Spreading the Word
| Sustainable development has rapidly become the dominant idea, or discourse, shaping international policy towards the environment. The concept was first endorsed in the World Conservation Strategy (IUCN/UNEP/WWF 1980) produced by three international non-governmental organisations (NGOs). This document was primarily concerned with ecological sustainability, or the conservation of living resources, and directed little attention to wider political, economic or social issues. Sustainable development was given a broader social meaning in Our Common Future, published by the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED 1987), and commonly known as the Brundtland Report (see Box 1). The Brundtland Report popularised the notion of sustainable development so successfully that it has since been taken up by almost every international institution, agency and NGO. The principles of sustainable development underpinned the Rio Earth Summit agenda where approval was given to the Agenda 21 document outlining a 'global partnership for sustainable development' (see Box 2). This massive document addresses a wide range of environmental and developmental issues and is intended to provide a strategy for implementing sustainable development throughout the world. The UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) was created to monitor and promote the implementation of Agenda 21 in each country (see Box 3). By the mid-1990s most industrialised countries had published national sustainable-development strategies, and many local authorities have launched Local Agenda 21 strategies. The reach of sustainable development has extended far beyond government into the world of business and civil society. The World Bank has sought to throw off its poor reputation with environmentalists by publishing environmental reports, holding regular seminars and sponsoring research on a wide range of environental issues. The World Bank is also host to the Global Environmental Facility, which is the institution responsible for channelling financial assistance for sustainable development from Northern to Southern nations. The World Business Council for Sustainable Development, formed in 1995, is a coalition of 125 international companies from 30 countries and over 20 industrial sectors, with the broad aim of developing 'closer cooperation between business, government and all other organisations concerned with the environment and sustainable development ... [and] to encourage high standards of environmental management in business' (www.wbcsd.ch/whatis.htm). Many trade associations have also declared their support for sustainable development; for example, the insurance industry (which potentially has much to lose if climate change leads to rising sea levels, floods and storms) issued a Statement of Environmental Commitment in March 1995 signed by over 50 leading insurance companies. These international efforts have been widely replicated at the national level, where state-sponsored round-tables have brought together representatives from all sections of society--politicians, business, trade unions, churches, environmental groups, consumer groups--to discuss how sustainable development can be implemented. Despite this widespread enthusiasm, the precise meaning of sustainable development remains elusive. |
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