Ad hoc Committee of SETAC’s Advisory Group on Sustainability
Larry Kapustka, SLR Consulting Ltd., Canada
Paolo Masoni, ENEA, Italy
Ron McCormick, US DOI BLM, United States
Norbert Scholz, Evonik Industries AG, Germany
Cynthia Stahl, US EPA, United States
Bruce Vigon, SETAC, United States
A STATEMENT ON SUSTAINABILITY
TOWARD A DECLARATION OF THE 6TH SETAC WORLD CONGRESS
Building Sustainability Capacity within SETAC
1990
~2000 2001
Pellston
LCA
2002
2003
UNEP-LCA;
ERAAGPrecautionary
Principle WG
Meetings
posters,
sessions
SETAC
World
Council
formed
2004
2006 2007
Ahlf
Commentary
ERAAG
Decision
Uncertainty
Analysis WG;
First Ad hoc
Sustainability
group formed
Platform
session
DUAWG
2009
2010
2011
Ecosystem
Services WG
formed; Supplyside
Sustainability
Platform and
Sustainability Ecosystem
Short Course Services
Pellston;
Platform Learning in
Wicked
Decision Making in
Problems Social/Eco
Sustainability
Landscapes; SWS
Debate
forms
Debate
DUAWG
2
BACKDROP



World Congress Theme – Sustainability
Purpose – to invigorate discussions toward developing
a Declaration on Sustainability by SETAC
Opportunity –Tripartite structure, a model system



transdisciplinary development of a science of sustainability
open and transparent dialogue among stakeholders
Continuation – Kumamoto (Sept.), Buenos Aires (Oct.),
Long Beach (Nov.)
3
SETAC’S CHALLENGE
to embrace and reinforce a science-informed
conceptual model of sustainable social–
ecological landscapes
 within
this professional society
 into the greater sustainability community
4
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Strongly Opposed
Opposed
Neutral
Supportive
Strongly
Supportive
A Statement Toward a Declaration on
Sustainability
COMMENTS
5
ECOSYSTEM SERVICES – SUSTAINABILITY
McCormick R, Kapustka L, Stahl C, Fava J, Lavoie E, Robertson C, Sanderson H, Scott H, Seager T, Vigon B. 2012. Exploring SETAC’s
Roles in the Global Dialogue on Sustainability – An Opening Debate. Integr Environ Assess Manag DOI 10.1002/ieam.1324
6
ECOLOGICAL-SOCIAL-ECONOMIC INEQUITIES
highlight for many the need to define sustainability
more broadly
 create tension regarding

local and direct approach
 global approach


for any scenario ask:
what do we want to sustain?
 for whom?
 for how long?
 at what costs?

7
WICKED PROBLEMS ARE:








Those that cannot be defined so all agree on the problem to solve
Require complex judgment about the level of abstraction at which to define
the problem
Have no clear stopping rules
Have no right/wrong answer; just better/worse conditions
Have no objective measure of success
Require iteration – every trial counts
Have no given alternative solutions – these must be discovered
Often have strong moral, political or professional dimensions
Rittel H, Webber M. 1973. Dilemmas in a general theory of planning. Policy Sci 4:155-169
8
THINKING ABOUT SETAC’S CONTRIBUTION
Risk Management
Environmental
Education
Ecosystem
Services
Environmental
Decision Making
Climate
Change
Risk Communication
Toxicology:
Human
Tame
Risk
Assessment
Environmental
Indicators
Uncertainty:
Decision
Uncertainty:
Data
Toxicology:
Ecosystems
Chemistry
Sustainability
Wicked
Life Cycle
Analysis
9
FAILED CIVILIZATIONS
Indus Valley
 Minoans
 Egyptians
 Nazca of Peru
 Easter Island
 Romans
 Inkans
 Mayan Decline
 ...
Desertification, deforestation, changing climate, famine, disease, war, ...

Proof that there is not an ecological imperative that we act!
10
IF WE WISH TO SUSTAIN OUR SOCIETIES, ...
We need to
 live within the rules of ecology;
 manage surplus flows of ecological goods and services;
 recognize that the choices we face are value-laden (i.e.,
not answerable solely using the tools of biophysical
sciences); and
 anticipate that change will occur.
The challenge is how to do this with 7, 8, 10 billion
humans.
11
WHAT TO EXPECT AS WE MOVE FORWARD





Sustainability is about values – this is an uncomfortable
space for many SETAC members to operate in;
Consensus requires candid, respectful dialogue and a
willingness to honour other’s perspectives;
Getting the 4-page statement was challenging for the Ad hoc
group, especially once drafts were shared with others;
Expanding from a small writing group to the larger Advisory
Group membership and to the whole of SETAC raises the
challenges to new levels;
We can accomplish the high-level goal of delivering the
Berlin Declaration, but doing so will not be easy!
12
SETAC’s Advisory Group on Sustainability
Chair Tom Seager, USA
Associate Chair Paolo Masoni, Italy
PLEASE JOIN THE DIALOGUE!
13