anthropogenic

focusing on human aspirations and how the environment might provide them


• Sustainable development vs. growth• Growth is a quantitative increase in

the size of a system; development is a qualitative change in its complexity and configuration

• Thus, sustainable growth is an oxymoron

• We can however, have sustainable development


• One of the problems we face is that of looking for technical fixes rather than recognize and look for natural limits– Low fish populations, get better gear– Low oil, get better drills


• Sustainable development might also be known as integrated conservation and development projects, community-based conservation or community adaptation and sustainable livelihoods projects

• Many deal with sustainable agriculture, fisheries, aquaculture, or forestry


• SD projects typically use a number of economic tools to promote sustainability, including incentives such as certification, subsidies, and grants, or job creation in sustainable enterprises, and sometimes penalties, such as fines or fees for continuing unsustainable practices


• Importantly, SD projects often are par of a larger strategy for landscape- or ecosystem-scale conservation

• ICDP’s are usually conceptualized as including protected areas and regions of sustainable enterprise (Fig. 16.1)

• Stems from concern PA are not sufficient to conserve biodiversity


• The goal of ICDP’s are to conserve biodiversity, particularly in protected areas by enhancing the benefits adjacent communities derive


• Frequently these plans are from state or federal levels in hopes of protecting areas and simultaneously decreasing poverty

• There are many reasons governments may wish to pursue this avenue…what?


• How good are SD projects at conserving biodiversity?

• A study suggested that genetic-, population- and species-level diversity may be particularly vulnerable to increasing intensive uses

• Ecosystem processes and structure seem to be impacted later, when conditions further diminish


• What if we made a comparison of the side-by-side options with various criteria (from Table 16.1)

• E.g. the Pantanal in Brazil– “Hidrovia” would channelize the

Paraguay R for barge traffic (with dams)


• Unfortunately, there is a general tradeoff between the degree to which biodiversity can be protected and SD projects take place and succeed


• Sometimes problems occur when local projects are attempted to ‘scale-up’ to larger areas…why?


• The logic behind community-based, enterprise-based conservation projects that seek to enhance benefits from developing an enterprise that protects biodiversity and supports enterprise


• Analysis of community-based conservation in Asia and the Pacific allowed researchers to develop a table of indicators for when a community-based, sustainable enterprise project is likely (or not) to succeed


• Mexico has 300-480 community forest enterprises (CFE), which are community-owned and managed forest lands for producing commercial timber and other saleable goods

• Some CFEs have gone further and promote sustainable forestry and biodiversity (read CS 8.3)


• How to promote sustainability?• A group of conservation organizations

met and drafted a set of ecological principles of sustainability to promote sustainability

• 1) nature should be understood to be an irreplaceable source of knowledge, from which we can learn potential solutions so some of our problems


• 2) we should understand that issues of environmental deterioration and human oppression and violence are linked in analysis and action

• 3) humility must guide our actions; good stewardship begins with restraint


• 4) we must appreciate the importance of “proper scale”. Place and locality are the foundation for all durable economies, and must be the starting oint of action to deal with our problems. Solutions are local and scale-dependent


• 5) sufficiency must replace economic efficiency. Earth’s resources are finite, and this fact must be accepted in order for humanity to adopt limits. We must distinguish between ‘need’ and ‘want’

• 6) community is essential for survival. The “global community” should reflect and encourage diversity while being interdependent


• 7) biological and cultural diversity must be preserved, defended, and encouraged


• What are the chances these will actually be adopted?

• Fisheries are using empirically based models and marine PA’s are widespread

• Water supplies and watersheds are becoming better protected

• Greenhouse gases are actually being discussed, by some nations


• What are some potential pitfalls for SD

• 1) wealth or the prospect of wealth generates political and social power that is used to promote unlimited exploitation of resources

• 2) scientific knowledge is frequently lacking (e.g. idiosyncratic nature of systems, lack of funding, scale, lack of replicates)


• 3) when many stakeholders are involved, effective and timely communication is essential

• 4) organizations and governments tend to seek to maximize economic growth (short-term especially) rather than conserve for the future


• What conditions need to change to expedite SD?

• 1) the value system that lie at the core of the human fabric and drive our collective behaviors need to change drastically (e.g. wealthy countries need to more towards long-term goals)

• This will require more knowledge about their relationship with the environment


• 2) the growth-oriented economic systems that drive human existence must be replaced by steady-state economic systems that accept natural limits to our artificial economics

• 3) human population growth must slow, stop, and eventually reverse; toward this goal, sustainable development projects must contain internal incentives to limit population growth


• Homework for next Tuesday lab;• Read CS 16.1 (ecotourism), 16.2

(large-scale preservation and sustainability) and 16.5 (sea turtles in Australia)

sustainable development. the concept of sustainable development emerged as the means by which...

Documents

sustainable agriculture

development projects

sustainable enterprises

sustainable growth

local projects

system development

communitybased conservation

protected areas