Kelestarian dan Sains Sosial
Earth at the tipping point
Polar ice caps are
melting faster than
ever... More and more
land is being
devastated by
drought... Rising
waters are drowning
low-lying
communities... By any
measure, Earth is at
... the Tipping Point
So What????
Where are we?
Drawing from the research of
1,300 experts from 95 countries,
the UN report concludes that 60%
of the systems that support life on
Earth are being degraded or used
unsustainably.
The Wall Street Journal Europe (2005)
Questions for the Future, July 13, A6
Are we eating our paddy (corn) “seed”?
willmclaughlin.astrodigitals.com/Antarctica/B.
Penang
Named B-15 iceberg that calved from the Ross Ice Shelf in March 2000. Equivalent in size to Jamaica,
B-15 had an initial area of 11 655 square kilometres but subsequently broke up into smaller pieces
(B-15A, enough drinking water to supply the world for several months)
willmclaughlin.astrodigitals.com/Antarctica/B../http://www.uscg.mil/pacarea/polarsea/images/ArchivePix/B-15-k.jpg
Sea-level change over the last century (in cm)
8
4
Annual sea level change
Five-year mean
0
-4
-8
Source: UNEP
- 12
1880
1900
1920
1940
1960
1980
Rising temperatures are thought to cause sea levels to rise as the oceans expand and
polar ice melts. The IPCC says sea levels rose between 10 and 20cm worldwide during
the 20th Century. It predicts a further rise of between 9cm and 88cm by 2100.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/sci_tech/2004/planet/default.stm#
No snow: As the climate warms up, mountainous regions may experience lower levels of snowfall. This image
shows Mount Hood in Oregon at the same time in late summer in 1985 and 2002. Image: Gary Braasch ©
http://www.worldviewofglobalwarming.org/
news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/picture_gallery/05/sci_nat_how_the_world_is_changing/html/1.stm
Rising tides: Some scientists predict that a warmer climate will trigger more violent storms, which will cause
increased rates of coastal erosion. This is a section of shoreline at Cape Hatteras in North Carolina in the
USA, pictured in 1999 and 2004. The southern United States and Caribbean region were battered by a series
of powerful hurricanes last year. Rising sea levels are also expected to speed up coastal erosion. Image: Gary
Braasch ©
news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/picture_gallery/05/sci_nat_how_the_world_is_changing/html/1.stm
www.epa.gov/r10earth/ sustainability/problem.jpg
Waste Disposal in Cities in Selected Countries
High Income
78 %
Latin America
66 %
Asia-Pacific
59 %
44 %
Arab States
Africa
31 %
25 %
Transition
0
Source: Urban Indicators (1998)
20
40
60
80
100
Solid waste disposed of, formally (%)
People in rich countries throw away up to 800kg of waste each a year, compared to less than
200kg in the poorest countries. As population, consumption and wealth increase, so does the
quantity of waste we produce. The rich countries of the OECD produce an annual total of almost
two tonnes of waste for every person.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/world/2002/disposable_planet/waste/statsbank.stm
According to the Basel Action Network, a pile
of 500 computers contains 717kg of lead,
1.36kg of cadmium, 863 grams of chromium
and 287 grams of mercury – all poisonous
metals. Single samples taken by the BAN
researchers in the region tested 190 times
the WHO’s safe level for lead, had chromium
levels 1338 times the level deemed safe in
the US and tin levels 152 times the US
threshold.
Penang
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/sci_tech/2004/planet/default.stm
PEMUSNAHAN YANG
BERLAKU SETIAP HARI
60,000 juta tan
karbon
dioksida
dikeluarkan
Setiap Hari
(seluruh dunia)
200,000 tan
ikan pupus
ditangkap
sehingga 100
spesis juga
pupus
20,000 hektar tanah
berguna turut
punah
©©
DAR
DAR
2006
2006
50,000 hektar
rimba musnah
KEADAAN TERKINI…
JEJAK EKOLOGI GLOBAL
mengikut negara
Negara mempunyai defisit ekologi menggunakan lebih banyak
bio-upaya berbanding dengan yang dikawalnya. Negara pengkredit
ekologikal mempunyai jejak yang kecil daripada bio-upayanya
Lebih dari 5.4 hektar global per seorang
1,8-3.6 hektar global per seorang
3.6-5.4 hektar global per seorang
0.9-1.6 hektar global per seorang
Kurang dari 0.9 hektar global per seorang
Kurang data
Setiap saiz negara mewakili bahagian Jejak Ekologi globalnya.
Warna bagi setiap negara menandakan per kapita jejak warganya
© DAR 2006
http://www.panda.org/news_facts/publications/key_publications/living_planet_report/lp_2006/index.cfm
JEJAK EKOLOGI MALAYSIA
Atas: Laluan keratapi yang rosak di Segamat, Johor akibat banjir
terburuk mengakibatkan anggaran kerugian RM100 juta.
(Andy Wong/ Associated Press, 22 Dec. 2006)
www.cbc.ca/.../22/malaysia-flood-cp-2200885.jpg
USM
"I was blinded by work and
my drive for achievement."
…apabila
rabun nilai…
KIM KYUNG-HOON / REUTERS
Dr Hwang Woo-suk leaves
his office, SNU – Dec 2005
© DAR 2006
© DAR 2006
Somatic cell nuclear transfer technique
used by Hwang in his research
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hwang_Woo-suk
What is taking place?
2000 United Nations
MILLENNIUM SUMMIT
Pendidik
Rendah
Universal
Empowerment
Ekuiti Wanita/
Gender
Kekurangan 3/4
Mortaliti Ibu
Kurangkan 1/2
Kemiskinan Tegar
Tentukan
Pembangunan
Lestari
Terbalikkan merebaknya
penyakit spt. HIV/AIDS,
Membentuk
Perkongsian
Pembangunan
Global
untuk bantuan, dagang,
hapuskan hutang
Malaria
Kurangkan 2/3
Mortaliti <5
tahun
PBB Dekad Pendidikan untuk
Pembangunan Lestari (UN DEfSD)
Isu-isu utama
Kemiskinan
Kekurangan sumber
Masalah alam sekitar
Persingketaan dan peperangan
Sistem ekonomi yang tidak seimbang
Teknologi yang tidak mesra alam/manusia
Kepenggunaan berlebihan/pembaziran
Keadaan yang tidak menentu
Masalah etika dan moral
10
Prinsip
Kurang kesedaran
Hadhari
Isu gender
What is Sustainable Development?
“Development which meets the needs of the
present without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their own needs”
UN World Commission on Environment and Development 1987
Unsustainable development
availability of
life supporting resources
depleting
consumption of
life supporting resources
increasing
2005 UN DEfSD
- Empat Dimensi
Masyarakat Lestari
MDG
Pendidikan
EfSD
• Apakah yang sepatutnya di pelajari dan diajar
dalam ilmu Sains Sosial?
• Bagaimana unsur penyelidikan untuk
pembangunan lestari
• Action research vs. basic research vs. applied
research
• Dream research vs. nightmare research
• Mengapa Sains Sosial dipisahkan dari Sains
• Siapa/Bagaimana pemisahan berlaku
• Apakah yang sepatutnya berlaku?
• Important considerations:
• To clarify the meaning and analytical implications of
sustainability from a social sciences perspective in
order to establish starting points for new research;
• To explore the potential contributions of different
social science disciplines to the sustainability debate;
• And more ambitiously, to suggest ways in which the
conceptual implications of sustainability can promote
a reorientation of the social sciences themselves.
• This will come from their willingness to look at the
complex interactions of society and nature, and the
connections between symbolic and material
dimensions of social practices.
• Social sciences and the debate on sustainable
development
• Analytical, normative and political
implications of sustainability
• Towards a working definition of sustainability
• A social trajectories view for discourseoriented policies
• Reorienting the social sciences
• Making the research process more inclusive
World View
Lack of health services
Violation of human rights
Deforestation
Biodiversity loss
Illiteracy
Land degradation
Corruption
Water scarcity
Epidemic diseases
Climate change
Hunger and malnutrition
Depletion of fish stocks
Poverty and inequality
From science to society
Scientific understanding
Goals
Strategies
Implementation
What is Sustainability Science?
A science that studies and contributes to
sustainability transitions.
A science that explores two voids:
• between natural and social science
• between science and the workings of society
A science that seeks new solutions to wicked
problems.
A science that seeks syntheses rather than
specialisations.
The dominating belief underpinning
science:
the piecemeal study of the real world.
social works
social geography
gender studies
informatics
genetics
media and communication
innovation studies
environmental engineering
economic history
sociology psychiatry
electronics
water resources eng.
philosophy
public health
biology
theology
archeology nutrition
nuclear physics
quarternary geology
epidemiology
history
physical geography
orthopedics
atomic physics linguistics
limnology
psychology
business adm.
social anthropology
fluid mechanics
literature
economics
geophysics
human ecology
ecology
pedagogics
mathematics ethnology
sociology of law
radiophysics
micro biology
law
arts
business law
chemical engineering political science
chemistry
economic geography
statistics
Natural science doesn’t question its ontology
Social science constantly questions its ontology
Example 1.
Water is a bio-physical
entity (H2O) that can
exist in three forms –
solid, liquid, and gas. It
can be studied
objectively.
Water-flows in nature are
driven by gravity and
thermodynamics.
Water is an economic
good.
Water is primarily a
source of conflict
Water is primarily a
source of co-operation
Water-flows in society
are driven by power
relationships
Natural science doesn’t question its ontology
Social science constantly questions its ontology
Example 2.
Carbon is a bio-physical
entity. In the form of CO2,
it contributes to global
warming. The cycling of
CO2 can be studied by
quantitative and
objective methods
The cycling of carbon is
embedded in almost all
human activities. This
cycling is determined by
economic, political and
social drivers.
Fig. 5. Global C cycle showing fossil C stock, CO2 emissions, and fate of CO2 in the 1990s. Carbon stocks are in units of Pg C; annual
flows and changes in atmospheric CO2 are in PgC per year. Net annual absorption by terrestrial and ocean sinks is only roughly known
(House et al., 2003; Houghton, 2003); values shown are from IPCC (2001a). Other sources include: IPCC (2000), Sundquist (1993) and
Rogner (2000). Janzen H.H.: 2005: Carbon cycling in earth systems—a soil science perspective. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment
Assessment focus
Sustainability
assessment
Retrospective
Indicators/
indices
Forecasting
Product related
assessments
Non-Integrated
Environmental Pressure
Indicators
Life Cycle Assessment
Conceptual Modelling
Product material flow
analysis
System Dynamics
UNCSD 58
Regional flow
assessments
Input-Output Energy
Analysis
Integrated assessment
Material Intensity Analysis
Multi-Criteria Analysis
Substance Flow Analysis
Risk Analysis
Product energy
analysis
Uncertainty Analysis
Regional Emergy Analysis
Process Energy Analysis
Vulnerability Analysis
Regional Exergy Analysis
Emergy Analysis
Cost Benefit Analysis
Economy-wide Material Flow
Analysis
Exergy Analysis
Impact assessment
Life cycle costing
Integrated
Environmental Impact
Assessment
Sustainable National
Income
Full Life Cycle Accounting
Strategic Environmental
Assessment
Genuine Progress Indicator
and ISEW
Life Cycle Cost Assessment
EU Sustainability Impact
Assessment
Adjusted Net Savings (Genuine
Savings)
Ecological Footprint
Wellbeing Index
Environmental Sustainability
Index
Human Development Index
Ness, B., Urbel-Piirsalu, E., Anderberg, S., Olsson, L., 2007: Categorising tools for
sustainability assessment. Ecological Economics. Vol 60, pp 498-508
Sustainability science needs to bridge
these scientific gaps!
• Within universities
• Between universities
• Across world regions
… and contribute to social change
towards sustainability transitions!
www.lucsus.lu.se
Sustainability Science in Overview
• An emerging field of ‘use-inspired’ research and
innovation that, like ‘health science’ or ‘agricultural
science’ before it …
• Is defined by the practical problems it addresses,
specifically the problems of sustainable development;
• Is focused on scientific understanding of (strongly)
interacting human and environmental systems;
• Is conducted by drawing from and integrating research
from natural, social, medical and engineering sciences,
and by engaging the resulting knowledge with the
world of action.
Dynamically linking knowledge & action
time
Improved
understanding
Improved
policy &
technology
Basic research
Applied R&D
(eg biological
science, earth
systems science)
(eg. WEHAB
R&D)
Existing
understanding
Existing
policy &
technology
(redrawn from Stokes, 1997)
Dynamically linking knowledge & action
Improved
policy &
technology
Improved
understanding
Basic research
(eg biological
science, earth
systems science)
Use-inspired
research
(Sustainability
Science)
Existing
understanding
time
(redrawn from Stokes, 1997)
Applied R&D
(eg. WEHAB
R&D)
Existing
policy &
technology
Sustainability Science
• An emerging field of ‘use-inspired’ research and
innovation that, like ‘health science’ or ‘agricultural
science’ before it …
• Is defined by the practical problems it addresses,
specifically the problems of sustainable development;
• Is focused on scientific understanding of (strongly)
interacting human and environmental systems;
• Is conducted by drawing from and integrating research
from natural, social, medical and engineering sciences,
and by engaging the resulting knowledge with the
world of action.
Which problems?
Origins of “Sustainability” thinking
• Conservationist thinking
– Sustainable yields, “exotic” wildlife (1800s) 
– IUCN “World Conservation Strategy” (1980)
• Environmental science thinking
– Vernadsky’s “biosphere and noosphere” (1940s) 
– NASA’s “Mission to Planet Earth” (1980s)
• Political (“radical”) thinking
– Ghandi’s “too much wealth, too much poverty” (1972)
– Latin America Commission “Our Own Agenda” (1990)
• not “how to manage”, but “who decides”…
Conceptualizing
Sustainable
Development
(National Research Council, 1999)
Goals for Sustainable Development
• Global consensus on international norms...
– Meeting human needs
• feed, house, nurture, educate, employ...
– Preserving life support systems
• water, air, oceans, ecosystems...
– Reducing hunger and poverty
• with special attention to the most vulnerable.
• Recognized need for local reinvention
– WSSD on the limits of intl. action, the need for placebased, solution-oriented partnerships...
• Emergence onto high table of international affairs
– Kofi Annan’s 3 grand challenges: “freedom from want,
freedom from fear, freedom of future generations to
sustain their lives on this planet.”
Sustainability Science
• An emerging field of ‘use-inspired’ research and
innovation that, like ‘health science’ or ‘agricultural
science’ before it …
• Is defined by the practical problems it addresses,
specifically the problems of sustainable development;
• Is focused on scientific understanding of (strongly)
interacting human and environmental systems;
• Is conducted by drawing from and integrating research
from natural, social, medical and engineering sciences,
and by engaging the resulting knowledge with the world
of action.
The domain of Sustainability Science
Sustainability
Goals
Social
Systems
Environmental
systems
Sustainability Science
Continuing into new Millennium…
• World Academies of Science Conf. (Tokyo 2000)
– Transition Toward Sustainability in the 21st Century
• Global Assessments embrace sustainability…
– IPCC, Millennium Ecosystem, Agriculture, ...
• ICSU initiatives on S&T for Sustainability
– SCOPE, START, Earth System Science Consortium
– Focal role for representing science at WSSD (2002)
• Workshops on regional priorities for
sustainability science
– Bangkok, Abuja, Santiago, Bonn, Chiang Mai, Ottawa,
Cairo,…
• Synthesis sessions in Friiberg (2000), Mexico City
(2002), Dahlem ( 2003), Venice (2006) …
Reveal profound differences in
problems and perspectives…
Global
Issues
old rich millions
affluence
“global people”
resource surpluses
causes of climate change
technological knowledge
theory driven research
poor, young billions
poverty
“local people”
resource shortages
impacts of climate change
traditional knowledge
Local
Issues
action driven research
(Kates et al., 2001. Science)
… but also wide-spread agreement
that the science and technology
needed to promote a transition
toward sustainability should be…
Integrative…
thus committed to bridging:
• the communities engaged in promoting
environmental conservation, human health,
and economic development;
• the natural, social and engineering sciences,
plus insights from the humanities;
• multiple sectors of human activity;
• the worlds of knowledge and action.
Multi-scale...
But generally place-based, regionally focused at scales
where…
• multiple stresses intersect to degrade humanenvironment systems (Aral Sea);
• complexity is comprehensible, integration is possible
• innovation and management happen
• significant transitions toward sustainability have
already begun.
Core Questions of Sustainability
Science: An emerging consensus
• Normative questions
– valuing, evaluating, measuring
• Analytic questions
– causes, consequences, control
• Operational questions
– models, methods and data
• Strategic questions
– engaging real world problems
(Framework after IGBP / GAIM)
Normative questions
• What are the values shaping interactions between
human development and the natural environment?
• How, and with what consequences for sustainability, do
these vary across space, time, and social groups?
• How should we evaluate progress toward sustainability
in ways that fully account for the dependence of
human well-being on the natural environment? (eg.
‘Green GDP’)
• What should be the human use of the earth?
Sustainability Science
• An emerging field of ‘use-inspired’ research and
innovation that, like ‘health science’ or ‘agricultural
science’ before it …
• Is defined by the practical problems it addresses,
specifically the problems of sustainable development;
• Is focused on scientific understanding of (strongly)
interacting human and environmental systems;
• Is conducted by drawing from and integrating research
from natural, social, medical and engineering sciences,
and by engaging the resulting knowledge with the world
of action.
Present systems of prioritysetting, funding and publication
encourage (good) research …
•
•
•
•
anchored in single (or neighboring) disciplines
either problem-driven or fundamental;
focused at single scales;
not directly connected to assessment;
operations, or decision-support;
• And therefore necessary but insufficient to
advance goals of a sustainability transition.
Needed is additional capacity to:
• Target S&T on “most pressing problems” as
prioritized by stakeholders in development…
– avoiding pitfall of scientists guessing user needs
• Integrate appropriate mixes of disciplines,
expertise and public/private sector in
support of such problem-driven R&D…
– avoiding pitfalls of disciplinary “hammers,” of
undervaluing informal, practical expertise
Needed is additional capacity to...
• Link expertise and application across scales,
from local to global
– avoiding bias for universal over place-specific
knowledge
• Integrate research planning, observations,
assessment & operational decision support
– avoiding pitfall of “island empires”.
Lessons for designing university-based
knowledge systems for sustainability
1.
2.
Maintain and engage strength in the foundation
disciplines
Support focused programs of “use-inspired basic research”
on core questions of sustainability science
-eg. vulnerability of nature/society systems
3.
Build collaborative problem-solving programs engagine
users and stakeholders where we know enough to begin…
-eg. sustainable biofuels
4.
Create recognition and reward systems for those who
develop and participate in such programs
- tie degrees, faculty promotion to engagement as well as
research;
- develop high impact publication venues for sustainability science