By FGR Bureau
“Addressing issues pertaining to sustainability requires expansion of discourse on resource allocation to incorporate the idea that can be an optimal mechanism of disbursing resources across time as well as among the people. Two questions can be considered under the umbrella of sustainability: firstly, as to how long our resources will last in the light of existing consumption patterns; secondly, as to how these resources should be managed so that future generations have access to the same quality of life as present generations”.
‘On account of invitation as a plenary speaker at the International Conference organised by IGNOU on the subject of “Environmental and Ecological Sustainability – Engaging the Stakeholders.” Dr Arvind Kumar highlighted the different economic and social issues of the contemporary environmental policy domain and stressed that it is imperative for policymakers in every country to reflect on how societies can be made more resilient’.
Environment is a complex concept and a precise delineation of the scope of ‘environment’ is somewhat debatable as it may include public and private property; different media (water, soil, air); natural resources traded in the marketplace; ‘pure’ environment such as wildlife and ecosystem dynamics; common concerns such as the conservation of biodiversity; and cultural elements. Without indulging into the maze of definitions of environment, the definition provided by UNEP is quite broad according to which ‘environment’ includes abiotic and biotic components, including air, water, soil, flora, fauna and the ecosystem formed by their interaction’ and might even include ‘cultural heritage, features of the landscape and environmental amenity’, but it excludes private property.
Sustainability is also a complex concept and its most often quoted definition originates from the definition of sustainable development as defined by the 1987 World Commission on Environment and Development, according to which, “sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs,”. By improving upon this definition, the concept of sustainability is defined as “the physical development and institutional operating practices that meet the needs of present users without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, particularly with regard to use and waste of natural resources. Sustainable practices support ecological, human, and economic health and vitality. Sustainability presumes that resources are finite, and should be used conservatively and wisely with a view to long-term priorities and consequences of the ways in which resources are used.”
Addressing issues pertaining to sustainability requires expansion of discourse on resource allocation to incorporate the idea that can be an optimal mechanism of disbursing resources across time as well as among the people. Two questions can be considered under the umbrella of sustainability: firstly, as to how long our resources will last in the light of existing consumption patterns; secondly, as to how these resources should be managed so that future generations have access to the same quality of life as present generations.
The first question of resource longevity or durability entails prediction and accounting; as to how technology, population growth and natural regeneration impact the stock of environmental goods that would be available from present to the near future. Policy planners and economists have been seized of the issues pertaining to longevity or durability of natural resources, especially at a time when the world is running out of water, agricultural land, fish, and other significant environmental goods. The notion of sustainability seeks to build the narrative on the degree or extent to which a good is becoming scarcer. The growing concern has been that the supply of a resource is not keeping pace with increasing demand.
Environmental challenges have now become more systemic, multifaceted, complex, uncertain and intertwined with socioeconomic factors. At the global level, limits have been crossed for four out of nine planetary boundaries owing to human-induced changes: climate change, biosphere integrity, land-system change, and biogeochemical flows (nitrogen and phosphorus). Besides, human health is being affected in various parts of the globe on account of poor air quality, climate change, unhealthy lifestyles and the disconnection between society and natural environments, thereby giving rise to new risks. Healthy planet to be inhabited by healthy people requires resilient ecosystems, efficient resource use, clean air, sufficient clean water, sustainable management of chemicals and waste and sustainable cities. It is now recognized that, “neither environmental policies alone nor economic and technology-driven efficiency gains will be sufficient to achieve sustainability”.
The reasons for this failure are a complex set of interrelated structural causes, implementation traps and knowledge/scoping issues. It has been identified that the three key factors as specific reasons for individual policy failures: firstly, economic policy incentives for private and public activities for continued exploitation of natural resources; secondly, lack of political will to implement effective sustainable policies; and thirdly, non-communication of the seriousness of sustainability issues to key stakeholders. In other words, implementation of sustainability strategies needs to be tailored to suit individual situations, if they are to be effective.
Apart from envisaging fundamental transitions in energy, food, mobility and urban systems, substantive changes in major institutions, practices, technologies, policies and lifestyles are also called for. There is also a dire need for new governance coalitions involving national and subnational levels of government, businesses and citizens. The changeover to a truly inclusive green economy needs be built on resilient ecosystems, clean production systems, healthy consumption choices, reduced negative distributional effects of environmental policies and improved overall environmental justice for all.
To conclude, the changeover to a truly inclusive green economy needs be built on resilient ecosystems, clean production systems, healthy consumption choices, reduced negative distributional effects of environmental policies and improved overall environmental justice for all.
