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ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES SERIES NO.5
Towards
European
Environment
Agency
Sustainable
Development for Local
Authorit ies
C o p e n h a g e n 1 9 9 7
Approaches xperiencesandSources
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European Environment Agency
Towards
Sustainable D eve lop m en t for Local Authorities
Approaches, Experiences and Sources
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Cover
design:
MaliniMehra,
IMS A Amsterdam,
The Netherlands
Note
T h e d e s i g n a t i o n s e m p l o y e d a n d t h e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f
mater ia l in th is publ ica t ion do not imply the express ion
of any opin ion whatsoever on the par t o f the European
C o m m i s s i o n o r t h e E u r o p e a n E n v i r o n m e n t A g e n c y
concern ing the legal s ta tus of any country or ter r i tory ,
and the boundaries shown on maps do not imply official
endorsement or acceptance .
A great deal of additional information on the European Union is available on the Internet.
I t can be accessed throu gh the Europa server (h t tp : / /e urop a.eu . in t
Cataloguing data can be found at the end of this publication
Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities , 1997
ISBN 92-9167-073-1
EEA, Cop enhag en, 1997
Reproduct ion is au thor ized , provided the source is acknowledged
Printed in Germany
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H o m e p a g e : h t t p : // w w w . e e a . e u . i n t
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Towards
Sustainable Development for Local
Authorities
Approaches, Experiences and Sources
Prepared for the European Environment Agency
b y
Malin i Mehra
An ne-M et te Jrgensen (co-author )
Ins t i tu te for Environment and Sys tems Analys is ( IMSA Amsterdam)
Van Eegh ens t raa t 77
NL-1071 EX Amsterdam
The Ne the r lands
October 1997
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Towards Susta inable D evelop me nt for Local Authorit ies
Foreword
Towards Sus ta inab le Deve lopmen t f o r Loca l Au tho r i t i e s Approaches ,
Exper iences and Sources
The European Environment Agency (EEA) has the mandate " to provide the Community and the Member
States with objective, reliable and comparable information at the European level". Among the different
goals, the EEA shall p rov ide informat ion for environm enta l po l icy developm ent an d imple men ta t ion and
ensure broad dissemination and accessibili ty. Important principles in this context are: pooling,
s t ructur ing and netw orking of ex is ting informat ion and kn ow how .
Local authorities have a key role to play in the transition to more sustainable ways of l iving. Local
authorities and organisations can therefore be important clients for EEA products and services . This
report introduce s the his tory, interpr etation s and deve lop me nt of the sustainab ili ty deb ate and de scribes
the efforts of local authorities making the sustainable development concept operational. The report
add resse s read ers w ho are trying to locate their com mu nity 's efforts in sustain able deve lop me nt in the
wider European and global perspective. Because of the dynamic development within this f ield, the report
can only be a snapshot of cur rent developm ents , focus ing on EU countr ies . Hopeful ly , an upd ated
version of the book will cover more examples and initiatives in Southern European Countries , Central
and Eastern Europe, as well .
The report can be seen as a cont ribution from the Agenc y to the Sustaina ble Cities and Tow ns Project
co-ordinated and supported by the European Commission (DG XI). This project is a follow-up of the
Com miss ion ' s Green Paper on the Urban E nvironm ent . Par t ic ipants in the pro jec t inc lude EU M emb er
States , a range of international organisations ( l is ted in the information source directory) and the
Commission Directorates General. Important components in the project are the Sustainable Cities and
Towns Campaign, the Sustainable Cities Policy Report and the Good Practice Databases. Other highlights
in the f ield of urb an susta inabili ty are the Europea n Conference on Sustainable Cities & Tow ns, Aalbo rg
1994 (adoption of the Aalborg Charter) , and the Second European Conference on Sustainable Cities &
Tow ns, Lisboa, 1996 (adoptio n of the Lisboa Action Plan).
The development and finalization of this publication has involved many
contributors other than the authors . The report has also been reviewed by the EEA's National Focal
Points and Scientific Com mitte e. The EEA is grateful for all these contribu tions and w ou ld like to thank
all the individuals and organisations involved.
I hop e that this publication w ill prov e useful to its read ers in increasing their access to approa che s,
experiences and information so urces within the area of sustaina ble dev elo pm ent at the local level.
Dom ingo J imnez-Belt rn
Executive Director
European Environment Agency
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A c k n o w l e d g e m e n t s
A numb er of people have he lped w ith th is publ ica t ion a t var ious s tages . They include
Roger Levett who provided a r igorous review of the draft and many insights and
sugges t ions . Wouter van Dieren , David S tanners , David Gee, and Er ic den Ha me r
who offered valuable commentary. Jan Juffermans who was a mine of information
and a lways generous wi th h is advice . Ingvar Andersson a t the European
Environment Agency who provided encouragement a t a l l the r ight moments . Severa l
colleagues, past and present, at IMSA helped to get the project on the rails and keep it
on track. They include Henk Viss, David Rosenberg and Sarah Blau. In particular ,
grateful thanks go to Eva Klok for her assis tance with the layout and word processing;
to Joke Jongejan for help in researching a nd g athe ring m aterial for Part II ; and to
Tamm o Oegem a for provid ing re l iab le feedback and su ppor t . F inal ly man y thanks go
to all those who have provided information for Part II and other segments of the
report.
Mal in i Mehra
Amsterdam, October 1997
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Towards Susta inable D evelop me nt for Local Authorit ies
C o n t e n t s
Foreword 5
Acknowledgemen t s 6
In t roduc t ion 10
Purp ose of the repo rt 10
Structu re and organiz ation of ma terial 11
P A R T I
L o ca l A u t h o r i t i e s M o v i n g T o w a r d s S u s t a i n a b l e D e v e l o p m e n t 13
1 M a k i n g se n se of su s t a i n a b l e d e v e l o p m e n t 1 5
Taking the long view: sustainabili ty in evolutionary and
ecological persp ectiv e 16
The evolu tion of sustain abili ty i tself 20
Conflicts and controv ersies 21
2 To wa rds a pos i t ive po l i cy con tex t fo r sus t a inab i l i ty? 29
The intern ationa l context 29
The Europ ean context 37
3 Re sp on din g to a ne w pa ra d igm : the cha l l eng e for loca l au th or i t i e s 45
Sus ta inable c i ties and Sus ta inable com mun it ies 45
Local autho rities : the chan ging gov erna nce context 48
Local autho rities in Euro pe: a varieg ated land scap e 57
Res pon ding to the challenges 62
4 P rac t i s ing sus ta inab i l i ty : cha l l eng es and inn ov a t ion s 67
Interna l challenge s and the need for a ne w professionalism 67
Dem ocrat is ing local govern men t : achieving the ' imposs ib le ' 68
Ecological footprinting: reconn ecting th e effects
of environm enta l degra dat ion wi th the causes 71
Ur ban agricu lture: not only food for thou ght, bu t also action 74
Put t ing i ta l i together 76
Conc lus ion 77
A n n e x 1 : C o m p a r i n g c o m p e t i n g p a r a d i g m s 7 8
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PART II
Se lec ted Reso urces for Loca l A uth or i t i es 85
Us er ' s Note s 86
5 Selec ted Li tera tu re 87
Category 1 -G o o d Practice Guid es 87
Category 2 - Sus ta inable Urban Dev elopm ent 88
Category 3 - Sus ta inable Co mm unity Deve lopme nt 89
Cate gory 4 - Strategies for Sustainab le De velo pm ent 89
Cate gory 5 - Local Ag end a 21 and related guid es 90
Ca teg ory 6 - Tools 91
C a tego ry 7 -R efe r ences 92
6 Selec ted Inte rne t S i tes 93
7 Resou rce Di rec tory 95
Mult i la tera l Organizat ions 96
In ternat ional Projects and Cam paigns 97
In ternat ional Mu nic ipal Associa t ions 99
Interna tional Cities , Tow ns and Villages N etw ork s 100
Internat ional Organizat ions . . . 101
Ca nad ian Rou nd Tables 104
Bus iness and Indus try Ne two rks 105
Ur ban agric ulture / Bioregionalism 106
Europ ean Mu nicipal Associa t ions 107
Eu rope an M unicipality-R elated Projects and Ca m paig ns 109
Eu rope an Specialist Cities Ne tw ork s 112
Europe an Profess ional Ne two rks and Organisa t ions 114
Europ ean Foun dat ions and Research Ins t i tu tes 115
Europe an NG O Netw orks and Organizat ions 117
Europe an Union and Europea n Com miss ion Bodies 119
Europ ean Com miss ion Bodies 120
Na tiona l Resources 121
Eu rope an Com missio n Sector-specific Financial Instru me nts 149
Europ ean Com miss ion Program mes 151
Sustainabili ty Go od Practice Da tabase s 154
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Towards Susta inable D evelop m ent for Local Au thorit ies
Figures
Figure1 Global Con sum ption Inequal i ty
Figure 2: Global Incom e and Wealth Disparit ies
Figure 3: The Four-C apital Mo del
F igure 4 : Sus ta inable Dev elopm ent The World Bank 's Ne w T hinking
Figure 5 The City as Ecosystem
Figure 6 The Ecological Foo rtpring (Phil Testemale)
Figure 7: The Ecological Footp rint of the N eth erla nds (Phil Testemale)
17
19
24
25
43
72
73
Tables
Table 1:
Table 2:
Table 3:
Table 4
Table 5
Table 6
Table 7
Table 8
Indicators of Global Environmental Stress (a partial l is t ing)
Fr iends of the Ear th ' s Environmenta l Space Approach
The Four Main Drivers of the Sustainable Cities/
S us tainab le C omm un i t i e s M ovemen t
Ecopol is S tra tegy Frame work
Nu m ber of Munic ipal i t ies ac t ive in Local Agend a 21
(circa5/96)
Territorial Organization of EU Local Authorities
Strengths and Weaknesses of Local Government Institutions
Compar ing Average Consumption in Canada, the USA, India
and the World
18
28
47
48
52
58
69
7 4
Boxes
B o x i :
Box 2:
Box 3:
Box 4:
Box 5:
Box 6:
Box 7:
Box 8:
Box 9:
Box 10:
Box 12:
Box 13:
Box 14:
Box 15:
Box 16:
Box 17
Box 18
Box 19
Box 20
Box 21
Box 22
Box 23
Box 24
Box 25
Scient is ts ' Warning to Humani ty
Caring for the Earth 'sP rinciples for Sustainable L iving
(Selected) Definitions of Sustainable Development Our Common Future
Environmenta l Funct ions
Changing Product ion and Consumption Pat terns :
Agenda 21 Outl ine
Agenda 21's Chapter 28 on Local Authorities
Best Practices: the five lessionsS
HABITAT IIThe 12 Best-Practice Award Winners
The World Assembly of Local Authorities (WACLA)
Chattanooga, Tennessee: 'Belle of the Sustainable Cities Ball '
Curitiba, Brazil: A Laboratory for Sustainable Urban Development
Sus ta inable Communit ies .
Two Views from Opposite Sides of the Atlantic
The European Sus ta inable Ci t ies and Towns Campaign
The Local Agenda 21 Experience.
Successes from Three Different Localities
Key Lessons Learned from Gloucestershire 's
Vision 21
Exper ience
The Berlin Charter
Environmenta l Budget ing
A Sample of Tools and Measures for Local Authorities
Guiding Social and Economic Principles for Sustainable Development
Guiding Management Pr incip les for Sus ta inable Development
Canadian Round Tables
Sustainabili ty and City Design
Six to Twelve New Planets N eeded
19
2
22
24
27
32
33
35
36
37
44
44
49
5
54
54
57
61
64
65
65
66
66
71
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I n t r o d u c t i o n
Purpose of the repor t
This book is intended as a guide to the
newly evolv ing paradigm of sus ta inable
deve lopm ent in the context of the Europ ean
Union. I t seeks to provide a background to
the local and global debates on
sustainabili ty for those who are new to this
subject area. I t is prim arily add resse d to:
local au tho rity officials w ho do not
necessar i ly work in environmenta l
dep ar tm ents , bu t are keen to learn abou t
sus ta inable development and i ts
relevance to their work; and
local auth oritie s ' social part ners and
in teres ted community groups .
Sus ta inable developm ent is perceived by
ma ny to be an imposs ib le concept
impossible to define and impossible to put
into practice. W here it has entered into
mun ic ipal d iscourses and ins t i tu t ional
consciousness i t is primarily associated with
environmenta l management . As th is repor t
seeks to demonstrate, the concept is far
more than that. Sustainabili ty is about more
than just planting trees , curbside recycling
and rescuing wildlife (vital though these
are). I t is more than greening 'business as
usual ' . I t is about transforming
politics
and
community development.
Politics, in the
original sense of the word meaning city
managemen t . C ommun i ty deve lopmen t , a s
in developing co mm unit ies sus ta inably :
ensuring quality of life for current
genera t ions wi thout depr iv ing fu ture
generations, and peoples elsewhere, of their
r ight to a clean and healthy planet.
Sus ta inable developm ent as a concept and a
pa rad igm is indicative of a his toric shift that
is occurring in all of our societies albeit at
varying rates , levels of commitment, and
visibili ty. The sustainabili ty movement is
described by some as the counter-culture
m ove m ent of the 1990s. At i ts broa dest, i t
b r ings together h i ther to d ispara te
aspira t ions for democracy , comm unity ,
peace , d ivers ity , huma n r ights , ge nder
equality, social and economic justice. It
s tands prevai l ing or thodoxies of economic
growth , an thropocentr ic wor ldviews and
materialis t values on their head and calls for
a new social contract. Over t ime it implies
nothing less than a restructuring of our
relationship to the planet and to all l iving
beings. This agenda is challenging and will
be difficult, but it is also compelling,
necessary, and possible.
Local authorities have a s ignificant some
argue crucial role to play in the transition
to more sustainable ways of l iving. This
report introduces the his tory and
development of the sustainabili ty debate. I t
explains the changing macro policy context
of relevance to municipality action and
describes the efforts of local authorities
themselves to provide leadersh ip in
reorienting policy and practice towards
sustainabili ty.
What the report is not . .
There is already much good practice on the
gro und in the area of local sustainabili ty.
Several recent 'good practice ' guides have
demons tra ted th is and provided a great
service to those looking for concrete
examples and information. There are also
many excellent publications on the
management and p lanning chal lenges of
des igning sus ta inable human se t t lements .
Such resources , and m any more , are
referred to in Part II.
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Towards Susta inable D evelop me nt for Local Authorit ies
What the report is...
This report does not seek to duplicate such
efforts. It is intended as a
companion
to such
works. I ts s tarting point is that many recent
publications, in their concern with the
concrete and the policy-relevant, gloss over
the wider conceptual, polit ical, and
behavioural diff iculties presented by the
new sus ta inabi l ity pa radigm . This repor t is a
modest contribution to f i l l ing this gap. I t
provides a macro view of sustainabili ty
history, concepts, conflicts, policy
interpretations and actions related to the
local-level concerns of local authoritie s and
their comm unit ies . I t addresses the reade r
who is trying to locate her or his
community ' s ef for ts in the wider European
and global perspective. I t profiles some of
the innovat ions and campaigns that are
provid ing a f ramework for pan-European
action on local sustainability. Finally, it is a
networking guide, offering a resources
section to facili tate communication and
informat ion exchange.
Caveats
As with any work of this nature some
caveats are in o rder.
The report makes no pretence to be
comprehensive in i ts overview of
develo pme nts : in the sense of being both up -
to-date and a l l -encompass ing . W hile it has
tr ied to be current, i t provid es at best a
snapshot of recent developments . There is a
high rate of obsolescence in this field, with
new initiatives coming 'on s tream' faster
than can be kept up wi th .
Secondly, the report focuses on the countries
of the Europe an Un ion and , wh ere re levant ,
refers to experiences in other countries and
regions . Here , however ( in common with
other publications of this type), the report
suffers from an unevenness in the coverage
of EU countr ies : No r thern Europ ean
examples p r edomina te , and Med i t e r r anean
countr ies remain comparat ively
underexposed. I t is hoped that this s ituation
will change before long in view of the rise of
recent initiatives in Southern European
countr ies , and wi th improved
communicat ions and informat ion exchange. '
Addi t ional ly , a l though Centra l and Eas tern
Europe co untr ies being outs ide the EU do
not feature in this report, i t is hoped that
future editions of this or s imilar guides
might extend their focus to this important
region.
Finally, although efforts have been made to
add publ ica t ions in European languages to
the Selected Literature section in Part II, the
report has relied primarily on English-
languag e publ ica t ions . The inevi tab le
l imita t ions of th is are ackno wledg ed.
Reco mmended rea ding co mpa nio ns
As ment ioned above, th is repor t should be
read in tandem with o ther re levant
publications. The EEA itself has published
several specialis t and popular interest: on
Env i ronmen ta l Managemen t S ys tems and
tools and the landmark Dobris Assessment
(Urban Environment sec t ion) . In addi t ion ,
the following three publications are
par t icu lar ly notewor thy as companions to
this Guide:
European Sustainable Cities
report (1996),
and the Good Practice Guide
2
(forthcoming). Both are publications of
the European Commiss ion ' s Sus ta inable
Cities project;
Sustainable Lifestyles: Strengthening the
Global Dimensions toLocal Agenda 21. A
Guide to
Good Practice,
Towns and
Deve lopme nt , 1995;
Town and Country Planning,
UK.
Th e
Gaia
Atlas of Cities: New Directions for
Urban Living. Gaia Books Ltd. 1996.
The Sus ta inable Europ ean Ci t ies and Towns
Cam paign is anothe r recom men ded source
of informat ion on current de velopm ents .
Struc ture and organiza t ion of
ma te r ia l
This report is s tructured in two roughly
propo r t ionate par ts . Par t I compr ises four
chapters and in t roduces the background to
thinking, policy and practice on sustainable
development. Part II is a three-part
resources section guiding the reader to
information sources mentioned in the text
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and others of relevance to local authorities
and their social partners .
Part i
Chapter1of Part I sets the discussion of
sustainabili ty in ecological perspective. I t
demonstrates the ecological and social need
for change in patterns of human
development , p roduct ion and consumption .
The chapter a lso out l ines the develo pme nt
of the notion of sustainable development. I t
demons tra tes how th is new paradigm is a
hotly contested one, and flags some of the
controversies and flashpoints . Chapter 2
steps to the macro policy level and discusses
the developm ent of in ternat ional and
Europea n U nion pol ic ies on sus ta inable
deve lopmen t vis--vis their relevance for
local-authority action. Chapter 3 in t roduces
the sus ta inable c i t ies /sus ta inable
comm unit ies m ovem ents . I t looks a t the
factors behind the developm ent of the new
sustainabili ty agenda for local authorities
and rev iews the European landscape for
local authorities identifying some of the
oppor tun i t ies and obs tac les . The cha pter
profiles some initiatives by local authorities ,
NGOs (Non-Governmenta l Organizat ions ) ,
and o thers .Chapter 4 discusses three areas
touched on in the previous chapter in
greater depth. The first calls for a 'new
professionalism'. It argues that if local
autho rities are to be successful mob ilisers of
thei r commun it ies then changes in
administrative culture and professional
atti tu des w ill also be in order. The other two
areas concern tools and options with
( largely) untap ped potent ia l for adv ancing
sustainabili ty goals . These tools urban
farming and the ecological footprint are
gaining in popularity with local authorities
and community groups . They epi tomise the
principle of elegance: simple yet offering
significant positive multiplier effects.
Part II
The three-part resources section contains a
selected literature section, a listing of useful
internet addresses , and a detailed chart of
organizat ions , ne tworks , programmes and
European Commiss ion funding sources
concerned with promoting sus ta inable
development. This section is intended to be
an il lustrative notcomprehensive lis ting
of l i terature or organizations active in the
area of sus ta inable developm ent . A
reference section is included to guide the
reader to more specific sources of
information.
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P A R T I
Local A utho r i ties M ov ing
Towards Sus ta inab le Deve lopment
A journey ofathousand m iles begins with one step...
'
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Towards Susta inable D evelop m ent for Local Authorit ies
1
Humanity must live within the carrying
capacity of the Earth. There is no other
rational option in the longer term... .
Because of the way we live today, our
civilisations are at risk.
Caring for the World.
A
Strategy for Sustainable
Living. 1991:3
M a k i n g s e n s e
of sus ta inable
d e v e l o p m e n t
Sustainabili ty is the buzzword of the
1990s. Everyone from European policy
mak ers , to urban p lan ners and re tai l
execut ives seem to have adopted the
term. It is the in-vogue prefix for
anyth ing f rom corporate environmenta l
repor ts to travel agents ' package- tou r
promotions . To paraphrase economis t
Mil ton Fr iedman , we are a ll com mit ted
to sus ta inable development now.
But what may be an adver t iser ' s d ream
can be a local authority 's nightmare. Is
the concern with sustainabili ty just a
passing fad? Or does it signify an
emergent cultural revolution? Do we all
mean the same thing by sustainabili ty or
sus ta inable development? Do we a l l
share the same premises and have the
same goals? Or will different
interpretations and different agendas
result in conflicting policy
interpretations, priorit ies and practices?
Given the welter of confusion
surrounding the concept , many local
authorities might be forgiven for
dismissing the validity or util i ty of the
concept as an unnecessary complica t ion
for their work.
This chapter unpacks the concept of
sustainabili ty. Writ large, the concept
alludes not only to the ecological crises
at hand but to wider social, polit ical,
and cu l tura l chal lenges which wi l l
require the development of new
me thods , sk il l s, and a t t i tudes . This
chapter argues that clarity on the
subject, and the values, premises and
agendas that l ie tucked behind it , is
essential to the accomplishment of
sustainabili ty goals . To a large degree
this area of critical analysis has been left
neglected in the s tampede to jump
aboard the sus ta inable development
bandwagon. Cr i t ics argue that for
sus ta inable development to be regarded
merely as the
summum bonum
of human
existence is to render i t meaningless .
The trade-offs and choices implicit in
the 'search for sustainabili ty ' must be
made t ransparent to genera te
widespread popular suppor t for the
need for transformation. There will no
doub t be winners and losers in the
process and th is mus t be communicated
honestly to prevent future conflicts .
These and o ther themes are touched on
in this chapter and recur in the rest of
the text.
This chapter concerns i tself with the
questions: What are the issues driving
the sus ta inabi l i ty movement? What are
the controversies? And what do they
mean? It paves the way for a
consideration in the next chapter of the
different traditions behind, and the
approaches adopted by , thesustainable
citiesa nd sustainable communities
movemen ts .
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Taking the long v iew:
sus ta inab i l i ty in
evolu t ionary and ecologica l
pe r spec t ive
In evolutionary terms there is no such
thing as sustain abili ty at least as far
as our species is conce rned. Of the
different forms of life that have
inhabited the Earth in i ts four thousand
million year his tory, 99.9% are no w
extinct. Against this backdrop, the
human enterpr ise wi th i t s roughly
300,000-year his tory barely merits
a t ten t ion . As Mark Twain , the Am er ican
novelis t once remarked, if our planet 's
his tory were to be compared to the
Eiffel Tower, human his tory would be a
mere smear on the very tip of the tower.
Human ecological impact
B ut wh i l e mode rn hum ans (homo sapiens
sapiens)mig ht be insignificant in
evolu t ionary terms , we are by no mea ns
insignificant in terms of our recent
p lanetary impact . A1986 s tudy
estimated that 40% of the product of
terrestr ial plant photosynthesis the
basis of the food chain for most animal
and bird l ife was being appropriated
by humans for their use. ' More recent
studies estimate that 25% of
photosynthesis on continental shelves
(coastal areas) is being used to satisfy
h u m a n d e m a n d .
4
Human app rop r i a t ion
of such natural resources is having a
profound impact upon the millions of
o ther species which are a lso de pen dan t
upon them. Ecologist , William Catton
has estimated that current rates of
human resource extraction are 10,000
times the rates of natural resource
regenera t ion; these are showing no
signs of abating.
M ore wo rryin g s ti l l is the fact th at
human impact appears to be p lac ing the
planet itself into reverse gear. One of the
basic tenets of evolution is that the
generation of new forms of l ife outs tr ips
the extinction of older species by a w ide
margin thus ensuring s trong biological
diversity. Scientis ts believe, how ever,
that for the first observable time in
evolutionary his tory, another species
homo sapiens sapiens has u pset this
balance to the degree that the rate of
species extinction is now estimated at
10,000 times the ra te of species rene wa l. '
Hu ma n beings , jus t one species am ong
millions, are l i terally crowding out the
other species we share the planet with.
Evidence of human interference with
the natural world is vis ible in practically
every ecosystem from the presence of
CFCs in the s tratosphere to the
artificially changed courses of the
majority of r iver systems on the planet.
I t is argu ed that ever s ince the y
abandoned nomadic , ga therer -hunter ' '
ways of life for settled societies some
10,000 years ago, humans have
cont inual ly manipula ted thei r na tura l
world to meet their needs. While this
observ ation is a correct one, the rate, the
scale and the nature of human- induced
global change particularly in the
post-industrial period is
unprecedented in the his tory of l ife on
Earth. There are three primary reasons
for this.
Firs tly, mechanisation of both industry
and agriculture in the last century
resulted in vastly improved labour
productivity which enabled the creation
of goods and services . Since then,
scientif ic advance and technological
innovat ion powered by ever-
increasing inputs of fossil fuels and their
der ivat ives have revolu t ionised
every indus try and created many new
ones .
The subsequent development of
wes tern consumer cu l ture , and the
satisfaction of the accompanying
disposable mentality, has generated
material f lows of an unprecedented
scale. ' The Wuppertal Institute estimates
that humans are now responsible for
moving greater amounts of mat ter
across the planet than all natural
occurrences (earthquakes, s torms, etc.)
put together.
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Tab le 1 : Ind ica tors o f G lo ba l En vi ron me nta l S t re ss (a pa r t i a l l i s ting)
F o r e s t s
Deforestation and degradation remain the main issues. 12.1 million hectares of forest were lost every year in
the decade 1980-1990. The largest losses of forest area are taking place in the tropical moist deciduous forests, the zone
best su ited to hum an sett lem ent and a gr iculture; recent es t imates suggest that near ly tw o- th irds of tropical deforestat ion
is due to farmers clearing land for agriculture. There is increasing concern about the decline in forest quality associated
with in tensive us e of forests and un regula ted access .
S o i l As much as 10% of the ear th ' s vegetated surface is now at least moderate ly de gra ded . . . . Trends in so il quali ty
and ma nag em ent of ir r igated land raise ser ious questions about longer- term sustainabil i ty . It is es t imated that about 20%
of the worl d ' s 250 mill ion hectares of ir r igated land are already de grad ed to the poin t whe re crop produc tion is ser iously
reduced .
Fresh Water Some 20% of the world's population lacks access to safe water and 50% lacks access to safe sanitation. If
current trend s in water use pers is t , two- th ird s of the wo rld ' s p opula tion could be l iv ing in countr ies exper iencing
mo dera te or h igh w ater s tress by 2025.
M a r i n e f i s h e r i e s 25 % of the world ' s ma r ine f isheries are being f ished at their ma xim um level of productiv ity and
35 %
are overfished (yields are declining). In order to maintain current per capita consumption of fish, global fish
harvests must be increased; much of the increase might come through aquaculture which is a known source of water
pollu tion , wetland loss and mangrove swamp destruction .
B i o d i v e r s i t y Biodivers i ty is increasingly coming under threat f rom development, which destroys or degrades
natural h abitats , and f rom pollu tion f rom a var iety of sources . The f irs t compre hensive g lobal assessmen t of b iodivers i ty
put the total number of species at close to 14 million and found that between 1% and
11%
of the wor ld ' s species may be
threatened by extinction every
decade.
Coastal eco systems, which host a very large propor ti on of mar ine species , are at
great r isk with perh aps one - th ird of the world ' s coasts at h igh potential r isk of degra dation and anothe r 17% at m odera te
risk.
A t m o s p h e r e
T he In te rgovernmen ta l Pane l on C l imate C hange ' s Second Assessment Report has es tablished that
hum an activ ities are having a d iscernib le influence on g lobal cl imate. CO, emissions in most industr ial ised countr ies
have risen during the past few years and very few countries are likely to stabilise their greenhouse gas emissions at 1990
levels by 2000 as required by the Clim ate Cha nge convention .
T o x i c c h e m i c a l s Abou t 100,000 chemicals are now in commercial use and their potential impacts on hu ma n health
and ecological function represent largely unkn ow n r isks . Pers is tent organic pollu tants are now so widely d is tr ibuted by
air and ocean currents that they are found in the tissues of people and wildlife everywhere; they are of particular concern
because of their high levels of toxicity and persistence in the environment.
H a z a r d o u s w a s t e s Pollu tion f rom h eavy me tals , especial ly from their use in indus try and minin g, is also creating
ser ious health consequences in man y par ts of the worl d . Incidents and a ccidents involving uncontro lled radioactive
sources continue to increase, and particular risks are posed by the legacy of contaminated areas left from military
activ it ies involving nuclear mater ials .
W a s t e Domestic and industr ial waste production continues to increase in both absolu te and per capita terms,
wo rldw ide. In the develope d w orld , per capita waste gene ration has increased threefold over the past 20 years ; in
develo ping c ountr ies , it is h ighly l ikely that waste gen eration w il l doub le dur i ng the next decad e. The level of aware ness
regarding the health and environmental impacts of inadequate waste d isposal remains rather poor ; poor sanitat ion and
waste m ana gem ent infrastructure is s ti ll one of the pr incipal causes of death and d isabil i ty for the urban poor .
Source: United Nations, 1997.
Report of tiwSecretary-General Overall Assessment
o f
Progress Achieved since UNCED
(advance unedited
text).
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Towards Su sta inable Deve lopm ent for Local Authorit ies
Recent human development pat terns
have not only affected ecological
sys tems but are a lso rap id ly changing
social systems. Arguably two of the
most powerful forces of societal change
in mo dern t imes have been:
colon ialism , w ith its lastin g legacy of
unequal polit ical and economic
re la t ions between and with in
countries; and
scientific and techn ologic al
development , which has changed
virtually every aspect of
contemporary life.
These and other forces have contributed
to a highly polarised world where
disparit ies in wealth and income (see
Figure 2), power and s tatus , are
deepening and cont inue to be marked
by differences in,inter alia, gender, race
and ethnicity, and national origin.
Viewing the human predicament in
ecological and evolutionary perspective
is fundamen ta l to an unde rs tand ing of
the significance of current
changes. Taking the long view
shatters the complacency of
bus iness -as -usual a t t i tudes tha t
'unsustainabili ty ' is just a phase
humani ty is go ing through.
Despite the complexity and
uncertainty of global changes,
there appears to be scientific
consensus (see Box 1) on most of
the following three points :
first, the m ag ni tud e of the
impact tha t hum ans , a juveni le
species in evolutionary terms,
are exerting on life-support
sys tems;
second, as Gaia theoreticians
who view the planet as aself-
regula t ing sys tem poin t out :
the Earth is indifferent to
humans, i t will ult imately
recover, even though the time-
scale will be eons;
the need for chan ge to ensu re a
future for human beings.
B o x i :
S c i e n t i s t s ' W a r n i n g to H u m a n i t y
The scientific consensus on the seriousness of global
environmental concerns is not illusory. To prove this point, in
1993,58 of the world's most prestigious Scientific Academies
issued the
World
Scientists'
Warning
to
Humanity
(a fragment of
which ap pears here). The docum ent w as signed by over 1,600
leading scientists including more than half of all living
Nobel laureates in science. TheWarningasserted the collective
voice of the scientific community against the views of a small
but vocal minority of 'contrarions' w ho dispu te the existence of
environm ental crises.
...thereis nodoubt that thethreatto theecosystem islinked to
population size
and
resource
use.
Increasing greenhouse
gasemissions,
ozone depletion
and
acid
rain,
loss
of
biodiversity,deforestation
and
loss
of
topsoil
shortages
of
water food
and
fuel indicate
how the
natural systems
are
being pushed ever closer
to
their limits... .
We theundersigned
senior members
of the
world's scientific
community,hereby warn
all
humanity
of
what liesahead.Agreat
changein
our
stewardship
of the
earth
and the
life
on
it
is
required
if
vast misery
is to
be avoided
and our
global home
on
this planet
is not
to beirretrievablymutilated
12
.
Figure 2:
Richest 20
Second 20
Third 20
Fourth 20
Poorest 20
Globa l I ncome and Wea l th Dis pa r i t i e s
8 2 . 7
World Income:
8 2 . 7
World Trade: 8 1 . 2
Commercia l lending:9 4 . 6
Domesticsaving:8 0 . 6
Dom estic Investment: 80.5
1 1 . 7
2 . 3
1 . 9
Distr ibut ion o f wor ld
i n c o m e a n d e c o n o m i c
a c tiv ity 1 9 8 9 -
p er cen tag e o f w o r ld
to ta l (qu in t i les o f
p o p u la t i o n r an ked b y
i n co m e)
W o r l d in c o m e 1 .4
W o r ld t rade 1 .0
C o m m e r c i a l l e n d i n g 0 .2
C o m m e r c i a l s a v i n g s 1 .0
D o m e s t ic in v e s t m e n t 1 .3
Source UNDP 1992
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The evolu t ion of
sus ta inabi l i ty i t se l f
While Our Common Future, the report of
the World Commiss ion on Environment
and Development (commonly known as
the Brundt land Commiss ion) is widely
credi ted wi th having popular ised the
concept of sustainable development, i t
does in fact have a longer l ineage. The
year 1972 was a
watershed in marking
both the f irs t International
Conference on the
Human Env i ronmen t in
Stockholm and the
publication of the
provocat ive repor t
Limits
to Groivthby the Club of
Rome which h ighl ighted
the imminent threat of 'overshoot ' (a
systems-analysis term for exceeding the
carrying capacity).
77nswe know.Tlieearth does
not b elong to m an; man be longs to the
earth. Tins we know. All things are
connected like the blood ivhich mutes
onefamily. All thingsareconnected.
Chief Seathl
Box 2:
Car ing for the Ear th ' s
Principles for Sustainable Living
1.
Respect and care for the comm unity of life
2.Improve the quality of life
3.
Conserve the Earth's vitality and diversity
4.Minimise the depletion of non-renewable resources
5.Keep within the E arth's carrying capacity
6. Change personal attitudes and practices
7. Enable communities to care for their ow n environm ents
8. Provide a national framework for integrating
development and
conservation
9. Create a global alliance
Source: Caring for theEarth. AStrategy for Sustainable
Living. IUCN/UNEP/WWF. (1991). Gland, Switzerland.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s a
steady s tream of books and reports
began to appear , p reoccupied w i th the
ques t ion of environment and
development . This s t ream would turn
into a deluge in the sustainabili ty-
friendly 1990s.
T he W orld Conservation Strategy, the
manifesto published collectively by the
World Conservat ion
Union (IUCN), the
Uni ted Nat ions
Environment
P rog ramme (UNEP
set up after the
Stockholm
conference), and the
World Wide Fund
for Nature (WWF),
stands out as an early but at the t ime
largely overlooked international
attempt at mobilis ing public action to
address emergent environmenta l
challenges (see Box 2).
More recently, environmentalis ts have
argued that the intellectual his tory of
the concept of sustainabili ty can be
traced back to the terms 's tationary ' or
's teady-state economy' used by 19th-
century polit ical economists .
13
For John
Stuart M ill, the 19th-ce ntury polit ical
economist, ' s tationary ' was not a s tatic
concept but referred to a balance
between product ion and natura l
resources implying equality of access to
natural resources for successive
genera t ions .
These concerns are not only to be foun d
in dissident western intellectual
traditions but can be traced in the oral
his tories of indigenous cultures . For
example, the principle of inter-
generational equity is captured in the
Inuit saying, 'we do not inherit the
Earth from our parents , we borrow it
from our children' . The Native
American 'Law of the Seventh
Generation' is another i l lustration.
According to this , before any major
action was to be undertaken its potential
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Towards Su sta inable Deve lopm ent for Local Authorit ies
consequences on the seventh genera t ion
had to be considered. For a species that
at presen t is only 6,000 genera tions old,
and whose current polit ical decis ion
makers operate on time scales of weeks,
or f ive years at most, the thought that
o ther humans have based thei r decis ion
making systems on time scales of 300
years seems inspiringly sage but
polit ically inconceivable.
Conf l ic ts and controvers ies
At the beginning of this chapter the
observat ion was made that sus ta inable
development is not a self-evident
concept but a polit ically contested one.
Despite a plethora of varying
definitions, at i ts core, sustainabili ty
refers to three s imple concerns:
the need to arrest env ironm enta l
degradat ion and ecological
imbalance;
the need not to imp ove rish future
genera t ions ;
the nee d for qua lity of life and e qui ty
between current genera t ions .
A dde d u p , these core concerns are an
unmistakable call for transformation.
Business-as-usual is no longer an
option. Social insti tutions including
economic systems and polit ical
ar rangements cannot cont inue as
they are. This is not an agend a for the
faint-hearted. Litt le wonder then that
ever s ince Our Common Future
popular ised what had h i ther to ex is ted
on d isc ip l inary margins or NGO
agendas, there has been an avalanche of
books, reports , and articles on the
subject, addressing sustainable
development f rom every conceivable
angle." In the ensuing war of definition,
almost 300 different interpr etation s of
the concept have been identif ied (see
Box 3). These differing som etim es
conflicting interpretations are not
accidental. They are the products of
conflicting worldviews, differing
ideologies , varied disciplinary
backg rounds , oppos ing knowledge
trad i t ions , va lue sys tems and ves ted
interests .
Such differences in understanding and
approach make consensus towards
common agendas d i f f icu l t . Fur thermore ,
in a sharply divided world it is not
uncommon for the r ich and powerful to
have one agenda; and the poor and
under-pr iv i leged to have another .
Wh y the need for conceptual clarity?
But why does this ma tter? Is i t not futile
to quibble over conceptual definitions
when the key issue is to devise
strategies and set targets to put the
concept into practice?
While action is urgently needed,
unders tanding the concept and agreeing
upon pr incip les for ac t ion is paramount .
Two examples br ing th is poin t hom e.
The first is from Canada, one of the first
countr ies to embrac e ' sus ta inable
development ' as official national policy.
In 1992 a three-volume survey of how
Canadian munic ipal i t ies were
attempting to translate sustainabili ty in
the urban context found a spectrum of
def in it ions of sus ta inable deve lopm ent
formulated by municipal officials . The
author concluded that the exercise
underscored how 'poor ly the concept i s
unders tood and put to pract ice , despi te
all the rhetoric s ince the Brundtland
repo r t . .
...
operationalising the concep t (of sustainable
development) is no simple
task.
Firstly, scientific know ledge about
critical natural environmental thresholds and imp acts on
ecological
systems is uncertain. Secondly,
because
the concept challenges
established practices and po wer relations,there are forcesseeking not
merely to avoid its rise to public policy prom inence, b ut, for vested
economic an d po litical interests, to impose particular interpretations
on it.
Healy and Shaw,
Regional Studies, 1997/772
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The second example comes from the UN
Secretary-General 's review of global
progress on sus ta inable development
since UNCED. The report notes that one
of the constraining factors to further
progress has been that: ' ... not all
Governing Bodies of international
organizat ions , even with in the UN
sys tem, have the same unders tanding of
the concept of sustainable development.
Some have adopted programmes of
environmenta l ly sus ta inable
development, others have called for
sus ta inable human development whi le
others have talked of conservation or
other types of environmental plans. This
has led to some confusion regarding the
core issues of su stainab le
development . '
1
'
Evidently, clarity abou t the concept is
crucial when it comes to selecting
which
issues
are to be emphas ize d ,
xvhose needs
and interests are to be priorit ised, and
who is to be involved in the decis ion
making. This in turn informs what
Box3: (Se lec ted) Def in i t ions o f Sus ta inab le Deve lopment
Our Common Future ( B r u n d t l a n d C o m m i ss i o n R e p o r t ) , W o r l d C o m m i ss i o n o n
E n v i r o n m e n t & D e v e l o p m e n t , 1 9 8 7
1. Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the abilityo ffuture generatio
meet their own needs.
2. ... sustainable development is not a fixed stateof harmony, butrather a process of change in which the exploitation ofresources,t
orientationofthe technologicaldevelopment and institutional change are made consistent with future as well as presentneeds.
Caringfor the Earth(IUCN, WW F, UNEP, 1991)
Sustainable development means improving the quality of life while living within the carrying capacityofsupportingecosystems.
Maastricht TreatyonEuropean Union(Article 2, Treaty on Europ ean Unio n, 1992
(Sustainable development is) a harmonious and balanced development of economicac tivities,sustainable and non-inflationary grow
respecting the
environment.
European CommunityFifth EnvironmentalActionProgramme (CEC, 1993)
(Sustainable development is) continued economic and social development xoithout detriment to the natural resources on the quality
which human activity and further developmentdepend.
International Council of Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI)
Sustainable development is development that delivers basic
environmental
social and economic services to all residents
o f
a comm
without threatening the viability
of
the
natural
built and social systems upon which the delivery
of
these servicesdepends.
Tlte GreenEconomy,M icha el Jacobs (1991:79-80)
Sustainability means that the environment should be protected insuch a condition and to such a degree that environmental capaciti
(the ability of the environment to perform itsvarious functions) are maintained overtime: atleast at levels which give future generati
the opportunity to enjoy an equal measure of environmental consumption.
lueprintf ora Green Economy( BlueprintV ).David Pearce,et al(1989), Earthscan, London
WeakSustainability: Only the aggregate of stocks of capital, regardless of their type, has to be held constant for future
generations; these forms of capital are completely substitutable for each other. 'It is the aggregate quantity that matters and
there is considerable scope for sustituting man-m ade w ealth for natural env ironmental a ssets' (Pearce
etal
1989:48)
SensibleSustainability: No further decline is accepted for known critical natural stocks, while for others substitution between
natural and man -made capital is allowed for.
Strong
Sustainability: The overall stock of natural capital should not be allowed to decline.
Absurdly StrongSustainability: No substitution is permitted between the various kinds of natural capital stocks; each stock
has to keep to at least its current level.
a C 3
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T o w a r d s S u s t a i n a b l e D e v e l o p m e n t f or L o c a l A u t h o r i t i e s
Ecology teaches us that there are no
environmental solut ions to
environmental problems, except over
geological time scales. There are only
economic, social and political solutions
because the causes of environmen tal
degradation are economic, social and
political by nature.
Charles Secrett,
Fr iend s of the Ear th
f r a m e w o r k i s t o b e s e t a n d w h a t p o l i c i e s
a n d i n s t r u m e n t s a r e t o b e e m p l o y e d .
S u c h c o n s i d e r a t i o n s m a t t e r b e c a u s e t h e
d e f i n i n g o f i s s u e s a n d t h e n e g o t i a t i o n o f
in te r es t s i s no t an apo l i t ica l p rocess , i t i s
a n i n t e n s e l y p o l i t i c a l o n e . S e v e r a l
a n a l y s t s h a v e e m p h a s i s e d t h i s p o i n t : ' . . .
t h e r e a l i s a t i o n o f e n v i r o n m e n t a l l y
s u s t a i n a b l e s t r a t e g i e s i s n o t s i m p l y a
p r o b l e m o f t e c h n o l o g y o r e c o s y s t e m i c
u n d e r s t a n d i n g , b u t o f p o l i t i c s ,
i n s t i t u t i o n s a n d t h e a r t i c u l a t i o n a n d
i m p l e m e n t a t i o n o f p u b l i c p o l i c y ' . "
T w o c o n t r o v e r s i a l e x a m p l e s s e r v e t o
i l lu s t r a te th i s po in t o f the power o f
d e f i n i t i o n a n d , s u b s e q u e n t l y , p o l i c y
f o r m u l a t i o n .
W iiat is more unsustainable: population
growth or car growth?
The f i r s t case r e la tes to those two
f a v o u r i t e b o g i e s o f m a n y
e n v i r o n m e n t a l i s t s : p o p u l a t i o n g r o w t h
and car s .
1
"
P o p u l a t i o n g r o w t h r a t e s , i n r e l a t i o n t o
a v a i l a b l e r e s o u r c e s , h a v e l o n g b e e n h e l d
t o b e a k e y s o u r c e o f e n v i r o n m e n t a l
d e g r a d a t i o n . P o p u l a t i o n c o n t r o l h a s
t h e r e f o r e b e e n a c e n t r a l f o c u s o f m a n y
There is not one environmental
crisis, affecting everybody in the same way.
There are
many different crises, and the one
each
o f us experiences depends on a number
of
facts about uswhere
zee
live, how much
money we have, (and) what generation we
belong to.
Michael Jacobs
The Green Economy,
1991:20-21 ~
i n t e r n a t i o n a l a i d p r o g r a m m e s , w h i c h
u s e a n a s s o r t m e n t o f i n c e n t i v e s a n d
i n d u c e m e n t s t o l o w e r f e r t i l i t y i n p o o r
c o u n t r i e s .
C a r g r o w t h , o n t h e o t h e r h a n d , i s
g r o w i n g f o u r t i m e s a s f a s t a s t h e h u m a n
p o p u l a t i o n . T h e r e a r e , h o w e v e r , n o
p o p u l a t i o n c o n t r o l p r o g r a m m e s fo r
c a r s .
T r af fi c g r o w t h t a r g e t s a r e s e l d o m
s e t ( o r s e r i o u s l y i m p l e m e n t e d ) a n d
p o l i c y m a k e r s s e e m i n c a p a b l e o f
a r r e s t i n g t h e i n e x o r a b l e g r o w t h i n
p r i v a t e v e h i c l e s . E x p e r i e n c e h a s s h o w n
t h a t r e s t r i c t i o n s h a v e b e e n o p p o s e d b y
t h e a u t o m o b i l e i n d u s t r y a n d w e s t e r n
c o n s u m e r s a l i k e a s a n a t t a c k o n f r e e
t r a d e a n d p e r s o n a l f r e e d o m s
respec t ive ly . C r i t ics charge tha t i t i s
t h e r e f o r e e v i d e n t l y e a s i e r t o c o n t r o l t h e
fe r t i l i ty o f the poo r in Sou thern
c o u n t r i e s t h a n t h e m o b i l i t y o f c a r -
d e p e n d e n t c o n s u m e r s i n N o r t h e r n
c o u n t r i e s .
2
" S u c h p o l i c y c h o i c e s b e g t h e
q u e s t i o n : w h o s e i n t e r e s t s a r e b e i n g
s e r v e d , a n d a t w h o s e c o s t ?
W hose Common Future?
T h e c a s e o f
Our Common Future
is also
i n s t r u c t i v e h e r e .
W h i l e t h e r e p o r t i s c r e d i t e d f o r
c a t a p u l t i n g t h e i s s u e s o f e n v i r o n m e n t a l
d e g r a d a t i o n a n d u n e q u a l d e v e l o p m e n t
o n t o t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l s t a g e , i t w a s a l s o
p r o f o u n d l y c r i t i q u e d f o r i t s a m b i g u i t y
a n d u n w i l l i n g n e s s t o d r a w o u t t h e
p o l i c y i m p l i c a t i o n s o f i t s o w n a n a l y s i s .
I t c o n d e m n e d t h e e n v i r o n m e n t a l i m p a c t
o f e c o n o m i c g r o w t h ; b u t c a l l e d f o r m o r e
g r o w t h . I t d e p l o r e d g r o w i n g i n e q u a l i t y
i n t h e w o r l d ; b u t w a s s i l e n t o n r e s o u r c e
d i s t r i b u t i o n .
2 1
C r i t i c s c h a r g e d t h a t t h e r e p o r t s o u g h t t o
b e ' a l l t h i n g s t o a l l p e o p l e ' , o b s c u r i n g
rea l wor ld i s sues o f power , con f l ic t , and
r e s p o n s i b i l i t y . W h i l e s o m e p e o p l e
iden t i f ied i t w i th the message o f
e c o l o g i c a l i n t e g r i t y , e c o n o m i c
t r a n s f o r m a t i o n a n d s o c i a l j u s t i c e , o t h e r s
iden t i f ied i t w i th the p ro m ise o f
s u s t a i n e d g r o w t h , t h a t i t w a s p o s s i b l e t o
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Towards Su sta inable Deve lopm ent for Local Authorit ies
states: ' the conflict between current
economic growth pat terns and
sustainabili ty constraints hardly needs
to be argued : i t is the wh ole ba sis of th e
environmental cris is . If current patterns
of economic growth w ere s imply to
cont inue ... environm enta l degrad at ion
will get worse' .
2
'
In recent years there has been s trong
criticism of mainstream (neo-classical)
economics for i ts short-s ightedness on
environmental and social (e.g. equity,
gender and culture) factors . This fail ing
is not only inefficient, it leads to the
'externalis ing' or passing on to
society or future ge neratio ns of
environmental and social costs .
Economic indicators such as GN P hav e
also come under fire for their
inadequacies in guiding ecologically
viable economic policy. Above all it is
the
nature
of growth , and the demands
of a consumer culture for i t ' the
notion that the role of a human being is
to maximise his or her consumption'
2 6
that are irreconcilable with ecological
objectives of respecting biospheric
integrity in a context of rising
popula t ion , r i s ing consumer ism, and
ris ing environmental s tress .
2
'
It is this last issue that remains one of
the central flashpoints in the
environment-economy l ink . Pos i t ive
s teps towards a more balanced and
ecologically sound relationship are,
however , be ing m ade. For exam ple , the
develo pme nt of indus tr ia l ecology with
its focus on a circular rather than a
linear economy, has found a receptive
ear in progressive industry circles .
Strides are being made in several areas
to increase resource and energy
productivity (make 'more with less ' ) by
factors of 4 to 10.
28
These are being
advocated by research institutes , lobby
ing associations
2
' and the European
Commiss ion to reduce both ' input ' and
' throughput ' in the economy.
The discipline of economics itself is
s lowly being transformed by
pract i t ioners br inging in new th inking
on ecological and social connections. For
example, recent theoris ing has focused
on the need to main ta in a nd enhance
'natural capital ' : the objective being to
live off the income rather than deplete
stocks (see Figure 3, the F our-C apital
model) .
More genera l ly , the environment-
economy link has become part of
polit ical debate; i t has even become
fashionable to talk in terms of the 'triple
bot tom l ine ' : environment , economics
Figure 4: Susta inab le Dev elopm ent:
T he Wo r ld B a nk's N ew T hink ing
Objectives of environmentally
sustainable development
Economic objectives
Growth
Equity
Efficiency
Social objectives
Empowerment
Participation
Social mobility
Social cohesion
Cultural identity
Institutional
development
M
cological objectives
Ecosystems integrity
Carrying capacity
Biodiversity
Global issues
How an economistseesi t
Economic objectives
Growth
Efficiency
Social objectives
Equity
Poverty reduction
Ecological objectives
Natural-resource
management
Source: Adapted fromtheWorld Bank, 1994:2
and equity. Institutions such as the
World Bank have also established units
to s tudy the challenges of
environmenta l ly sus ta inable
development (see Figure 4).
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Equity
While much progress is be ing ma de to
improve resource efficiencies, far less
progress has been made to improve
resource dis tr ibution. Currently, just
one-fifth of the global population is
consum ing three-quar ters of the ear th ' s
resources (Figure 1). If the re ma ining
four-fifths were to exercise their right to
grow to the level of the rich minority it
would result in ecological devastation.
So far, global income inequalities (see
Figure 2) and lack of purchasing power
have preven ted poorer countr ies f rom
reaching the s tandard of l iving (and also
re s ou rce cons um pt ion /w as te emis sion)
of the industrialised countries .
Countries such as China, Brazil , India,
and M alays ia are , however , ca tch ing u p
fast. In such a situation, global
consumption of resources and energy
needs to be drastically reduced to a
point where i t can be repeated by future
generations. But who will do the
reducing? Poorer nations want to
produce and consume more . Yet so do
richer countries: their economies
demand ever greater consumption-
based expansion. (Parallel conflicts of
interest can also be found at the local
and national level.) Such s talemates
have prevented any meaningful
progress towards equi tab le and
sustainable resource dis tr ibution at the
interna tional level. These issue of
fairness and dis tr ibutional justice
remain unresolved, but high on the
polit ical agen da. Box 5 and Table 2
describe som e of the efforts m ad e
towards a resolution of these conflicts
by the UN, governments , NGOs, and
others .
In summary, sustainabili ty is not aself-
evident concept. I t has both biophysical,
social and economic dimensions. The
social dimensions are the most
polit ically contested and the
assumptions lying behind talk of
environment , development , equi ty , and
sustainabili ty need to be interrogated
before a commonality of interests can be
assumed.
1
" In practical terms this means
that depending on the in terpre ta t ion ,
policy choices could favour (one or in
combination): technocratic solutions;
( re)d ist r ibut ive m easures ; market-based
ins t ruments ; ind iv idual value and
lifestyle c hang es; or wide-sca le
economic and institutional reform.
The next chapter looks at the rapidly
changing in ternat ional and European
environmental policy context in the
post-Brundtland era and how it is
inf luencing the munic ipal agenda.
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Towards Susta inable D evelop me nt for Local Authorit ies
B ox 5 : C h a n g i n g P r o d u c t i o n a n d C o n su m p t i o n P a t t e r n s :
Eff ic iency and Suff ic iency Revolut ions
Poverty and environmentaldegradation areclosely interrelated. W hile poverty results in environmental stress, the
majorcauseofglobalenvironmental deterioration is an unsustainable pattern of consumption and production,
particularly in the industrialized c ountries, which aggravates poverty and imbalances.
Achieving sustainable development will
require
efficiency in production and changes in consumption in order to
optimize
resource
use and minimize the
creation
o f waste. This w ill
require
reorienting patterns of developmen t in
industrialsocieties which havebeen copied in much ofthedeveloping
world.
Proposals
in Agenda 21
call
fo r
greater
attention to issnes around consumption and for new national
policies
to
encourage the shift to sustainable consumption patterns.
1
These passages from Agenda 21 are the result of intense polit ical negotiation at the Rio Earth Summit
(1992) between Nor thern and Southern countr ies . Their impor tance has been underscored by thei r
recurrence in a lmos t every major UN conference docu me nt s ince UN CED . The chal lenge is sued to
industrialised countries in these passages is clear, but underestimated, even in the Agenda 21 text.
Leading European researchers estimate that resource efficiencies of more than 90% over the next 50
years are needed to meet grow th in dem and with out caus ing ecological co llapse . Others ad d that th is
'eco-efficiency revolution' must be matched by a 'sufficiency revolution' to meet global resource equity
goals .
The response to these passages has been var ied : in ter -governm enta l ins t i tu t ions such as the OECD and
the CSD have es tab l ished w orking group s . NGO s, such as Fr iends of the Ear th , World Wide Fun d for
Na ture , and A NPE D have m obi l ised cam paigns . Ins t i tu tes such as the USD have engineered g lobal
electronic discussion forums. Energy and design pioneers at the Wuppertal Institute and the Rocky
Mountain Institute have promoted products based on Factor 4 resource and energy efficiencies . By and
large , the response of nat ional governm ents an d in dus try h as been mark ed by a pr ior i t i s ing of the
efficiency in production
half of the challenge.
Change s in the culture of consumption
(the sufficiency
revolution) has proved harder to tackle and governments have been chided for ducking their
respons ib i l i t ies . Here leadersh ip by the Norwegian government in organiz ing a (now year ly) minis ter ia l -
level gatherin g on the subject in Oslo in 1994 has been crucial to setting an official dialo gue in m otion .
The 'Os lo process ' has p laced the is sue on govern me nta l ag enda s and som e including the Uni tes
States , the world 's largest consumer have established committees to s tudy the issue of changing
consumption pat terns .
The role of municipal authorities and their associations in the official debates has so far been marginal.
Some are now beginning to take up the issues at the international and local level.
Section 1, Cha pter 4 of Ag enda
21,
emphasis added
< n C 3
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Towards Susta inable D evelo pm ent for Local Authorit ies
The in te rna t iona l con tex t
2
Towards a pos i t i ve
policy context for
sus t a inab i l i t y?
The preceding chapter has argued that
the scale of our environmental and
social challenges is profound and that
the s takes are very high. However, as
the variety of interpretations of
sus ta inable development demons tra tes ,
percept ions of the problems vary and
this affects whether and what type of
corrective actions are taken . In recent
years a number of high-level
international conferences on
sustainabili ty-related issues have been
held. These conferences have shaped the
in ternat ional pol icy environment and
catalysed a s imilar process of policy
development at the regional level. They
have a lso provided a new context and
rationale for local authority action on
sus ta inable development . This chapter
discusses the impact of two significant
international conferences: the Rio Earth
Summit and Habitat II . I t then analyses
the European environmenta l po l icy
context, including the Maastricht Treaty
of the European Union, and the efforts
of the European Commission to define a
new sustainabili ty agenda for urban
authorities .
For all i ts internal contradictions, noted
in the last chapter , the Brundtland
Commiss ion repor t Our Common Future
marked a watershed in in ternat ional
del ibera t ions on the environment ,
economy, and equity nexus. The
repor t ' s message of human surv ival a t
threat succeeded in attracting polit ical
attention in a way in which other
equal ly signif icant UN -sponsore d
reports had failed, such as North-South:
A Programme for Survival (Brandt
Commission report, 1980) and
Common
Security: A Programme for Disarmament
(Palme Commission, 1982) had failed to.
The process that Our Common Future set
in motion provides the context for much
of current policy-making and legis lation
on sustainabili ty issues.
The immedia te outcome of Our Common
Future was the Uni ted Nat ions '
Conference on Environment and
Development (UNCED), held in Rio de
Janeiro in 1992. Popularly known as the
'Earth Summit ' , this event was the
largest and most celebrated
international conference ever organized
by the UN. The a t tendance was
unpre cede nted: 178 countr ies ; 120
Heads of State;8,000 journalis ts ; and
more than 30,000 people at the official
governmenta l summit and para l le l
NGO Global Forum. The Ear th Summit
resulted in five official documents:
Rio Declaration
Age nda 21
Biodiversity Con venti on
Cl imate Conve nt ion
Forest Principles .
The conference also established two
limited funding mechanisms for Eastern
and Southern countr ies :
the Global Env ironm ent Facili ty
(GEF), administered jointly by the
World Bank and UNEP, to support
programmes in the focal areas of
biodiversity, climate change,
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Box 6:
A g e n d a 2 1 O u t l i n e
Chapter 1 . Preamble
Sect ion 1: Social and Economic D imen sions
Cha pter 2 . In ternational cooperation to accelerate
sustainable development in developing countr ies and
related domestic policies
Cha pter 3 . Com bating p over ty
C hap te r 4 . C hang ing consumpt ion pa t te rn s
Chapter 5 . Demographic dynamics and sustainabil i ty
Chapter 6 . Protecting and promoting human health
C hap te r 7 . P romot ing sus ta inab le huma n se t t lemen t
deve lopmen t
C hap te r 8 . I n teg ra ting env i ronmen t and deve lopm en t
decis ion-making
Section 2: Conse rvation and Manag eme nt of Resources
for Development
Chapter 9 . Protection of the atmosphere
Chapter 10 . In tegrated approach to the p lanning and
management of land resource
Chapter 20 . Environmentally sound management of
hazardous wastes , including prevention of i l legal
in ternational traf f ic in hazardous wastes
C h a p t e r
21 .
Environmentally sound management of so lid
wastes and sewage-related issues
Cha pter 22 . Safe and environm entally soun d m anag em ent
of radioactive wastes
Sect ion
3:
Strengthening the Role of Major Groups
Chapter 23 . Preamble
Chapter 24 . Global action for women towards sustainable
and equ i tab le deve lopme n t
C h a p t e r
25 .
Children and youth in sustainable
deve lopmen t
Chap ter 26 . Recognizing an d s trengthen ing the ro le of
indigenous people and their communities
Chapter 27 . Strengthening the ro le of non-governmental
organizations: Par tners for sustainable development
C h a p t e r
28 .
Local author i t ies ' in i t iatives in supp or t of
Agenda 21
Cha pter 29 . Strengthen ing the ro le of
workers and their t rade unions
A g e n d a 2 1 :
Earth's Action Plan
C h a p t e r
11.
Com bating deforestat ion
Chap ter 12 . Ma naging f ragile
ecosystems: Combating deser t if icat ion
and d rough t
Chap ter 13 . Ma nagin g f ragile
ecosystems: Sustainable mountain
deve lopmen t
Chap ter 14 . Prom oting sustainable agr iculture and rural
deve lopmen t
Chap ter 15 . Conse rvation of b io logical d ivers i ty
Chap ter 16. Environm entally soun d ma nage me nt of
bio technology
Cha pter 17. Protectio n of the oceans,, all kinds of seas ,
including enclosed and semi-enclosed seas , and coastal
areas and the protection , rat ional use and development of
their living resources
Chapter 18. Protection of the quality and supply of fresh
water resources: Application of in tegrated approaches to
the development, management and use of water resources
Chapter 19 . Environmentally sound management of toxic
chemicals , including preven tion of il legal in ternational
traff ic in toxic and dan gero us prod ucts
Cha pter 30 . Strengthening the ro le of
business and industry
C h a p t e r
31 .
Scientific and technological
communi ty
Cha pter 32 . Strengthening the ro le of
farmers
Sect ion 4: Mea ns of Implementat ion
C h a p t e r 33 . Financial resources and mechanisms
Cha pter 34 . Transfer of environmen tally sound
technology, cooperation and capacity-build ing
Cha pter 35 . Science for sustainable deve lopm ent
Chapter 36 . Promoting education , public awareness and
train ing
Chapter 37 . National mechanisms and in ternational
cooperation for capacity-build ing in developing
countr ies
C h a p t e r 38 . In ternational inst i tu t ional ar rangements
Chapter 39 . In ternational legal instruments and
mechan isms
Cha pter 40 . Information for decis ion -making
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Towards Susta inable Dev elopm ent for Local Authorit ies
Rio'sagendafo rlocalauthorities
Agenda 21 has a particular resonance for
local autho rities . I t ma rks th e f irst major
success of local authorities to have their
new role as key players in the
sustainabili ty debate formally
recognised. I t has been estimated that
almost two-thirds of the actions in
Age nda 21 require the involvemen t of
local government . Agenda 21 devotes an
entire chapter to local authorities as one
of i ts nine 'major groups ' . This chapter
(see Box 7) was itself the result of active
involvement by groups such as the
International Council for Local
Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI), the
Uni ted Towns Organizat ion , European
Commiss ion delegates and o thers .
The UNcycleofconferences
The 1990s have been a very busy decade
for international policy making. The
issues have ranged from the use and
management of natura l resources
(UNCED and i ts resu l tan t con vent ions ) ,
to demographics and reproduct ive r ights
(International Conference on Population
and Develop ment , 1994) ; pover ty and
social inequalit ies ( the Social Summit,
1995); the s tatus of women (the Fourth
World Conference on Women, 1995) and
the regulation of global trade (General
Agreement on Trade and Tariffs , 1994).
The results of these conferences will be
contributing to shaping the global policy
agenda in the f irs t decades of the 21st
century.
Although the majority of these
conferences have some bearing on the
kind of societies we will be living in, and
how they wil l be run , two summits s tand
out in their relevance for local
authorities : the UN World Conference on
Social Development or 'The Social
Summit ' (Copenhagen, 1995) and
HABITAT II 'The City Summit ' (Is tanbul,
1996). Both addressed themselves to
concerns faced daily by many local
au thor i t ies : hom elessness ,
unem ploy me nt , c r ime, poverty , socia l
exclus ion , pol lu t ion , was te d isposal ,
traffic congestion, overstretched or
underfunded services , etc. Of the two,
the Social Summit, despite i ts important
focus on development and the threats to
social cohesion and sustainable
l ivel ihoods everywhere , was
compara t ive ly downp layed in
indus tr ia l ised cou ntr ies . Perhap s due to a
Box 7: Age nda 21's Chapter 28 on Local Au thorit ies
Basis for Action
28.1.
Because so many of the problems and solutions being addressed by Agenda
21
have their
roots in local activities, the participation and cooperation of local authorities will be a
determining factor in fulfilling its objectives. Local authorities construct, operate and maintain
economic, social and environmental policies and reg ulations, and assist in implem enting
national and subnational environm ental policies. Asthe levelo fgovernance closest to thepeople,
they play a vital rolein
educating
mobilising and responding to the public to promote sustainable
development.
Objectives
28.2. The following objectives are proposed for this programme area:
(a) By1996 most local authorities ineach country should have undertaken a consultative processwith
their local populations and achieved a consensus on a 'Local Agenda21'for thecomm unity,
(b) By 1993, the international comm unity shou ld have initiated a consultative process aimed at
increasing cooperation between local authorities;
(c) By 1994, repres entativ es of associations of cities and other local autho rities sho uld have
increased levels of cooperation and coordination with the goal of enhancing the exchange of
information and experience among local authorities;
(d)
Alllocal authoritiesineach country should be encouraged toimplement and monitor programmes
which aimatensuring that women and youth are representedin
decision-making
planning and
implementationprocesses.
(emphasis added)
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The Final Text of Habitat U's W orld Plan of Action is
only a gentle starting p oint for beginning to influence national
action s.... If, in a year orso,a handful of countries have adjusted a
handful of
policies
or practices, then probably the event justifies
itself....
An d
beneath
the surface,
there are
the indirect benefits
of
teaching countriespowerful and potentially arrogant countries,
or
poor
and potentially troublesome countries the techniques
of
international democracy.
Richard Best
Chair, Habitat II UK Council
reluctance to admit that issues of poverty
and exclusion were not the sole
prerogative of the poorer countries .
While some local-government
representatives were present at the Social
Summit there was li t t le organized
activity by international local authority
associations. Ha bitat II, in co ntrast ,
a t t rac ted unprecedented local au thor i ty
attention and the two-week conference in
Istanbul marked their polit ical coming of
age.
Habitat II 'The City S um mit'
Officially known as the Second UN
Conference on Human Set t lements ( the
firs t conference being held in Vancouver
in 1976), Habitat II had been organized to
ra ise publ ic awareness ab out the
problems and potent ia ls of human
set t lements , and to seek com mitm ent
f rom the wor ld ' s governments to make
all locales of human habitation healthy,
safe,
just, and sustainable.
3
' At tendance a t
the official conference was beyond
expectation: more than 3,000 government
delegates from 171 countries;
approxim ate ly 600 local-au thor i ty
representatives; over 2,000 accredited
NG O representa t ives ; some 3 ,000
journalis ts ; and representatives of trade
unions , in tergovernmenta l organizat ions
and o ther major groups . Some8,550
people par t ic ipated in the para l le l NG O
Forum which saw over 1,700 meetings
and events .
38
Habitat II addressed itself to two
fundamenta l ques t ions :
H ow can adeq uate shel ter and
livelihoods for all of the world 's ever
growing and pr imar i ly urban
popula t ion be ensured?
Ho w can sus ta in
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