UNIT 1

• CONCEPT OF SUSTAINABILITY

• CARRYING CAPACITY

• SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

• BRUNTLAND REPORT

• ETHICS AND VISIONS OF SUSTAINABILITY

SESSION 1

What is Sustainability?
• Sustainability - Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs

SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE
 SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE is the architecture that seeks to minimize the negative
environmental impact of buildings by efficiency and moderation in the use of materials, energy,
and development of space.

• Sustainable architecture uses a conscious approach to energy and ecological conservation in the
design of the built environment.

SUSTAINABLE DESIGN
• Reduces the negative impact on the environment and human health, thus
improving the performance during a building’s lifecycle.

• Careful consideration is given to water, energy, building materials, and solid

waste.

• A Building that can maintain or improve:

• the quality of life and harmonize within the local climate, tradition,
culture and the environment in the region.
• conserve energy, resources and recycling materials, and reduce the
amount hazardous substances to which human and other organisms
are (or may be) exposed the local and global ecosystem throughout
the entire building life-cycle.

• It is necessary to design, operate and maintain and ultimately

dismantle buildings in a manner that provide:

• Security of building against the natural disaster.

• Maximize energy and resources efficiency.

• Minimize construction waste and domestic waste.

• Minimize water consumption

• Recycle waste water wherever possible

• Optimum use of existing building structure and infrastructure.

• Take maximum advantage of eco friendly materials.

• Offer suitable indoor environments that address air quality,

lighting, acoustics and special aesthetics.
WHAT IS THE NEED FOR SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE?

URBANIZATION
• The world is facing explosive growth of urban population, mainly in the
developing world.

• Many cities, confronted with hyper growth, are failing to cope with the
challenges of generating employment, providing adequate housing and
meeting the basic needs of their citizens.

• By the year 2025 the World’s population will have increased ( 7 billion  9
billion people)

• Therefore, an additional 3.0 billion people will need houses, shops, places
to work.
• One environmental consequence - the level of energy consumption will
increase by at least 25% above current levels

• In addition, the level of water consumption and waste production will also
increase by at least 30% based upon current development patterns.

• If this scenario continues then a sustainable future will not only be more
difficult to achieve, but increasingly less likely to be achieved at all!
NEED FOR SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE

• Increase of population day by day .

• People migrating from rural to urban with hope.

• Depletion of natural resources.

• High energy and natural resources are consumed due to huge population.

• Effect on bio diversity.

PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABILITY
• It Is Achieved When An Effective And Eco Conscious Interdependence Is
Achieved Between

RESOURCES – PRODUCTION – LIFESTYLE

What We Have –How We Make – How We Use

PILLARS OF SUSTAINABILITY

ELEMENTS OF SUSTAINABILITY
Sustainability as 3 E’s

ENVIRONMENT
EQUITY
(Society)

ECONOMY
ECONOMY
ELEMENTS OF SUSTAINABILITY

1. Environment sustainability - ecosystem integrity

- carrying capacity

- resources

- biodiversity

Benefits of environmental sustainability.

• Improved environmental performance

• Reduction in calamities like flooding, global warming, green house effect,

etc

• Improved efficiency of energy and resources.

• Development of international and national sustainable strategies.

• Development of environmental conscious technology and innovations.

2. Economic sustainability - money and capital
- employment

- technological growth

- investment

- market forces

Benefits of Economic sustainability.

• Improved economical status by generating incomes.
• Creating new markets and opportunities in sales growth
• Exercising energy efficient technology, resources helps in
cost/investment reduction .
• Stimulates local economies and local business support
• Supports the transfer of skills and technology.
3. Equity sustainability - cultural identity
- empowerment

- accessibility

- stability human diversity

- quality of life

- Institutional, organization & political structures

Benefits of Equity sustainability.

• Poverty reduction.
• Increase in equity and socio - cultural integrity
• Healthy life style – enhances physical and psychological aspects.
• Neighborhood Vitality
• Self governance and ethical way of living.
 SESSION 2
CONCEPT OF SUSTAINABILITY
CARRYING CAPACITY
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Sustainability : Concept and Reality

Causes of global environmental degradation:

 Uncontrolled , unconsidered development has brought our world face to
face with an environmental crisis of immense proportion.

 All caused by mankind’s development of our planets resources for his own
prosperity and comfort.

 By doing so on a large scale that we are definitely affecting the balance of

nature and ecology on which all life depends.

 In UNCED(United Nations Conference on Environment and Development )

Earth Summit in Rio, it was agreed by consensus that we must change to a
pattern of sustainable development, one that respects the ecological
balance of our planet.

 Sustainability applies to the actions or developments that preserve the

global environment and its non-renewable resources for present and
future generations.

 The concept of sustainability formed the basis of “Agenda 21” the summary
of environmental consensus achieved in Rio. And it was unanimously
agreed that these principles should be applied to all aspects of human
activity that impacts the environment.

 Because the scale of human activity is now so great that our world can no
longer “ look after itself”.
 SUSTAINABILITY AND ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN
 Sustainability affects every stage of architectural design.

 Transport : Town planning and building design should from its basic
concept attempt to minimize the necessity of movement of people
goods and services by mechanized transport or use only non
polluting transport systems.

 Materials and resource depletion: The design and construction of

buildings should ensure that non renewable resources are not used.
If used under unavoidable circumstances they must be definitely
recyclable.

 Waste and recycling: Not only minimizing the waste during design
and construction, once built they should also be not be “wasteful” in
themselves, through inflexibility or non-adoptability: they should be
recyclable to different uses or requirements, avoiding destruction of
the “invested” materials resources and energy.

 Material and health : Considerations of healthy buildings are

considerations of sustainable developments. An environment that is
toxic to its occupants cannot be considered as sustainable.
Problems of toxic emission from synthetic materials are largely
associated with highly sealed and fully air conditioned buildings of
the developed world, they are symptoms of non -sustainability.

 Ozone depletion: Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC’s) i.e. chlorinated Fluoro

carbons) leaked or emitted to the atmosphere from Building air
conditioning systems (A/C Systems) and from use as foaming agents
for plastic based insulating materials, are a major contributions to
the Ozone depletion during 1974 to 1990. Buildings should preferably
de designed to avoid use of A/C systems. And CFC foamed plastic
insulation materials must be avoided.
 o Embodied Energy: Careful consideration of embodied energy in the
building materials should be considered as basic part of sustainable
design. Some materials like cement (non recyclable) and aluminium
are energy-intensive in their productions.

o Energy consumptions and renewable energy: Consumptions of non-

renewable energy sources for heating, cooling and lighting of
buildings, accounting for about 45 % of the global energy
consumptions, which is a major contributing factor for the global
environmental pollution and global warming.

o To prevent this buildings should be climatically sensitive design i.e

buildings which are designed to use the opportunities the local
climate offers, can achieve comfortable conditions for their use and
occupation, largely from locally available renewable energy sources
of sun and the wind, etc.

o The availability of cheap power in the last 100 years has lead building
designers in the developed world to forget or ignore those basic
considerations and opportunities of design with the climate.

WORLD CONFERENCE ON THE CHANGING ATMOSPHERE, TORONTO, 1988:

Urgent recommendations were proposed to effect a reduction on CO2
emission of 20 % by 2005 taking 1987 as the base line.
 Greenhouse gases: Percentage
composition, 1986

Nitrous
Ozone Oxide
7% 6%
Methane
12% Carbon-
dioxide
CFCs
54%
21%

 Methane: causing 12 % of the greenhouse effect is increasing rapidly,

mostly through actions of mankind in agriculture, waste disposal and
mining.

 CFCs: Used as aerosol propellants and refrigerants in refrigeration and air

conditioning systems, besides attacking and destroying the Ozone layer
also causes 21% of the green house effect. Though the production of these
materials are phased out, they area very stable and are expected to remain
in the atmosphere for a long time to come.

 Nitrous Oxides (Nox) : Causing 6 % of the greenhouse effect are also

increasing, they are the products of internal combustion engines, and
electric power generation plants.

GLOBAL WARMING:
 It has been undoubtedly accepted that these changes in the atmosphere
are the principle cause of changes in global temperature. There is a clear
 increase of average global temperature of 1 °C from 1880 to 1990. but an
increase of 2 to 4.5 °C within the next 45 years can cause greater
catastrophic effect on life .

 It is of great urgency to address these problems since the time scale is not
distant future, but within the life time of the first next generation.

 Energy and the future: Developments are the result of man’s aspiration for
better future and his desire for equality with the developed world.

 This push is enormous in the developing world and hence there is large
scope for big expansion of the built environment, particularly in the urban
environment, due to unprecedented population increase and urban-rural
migration.

 It is expected that nearly doubling of urban built environment will take

place within next 20 years in the developing countries inviting enormous
investment of resources, capital and human Endeavour. In the broadest
sense, around 70 % of the investment goes into the built environment –
urban construction and infrastructure.

 This primary investment for development once made, the potential energy
demand is largely fixed.

 We are almost near compulsion to use “Low energy “ concepts of

planning and building design in a larger scale, in this imminent enormous
expansion of the urban built environment, or a large proportion of the
developing world will be condemned to live and work in a substandard
conditions, which would be a major disaster.

NECESSITY AND CAPACITY TO CHANGE : There is an increasing alertness

with the building professionals, to prevent and avoid the destructive nature of
uncontrolled, non sustainable, anti-ecological development, which has been
perceived and understood as a path to ruin for all mankind. This assures the
possibility to change and likelihood to succeed.
 The need of the time is to adopt faster and to gear up the change to a
bigger scale, as is “Knowing is not enough, we must do”

Global Energy use (1986) :

Consumption by sector

Others
Industry 10% Heating,
20% cooling and
Building lighting of
Constructio Buildings
Transport 45%
n
20%
5%

 Commission on Sustainable Development (CDS) : Following the successful

of Rio “Earth Summit”, UN has set up CDS to oversee the implementation
of “Agenda 21” and other agreements reached in Rio summit. There was an
unprecedented involvement of NGO’s in the preparatory meetings of CDS.

 International Solar Energy Society (ISES) : has very effectively participated

in the Pre- Rio meetings and has made considerable impact on the Rio
summit, with Ar. Mike Nickolas as president, ISES has maintained a dynamic
involvement with CDS.
UIA Chicago Congress, June 1993:

At the Rio Earth Summit, Ar. Susan Maxman with UIA representatives from
around the world conceived the UIA 1993 Congress, the largest ever
international meeting of architects, as a focus on Environment and Sustainable
Development issues. The congress endorsed these issues as major area of
professional concern.

UIA(International Union of Architects) Chicago Declaration : Declaration of

interdependence of a sustainable future

In Recognition that :

• A sustainable society restores, preserves and enhance nature and

culture for the benefit of all life, present and future.
• diverse and healthy environment is intrinsically valuable and
essential to a healthy society.
• today’s society is degrading the environment and is not sustainable;
• We are ecologically interdependent with the whole natural
environment,
• We are socially, culturally, and economically interdependent with all
of humanity,
• Sustainability, in the context of this interdependence, requires
partnership, equity, and a balance among all parties:
• Buildings and the built environment plays a major role in the human
impact on the natural environment and on the quality of life.
GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
o As early as 1896, the Swedish scientist Svante Arrhenius had predicted that
human activities would interfere with the way the sun interacts with the
earth, resulting in global warming and climate change

o Environmental issues of global significance are:

• Ozone layer depletion

• Global warming

• Loss of biodiversity

Ozone depletion process:

 Earth's atmosphere is divided into three regions,

namely troposphere, stratosphere and mesosphere.

 The stratosphere extends from 10 to 50 kms from the

Earth's surface. This region is concentrated with slightly
pungent smelling, light bluish ozone gas.

Ozone is formed when oxygen molecules absorb ultraviolet radiation with

wavelengths less than 240 nanometres and is destroyed when it absorbs
ultraviolet radiation with wavelengths greater than 290 nanometres.

 Ozone gas is made up of molecules each containing

three atoms of oxygen; its chemical formula is O3. The
ozone layer, in the stratosphere acts as an efficient filter
for harmful solar Ultraviolet B (UV-B) rays.
 In recent years, scientists have measured a seasonal thinning of the ozone
layer primarily at the South Pole. This phenomenon is being called the
ozone hole.


 Ozone is highly reactive and easily broken down by man-made chlorine and
bromine compounds.

 When CFCs (used in refrigerator and air conditioners) and other ozone-
depleting substances (ODS) are emitted into the atmosphere, winds
efficiently mix and evenly distributes it in the troposphere. These ODS
compounds do not dissolve in rain, are extremely stable, and have a long
life span. After several years, they reach the stratosphere by diffusion.

 Strong UV light breaks apart the ODS molecules. CFCs, HCFCs, carbon
tetrachloride, methyl chloroform release chlorine atoms, and halons and
methyl bromide release bromine atoms.

 It is the chlorine and bromine atom that actually destroys ozone, not the
intact ODS molecule.
o The thickness of Ozone layer is measured by measuring how much
ultraviolet radiation reaches the ground, using a Dobson ozone
spectrophotometer. Ozone layer thickness is measured in Dobson units.
The higher the number, the thicker the Ozone layer.

o It is planned that by 2005 in developed countries and by 2015 in developing

countries, the use of ozone depleting gases, such as CFCs, will be phased
out.

o Effects of Ozone layer depletion :

 Effects on Human and Animal Health : Increased UV –B radiations

increases the potential risk of potential risks of eye diseases, skin
cancer and infectious diseases.

 Effects on Terrestrial Plants : In forests and grasslands, increased

radiation is likely to change species composition thus altering the bio-
diversity in different ecosystems. It could also affect the plant
community indirectly resulting in changes in plant form, secondary
metabolism, etc.

 Effects on the aquatic ecosystems : High levels of radiation in

tropics and subtropics may affect the distribution of phytoplanktons,
which form the foundation of aquatic food webs. It can also cause
damage to the early development stages of fish and decreased
reproductive capacity and impaired larval development.

o Effects on Bio-geo-chemical Cycles: Increased solar UV radiation could

affect terrestrial and aquatic bio-geo-chemical cycles thus altering both
sources and sinks of greenhouse and important trace gases, e.g. carbon
dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), carbonyl sulfide (COS),

o Effects on Air Quality: Reduction of stratospheric ozone and increased

penetration of UV-B radiation result in higher photo dissociation rates of
key trace gases that control the chemical reactivity of the troposphere. This
 can increase both production and destruction of ozone and related
oxidants such as hydrogen peroxide, which are known to have adverse
effects on human health, terrestrial plants and outdoor materials.

o Sources of green house gases : Some greenhouse gases occur naturally

in the atmosphere, while others result from human activities. Naturally
occurring greenhouse gases include water vapour, carbon dioxide,
methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone.

o “Human activities, however, add to the levels of most of these naturally

occurring gases”

o Carbon dioxide: is released to the atmosphere when solid waste, fossil

fuels (oil, natural gas, and coal), and wood and wood products are burned,
during complete combustion process.

o Methane : is emitted during the production and transport of coal, natural

gas, and oil. Methane emissions also result from the decomposition of
organic wastes in municipal solid waste landfills, and the raising of
livestock.

o Nitrous oxide (NOx): is emitted during agricultural and industrial activities,

as well as during combustion of solid waste and fossil fuels.

o Very powerful greenhouse gases : are not naturally occurring they are
“man made” that include hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons
(PFCs), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), which are generated in a variety of
industrial processes.

o Estimates of greenhouse gas emissions: are presented in units of millions

of metric tons of carbon equivalents (MMTCE), which weights each gas by
its Global Warming Potential or GWP value.
Global Warming Potential

o Each greenhouse gas differs in its ability to absorb heat in the atmosphere

o GWPs : measure the strength and influence, greenhouse gases have on

the natural greenhouse effect, including the ability of greenhouse gas
molecules to absorb or trap heat and the length of time, greenhouse gas
molecules remain in the atmosphere before being removed or broken
down.

o HFCs and PFCs are the most heat-absorbent

o Methane traps over 21 times more heat per molecule than carbon dioxide,
and nitrous oxide absorbs 270 times more heat per molecule than carbon
dioxide.

o If the GWP of Carbon dioxide are taken as 1 for base reference, then the
GWPs of other greenhouse gases could be measured relative to the GWP
of carbon dioxide, Thus GWP of methane is 21 while GWP of nitrous oxide
is 270.

o Other greenhouse gases have much higher GWPs than carbon dioxide, but
because their concentration in the atmosphere is much lower, carbon
dioxide is still the most important greenhouse gas, contributing about
60% to the enhancement of the greenhouse effect.

Global Warming (Climatic change) Implications:

o Observations show that global temperatures have risen by about 0.6 °C –

1.0 °C over the 20th century.

o Rise in global Temperature : Climate models predict that the global

temperature will rise by about 6 °C by the year 2100

o Rise in Sea level : The faster the climate change, the greater will be the risk
of damage. The mean sea level is expected to rise 9 - 88 cm by the year
2100, causing flooding of low lying areas and other damages.
 o Food shortages and hunger: Water resources will be affected as
precipitation and evaporation patterns change around the world. This will
affect agricultural output. Food security is likely to be threatened and some
regions are likely to experience food shortages and hunger.

o India could be more at risks than many other countries : Models predict an
average increase in temperature in India of 2.3 to 4.8°C for the benchmark
doubling of Carbon-dioxide scenario. Temperature would rise more in
Northern India than in Southern India. It is estimated that 7 million
people would be displaced, 5700 km2 of land and 4200 km of road would
be lost, and wheat yields could decrease significantly.

WHAT IS CARRYING CAPACITY?

The number of individuals who can be supported in a given area within natural
resource limits, and without degrading the natural social, cultural and economic
environment for present and future generations.
In ecological terms, the carrying capacity of an ecosystem is the size of the
population that can be supported indefinitely upon the available resources and
services of that ecosystem. Living within the limits of an ecosystem depends on
three factors:

• The amount of resources available in the ecosystem,

• The size of the population, and
• The amount of resources each individual is consuming.
A simple example of carrying capacity is the number of people who could
survive in a lifeboat after a shipwreck. Their survival depends on how much
food and water they have, how much each person eats and drinks each day,
and how many days they are afloat.
• If the lifeboat made it to an island, how long the people survived would
depend upon the food and water supply on the island and how wisely they
used it.

• A small island will support far fewer people than a large continent with
abundant water and good soil for growing crops

In this example, food and water are the natural capital of the island. Living
within the carrying capacity means using those supplies no faster than they are
replenished by the island's environment: using the 'interest' income of the
natural capital.

• A community that is living off the interest of its community capital is living
within the carrying capacity. A community that is degrading or destroying
the ecosystem on which it depends is using up its community capital and is
living unsustainably.

Equally important to community sustainability is living within the carrying

capacity of the community's human, social and built capital. Carrying capacity
is much harder to measure for these types of capital, but the basic concept is
the same -- are the different types of capital being used up faster than they are
being replenished? For example:
1. A community that allows its children to be poorly educated,
undernourished, and poorly housed is eroding its human capital.

2. A community that allows the quality of its social interactions to decline

through lack of trust, respect, and tolerance is eroding its social capital.

3. A community that allows its buildings, roads, parks, power facilities, water
facilities, and waste processing capability to decay is eroding its built
capital. Additionally, a community that is creating built capital without
considering the future maintenance of that capital is setting itself up for
eventual decay.

• So, in the context of sustainability, carrying capacity is the size of the

population that can be supported indefinitely upon the available resources
and services of supporting natural, social, human, and built capital.

FACTORS GOVERNING CARRY CAPACITY OF SYSTEM:

• 1. Human beings, their life style and resources used for their living.

• 2. Other species and their usage of resources for living.

• 3. Ever-accumulating levels of wastes, damage, and/or eradication of

essential components of any complex functioning system.

• 4. Technologies and innovations adopted for the improvement and

growth of the society.

• The Carrying Capacity is the number of individuals an environment can

support without significant negative impacts to the given organism and its
environment.

• Since the ecosystem is finite in its size and resource, each has the upper
limit to the population it can support while continuing to provide food,
 resources, withstand damage & impacts, tolerate waste & exploitation,
maintain , perpetuate and repair itself and also provide assorted
ecological services that allow a given population to exist

TYPES OF CARRYING CAPACITY

• Physical Carrying Capacity : The maximum load that the system can take
up without any degradation to the system.

• Economic Carrying Capacity : It is the maximum extent to which the

system can operate without degrading its local activities, available revenue
and resources.

• Social carrying capacity : It is the maximum extent to which the system is

able to retain its ethical value, socio cultural value, equity and its
individual empowerment .

• Bio – physical carrying capacity : It is the maximum extent to which the

habitat can tolerate and regenerate its exploited resources.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
• Sustainable development is an organizing principle for human life on a
finite planet. It posits a desirable future state for human societies in which
living conditions and resource-use meet human needs without undermining
the sustainability of natural systems and the environment, so that future
generations may also meet their needs.

• Sustainable development is often defined as 'development that meets the

needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs'.

• Sustainable development encompasses three basic and inter-related

objectives:

• Economic security and prosperity

• Social development and advancement

 • Environmental sustainability

Sustainable development demands that we seek ways of living, working and

being that enable all people of the world to lead healthy, fulfilling, and
economically secure lives without destroying the environment and without
endangering the future welfare of people and the planet. Sustainable
development as applied to energy and environment should consider the
following:

• inputs - such as fuels and energy sources, land and raw materials - are non-
renewable they should be used up only as far as they can be substituted in
future

• where they are renewable they should be used up at a rate within which they
can be renewed,

• outputs - in production and consumption - should not overstrain ecosystems

or the assimilation capacity of the ecosphere.

Sustainability and Architectural design

 Sustainable development integrates consideration of resources and energy
efficiency, healthy buildings and materials, ecologically and socially sensitive
land use, and an aesthetic sensibility that inspires, affirms, and enables,

 Sustainable design can significantly reduce adverse human impacts on the

environment while simultaneously improving the quality of life and
economic well being:

We commit ourselves :

as members of the worlds' architectural and building-design professionals,

individually and through professional organizations, to :
 o Place environmental and social sustainability at the core of
our practices and professional responsibilities

o Develop and continually improve practices, procedures,

products, curricula, services, and standards that will enable
the implementation of sustainable design

o Educate our fellow professionals, the building industry,

clients, students, and the general public about the critical
importance and substantial opportunities of sustainable
design

o Establish policies, regulations, and practices in government

and business the ensure sustainable design becomes normal
practice

o Bring all existing and future elements of the built

environment – in their design, production, use, and eventual
reuse- up to sustainable design standards.

Few selection of ideas, concepts, and approaches fundamental for sustainable

development are :

o Create diverse and locally adapted solutions for development

o Use of locally available, appropriate resources, in conjunction with local
climatically responsive design solutions
o Design for local customs, conventions and aspirations
o Avoid easy, readymade ideas and solutions, use original thinking
o Conserve non renewable energy and use renewable energy
o Introduce incentives for energy efficient and climatically responsive
designs
o Apply energy performance ratings for equipments, systems and buildings
and developments.
o A deep plan buildings and try foe shallow designs which effectively
increases good natural ventilation and increases day light factor of the
building.
 • Sustainable Development (SD) implies economic growth together with the
protection of environmental quality, each reinforcing the other.

• Sustainable Development, thus, is maintaining a balance between the

human need to improve lifestyles and feeling of well-being on one hand,
and preserving natural resources and ecosystems, on which we and future
generations depend.

SD may also be defined as

• “To improve the quality of life while living within the carrying capacity of
ecosystems” IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), 1991

KEY ISSUES AND PRIORITIES FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

• Over the past decade the world has woken up to the fast depleting non-
renewable resources , loss of biodiversity, land degradation, increasing air
pollution, ozone depletion, fast disappearing glaciers, polluted fresh water
sources, sea erosion of land, nuclear waste, electronic waste, increasing
deforestation, unchecked/unplanned development, and more large scale,
sudden onset disasters.

• The economies of many countries are booming but the distribution of

wealth is still unequal. Changing trends in consumption patterns which
directly affects the lifestyle of people has also led to increasing health risks
to people of all ages.

• Wherever in the world, environmental degradation is happening; it is

always linked to questions of social justice, equity, rights and people’s
quality of life in its widest sense.

• In the document ‘Sustainable Development Priorities for South Asia’

published by UNEP(United Nations Environment Programme) three related
dimensions have been identified:

a) Countries with equal income distribution, greater civil liberties, political

rights and higher literacy levels tend to have higher environmental quality.
 b) Environmental problems bear down disproportionately on the poor.

c) Emphasis on the need to ensure a better quality of life for all, now and
into the future, in a just and equitable manner while living within the limits
of supporting ecosystems.

The priorities which have been underlined for the South Asia Region include
Eliminating Poverty and Creating Human Security, Conserving the Natural
Resource Endowments, Securing the Economic Base and Strengthening
Institutional Systems.

• For more information on the status of these priorities, visit

• http://www.unescap.org/unis/press/2007/oct/g38.asp

FACTS
• 53 per cent of all land in South Asia is suffering from desertification

• 7 of the 17 mega diversity nations in the world which collectively claim more the
two thirds of the global biological resources are in Asia

• More than 80 per cent of coral reefs in Southeast Asia were at risk with 50 per
cent of these at high risk; similarly 54 per cent of the reefs in the Indian Ocean are
at high risk

• It has been estimated that Central Asia was in the highest level of water stress
(85 percent) followed by South Asia (48 per cent), Northeast Asia (27 per cent)
and Southeast Asia (9 per cent)

• In the year 2005 the South Asian region had an economic growth rate of 8.7 per
cent.

• 32 per cent of the regional population in South Asia lives in extreme poverty

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT TIMELINE

1962 - Rachel Carson publishes, “Silent Spring”
 For the first time the earth’s capacity to absorb chemicals was questioned.

1963 - International Biological Programme initiated by nations around the world

It was a 10 year study to analyze environmental damage through biological

and ecological mechanisms, which laid the foundation for a science-based
environmentalism.

1972 - United Nations Conference on Human Environment held in Stockholm

It provided the first international recognition of environmental issues. The

concept of sustainable development was debated in great detail. The conference
led to the establishment of numerous national environmental protection agencies
and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). www.unep.org

1972 - Club of Rome publishes “Limits to Growth”.

The report predicted the dire consequences if growth was not slowed
down. www.clubofrome.org

1977 - Tbilisi Declaration

The world’s first intergovernmental conference on environmental

education was organized by the United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) in cooperation with the U.N. Environment Programme
(UNEP) and was convened in Tbilisi, Georgia (USSR).

1980 - World Conservation Strategy released by IUCN.

The strategy defines development as “the modification of the biosphere

and the application of human, financial, living and non-living resources to satisfy
human needs and improve the quality of human life”. The main agents of habitat
destruction were identified as poverty, population pressure, social inequity and
the terms of trade. www.iucn.org

1983 - World Commission on Environment and Development

 Chaired by Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland, it is also
called the Brundltland Commission. It worked for three years to weave together a
report on social, economic, cultural, and environmental issues.

1987 – Brundltland Commission Report

The Report of the Brundtland Commission, Our Common Future, was

published by Oxford University Press in 1987. It deals with sustainable
development and the change of politics needed for achieving that. The definition
of this term was given in the report.

1988 – Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change established

It was established with three working groups to assess the most up-to-date
scientific, technical and socio-economic research in the field of climate change.
www.ipcc.ch

1990 - World Conference on Education for All

The Education for All movement took off at the World Conference on
Education for All in 1990. Since then, governments, non-governmental
organizations, civil society, bilateral and multilateral donor agencies and the
media have taken up the cause of providing basic education for all children, youth
and adults.

1992 –U.N. Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED)

Held in Rio de Janeiro, It is commonly known as the Earth Summit. It

resulted in the publication of Agenda 21, the Convention on Biological Diversity,
the Framework Convention on Climate Change,the Rio Declaration, and a
statement of non-binding Forest Principles. www.unep.org/
unep/partners/un/unced/home.htm

1993- World Conference on Human Rights:

 Governments re-affirmed their international commitments to all human
rights. Appointment of the first UN High Commissioner for Human Rights took
place. www.unhchr.ch

1995- World Trade Organization (WTO)

The establishment of WTO resulted in the formal recognition of trade,

environment and development linkages. www.wto.org

1999- Launch of the first Global Sustainability Index

It led to tracking leading corporate sustainability practices worldwide.

Called the Dow Jones Sustainability Group Indexes, the tool provides guidance to
investors looking for profitable companies that follow sustainable development
principles. www.sustainabilityindex.com

2000- UN Millennium Summit and the MDGs

The largest-ever gathering of world leaders agreed to a set of time bound

and measurable goals for combating poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy,
environmental degradation and discrimination against women, now known as the
Millennium Development Goals, to be achieved by 2015.

www.un.org/millenniumgoals

2001- Fourth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization held in

Doha, Qatar,

It recognized the environment and development concerns in the final Declaration.

NGOs and the WTO agreed to re-interpret the Agreement on Intellectual Property
Rights regarding access to medicines and public health.
www.ictsd.org/ministerial/doha

2002- World Summit on Sustainable Development

Held in Johannesburg, the conference marked 10 years since UNCED. In a climate

of frustration at the lack of government progress, the Summit promotes
“partnerships” as a non-negotiated approach to sustainability.
www.johannesburgsummit.org

2005- Kyoto Protocol enters into force.

The protocol legally binded the developed country ‘Parties’ to goals for
greenhouse gas emission reductions, and establishing the Clean Development
Mechanisms for developing countries.

www.iisd.ca/process/climate_atm-fcccintro.htm

2006- Stern Report

The report makes the convincing economic case that the costs of inaction
on climate change will be up to 20 times greater than measures required to
address the issue today. www.hmtreasury.gov.uk

2007- The Nobel Peace Prize

The Norwegian Nobel Committee decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for
2007 is to be shared, between the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC) and Albert Arnold (Al) Gore Jr. for their efforts to build up and disseminate
greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations
for the measures that are needed to counteract such change.
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2007/press.html

2007- Fourth International Conference on Environmental Education

The Fourth International Conference on Environment Education (ICEE) co-

sponsored by UNESCO and UNEP and is being organized by the Government of
India in Ahmedabad from 26 November to 28 November 2007. Being held during
the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD
2005-2014), the Conference will look at how EE and ESD(Education for
Sustainable Development) can partner and strengthen each other towards
building a sustainable future.
 SESSION 3
BRUNTLAND REPORT
ETHICS AND VISIONS OF SUSTAINABILITY

BRUNTLAND REPORT

Formally known as the World Commission on Environment and Development

(WCED), the Brundtland Commission's mission is to unite countries to pursue
sustainable development together. To rally countries to work and pursue
sustainable development together, the UN decided to establish the Brundtland
Commission.The Brundtland Commission officially dissolved in December 1987
after releasing Our Common Future, also known as the Brundtland Report, in
October 1987, a document which coined, and defined the meaning of the term
Sustainable Development: “development that meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

Part I. COMMON CONCERNS

• A Threatened Future
Symptoms and Causes
New Approaches to Environment and Development
• Towards Sustainable Development
The Concept of Sustainable Development
Equity and the Common Interest
Strategic Imperatives
Conclusion
• The Role of the International Economy
The International Economy, the Environment, and Development
Decline in the 1980s
Enabling Sustainable Development
A Sustainable World Economy

Part II. Common Challenges

• Population and Human Resources

The Links with Environment and Development
The Population Perspective
A Policy Framework
• Food Security: Sustaining the Potential
Achievements
Signs of Crisis
The Challenge
Strategies for Sustainable Food Security
Food for the Future
• Species and Ecosystems: Resources for Development
The Problem: Character and Extent
Extinction Patterns and Trends
Some Causes of Extinction
Economic Values at Stake
New Approach: Anticipate and Prevent
International Action for National Species
Scope for National Action
The Need for Action
• Energy: Choices for Environment and Development
Energy, Economy, and Environment
Fossil Fuels: The Continuing Dilemma
Nuclear Energy: Unsolved Problems
Wood Fuels: The Vanishing Resource
Renewable Energy: The Untapped Potential
Energy Efficiency: Maintaining the Momentum
Energy Conservation Measures
Conclusion
• Industry: Producing More With Less
Industrial Growth and its Impact
Sustainable Industrial Development in a Global Context
Strategies for Sustainable Industrial Development
• The Urban Challenge
The Growth of Cities
The Urban Challenge in Developing Countries
International Cooperation

Part III. Common Endeavors

• Managing The Commons

Oceans: The Balance of Life
Space: A Key to Planetary Management
Antarctica: Towards Global Cooperation
• Peace, Security, Development, and the Environment
Environmental Stress as a Source of Conflict
Conflict as a Cause of Unsustainable Development
Towards Security and Sustainable Development
• Towards Common Action: Proposals For Institutional
and Legal Change
The Challenge for Institutional and Legal Change
Proposals for Institutional and Legal Change
A Call for Action

“A global agenda for change" - this was what the World Commission on
Environment and Development was asked to formulate. It was an urgent call by
the General Assembly of the United Nations:
 to propose long-term environmental strategies for achieving sustainable
development by the year 2000 and beyond;
 to recommend ways concern for the environment may be translated into
greater co-operation among developing countries and between countries
 at different stages of economical and social development and lead to the
achievement of common and mutually supportive objectives that take
account of the interrelationships between people, resources, environment,
and development;
 to consider ways and means by which the international community can
deal more effectively with environment concerns; and
 to help define shared perceptions of long-term environmental issues and
the appropriate efforts needed to deal successfully with the problems of
protecting and enhancing the environment, a long term agenda for action
during the coming decades, and aspirational goals for the world
community.

In 1983, the United Nations Secretary-General invited Norwegian prime minister

Gro Harlem Brundtland to chair a World Commission on Environment and
Development. Concern about the acute pressure of population growth, modern
technology and consumer demand on the planetary fabric had been smoldering
away since the 1970s. Now a new generation of environmental worries - global
warming, deforestation, species loss, toxic wastes - had begun to capture
scientific and popular attention. The world's natural resources were being rapidly
depleted, often in the name of development, but the poverty this development
was supposed to correct was as widespread as ever.

By the time the Brundtland Commission delivered its report on Our Common
Future in 1987, population growth was no longer seen as the major threat to the
harmony of the planet. Almost all of it was among poorer people. And it was not
they who were consuming the Earth's supply of fossil fuels, warming the globe
with their carbon emissions, depleting its ozone layer with their CFCs, poisoning
soil and water with their chemicals, or wreaking ecological havoc with their oil
spills. In fact, their consumption of the world's resources was minute compared to
that of the industrialized world.
Brundtland declared that poverty in the developing world was less cause than
effect of contemporary environmental degradation, the outcome of insensitive
technology transfer that pauperized people and natural systems. If all the world's
people were to live like North Americans, a planet four times as large would be
needed. Only 'sustainable' development could blend the fulfillment of human
needs with the protection of air, soil, water and all forms of life - from which,
ultimately, planetary stability was inseparable.

Thus the concept of 'sustainable development' was launched: social and

economic advance to assure human beings a healthy and productive life, but one
that did not compromise the ability of future generations to meet their own
needs. Sustainable development brought environmentalism into poverty
reduction and poverty reduction into environmentalism in a single and simple
formula. It led to the first Earth Summit - the UN Conference on Environment and
Development - at Rio de Janeiro in 1992, and to the formulation of Agenda 21

ETHICS OF SUSTAINABILITY

Ethical Aspects of Sustainability

By Bruce Jennings

Ethics or morality has to do with the principles, standards, rules, norms of

conduct that make cooperation, justice, and freedom possible. Ethics is
inseparable from questions of cultural meaning and social power; it provides a
philosophically based touchstone for an ideal of justice, right relationship, and the
proper use of power and authority.

The ethical analysis typically has the following four central components:
• an evaluation of the character and intentions of the agent—what virtues/vices
does the agent exemplify?
• an evaluation of the inherent properties of an action—what rights or duties
does the action fulfill or violate?
• an evaluation of the consequences (most often understood as causal effects) of
an action—what benefits or harms are brought about by the action?
• an evaluation of the context within which actions take place—does the action
support or undermine the system or context which makes the action possible and
meaningful in the first place?

This fourth aspect has the most direct connection with the commonsense
meaning of the concept of “sustainability”—not undermining the prerequisites of
what you are doing, living on the land without ruining it, using without using up,
limiting how much you draw down reserves so that you do not deplete fast than
you replenish. But all four aspects are relevant to sustainability, which is not only
about living with constraints, parameters, and limits but also about prescribing
some inherently wrong or causally harmful types of action,and about creating the
proper kind of sensibility, motivation, and moral commitment in people. In sum,
virtue, rightness, consequence, and context are all ethically important in
navigating sustainability. A sustainable society lives within the carrying capacity of
its natural and social system. It has a system of rules and incentives that promote
replenishing and limit depletion and pollution. A sustainable society builds upon
the commitment of its members to conform to these rules voluntarily, and it
enforces them when necessary.

One final note about ethical discourse in general as it pertains to the issue of
sustainability. Ethical analysis is deeply affected by the initial ontological starting
point or orientation one assumes. In general, there are three such orientations,
the theocentric, the anthropocentric and the biocentric. In the interests of time, I
mention only the last two here. The human centered orientation denies that non-
human things have any inherent or intrinsic moral value; their value is only
instrumental to human values, goals, and well-being. The biocentric perspective
holds that value in the world does not reside within human beings alone. The
value in the world—for the sake of which ethics and morality exist in the first
place—resides in the natural and biotic context of which human individuals and
societies are a part. Therefore, ethical rights and duties, and the good for
which ethical agency and action strive, should be understood in terms of systems
of interdependency, relationship, sustainability, and resiliency. Human-centered
ethics is the default position of our politics and public policy today, and it leads to
a position that might be called unsustainable rapacity. (Not to put too fine a point
on it.)

The biocentric perspective gives us three different variants on the ethics of

sustainability,which have been in contention throughout the history of American
conservation and environmentalism, particularly in the area of forestry policy,
where the concept of sustainability originated.
(1) Sustainability as efficient management of resources. This is the scientific and
sustainable forestry of Gifford Pinchot.

(2) Sustainability as the preservation of wildness and the radical rejection of an

ethic of human use in favor of an ethic of human respect and non-interference.
This is the argument proposed by John Muir.

(3) Sustainability as the land ethic or land citizenship—a synthesis of both well
managed human use and respect for the requirements of the systemic properties
necessary to the integrity, functioning, and health of a biotic community of which
human beings are a functional part. This is the synthetic position developed by
Aldo Leopold. (Precursors of it can be found in Alexander von Humboldt, Thoreau,
and George Perkins Marsh.)

Arguments in favor of unsustainable rapacity tend to be arguments of

convenience, expediency, and self-interest, rather than arguments of principle, so
I would not call them ethical arguments at all.

The three versions of sustainability, however, are each grounded on recognizable

and serious ethical arguments. No definitive ethical solution to this debate exists.
Our navigation of sustainability will be a tacking back and forth among these
three orientations and the policies and practices that follow from them. That
tacking is a good thing, and it is on the border line between ethics and politics. For
me, however, the overall course and direction of our navigation should be set by
the third conception of sustainability as land citizenship.

Sustainability as efficient management inevitably falls prey to human ignorance

and human hubris. And experience since Pinchot’s day shows that, despite its
genuinely ethical and biocentric intent, it too easily falls back into an
anthropocentric orientation in which nature alive becomes nature dead; that is, a
system that supports us becomes a stock of raw materials for our consumption
and use. For its part, the conception of sustainability as wildness drives too sharp
a wedge between humans and nature and is not ontologically sound, nor is it
workable because the problem of sustainability is an agricultural, suburban, and
urban problem and is not limited to undisturbed ecosystems in remote or
protected areas. The land ethic, a notion of democratic ecological trusteeship,
provides the best moral compass for navigating sustainability in the Hudson
Valley and beyond.

VISIONS OF SUSTAINABILITY

VISIONS OF SUSTAINABILITY IN 2050

Anthony D. Cortese, ScD
President

The following is a vision for a healthy, peaceful, socially just, economically secure
and environmentally sustainable world. This vision is synthesized from the
thinking of a large and diverse number of world leaders in many fields of
endeavor and reports and programs of the world's most progressive
governmental, business, academic and civic organizations. This is a brief
representation of what is encapsulated and illustrated in my presentations
throughout the year. It is a vision that is vital to achieving sustainability by 2050
and possible with bold, collaborative leadership from all sectors of society.
This vision of sustainability in 2050 is epitomized by the following…

There is widespread understanding and acceptance that health, economic and

social progress are dependent on a healthy biosphere. The world population is
stabilized at a level that is within the short and long term carrying capacity of
the earth's finite resources. The market is the servant in aligning social,
economic and natural systems for mutual benefit and
sustainability.
• The throughput of fossil fuels and materials in the economy is reduced by 75%.
Non-polluting, renewable energy provides 85% of the world's energy.
• Energy and resource productivity has increased 10 times that of the year 2000.
• We mirror, learn from and live within natural systems: nature as mentor, model
and measure. The industrial economy operates on renewable energy in a cyclical
manner: eliminating the concept of waste since all industrial outputs will be a raw
material or technical nutrient for other industrial operations or will go back into
the cycles of nature.
• We use renewable resources at a rate less than or equal to the natural
environment's ability to regenerate the resource and preserve the diversity and
integrity of the earth's ecosystem services. This means living off nature's income,
not its capital by practicing sustainable forestry, sustainable fishing and
sustainable agriculture. Biological diversity is once again increasing.

New Business Models are based on:

• Increased production of durable, repairable goods and elimination of persistent,
toxic and bio accumulative substances.
• Business focus on providing the ultimate ends of products or services not the
products or services themselves. Products are viewed as a means to deliver a
service to a customer. Companies own the molecules and consumers lease the
services creating incentives for industry to use as little energy and material,
minimize waste and design for disassembly and reuse.

Transportation, land use and sustainable communities:

• Low energy consuming and polluting transportation systems now represent half
of all transportation.
• Mass transportation is available to half the world's population and 90% of
automobiles, trucks and buses are powered by non-polluting fuel cells.
• Sprawl is declining because inner cities have been revitalized to make business
and jobs accessible to inner city residents by public transportation, bicycling or
walking.
• Strong, healthy, culturally diverse and environmentally sustainable local
communities are the goal of economic and social policy.
Equity, democracy, peace and security:
• Government and institutional policies foster intragenerational and
intergenerational equity and peace.
• The world literacy rate is 85%. Women have the same opportunities for
education as men.
• The majority of people worldwide have access to jobs that provide for basic
human needs and family stability. Women have equal access to jobs as men.
• The gap between the richest 20% of the population and the poorest has
dropped from 70:1 to 7:1.
• Consumption has been reduced by 75% in the industrialized world and
increased sufficiently in
developing countries to meet their needs. All consumption is done in a manner
that minimizes the
ecological footprint and improves the quality of life.
• Non-material means are utilized to meet non-material needs of good family and
social relations, meaningful work, and achieving higher aspirations.
• Civic engagement and participatory, open democracy with full human rights is
practiced by 75% of the world's population.
• Cultural Diversity is respected and is increasing again.

New measures of human and societal well-being:

• New macroeconomic indicators to supplement Gross Domestic Product…

1. Adds environmental and social cost side to growth ledger
2. Accounts for positive impact from non-monetary activity (e.g., parenting and
volunteering)
3. Accounts for future as well as present well-being
4. Adjusts for income disparities
• Indicators of well-being include: health, economic vitality and equity,
community stability, level
of education, availability of affordable housing, equal access to transportation and
the condition of the natural and built environment.
• Prices reflect all the social, health and environmental costs to society as well as
the direct costs and profits to the producers.
• Taxes have been shifted from taxing "desirables" — income, investment,
employment — to taxing "undesirables" — resource consumption and depletion,
fossil fuel use, pollution, waste,loss of biodiversity.
• Signals of ecological distress are received in time to prevent or remedy damage
to humans or the environment.

Improved human health:

• 95% of the world has access to clean water, sanitation and adequate nutritious
food.
• Waterborne infectious disease and AIDS have been eliminated as a major cause
of illness and death.
• 90% of the word's population live in areas where the air quality is healthful.
• 90% of the world's population has decent, affordable housing.

Globalization has been humanized to result in:

• Technology leapfrogging for developing countries.
• Support for democracy and human rights.
• Raising human aspirations.
• Creating more jobs for everyone.
• Reducing the gap between rich and poor.
International governance has been reformed:

• World Trade Organization (WTO):

1. Greater respect for health and environmental issues.
2. Protects consumer right to know laws.
3. Allows trade measures to protect global commons.
4. Defers environmental decisions to environmental treaties.
• Consideration of solving environmental and health problems is integral to World
Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) lending.
• The United Nations has been reconstituted to be more democratic and to be the
chief peacekeeper and advocate for a just and sustainable world.
• Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) have used the Internet to develop
cross border political
alliances.

The Global Climate has been restabilized:

• The global climate has restabilized to the level it was at in 1950. This has
happened through a 75% reduction in fossil fuels and a 50% increase in forested
land worldwide.