Sustainable Development

(1)

Social and economic dimensions

Social

and

economic

dimensions

of

sustainable

development

Dr

Ingrid

Karlsson

The

Baltic

University

Programme,

Uppsala

Centre

for

Sustainable Development

Sustainable

Development

Uppsala

University,

Sweden

(2)

Sustainable development

‐

the

essence

of

it…

Sustainable

development

is

defined

as

Susta ab e de e op e t s de

ed as

meeting "the [human]

needs

of the present

meeting

the

[human]

needs

of

the

present

without

compromising

the

ability

of

future

ti

t

t th i

d "

generations

to

meet

their

own

needs."

1

(3)

Sustainable development and its

three main components

ecologicalg

(4)

Understanding the links and the

scales – global/regional/local

2,3

Human

well

‐

being

‐basic

d d h l h d i l l i

Indirect drivers

of

change:

demographic economic standard, health, good social relations,

security, freedom of choice or action

change:

demographic, economic,

sociopolitical (governance etc), science

and technology, cultural and religious

Ecosystem

services:

i i i (f d t t )

Direct drivers

of

change:

provisioning (food, water etc),

regulating (climate etc), cultural (recreation etc), supporting (production

etc)

change:

land use change,

biodiversity change, technology, inputs

(fertilizers etc) harvest, climate change,

t l di t t

(5)

Cont Understanding the links

2

…Cont. Understanding the links

2

Ecosystem services Constituents of well-being

Provisioning

Food, water, wood,

fibres

Security

Personal safety, secure resource access, security from

disasters

_F

_d

_f

Supporting

Nutrient

li

il

fibres.. Regulating Climate flooding disasters

Basic material for a

good life Adequate livelihoods,

Freedom

of

choice and

action

cycling,

soil

formation,

primary

prod ction

Climate, flooding, diseases, water purification… Cultural

sufficient nutrituous food,

shelter, access to goods

Health

Strength, feeling well, access

Opportunity to

be

able to

achieve well

‐

production…

_Aesthetic,_spiritual,

educational,

recreational…

g , g , to clean air and water

Good social relations

Social cohesion, mutual respect, ability to help others

being

respect, ability to help others

(6)

D fi i

i l

d

i di

i

d

Defining

social

and

economic

dimensions

needs

cross

‐

and

multidisciplinary

studies

and

ethical

and

political

considerations

Ethics/rules for the society/legislation/control mechanisms – the alternative is

collapse of the society

Legislation and rule of law to set targets for society vs individual rights –e.g.

need or greed??

Ethics for individuals should guide attitudes and behavior of the individual and

a sense of responsibility given through ethical education/religion/social values It is strongly argued that a prerequisite for a true sustainable development is

(7)

Social

and

economic dimensions

for

todays´

needs

50 i di t f t i bl d l t di t U it d N ti 50 core indicators for sustainable development according to United Nations

(social and economic indicators in red) are agreed upon within the following

necessary components of sustainable development4:

•Poverty

•Governance

•HealthHealth

•Education

•Demographics •Natural hazardsNatural hazards

•Atmosphere

•Land

•Oceans,, seas and coasts

•Freshwater

•Biodiversity

•Economic development

•Global economic partnership

(8)

Is more money what we need?

5

(9)

…or could we use our resources

(10)

…for

instance

for

better

health

care,

a

crucial

ingredience

of

human

needs/wellbeing

5

(11)

An

identified

weak

part

of

the

sustainability

chain

is

confidence

and

trust

For

instance,

confidence

in

• _rule

_of

_law

_(security

_and

_justice

_for

_everyone)

• _low

_levels

_of

_corruption

7

• a well functioning and open society

a

well

functioning

and

open

society,

• free

media,

• Independent

creativity

(researchers

and

artists

are encouraged and supported)

(12)

(13)

Examples of non‐sustainable social

and economic dimensions:

• _Poverty

• _{High unemployment}

_High

_unemployment

• _Low

_education

• _Low

_quality

_health

_care

_systems

• Discrimination (ethnic sex age etc)

Discrimination

(ethnic,

sex,

age

etc)

• Information

and

communication

is

restricted

• Criminality

and

violence

• Financial mismanagement

• Financial

mismanagement

(14)

The

worst

cases

of

unsustainable

d

l

d

i

l

development

at

local

and

regional

scales

are

an

effect

of

the

misrule

of

authoritarian

regimes

Recent examples of social and economic non

‐

sustainability:

Recent

examples

of

social

and

economic

non sustainability:

• Destruction of economy and agriculture (Zimbabwe)

• Destruction

of

economy

and

agriculture

(Zimbabwe)

• Bad

management

in

natural

catastrophies

(Burma/Myanmar)

• The disappearance of the Aral Sea (Uzbekistan)

(15)

C

t

l b l

i

Can

we create a

global

consensus

on

saving

resources for

generations

g

to

come:

Preserve

natural

resources

and

biodiversity

(the

environmental

dimension but with economic implications)

dimension,

but

with

economic

implications)

Preserve

and

improve

cultural

heritage

Preserve

and

improve

human

and

material

resources

for

good

Preserve and improve human and material resources for good

health

care

and

medical

systems

Preserve

and

improve

human

and

material

resources

for

high

quality

education

Preserve

and

improve

human

and

material

resources

for

industry production

industry

production

Preserve

and

improve

human

and

material

resources

for

food

production

p

(16)

(17)

References

1_{The World}_Commission_on_Environment_and_Development._1987.

http://www.wsu.edu/~susdev/WCED87.html

2_Mill _i _E _t _A _{t 2005} _E _t _{d H} _{W ll b i} 2_{Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. 2005.}_{Ecosystems and Human Well-being:}

Synthesis. Washington, DC, Island Press.

3_ICSU_‐_UNESCO_‐_UNU._2008._Ecosystem_Change_and_Human_Well_‐_being:_Research_and

i i i i i d h ill i i i l

Monitoring Priorities Based on the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. Paris, International

Council for Science.

http://www.icsu.org/Gestion/img/ICSU_DOC_DOWNLOAD/2350_DD_FILE_ICSU‐UNESCO‐

UNU_Ecosystem_Report.pdf

4_{CSD indicators for sustainable development. 2009.}

http://www.un.org/esa/dsd/dsd_aofw_ind/ind_csdindi.shtml

5 _{Deaton, A. Income, Health, and Well-Being Around the World: Evidence From the}

Gallup World Poll. 2008. Journal of Economic Perspectives — Volume 22, No 2. (http://www.aeaweb.org/jep)

6_I _{l h} _{t R 1999 Gl b li} _ti _{d P} _t _d _{V l} _{Th W} _hi _t

6_{Ingleheart, R. 1999. Globalization and Postmodern Values. The Washington}

Quaterly 23:1, p. 219. © The center for Strategic and International Studies and the Massachusetss Institute of Technology.

7_{I f} _ti _{S i} _f _D _{(INDEM )F} _{d ti} _{2009 Di} _ti _f

7_{Information Science for Democracy (INDEM )Foundation. 2009. Diagnostics of}

Corruption in Russia 2001-2005. Preliminary report.