Contemporary Issues in Environment and
Development Environmental Problems
Sustainable Development
Marisa J. Sobremisana
mjsobremisana@up.edu.ph
Objectives
•Map the chronological events leading to
Sustainable Development
•Analyze the challenges and barriers in
building a sustainable future
Sustainable Development Timeline
Development
• an evolutionary
process in
which the human
capacity
increases in terms of
initiating new
structures,
coping with problems,
adapting to continuous
change, and striving
purposefully and creatively
to attain new goals
Development
• a social condition
within a
nation, in which the
needs
of its population are
satisfied by the rational and
sustainable use of natural
resources and systems.
Development
• a multi-dimensional
process
that involves major changes
in social structures,
attitudes, and institutions,
as well as economic growth,
reduction of inequality, and
eradication of absolute
poverty
Sustainability
Sustainability
Concept to
connote
improving and
sustaining
a healthy
economic,
ecological and social
system for human
development.
Sustainability
• A dynamic
equilibrium in the
process of
interaction
between the
population and
the carrying
capacity of its
environment
such that the
population
develops to express
its full potential
Sustainability
• Efficient and
equitable
distribution of
resources intra
generationally and
inter-generationally
with the operation of
socio-economic
activities within the
confines of a finite
ecosystem.
Sustainable Development
• SD would simply mean
“development that can be continued either
indefinitely or for the given time period
• Note:
• the most often cited definition of the concept is the one proposed by
the Brundtland Commission Report (Schaefer & Crane, 2005). The
Report defines SD as development that meets the needs of the
current generation without compromising the ability of future
generations to meets their own needs.
…
• We are living in the Anthropocene. Our Home
is astonishing, but also in danger.
• Forests are burning and native people and
others are unsettled.
• Growth destroys limited resources and cannot
be the answer to the challenges of the
Anthropocene.
The Origin of
Sustainability
Concept
Brundtland
Commission:
Our Common
Future
1987
Brundtland’s classic definition of
sustainable development:
"Humanity has the ability to make development
sustainable to ensure that it meets the needs of the
present without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs.“
(Cited from original report..)
The scope of the report is daunting.
• The time perspective is generational. • The
geographical scope is global but attempts to
harmonize the interest of poor nations and
rich.
• The report calls for a synthesis of broad
themes: nature, society, and the
economy. • The report stands
outside the dominant social
paradigm of growth.
How does the
Brundtland report change the
paradigm?
Ecology and economy are interlocked and
embedded in society and must be thought of
together. The report states (p. 5):
“Ecology and economy are becoming even more
interwoven --- locally, regionally, nationally and
globally --- into a seamless web of causes and
effects.”
The agents of sustainability were
enlarged and made inclusive.
As an arm of the U.N., such commissions are generally limited to
nation-states. Not so here:
• Civil society organizations were central players in the solutions
• Poor nations were to be active and not simply a recipient of aid
from rich and powerful nations.
• The role and status of women was central
• All stakeholders were to be empowered and mobilized as agents
of sustainability.
The report questioned the role of the
international economy.
1. The destruction of the environment that was so obvious
in the 1980s
2. The growing inequality produced by the global economy
3. The growing debt burden of the poor nations 4. The lack
of attention to the shared Commons 5. The lack of
economic diversification at the local and regional levels.
See specifically the Role of the
International Economy.
Brundtland Report redefined the core concept:
development.
The prior definition might be called the Truman Doctrine (1949
Inauguration Speech):
"All countries, including our own, will greatly benefit from a constructive
program for the better use of the world's human and natural resources.
Experience shows that our commerce with other countries expands as
they progress industrially and economically.“
Truman articulated a doctrine that implied that progress for the
multitude of the world's peoples and cultures was to be found through
emulating the material progress of the USA and its
partners in what was then called the Free World
(WSY Wiki).
It contains two concepts…
1. The concept of “need”, in particular the
needs of the world’s poor to which overriding
priority should be given
2. The idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and
social organization on the environment’s ability to meet the present
and future needs
The Rio Declaration on Environment
and Development, 1992
• The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development is a
set of principles that recognize the importance of preserving
the environment and set forth international guidelines for
doing so.
• They were compiled at the United Nations Conference for
Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro in 1992
and are found in the report of this conference. The Rio
Declaration serves as some of the standards by which UN
Member countries create domestic and international
environmental policies and by which they form agreements
or organizations with one another, as it
pertains to the environment and
conservation.
Goal
In September 2000, building upon a decade of major United Nations
conferences and summits, world leaders came together at the United
Nations Headquarters in New York to adopt the Unites Nations
Millennium Declaration.
The Declaration committed nations to a new global partnership to reduce
extreme poverty, and set out a series of eight time bound targets - with a
deadline of 2015 - that have become known as the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs).
Philippines is a signatory to this MDG
Millennium Development Goals
The Final MDG Report
• The final MDG Report found that the 15-year effort has produced the
most successful anti-poverty movement in history:
• Since 1990, the number of people living in extreme poverty has
declined by more than half.
• The proportion of undernourished people in the developing regions has
fallen by almost half.
• The primary school enrolment rate in the developing regions has
reached 91 percent, and many more girls are now in school compared to
15 years ago.
The Final MDG Report, ended in 2015
•Remarkable gains have also been made in the fight against
HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.
• The under-five mortality rate has declined by more than half,
and maternal mortality is down 45 percent worldwide.
• The target of halving the proportion of people who lack
access to improved sources of water was also met.
...Yet the job is unfinished for millions of
people- succeeded by SDG
Sustainable Development Goals
•In September 2015, the General Assembly adopted the 2030
Agenda for Sustainable Development that includes 17
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Building on the
principle of “leaving no one behind”,
the new Agenda emphasizes a holistic approach to achieving
sustainable development for all.
SDG Progress
• The Sustainable Development Goals are a universal call to action to
end poverty, protect the planet and improve the lives and prospects
of everyone, everywhere. The 17 Goals were adopted by all UN
Member States in 2015, as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development which set out a 15-year plan to achieve the Goals.
• Today, progress is being made in many places, but, overall, action
to meet the Goals is not yet advancing at the speed or scale
required. 2020 needs to usher in a decade of ambitious
action to deliver the Goals by 2030.
Conclusion
• It is our role to reaffirm our unwavering commitment to achieving this
Agenda and utilizing it to the full to transform our world for the better by
2030.
For Discussion: Key Questions
How far do you think have we as Filipinos achieved the SDGs?
Justify your answer