Topic 4 Protocols for Sustainable Development Assoc Prof Dr Sharifah Norazizan Syed Abd Rashid APPM Department of Social and Development Science Faculty.

Topic 4

Protocols for Sustainable Development

Assoc Prof Dr Sharifah Norazizan Syed Abd Rashid APPM

Department of Social and Development Science

Faculty of Human Ecology, UPM

[email protected]

Content

• A Background History of Sustainable Development• Summary• Discussions• References

Sustainable Development History : A Background

Critique of traditional development

•Contributing to health problems, ecological degradation, poverty and social injustice

•Undermining ecological, social and economic capital of communities

Sustainable Development as remedy.

Emergence of Sustainable Development

Stockholm Conference (Eco-development)

1972

Brundtland Commission (our Common Future)

1987

UN Conference on Environment & Development (Agenda 21)

1992 (June)

UN Commission on Sustainable Development 1992 (Dec.)

National Sustainable Development Action Plans

1992 +

UNCSD Reviews Progress on Agenda 21 1997

Kyoto Protocol to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change

1997 (Dec.)

1972 Stockholm Conference– Declaration on the Human

Environment Principle 6 :

A point has been reached in history when we must shape

our actions throughout the world with a more prudent care for their

environmental consequences. Through ignorance or indifference we can do massive and irreversible harm to the earthly environment on which our life and well-being depend. Conversely, through fuller knowledge and wiser action, we can achieve for ourselves and our prosperity a better life in an environment more in keeping with human needs and hopes. To defend and improve the human environment for present and future generations has become an imperative goal for mankind-a goal to be pursued together with, and in harmony with, the established and fundamental goals of peace and of world-wide economic and social development.

cont

Principle 11:

The environmental policies of all States should enhance and not adversely affect the present or future development potential of developing countries, nor should they hamper the attainment of better living conditions for all, and appropriate steps should be taken by States and international organizations with a view to reaching agreement on meeting the possible national and international economic consequences resulting from the application of environmental measures.

Background - cont

This topic explores the emerging concept of 'sustainable development' which is now central to the programmes of many governments, businesses, educational institutions and non-government organizations around the world.

The topic takes an historical approach tracing the widening understanding of sustainable development from the 1980s up to the present day. This history includes landmark international events such as: the 1987 Brundtland Report, the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janiero, the 1997 Rio+5 Conference and the 2000 Millennium Summit in New York, and the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg.

Background- cont

• Much has been written in academic terms about the meaning of sustainable development and the need to integrate ecological and economic principles into personal and public decision-making.

• However, there is no agreed definition of the concept and perhaps there is no need for one. This is because sustainable development concerns a process of change and is heavily reliant upon local contexts, needs and interests.

• Thus, sustainable development is an 'emerging concept' in two ways, first, because it is relatively new and evolves as we learn to grasp its wide implications for all aspects of our lives, and, second, because its meanings emerge and evolve according to local contexts.

Introduction Sustainable Development

• Sustainable development is one of the most fundamental challenges confronting humanity.

• There is as yet no commonly accepted definition of the term. Of the numerous definitions to be found in literature, the most commonly accepted, states that sustainable development is “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to develop.” (Our Common Future published by the UN World Commission on Environment and Development).

• This lecture traces the historic origins of the term, and its commonly accepted definition…aims, objectives and procedures.

Brundtland Report cont

• In 1987, the World Commission on Environment and Development (chaired by G.Harlem Brundtland) released its report The Brundtland Report, also known as Our Common Future. A Global Agenda For Change.

• The Report alerted the world to the urgency of making progress toward economic development that could be sustained without depleting natural resources or harming the environment.

• The Report provided a key statement on sustainable development, defining it as ….development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

cont

•"Our Common Future", otherwise known as the Brundtland Report, which framed much of what would become the 40 chapters of Agenda 21 and the 27 principles of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development.

•It defined sustainable development as development which; “meets the needs of present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”

Brundtland Report cont

• The Brundtland Report marks a point in our history when awareness was growing around both the concept of environment and the concept of development. But even today – 20 years later, tensions, controversies, and gridlocks between development and environment still exist. They will continue unless we really respect the notion of sustainability.

• The challenge of meeting the needs of present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs was moulded by the Commission into the concept of sustainable development. 20 years ago, this was totally new.

What were new then as stated in the Brundtland Report???

• The notion of equity and justice within and between generations.

• The idea of developing a shared understanding of the long-term goals for human life on earth.

• The idea of new governance instruments and of building collective action.

• Advocating the need for leadership and building trust with others.

Brundtland Report cont

The Brundtland Report was primarily concerned with securing a global equity, redistributing resources towards poorer nations whilst encouraging their economic growth. The report also suggested that equity, growth and environmental maintenance are simultaneously possible and that each country is capable of achieving its full economic potential whilst at the same time enhancing its resource base. The report also recognized that achieving this equity and sustainable growth would require technological and social change.

Brundtland Report cont

The report highlighted three fundamental components to sustainable development : environmental protection, economic growth and social equity. The environment should be conserved and our resource base enhanced, by gradually changing the ways in which we develop and use technologies. Developing nations must be allowed to meet their basic needs of employment, food energy, water and sanitation. If this is to be done in a sustainable manner, then there is a definite need for a sustainable level of population. Economic growth should be revived and developing nations should be allowed a growth of equal quality to the developed nations.

Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development:

“Our Common Future” (Brundtland 1987)

1. Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It contains within it two

key concepts: •the concept of ‘needs’, in particular the essential needs of the world’s poor, to which overriding priority should be given; and •the idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the environment’s ability to meet present and future needs.

cont

4. The satisfaction of human needs and aspirations is the major objective of development. The essential needs of vast numbers of people in developing countries for food, clothing, shelter, jobs - are not being met, and beyond their basic needs these people have legitimate aspirations for an improved quality of life. A world in which poverty and inequity are endemic will always be prone to ecological and other crises. Sustainable development requires meeting the basic needs of all and extending to all the opportunity to satisfy their aspirations for a better life.

1992 UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON ENVIRONMENT AND EVELOPMENT

(“Rio Conference”)

• The 1992 United Nations World Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) at Rio De Janeiro, Brazil also known as the Earth Summit promoting the principal theme of Environment and Sustainable Development. The meeting was to discuss global environmental issues that would become central to policy implementation. The conference sought agreement on concrete measures to reconcile economic activities with protection of the planet to ensure a sustainable future for all people.

• The Earth Summit influenced all subsequent UN conferences, which have examined the relationship between human rights, population, social development, women and human settlements — and the need for environmentally sustainable development.

1992 UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON ENVIRONMENT AND EVELOPMENT

(“Rio Conference”) …cont

Charged by the UN General Assembly to “elaborate strategies . . . to promote sustainable and environmentally sound development in all countries.”

Principle 1: Human beings are at the center of concerns for

sustainable development. They are entitled to a healthy and

productive life in harmony with nature.

Principle 3: The right to development must be fulfilled so as to

equitably meet developmental and environmental needs of present and future generations.

cont

Principle 4: In order to achieve sustainable development,

environmental protection shall constitute an integral part of the

development process and cannot be considered in isolation from it

• Agenda 21• Rio Declaration• Climate Change Convention• Bio-diversity Convention• Forestry Principles

Outcomes of Earth Summit 1992

• Desertification Convention• Straddling Fish Stocks Convention• UN Commission on Sustainable Development• Role of Stakeholders• Local Agenda 21• Persistent Organic Pollutants• Prior Informed Consent

Outcomes of Earth Summit 1992

Stakeholder Involvement: Agenda 21 / Major Groups

• Women• Children & Youth• Indigenous Peoples• NGOs• Business & Industry

• Workers & Trade Unions

• Scientific Community

• Local Authorities• Farmers

THE ROAD FROM RIOChanging Paradigms

PRE - Rio POST-Rio

Do more with more Do more with less

“Me” generation Global village

Throwaway society 3R’s (Reduce Reuse, Recycle)

Regulations as the ceiling Best available Control Technology

Least cost Least risk

Consumerism Environmentally friendly Products

Mitigate / control Anticipate / Prevent

Use resources Manage resources

Planning for profit Integrated planning

Preamble : RIO Declaration on Environment and Development

The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), in 1992 seek to;

•With the goal of establishing a new and equitable global partnership through the creation of new levels of cooperation among States, key sectors of societies and people,

•Working towards international agreements which respect the interests of all and protect the integrity of the global environmental and developmental system,

•Recognizing the integral and interdependent nature of the Earth, our home.

Proclaims that….

Human beings are at the center of concerns for sustainable development. They are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature.

Ref:

http://www.un.org

http://www.oceanlaw.net

An Overview of Agenda 21

• Agenda 21 is an environmental action plan for the next century. It is not legally binding but forms the basis for a new international partnership for sustainable development and environmental protection worldwide.

• Agenda 21 was the major overall document coming out of Rio and was devised to deal with some of the fundamental problems of resource degradation and aid to the developing world. It addresses many issues with respect to global sustainability and includes core chapters related to financing, the implementation of technology transfer and institutional follow-up to UNCED.

Goals of Agenda 21

• The primary goal of Agenda 21 is to ensure that development proceeds in a sustainable manner: "the system of incentives and penalties which motivate economic behaviour must be reoriented to become a strong force for sustainability."

• To eliminate poverty throughout the world through better management of energy and natural resources and improvement of the quality of life by ensuring access to shelter and clean water, sewage and solid waste treatment.

• To achieve the sustainable use of global and regional resources such as atmosphere, oceans, seas and freshwater, and marine organisms.

• The final goal is for improved management of chemicals and wastes. It is estimated that one third of the deaths in the third world are caused by food and water contaminated with human or industrial waste.

LOCAL AGENDA 21 (LA 21)

• Local Agenda 21 is Agenda 21 at the local level. • Agenda 21 is an action plan towards global

sustainable development in the next millennium and was endorsed by more than 178 heads of state and ministers at UNCED.

• LA21 is a program to forge partnerships between local authorities and the communities, they serve to work together to plan and care for their surroundings towards sustainable development.

• Local communities with local authority, identify and analyze local sustainable development issues, formulate and implement action plans to address them.

• LA21 adopts a "bottom up" approach.

LA 21 PRINCIPLES

• Holistic perpective in thinking and action among sectors

• Active participation from all partnership to create togetherness and love feeling

• Community thinking and action in lifecycle • World perspective in local issues “think globally act

locally”• Long term perspective for local issues

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CHARACTERISTICS OF LA 21

The following are some characteristics of an LA21 program:

It addresses economic, social and ecological needs together.

It includes a consensus on a vision for a sustainable future. It includes a participatory process with local residents. It establishes a Stakeholders Group, Forum or equivalent

multi-sectoral community group to oversee the process. It contains an Action Plan with concrete long-term targets. It has a monitoring and reporting framework. It has indicators to monitor progress. It has tangible activities and programs to actualize its Action

Plans.

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LOCAL AGENDA 21 PROCESS

• Organize / prepare local authority• Partnership and participation• Develop a vision• Identity problems and issues• Develop objectives / set priorities• Action plan• Implement• Monitor and evaluate

Outline of Kyoto Protocol

• The Kyoto Protocol is a protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC being the international environmental treaty), aimed at fighting global warming.

• The Protocol was initially adopted on 11 December 1997 in Kyoto and entered into force on 16 February 2005. In 2009, 187 states have signed and ratified the protocol.

• Kyoto Protocol is basically built to fight against global warming by putting control on the immense amount of increasing pollution in the world by putting efforts towards reducing pollution caused by mankind.

Towards Earth Summit 2002

Stakeholder Forum• A multi-stakeholder forum• Information outreach: www.earthsummit2002.org,

Network 2002, Outreach, CD ROMS • Capacity building – regional support• Research and policy – briefings, books, reports• Multi-Stakeholder Dialogues – Implementation

Summit• Helping organizations plan their events for 2002

Why stakeholder involvement?

• Gather expertise• Arrive at optimum decisions• Generate commitment• Generate partnerships• Further implementation• Further good governance

The 2005 World Summit

The 2005 World Summit, 14–16 September 2005, was a follow-up summit meeting to the United Nations' 2000Millennium Summit, which led to the Millennium Declaration of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Representatives (including many leaders) of the 191 (now 192 member states met in New York City for what the United Nations described as "a once-in-a-generation opportunity to take bold decisions in the areas of development, security, human rights and reform of the United Nations."

UN Millennium Declaration

We recognize that, in addition to our separate

responsibilities to our individual societies, we have a collective responsibility to uphold the principles of

human dignity, equality and equity at the global level. As leaders we have a duty to all the world’s people, especially the most vulnerable and, in particular, the children of the world, to whom the future belongs.

UN Millennium Declaration cont

THE MILLENNIUM DECLARATION, ADOPTED BY 189 WORLD LEADERS places development goals at the heart of the global agenda to address poverty and its impacts, and sustainability “At the Millennium Summit in September 2000 the largest gathering of world leaders in history adopted the UN Millennium Declaration, committing their nations to a new global partnership to reduce extreme poverty and setting out a series of time-bound targets, all with a deadline of 2015, that have become known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)”.

Jeffrey Sachs

Importance of MDGs

• Human rights• Inequity in a smaller world• Global threats: water, environment, diseases• Impact on economic growth• Improve quality of development efforts• Raising political will for sustainable development• Raising more funds from rich countries• Creating partnerships and challenges• Setting targets and monitoring progress

Summary of MDGs

1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

2: Achieve universal primary education

3: Promote gender equality and promote women

4: Reduce child mortality

5: Improve maternal health

6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases

7: Ensure environmental sustainability

8: Develop a global partnership for development

Are MDGs Realistic?

• Expressed as Percent Improvement of the country’s own level of performance, are applicable to any country but do not consider specific local conditions, so there is major variation in achievement of targets.

• Major problem is not funds, although funding needs to increase to achieve many MDGs.

• Problem is implementation: political will, institutional and human resource capacity

References

• United Nations, 2005 World Summit Homepage• Brundtland Report, United Nations World

Commission on Environment and Development. Chapter 2: Towards Sustainable Development.

• Dresner, S. (2002) The Principles of Sustainability, Earthscan, London.

• http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/• www.earthsummit2002.org

www.stakeholderforum.org

References

• Soubbotina, T. P. with Sheram, K. A. (2000) Beyond Economic Growth : Meeting the Challenges of Global Development. World Bank Development Education Programme, Washington.

World Commission on Environment and Development (1987) Our Common Future, Oxford University Press, Oxford.

•Wackernagel, M. and Rees, W. (1996) Our Ecological Footprint: Reducing Human Impact on the Earth, New Society Publishers, Gabriola Island, BC, Canada.

Thank You