THE CONCEPT OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

The concept was defined and spread globally in 1987 by the World Commission on Environment and Development (Brundtland Commission) defined as:

development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

20 years after RIO 1992 – are we more sustainable? International Conference, Ravenna, September 27, 2012 1

HEARTH SUMMIT RIO 1992

United Nations Conference on Environment and Development set milestones of sustainability

Conference deliverables1. Agenda 21 a blueprint for making development

socially, economically and environmentally sustainable.

2. UN Framework Convention on Climate Change3. Convention on Biological Diversity

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The concept of ‘Sustainable Development’ was rapidly spread as a political and ethical guideline

butHerman Daly - Sustainable Growth: An Impossibility

Theorem, a bad oxymoron

Wilfred Beckerman - SD has been defined in such a way as to be either morally repugnant or logically redundant

Michael Redclift - SD refers to new material realities as well as epistemological positions

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REMARKS ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Evolution of the concept ofSustainable Development

Prof. Marco Abbiati, PhD

Master Degree in Marine Biology

University of Bologna –Ravenna Campus

marco.abbiati@unibo.it

4

IS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT A RECENT ISSUE? LET’S GO BACK IN TIME

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1972 The Limits to Growth report by the Club of Rome…1948 Foundation of IUCN for equitable and ecologically

sustainable use of natural resources…1713 Sylvicultura oeconomica handbook of forestry refers

to sustainable yield in Germany…

… GREEK AND ROMAN TIME …

In the Greek and Roman civilisations environmental problems due to agriculture, farming, logging, mining, etc. have been reported by

Plato 5th century BCStrabo and Columella 1st century BC

Pliny the Elder 1st century AC

which recommended sustainable practices to maintain the everlasting youth of the earth.

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… MAMMOTH EXTINCTION IN LATE PLEISTOCENE

Several hypothesis have been made to explain the extinction of mammoths 13.000 BC, including the impact of massive human hunting.

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GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES BEGAN BEFORE CLIMATE CHANGE

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Industrial revolution is considered a baseline, however, before that a major alterations occurred, e.g. with the profound shift

from

hunting and gathering

to

agriculture and farming

causing deforestation, desertification, urbanisation, etc

HAVE HUMANITY EVER BEEN SUSTAINABLE?

Homo spp. have been living on earth since about 1 Million Years , Homo sapiens since 0,2 MY, but earth has been ‘living’ since 4000 MY!

In a short time humanity have been able to:� alter many ecological processes,� destroy vulnerable habitats,� drive many species to extinction� …

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DEFORESTATION IN EUROPE – AN ANCIENT ISSUE

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When did we start deforestation?

And why?

DEFORESTATION IN EUROPE – AN ANCIENT ISSUE

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SPECIES EXCTINCTION AND HUMAN POPULATION

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THE DRIVER: HUMAN POPULATION GROWTH

Human population growth over time

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TRENDS IN THE ONGOING CENTURY

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THE ECOLOGICAL CONCEPT OF THE CARRYING CAPACITY DOES NOT FIT TO HUMAN POPULATION

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Pop

ulat

ion

size

CARRYING CAPACITY: A MISSING CONCEPT IN ECONOMY

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ILLIMITED GROWTH ON A LIMITED PLANET

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HOW MUCH CAN WE GROW?

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Red on this map represents roads, power lines, major landscape change (e.g. agriculture), pipelines, and urbanized areas. Source UNEP 2002

These are the questions that have been addressed by RIO+20

OBJECTIVE AND THEMES OF THE CONFERENCE

Secure renewed political commitment for sustainable development � assessing progress to date and the remaining gaps in

the implementation of the outcomes of the major summits on SD

� addressing new and emerging challenge General Assembly adopted a Resolution (A/RES/64/236)

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THEMATIC FOCUS

Include:� a green economy in the context of sustainable

development and poverty eradication

� institutional framework for sustainable development

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OUTCOMES

� More than 40,000 people attended Rio+20 from 20-22 June

� focused political document ‘The Future We Want ’ -an important victory for multilateralism after months of difficult negotiations

� addresses integration of economic, social and environmental goals

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THE DOCUMENT

� + 686 submissions received (by November 1 deadline)

� + 493 from Major groups and other stakeholders

� + Results of the regional Preparatory meetings and national meetings

� 6,500 pages synthesised into 128 para on 20 pages

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CAN WE TRUST SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Sustainability as a quality brandSustainable as well as green became keywords in

promoting trade and business!

A green product is more appealing no matter what is its impact!

Life cycle assessment is showing that not much greening is present in the economy to date!

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THE DEBATE IS OPEN

We have many options to represent the concepts of Sustainable Development

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However, Environment and Nature must be the core of the debate

CAN WE INGNORE THE LAWS OF NATURE?

ECOLOGY (from Greek: "house+study”) is the scientific study of the relationships that living organisms have with their natural environment.

ECONOMICS (from the Greek "house+law: rules of the house”) is the social science that analyses the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.

If laws of Nature will conflict with roles of economy what would be the outcome?

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CAN WE SURVIVE UNSUSTAINABLY?

If we will not be able to control the growth of hum an population and the use the natural resources, not only human well being will be questioned, but survival of humanity.

Erath survived five mass extinctions

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Earth will survive also the sixth mass extinction, humans may not!

THE UNBEARABLE PRESSURE BY HUMANITY

Is not only a wordplay with the title of the book by Milan Kundera, is about philosophy of life

� Milan Kundera unsustainability - each person has only one life to live, and what occurs in life occurs only once and never again

As opposed to

� Friedrich Nietzsche sustainability - the universe and its events have already occurred and will recur ad infinitum: the eternal recurrence

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THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME

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STATEMENT BY JANE LUBCHENCO HEAD OF NOAA

Human Domination of Earth's Ecosystems, concluded:"All of these seemingly disparate phenomena trace to a

single cause: the growing scale of the human enterprise. The rates, scales, kinds, and combinations of changes occurring now are fundamentally different from those at any other time in history. . . . We live on a human-dominated planet and the momentum of human population growth, together with the imperative for further economic development in most of the world, ensures that our dominance will increase."

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