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Towards Sustainability Emerging Systems for Informing Sustainable Development Venning

Towards Sustainability Emerging Systems for Informing Sustainable Development Venning Towards Sustainability Emerging Systems for Informing Sustainable Development Venning Towards Sustainability Emerging Systems for Informing Sustainable Development Venning

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Towards Sustainability Emerging Systems for Informing Sustainable Development Venning Digital Instant Download Author(s): Venning, Jackie, Higgins, John C. ISBN(s): 9780585436463, 0585436460 Edition: Kindle File Details: PDF, 1.57 MB Year: 2001 Language: english
T O W A R D S S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y Julianne (Jackie) Venning specialises in environment and natural resource management. Her earlier work involved the conservation of rural landscapes, particularly the retention, rehabilitation and re-establishment of remnant native vegetation. More recently she was responsible for the South Australian State of the Environment Reporting program. In this role she was involved in the development of environmental reporting systems at both a state and national level. She holds a PhD in biological sciences and an MBA. John Higgins worked on the Commonwealth State of the Environment Reporting program for three years. He holds a PhD in chemistry and an MA in science, technology and society. He was a postdoctoral fellow at Oxford and the Australian National University before joining the Australian Public Service.
To Sam and Charley To their Future
TOWA R D S S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y EMERGING SYSTEMS FOR INFORMING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT e d i t e d by J a c k i e Ve n n i n g a n d J o h n H i g g i n s UNSW PRESS
A UNSW Press book Published by University of New South Wales Press Ltd University of New South Wales UNSW Sydney NSW 2052 AUSTRALIA www.unswpress.com.au © UNSW Press 2001 First published 2001 This book is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. While copyright of the work as a whole is vested in UNSW Press, copyright of individual chapters is retained by the chapter authors. Inquiries should be addressed to the publisher. National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry: Towards sustainability: emerging systems for informing sustainable development. Bibliography. Includes index. ISBN 0 86840 667 8. 1. Sustainable development — Australia. 2. Sustainable development — Social aspects — Australia. I. Venning, J. (Jackie). II. Higgins, John, 1962– . 338.994 Printer Griffin Press, Adelaide The views expressed by the contributors in this work are not necessarily those of the editors or their employers.
Acknowledgments vi Foreword vii List of Contributors ix 1 Introduction 1 John Higgins and Jackie Venning 2 Development of sustainability concepts in Australia 22 David Bennett 3 Environmental models 48 John Higgins 4 Economic models 71 John Hatch 5 Environmental indicators: Development and application 90 Jackie Venning 6 Economic measures of sustainability 120 Tor Hundloe 7 Sustainability indicators: Measuring progress towards sustainability 138 Ann Hamblin 8 Modelling physical realities: Designing and testing future options 165 to 2050 and beyond Barney Foran and Franzi Poldy 9 Informing institutions and policies 196 Stephen Dovers References 221 Index 235 C O N T E N T S
AC K N OW L E D G M E N T S The editors would like to acknowledge the valuable assistance of the fol- lowing people during the preparation of this book: Dr Tom Beer, CSIRO Atmospheric Research; Dr Geoffrey Bishop, Bishop and Associ- ates, Basket Range, South Australia; Mark Faulkner, South Australian Department for Water Resources; Allan Haines, Environment Australia (now retired); Associate Professor Ronnie Harding, Centre for Environmental Studies, University of New South Wales; Dr Steve Hatfield-Dodds, Environment Australia; Dr Andrew Lothian, South Australian Department for Environment and Heritage; Brett Odgers, Environment Australia (now retired); Dr Ray Wallis, Western Australian Department of Environmental Protection; Dr David Williams, CSIRO Energy Technology; Professor David Yencken, Landscape, Architecture and Environmental Planning, University of Melbourne.
We cannot work to create a future which we do not first imagine. If humanity is to live on this beautiful planet of ours indefinitely, we must design and innovate within the next generation or so, the means of creating a sustainable society, and we must complete a mis- sion to realise it. This in turn requires that we envision, design and create sustainable prosperity, which involves the simultaneous advancement of four forms of prosperity: economic, ecological, social and cultural. To create a sustainable society we must be able to imagine it, model it and understand how it would behave. We cannot work to create a future that we do not first imagine, and we must be able also to imagine how it would work through the creation of appropriate metaphors and models. We must also be able to measure our progress towards the realisation of a sustainable society through the creation of appropriate indicators and assessment processes. Finally we must innovate many new products, services and technologies to market to the world’s peoples to provide the tools that would enable them to make this heroic transformation on the ground. The innovations we will need to create should not only make us less unsustainable but more sustainable as well. To treat illness and to cease to be sick is very different to creating health. To lessen a bad outcome is not the same as creating a good outcome. To improve the efficiency and effectiveness of fossil fuel engines is not the same as creating a hydrogen powered alternative and to reduce waste is not the same as abolishing it. F O R E WO R D
We need also to create many new ways to measure change in our world. For example, we need a true partnership of economics and ecol- ogy in the provision of indicators if we are to assess whether we are achieving economic and ecological prosperity, as win–win rather than win–lose. We must be able to measure whether we are doing econom- ically well while and by doing ecological good, or whether we are still continuing the ways of the modernist past by doing economically well by doing ecological bad. Our economists must incorporate the value of natural capital and of the environmental services provided by nature, such as the production of clean water or the pollinating roles of insects and birds, into our measures of prosperity. This will achieve real progress in our capabilities to measure prosperity in all its forms, including in concepts such as the ‘triple bottom line’, or as I would prefer, ‘the quadruple bottom line’. To realise a sustainable society and to design and innovate our way to sustainability, we need to create what I call green ways and green wares. Green ways are the values and attitudinal shifts, the customer preferences, and the professional practices and ethical behaviours we need to progress towards a sustainable future. Green wares are the new designs, products, services and technologies we need to innovate. We need both, and those who innovate and market these will be the new leaders in the new green economy of the twenty-first century. These green ways and green wares will assist us, amongst other things, to live within perpetual solar income, abolish the concept of waste, protect biodiversity and avoid or ameliorate all forms of collateral damage. These concepts are among the design rules we need for the creation of a sustainable society. This book will help our understanding of some core aspects of sus- tainability, in particular our understanding of the working of both sus- tainable and unsustainable systems, and it will help us develop the tools to assess whether we are progressing in our journey towards the reali- sation of a sustainable society. Our hearts tell us that we need a sus- tainably prosperous society. We however also need to put our best minds and our highest intelligences to the task of building pathways towards its realisation. This book is a significant contribution to this mind work. Peter Ellyard Dr Peter Ellyard is currently Executive Chairman of Preferred Futures, and Chairman of the Universal Greening Group of companies and of the MyFuture Foundation. He has been a Senior Adviser to the United Nations system for more than 25 years, including at the 1993 Earth Summit. Peter is the author of the best selling book Ideas for the New Millennium (1998, 2001). V I I I • T O W A R D S S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y
DAVID BENNETT was the Executive Director of the Australian Academy of the Humanities and the Executive Director of National Academies Forum until the end of 2000. During his diverse career, he has also worked on environmental issues for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, been a policy officer with the Department of the Environment, Sport and Territories and was the Acting Director of the Mawson Graduate Centre for Environmental Studies at the University of Adelaide. He has published on environmental philoso- phy, particularly environmental ethics, the ethical treatment of non- human animal species, and population issues relating to the environment. David is co-author with Richard Sylvan of The Greening of Ethics. STEPHEN (STEVE) DOVERS is a Fellow with the Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies at the Australian National University. He has spent the past decade researching, writing and communicating in the area of sustainable development, institutional and policy arrange- ments for resources and environment, and environmental history. BARNEY FORAN is an ecologist by training and has spent most of his career in the rangelands of Australia, southern Africa and New Zealand. His current task brought him to the Resource Futures group at CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems in Canberra in 1993. His current research interests focus on radical options for the redesign of Australia’s economy that take it to low levels of energy and material usage by 2050. The group is tasked with designing and testing transi- tion pathways ‘towards sustainability’ for national and regional scales in L I S T O F C O N T R I B U TO R S
Australia. Central to the job has been the development of a number of analytical frameworks that describe how Australia actually works in physical terms … the so-called ‘physical economy’. ANN HAMBLIN specialises in agricultural land-uses and ecosystem management and currently works at the Bureau of Rural Sciences in Canberra. Ann has worked on international and national land indica- tors for the World Bank and Environment Australia, and on national indicators of sustainable agriculture for SCARM. She serves on several national and international boards related to environment and agricul- tural research. She was director of the Cooperative Research Centre for Soil and Land Management 1994–98. In 1999 she convened the Fenner Conference on the Environment called Visions of Future Landscapes and more recently she has prepared the land theme for the Australian 2001 State of the Environment report. JOHN HATCH is a senior lecturer in the School of Economics at Adelaide University. He teaches in several courses in environmental economics and has a special interest in wildlife resources. He has pub- lished in the areas of commercialisation of wildlife, waste management and recycling. Most recently he made a major submission to the Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee on the Commercial Utilisation of Australian Native Wildlife. In his spare time he is an avid ornithologist. TOR HUNDLOE is Professor of Environmental Management at the University of Queensland. He is Chair of the Wet Tropics Management Authority, responsible for the oversight of this World Heritage Area. He also chairs the Nature and Ecotourism Accreditation Program that is responsible for certifying ecotourism products. Tor served as Chair of the Australia Institute in 1999 and 2000 and had been a board member previously. He was Founding President of the Environment Institute of Australia. He trained in economics, political science and environmental management. FRANZI POLDY is a physicist by training with wide interests in opera- tions research, energy futures and the relationship between the eco- nomic and the physical worldviews presented by this analytical approach. His is currently with the Resource Futures group at CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems in Canberra. His research interests focus on radical options for the redesign of Australia’s economy that take it to low levels of energy and material usage by 2050. X • T O W A R D S S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y
‘Everyone’s an environmentalist now.’ So said Australian Prime Minister John Howard at a photo opportunity during the 1998 Federal election campaign. This statement illustrates how environmental issues have recently been absorbed into the political mainstream. Increasing politi- cal cognisance of the environment has been accompanied by the grow- ing awareness of sustainable development: most famously defined as ‘development that meets the needs of the present, without compromis- ing the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’ (WCED 1987). It is not the intention of this book to enter the debate over partic- ular policies or to argue over the degree to which sustainable develop- ment is practised. Rather, proceeding from the premise that sustainable development is the basis of a new, emerging paradigm for corporate, local, national and global activity, the book explores what sort of infor- mation will be useful for making decisions in the new milieu. Our interest includes how this information will be generated, what tools and methods will be used, what institutional structures are appropriate to them — and how information will be presented to, and used by, decision makers. In short, this book is about how to inform sustainable development. DRIVERS OF CHANGE In the pre-industrial era, the resources and capacity of the world’s ecosystems were so large relative to the scale of human activity as to be effectively infinite. There are well-documented cases of pre-industrial civilisations recklessly exploiting, and thus depleting to the point of collapse, the capacity of the environment — in particular, isolated I N T RO D U C T I O N JOHN HIGGINS AND JACKIE VENNING 1
regions. However, human activity was not on a scale to disrupt global ecosystems (Ponting 1991, WCED 1987). Industrialisation and the rapid growth of the human population have changed the equation. There are many more people, and on aver- age each person makes much greater demands on the environment. People in the developed world are mostly responsible for raising the average demand on global resources. Improving the living standards of the two thirds of the world’s population who live in the developing world without imposing intolerable strains on Earth’s ecosystems is the problem for which sustainable development has been suggested as a solution (WCED 1987). Human activity now has the potential to affect the functioning of ecosystems on a global scale. Further, there is strong evidence that it has done so. This evidence is seen most clearly in the depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer (WMO 1995) and in global climate change (IPCC 1995). The environmental effects of other changes, such as massive deforestation, are still being debated but are incontestably adverse (UNEP 1999). The local and regional effects of problems such as pollution and land degradation have also been felt around the globe. In Australia, salinisation and loss of biodiversity associated with land clearing are among the most important environmental challenges. Awareness of these adverse environmental effects, together with a realisation that the world’s population continues to grow and that each person is making, on average, greater demands on the environ- ment, dictates that attitudes to decision making must change. Simply put, the world must pay more attention to the environment or face catastrophe. The alternatives to continued rapacity are sustain- able development or de-industrialisation and a return to a simpler way of life. While some ‘deep green’ activists urge the latter course, it is unlikely to be acceptable to the vast majority of the world’s people, leaving sustainable development as the only prudent and feasible alter- native. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND1 INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS Our confidence in sustainable development as an emerging paradigm is based largely on the clear historical trend toward greater awareness of, and emphasis on, environmental issues, and the concomitant recogni- tion of the need to take environmental as well as economic and social factors into account when planning development. Environmental problems are not an exclusively modern phenome- non, nor is concern about the environment a recent development. The city of Florence made laws regulating pollution of the Rivers Arno, Sieve and Serchio as long ago as 1477. The roots of modern 2 • T O W A R D S S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y
environmentalism may be found in the nineteenth century when the first environmental non-government organisations (NGOs) were founded, and recognisable conservation movements emerged. National parks and reserve systems were established, and there were efforts to conserve resources and regulate trade in wildlife. There was something quite new, however, about the nature and intensity of concern about the environment in the late twentieth cen- tury. There was a surge in environmentalism in the 1960s and 1970s. Some statistics illustrate how dramatic the changes have been (McCormick 1992): • in 1992 there were more than 20 000 environmental NGOs worldwide, one third of which were founded after 1972; • in 1971 only 12 countries had national environment agencies and today few countries lack one; • as of 1992 there were 250 international environmental treaties in force, three quarters of them established in the last 30 years; and • the first Green Party was formed in New Zealand in 1972: two decades later there were more than 20 Green political parties around the world, 11 of which were represented in parliaments. Five factors have been implicated in the explosion in environmental concern of the 1960s and 1970s. Firstly, there were broad social changes that predisposed people in the West, particularly younger people, to question established values and ways of life. Economic prosperity offered the security to question and protest without too much anxiety about the financial future, and at the same time raised questions about whether the drive for material abundance that had absorbed previous generations was really worthwhile. The protest movements against the Vietnam War and patriarchal social structures, and the fight for civil rights created an atmosphere of radicalism. Secondly, there was a series of environmental disasters during the 1960s that received wide publicity. Two of the most famous were the spill of 117 000 tonnes of crude oil from the Torrey Canyon off the west coast of England in March 1967 and the terrible mercury- induced neurological damage suffered by thousands of Japanese in the towns of Minamata and Niigata. Mercury entered the human food supply through seafood contaminated by the wastes that factories dis- charged into local waters, and the companies were finally forced to admit liability and pay compensation in 1971 (Niigata) and 1973 (Minamata). Thirdly, there was widespread alarm over nuclear weapons testing. The policy of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) alarmed many people, and concern about the effects of fallout from above-ground testing drifting over populated areas added an extra dimension. The I N T R O D U C T I O N • 3
4 • T O W A R D S S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y environmental and anti-nuclear movements have been, and remain, closely linked. Fourthly, better scientific understanding of the consequences of human activity, especially since industrialisation, was demonstrating the dangers to the environment and the alarming implications these might have for people. The health effects of pollution were increasingly recognised. The fifth factor was the publication in 1962 of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring. Despite strong opposition from the political, business, and even scientific establishment, Carson’s book raised public aware- ness of the environmental damage being done by pesticides. It was an impassioned, polemic work grounded in solid science. Had it appeared a few years earlier, Silent Spring may have had little impact. Appearing when it did, in an era where the counter culture was developing and environmental disasters were widely publicised, the book was an important catalyst for change. Other influential best-selling books depicting an environmental crisis followed, including The Population Bomb by Paul Ehrlich (1968) and the Club of Rome’s (1972) Limits to Growth. There have been three significant international developments in the debate over the environment since the emergence of modern environmentalism. These are: the Stockholm Conference of 1972, the report of the World Commission on Environment and Develop- ment (the Brundtland Report) in 1987, and the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. The Stockholm Conference was the first high profile international meeting to deal exclusively with environmental issues, and it attracted enormous public interest. Amongst its important features were the debate between ‘first’ and ‘third’ world nations on how environment and development should be approached, the involvement of a range of NGOs, and the establishment of the United Nations Environment Programme. The Conference also set the international environmental agenda for years to come by formulating a Declaration, a set of Principles, and an Action Plan. The Brundtland Report (WCED 1987) was a landmark document, and remains the most important manifestation of the trend toward a more holistic approach to the environment and development that evolved in the 1980s. The tendency of the early environmental move- ment was to view development and environmental protection as mutu- ally exclusive. Further reflection suggested that ecologically sustainable development trajectories could be found. The environment and devel- opment lobbies began to move away from adversarial approaches to environmental issues and towards co-operative solutions; from win–lose scenarios to win–win outcomes. A critical insight of the Brundtland Report was that social as well as
environmental and economic factors must be taken into account as part of a holistic approach in order to reconcile the environment and development properly. This insight was not original; the realisation had been growing throughout the 1980s. The Brandt Report and the World Conservation Strategy were important steps along this path. The Brundtland Report was the apotheosis of this way of thinking, which was encapsulated by the Brundtland definition of sustainable development as ‘development that meets the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’. The Earth Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, saw more than 100 nations formally commit themselves to sustainable development. The summit produced Agenda 21, an ambitious, relatively detailed plan to achieve sustainable development in the 21st century (UNCED 1992). The summit also expanded the international environmental agenda established in Stockholm. The new prominence given to bio- logical diversity through the Convention on Biological Diversity and a commitment to take action on the enhanced greenhouse effect, expressed through the Convention on Climate Change, were the most important additions. A follow-up meeting, known as Earth Summit + 5, was held in New York in June 1997. Some progress was reported, although many found the achievements disappointing compared with the high aspirations of Rio. Each of these major international developments has clarified the relationship between the environment and development, and strength- ened commitment to sustainable development. This process has been mirrored on national and local scales. Many nations, and local govern- ments, now have strategies for sustainable development, and the signatories to Agenda 21 report regularly on their progress. Many companies have incorporated sustainable development into their plan- ning (Elkington et al. 1998). AUSTRALIAN DEVELOPMENTS In Australia, the first major environmental statutes were enacted in the 1970s, beginning with the New South Wales State Pollution Control Commission Act 1970 and the Victorian Environment Protection Act 1970. The first Commonwealth legislation was the Environment Protection (Impact of Proposals) Act 1974. State Governments created agencies to tackle the problems of pollution, and a Federal Environment Department was established in 1971. In keeping with the spirit of the 1970s, these early efforts were aimed at protecting the environment and fixing the problems caused by development. In the 1970s and early 1980s there were emotive debates over a range of environmental issues. Those with the highest profiles were I N T R O D U C T I O N • 5
uranium mining, the flooding of Lake Peddar, sand mining at Fraser Island, and the proposed construction of the Gordon below Franklin Dam. Building and construction unions became involved through the ‘green bans’, in which labour was withdrawn from projects that were thought to be environmentally damaging. Uranium mining went ahead, and in 1972 Lake Pedder was flooded. However, Common- wealth Government action prevented sand mining at Fraser Island and the construction of a dam on the Gordon River below its junc- tion with the Franklin River. In these debates, business and conservation interests often adopt- ed strongly adversarial and opposing roles. By 1992 it was possible to develop a National Strategy for Ecologically Sustainable Development (Commonwealth of Australia 1992), which was endorsed by all gov- ernments and has the broad support of most major players in indus- try, and the environment movement. Disagreements over the interpretation and application of the principles contained in the strat- egy remain, but the various interests have a great deal more common ground than they did in the 1970s. The Regional Forests Agreement (RFA) process is an example of the new more integrated approach. Forests were a commercially valu- able resource to the timber industry, many workers and communities relied upon them, indigenous and other people attached important heritage values to them, and conservationists pointed to their impor- tant ecological roles, including as habitat for native flora and fauna, as greenhouse sinks, and as systems for purifying water and control- ling hydrology. There was intense conflict over the use of forests, which included large scale demonstrations against forestry practices and activities. In 1992, the National Forests Policy Statement (Commonwealth of Australia 1992) set out principles for forest management that took economic, social and environmental concerns into account. Flowing from the statement, the RFA process involved a massive commitment of resources to develop detailed plans for managing forests sustain- ably, based on an agreed set of principles and objectives and the best available information. Although debate continues over whether individual agreements meet the stated objectives, the process was grounded in sustainable development principles. Elsewhere, conservation groups are working with industry to establish and implement corporate standards (for example, ISO 14000), codes of practice for key industries such as fishing, forestry and mining, and performance measures to demonstrate the effective- ness of environmental management. While it is premature to say that sustainable development has become the dominant paradigm, there is a clear historical trend to suggest that it is emerging as such. 6 • T O W A R D S S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y
INTERESTS, INFORMATION AND DECISIONS Decisions are not always made rationally, or on the basis of informa- tion alone. Interests, history, tradition, politics, prejudice and person- ality all have an important role. Interests are, perhaps, the most potent factor of all. Where there is broad agreement on desirable outcomes, or interests coincide, decisions are simplified, although there may still be disagreement over the best course of action. Where differing inter- ests are involved, some way of balancing them must be found. Sometimes, one interest predominates while others are ignored. Such solutions are rarely stable in the long term, especially in democratic societies. Equally, it is overly cynical to suggest that information plays no role in decision making. On the contrary, the role of information in deci- sion making is often critical. Information allows better judgements about how various interests can be advanced, and may change percep- tions of what is in the best interests of various stakeholders. Where there is an agreed framework for balancing interests, the information needs are likely to be most clearly articulated. For example, the Reserve Bank of Australia has clear policies for deciding whether to change offi- cial interest rates, and a clearly articulated set of indicators (consumer price index, average wages, the current account, gross domestic prod- uct) that are relevant to that decision. Interests and information are closely related. As a rule, the infor- mation that a society, government, corporation, or other entity gener- ates is required in order to advance its interests. This does not mean that information is simply a species of propaganda; information may advance interests by enabling balanced and informed decisions about critical issues as well as being used to sway political arguments. The emergence of sustainability as a paradigm for development involves a significant shift in the perceived interests of individuals, com- panies, societies and governments. The type of information required to achieve those interests must also change. In line with these changes, both government and industry tend increasingly to generate their own environmental information, rather than being informed mainly through universities, research institutions and environmental lobby groups. The development of state of the environment reporting is an example. The first state of the environment report in Australia was lit- tle more than a compendium of available environmental facts with minimal commentary (Commonwealth of Australia 1986). It was fol- lowed in 1996 by Australia: State of the Environment 1996 (SEAC 1996), the first comprehensive scientific assessment of the nation’s environment. The Australian States and Territories also produce state of the environment reports, the first comprehensive report being The I N T R O D U C T I O N • 7
State of the Environment Report for South Australia (Environment Protection Council 1988). Corporate environmental reporting is following a similar trajecto- ry. The Earth Summit called for regular reporting by corporations on the environmental aspects of their operations. Early reports often took the form of glossy brochures promoting ‘good news stories’, and some corporate environmental reports still have this character. Increasingly, though, corporations are producing balanced, objective assessments of their progress. Leading corporate environmental reports include quantitative performance measures, full disclosure of breaches of envi- ronmental regulations, and assessments of progress against realistic targets and benchmarks. Bodies such as the World Industry Council for the Environment and the World Bank have published guidelines and indicators for cor- porate environmental reporting. As of mid-1998, some 600 corpora- tions had produced corporate environmental reports, and some companies are also reporting on social aspects of their operations in corporate sustainability reports. In Australia, the Company Law Review Act 1998 amended the Corporations Law to require limited corporate environmental report- ing. Directors must report on compliance with environmental regula- tions, although small proprietary companies are exempt. Additional reporting is at the discretion of the company, and Australian practices generally lag behind those in Europe and North America (Fayers 1997, Deegan 1998). There are some promising signs, however (Elkington 1999). Major resource companies have led the way, and some are near to best practice. Western Mining Corporation released a relatively com- prehensive corporate environmental report in 1995, and BHP a simi- larly comprehensive document in 1997. Both companies have since released annual environmental reports. THE NEED FOR NEW SYSTEMS In this book, it is argued that new systems are required to inform decision makers in the context of sustainability. Specifically, it is suggested that the emerging system must be broadly based, emphasise economic, environmental and social considerations equally, use suitable tools and models, and be expressed through institutions that will both generate the information and respond to the ‘signals’ received through such information. Three points about the evolution of new systems follow from the preceding discussion. Firstly, the need to develop new systems was not identified until recently. This is partly because the concept of sustainability was articu- lated only in the last 20 years (although its intellectual roots twine through many centuries — see Chapter 2), but also because humans 8 • T O W A R D S S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y
have only recently recognised the importance of environmental con- siderations in development. Secondly, a time lag is to be expected between the emergence of the concept of sustainability and the devel- opment of systems appropriate to a sustainable society. Thirdly, the dri- vers behind changes are very powerful. However, it does not follow from this that systems will swing completely to the ideal forms described in this book. In practice there are a host of interlinked sys- tems that will vary considerably in how nearly they approach the mod- els described here. INFORMING SYSTEMS This book deals with the whole gamut of processes and apparatus involved in selecting data, processing it to generate information, com- municating that information to those who need it, and using it to make decisions. The boundaries of the system are thus broad, encompassing the users as well as the generators of information. We use the term ‘informing systems’ (Dovers 1996) to denote this complex mix. The expression is deliberately wider than ‘information system’, because our brief is broader, extending well beyond the question of how data are processed to create information. Informing systems are not necessarily formally organised, self- contained, or even readily identified. One person or organisation may be part of several overlapping informing systems concerned with delivering information to different decision makers. Further, these sys- tems can operate at a variety of levels, from the international to the local. For example, a national system may deliver information to the national government, a local system would deliver information to a local community, and a corporate system would deliver information to the managers of an enterprise. For convenience, we will generally refer to ‘the’ informing system, and often use national scale systems as the main source of examples. However, the principles described apply equally to systems at other scales, and attention will be given to local and corporate systems as well as those that serve national governments. For analytical purposes, we can identify the elements of an inform- ing system as: the broad conceptual framework, the interpretative con- text, theories, models, tools, predictive models, institutional mechanisms, targets and benchmarks. INFORMING SYSTEMS IN FLUX The central thesis of this book is that informing systems are evolving from a ‘traditional’ to an ‘emerging’ form. Table 1.1 summarises the characteristics of the ‘traditional’ and ‘emerging’ systems as well as the characteristics of informing systems as they are now. I N T R O D U C T I O N • 9
The ‘traditional’ and ‘emerging’ informing systems described here are cartoons. They illustrate salient features of past, current and potential future systems without pretending to describe accurately the real fea- tures of any. Accordingly, we do not suggest that the system in place 20 years ago was the ‘traditional’ system described here, or that the sys- tem in place 20 years hence will be exactly the same as the ‘emerging’ system. However, we do contend that present systems draw many of their salient features from the ‘traditional’ system, but are progressive- ly incorporating more characteristics of the ‘emerging’ system. Broad conceptual framework Interpretive context Theories Models Tools Predictive models Institutional mechanisms Targets and benchmarks Traditional system (20 years ago) Economic growth with environmental remediation Economic growth is the main concern of decision makers Taken from neo-classical economics. Environmental and social sciences relatively poorly developed and/or uninfluential. The economy operates with unlimited natural resources. Economic indicators, limited range of social indicators. Economic predictive models highly developed and widely influential. Highly developed institutional mecha- nisms for gathering and analysing eco- nomic and some social data. Limited environmental data gathered, mainly to protect human health. Economic targets drive policy. Social and environmental benchmarks are limited, and mostly the bare minimum to main- tain stability and protect human health. 1 0 • T O W A R D S S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y Table 1.1 Traditional, current and emerging informing systems
THE ‘TRADITIONAL’ SYSTEM The distinguishing characteristic of the traditional system is its strong emphasis on economic factors. This reflects a view that economic man- agement is the major role of government2 while making a profit is the major task of corporations. The traditional system’s conceptual frame- work assumes that there will be no major environmental or social prob- lems. The capacity of the natural environment to assimilate wastes is regarded as unlimited, and natural resources are considered to be I N T R O D U C T I O N • 1 1 Current system Decision makers aware of sustainable development, but many operate in tradi- tional mode. Increasing community awareness of environmental and social issues, and greater political and corporate commit- ment to them. Economic concerns remain central. Environmental and social sciences becoming increasingly sophisticated and influential. A number of models are emerging, (for example, PSR, ecosystem health, resource economics). Emerging tools include environmental indicators, ‘green accounting’ and sus- tainability indicators. Economic predictive models continue to be very influential. Some environmental predictive models being developed and beginning to influence policy making. Institutional mechanisms for reporting on the environment are embryonic. Few institutions are responsible for acting on the basis of environmental information. Environmental targets and benchmarks are emerging, but in an ad hoc manner and often resisted by vested interests. Emerging system (20 years from now) Sustainable development Economic, social and environmental considerations are all-important and are given appropriate weight. Powerful and influential theories for understanding the environment and society as well as the economy. It is still not clear which models will be useful. It is still not clear which tools will be useful. Environmental predictive models as well developed and widely used as economic predictive models. Strong institutional base for gathering and analysing economic, social and envi- ronmental data in an integrated fashion. There are institutions responsible for acting on the basis of social, economic, and environmental information. Environmental and social targets are as important as economic targets.
either inexhaustible or readily replaced by a practical equivalent when they are exhausted. Social problems are thought to be kept in check by a stable, relatively homogenous society based on the nuclear family. It is further assumed that increased economic prosperity will strengthen social cohesion by reducing pressure on families and indi- viduals — thus reinforcing the primacy of economic considerations. Any social or environmental problems that arise can be remedied by ad hoc and relatively inexpensive measures. For example, relief can be offered to communities affected by natural disaster or regional down- turn, welfare will assist families or individuals temporarily experiencing difficulty, and accidents (such as oil spills) with adverse environmental effects can be ‘cleaned up’. Whereas the conceptual framework refers to the intellectual milieu within which decisions are made, the interpretative context is the atti- tude or orientation of decision makers and those who surround them. In line with the preceding paragraphs, the interpretative context of the traditional system is a strong emphasis on economic growth as the most important outcome for which governments and other institutions ought to strive. In the private sector this corresponds to maximising profits and/or income. This attitude does not necessarily represent a devaluation of society or the environment, but rather reflects an under- lying assumption that they will ‘take care of themselves’. Not surprisingly in view of this emphasis on economics, the tech- nical apparatus required to process and interpret economic data are well developed and influential. By technical apparatus we mean the the- ories, models and toolsiii that are used to guide the selection, processing, and interpretation of data and information. Importantly, these theories, models and tools reflect the assumptions of the broad conceptual framework. For example, economic theories tend to assume unlimited natural resources, and methods for deriving key economic indicators do not take social and environmental factors into account. The appa- ratus themselves may vary: neo-classical economic theories currently hold sway, but Keynesian views were in vogue as recently as the 1970s. Theories, models and tools for studying social and environmental trends, on the other hand, are less well developed. A limited set of social measures is in place — mainly related to demography and income distribution. Environmental tools and models tend to be closely linked to human health. That is, the environment is seen as being important to the extent that it affects human health, and tools for monitoring the environment concentrate on potential damage to human health (for example, air pollution, heavy metals in drinking water). In the traditional system, predictive models for the economy are well developed, widely used, and have a strong influence on decision making. For example, Treasury and private forecasters regularly make projections of economic growth, inflation, unemployment, current account deficit 1 2 • T O W A R D S S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y
amongst others, and these are used to guide government policy and pri- vate investment decisions. Limited social modelling takes place, but this is largely restricted to studies of demographic changes that can be used to plan infrastructure investments and delivery of key services. The traditional system is also marked by very well developed insti- tutional mechanisms for economic information. For example, in most developed nations, a central statistical organisation is responsible for generating key economic indicators — including gathering raw data and processing those data into the required form. In the case of the national accounts, the United Nations’ System of National Accounts provides international guidelines to which most national agencies adhere. Typically, the central statistical agency will have a statutory mandate to produce such indicators, possibly with enforcement pow- ers to ensure data are provided in a timely manner. Traditional systems also have institutions responsible for respond- ing to economic information. Generally, treasuries, finance depart- ments and central banks keep a close watch on economic information, and respond to changes by adjusting fiscal and monetary policy in ‘standard’ ways. For example, it is common practice to respond to slug- gish growth in the national accounts by reducing official interest rates. The institutional machinery for generating environmental data is much less developed in traditional systems. Collection of environmental data is typically ad hoc, with little consolidation or integrated analysis. The links between decisions and information are generally poorly devel- oped. The few environmental data collected are often used to protect human health and not the broader environment. For example, there may be minimum standards for the concentration of certain pollutants in air and water, and a particular agency or government department may be responsible for monitoring compliance with these standards. As for the other aspects of the traditional system, targets and bench- marks are well developed for the economy, but virtually absent for the environment. Central banks are committed to formal or informal infla- tion targets. Governments are committed to a target for economic growth as measured by the national accounts, which is in the range of 3–5 per cent for developed nations and around 8–10 per cent for developing countries. International comparisons are another form of benchmark for economic indicators. THE ‘EMERGING’ SYSTEM The ‘emerging’ system is our vision for a system that will meet the information needs of a sustainable society. Sustainable development is the conceptual framework for the emerging system. All versions of the sustainability concept involve a long-term per- spective and a conviction that it is necessary to take full account of environmental and social as well as economic factors when making I N T R O D U C T I O N • 1 3
decisions. The emerging system will operate in a society that has trans- lated the concept of sustainable development into a set of social and political priorities that gives due prominence to environmental, social and economic outcomes. This will be expressed in explicitly recognised economic, environmental and social goals and a requirement that any decision must promote all three. This approach will provide the inter- pretative context for the emerging system. The theories, models and tools of the emerging system will be suited, where appropriate, to an integrated analysis of economic, social and environmental trends and outcomes within the sustainability paradigm. In most cases, integrated analysis of information from the economic, social and environmental spheres will probably be carried out using flex- ible models rather than a single theory or tool. A theory capable of inte- grated analysis would involve a precise, purely objective, formulation of the relationships between critical aspects of society, the economy and the environment. Given the subjective and qualitative nature of aspects of sustainable development and the current state of theories relating the environment, the economy and society, this seems unlikely. For similar reasons, a single tool (such as an aggregated index) that relates all aspects of sustainable development is unlikely to be meaningful. The economic theories and tools used in the emerging system may be different to those employed in the traditional system. One school of thought suggests that traditional economic theories and tools must be modified in order to take environmental and social factors more fully into account (Daly and Cobb 1989, Eckersley 1998). This is discussed more fully in Chapters 4 and 6. In the emerging system, predictive models will be available to build pictures of economic, social, and environmental outcomes under a range of scenarios. It is unlikely that a single model will be able to pro- ject outcomes for all aspects of the environment (climate change, air pollution, soil loss and so on), let alone model economic and social outcomes as well. A suite of predictive models that can be used in con- cert to explore broad scenarios is more feasible. In such an arrange- ment, the outputs of one model would constrain other models. For example, a model showing the effects of increasing greenhouse gas emissions on world climate might constrain the amount of fossil-fuel energy that could be used as an input to a model of the economy. The institutional mechanisms in the emerging system will also reflect the greater emphasis on social and environmental information. Changes will be greatest for institutions collecting environmental data. Their activities will be better focused using the tools, models and the- ories noted above and they will have a more secure basis and more resources for their work. A second change from the traditional system will be that institu- tions are designed to integrate economic, social and environmental 1 4 • T O W A R D S S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y
information rather than being concerned solely, or principally, with only one of these. It is only a slight caricature to suggest that in the tra- ditional system the institutions responsible for economic, social and environmental management are seen as adversaries or competitors. In the emerging system, these adversarial relationships will be replaced by co-operative arrangements. Integrated institutions having broad responsibility for sustainable development rather than the economy, welfare, or environmental protection are also possible, although there may be administrative advantages to retaining organisations specialis- ing in particular aspects of sustainable development. The third characteristic of institutional mechanisms in the emerg- ing system is that there will be institutions responsible for responding to ‘signals’ from the environment and society as well as the economy. This leads naturally to the observation that in the emerging system, targets and benchmarks will be set for environmental and social as well as economic parameters. Economic, social and environmental targets will be set and analysed in concert rather than individually. Targets and benchmarks will be based on explicit goals and objectives, and should be constantly revised in light of changing circumstances. This is partic- ularly important with environmental goals and targets, in view of the imperfect knowledge of how many systems operate, and in keeping with the ethos of ‘adaptive management’. DIRECTIONS OF CHANGE As stated above, the thesis of this book is that informing systems are changing from something like the traditional system to something that more resembles the emerging system. The chapters give more details on these changes and the possibilities for the future. The changes described here are not consciously co-ordinated or planned, nor has the pace of change been uniform in different places, spheres of activity, or components of the informing system. Rather, change is driven at varying paces by broader historical and other forces. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK The last decade has seen increasing acceptance of the concept of sus- tainable development, sparked by the publication in 1987 of the Brundtland Report (WCED 1987) by the World Commission on Environment and Development. In response to this report, the United Nations established the Commission for Sustainable Development, and encouraged countries to develop national sustainability strategies. Many nations have already done so. Sectors, local governments, and corporations are also developing sustainable development strategies. The concept of sustainable development is relatively easy to state in the broad, but notoriously difficult to apply in particular circum- stances. A great deal remains to be done to ‘translate’ the concept of I N T R O D U C T I O N • 1 5
sustainable development for application to different enterprises and organisational units and at a range of spatial scales. Governments, com- munities, commercial sectors, businesses, and individuals must under- stand what it means for them to contribute to sustainable development in their own particular, dynamic and contingent circumstances. The evolution of the sustainable development concept is discussed more fully in Chapter 2, with an analysis of how Australian governments (and some industry sectors) grappled in the 1990s with ‘translation’. INTERPRETATIVE CONTEXT There has been a trend in the last two decades toward greater empha- sis on environmental issues. Surveys of public opinion in Western democracies consistently show that the environment is a major con- cern, and respondents often rank it with economic development. At the same time, the environment has shifted from the fringe of political debate and become a mainstream issue. Recent statements by senior officials in the Treasury and the Reserve Bank acknowledging the importance of environmental considerations when planning for Australia’s economic future are further signs of a changing interpretive context. This does not mean, however, that environmental, social and economic considerations are now equal partners in the political sphere. Economic issues still dominate. THEORIES The developments in theory most important for evolving informing sys- tems are taking place in ecology and economics. Ecology is a relatively young science. It emerged as a distinct discipline only at the beginning of the twentieth century, and did not grow significantly, at least in terms of numbers of practitioners, until the middle of that century (Bowler 1992). The functioning of ecosystems is critical in any consideration of sustainable development. The theories that provide the language in which ecosystems can be described and analysed are still being refined, and ecologists have yet to discover how many of the world’s ecosystems work. As an example of the rapid development of this field, the concept of biological diversity — critical in most accounts of sustainable devel- opment — was clearly stated only in the last 20 years. It has been long recognised that economics, as practised through most of its disciplinary history, does not adequately take the environ- ment into account. Recent decades have seen various attempts to cor- rect this, through sub-disciplines known variously as ‘environmental economics’, ‘ecological economics’, or ‘resource economics’. A number of partial solutions have been found, and economics is much better placed to contribute to environmental debates than it was 30 years ago. Whether economics can ever take full account of all environmental considerations is debatable. Perhaps it should not be expected to. Other 1 6 • T O W A R D S S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y
disciplines provide valid but limited insights, and why should we suspect that economics is any different? In the meantime, there is considerable debate over the degree to which economics can, or should, be ‘adjust- ed’ for environmental concerns. The argument over whether the tech- nique of ‘discounting’ should be applied to the environment is a case in point. The to and fro between advocates of ‘strong’ and ‘weak’ sustain- ability is another. ‘Strong’ sustainability effectively quarantines some aspects of the environment from economic analysis. Developments in economic theory are discussed more fully in Chapter 4. MODELS In recent years a plethora of models has sprung up to help us think about sustainable development, or aspects of it. The models that have received the most attention include the pressure-state-response model developed by the OECD for reporting on the state of the environment, the concept of ecosystem health and various sustainability frameworks that set out criteria for the sustainability of a particular activity or sec- tor. In the corporate sector, the natural step model has won many fol- lowers, as have various management frameworks which, while not models in quite the same sense, can be used in a functionally equiva- lent way to organise information. It is unlikely that all of the models will survive the coming decades. However, at this stage it is not clear which models will best help deci- sion makers think about sustainable development. The current situa- tion is probably best viewed as a period of healthy competition between rival models, the ‘fittest’ of which will survive and be used in the future. Chapter 3 discusses these emerging models in more detail. TOOLS As with models, a wide range of tools to provide information relevant to sustainable development is being developed. Environmental indica- tors are designed to measure environmental trends in the same way that economic indicators measure economic trends. Sustainability indi- cators are related to environmental indicators, being suites of econom- ic, social and environmental indicators arranged in a suitable framework. These indicator approaches typically rely upon indepen- dent measures of different aspects of sustainability, allowing decision makers to weigh the various elements. Other tools are based on modifications of economic theory that take social and environmental factors into account. Adjusting gross domestic product so that it reflects social and environmental factors is a common strategy. There are several approaches to such a modification, ranging from constructing ‘satellite accounts’ for the environment that stand alongside the ‘standard’ GDP, to various so-called ‘Green GDPs’ that assign monetary values to social and environmental factors. I N T R O D U C T I O N • 1 7
Another approach is ‘quality of life’ indices, which combine eco- nomic, social and environmental measures. The Human Development Index is the best known of these. Which of these tools will be most use- ful to decision makers, and which will survive in the long term, is still an open question. The emerging tools are described more fully in Chapters 5, 6 and 7. Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is a process for systemati- cally assembling information about the environmental impacts of a project or suite of projects and has provided useful input to many deci- sions touching on sustainable development. Although not a tool in the sense considered here it is touched upon in Chapter 9. PREDICTIVE MODELS Economic and demographic models have had a powerful influence on decision making for many years. Possibly the only environmental pre- dictive models to have a comparable influence is the suite of models relating to global climate change, which played a major role in secur- ing global action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Global climate change models were accepted only after a long struggle to convince decision makers of their value. The controversy that surrounded these models was instructive. Decision makers found it difficult to act on the projections produced by the models. While it is not possible to say with certainty why this was so, a number of factors may have played a part. Lobbying by vest- ed interests is an obvious one, but more subtle considerations are prob- ably also relevant. Most decision makers are unfamiliar with the nature and uncer- tainty of scientific models. Whereas the uncertainty of economic pro- jections is taken for granted (as witnessed by the biannual revision of Treasury forecasts) decision makers criticise environmental models if their outputs are uncertain. Similarly, the fact that different economic forecasters make widely varying predictions about the economy does not reduce the confidence of decision makers in economic predictive models, but disputes amongst scientists about the magnitude of cli- mate change and its effects led to grave reservations on the part of decision makers about the wisdom of acting on global climate change models. Of course lobbyists exploited uncertainty in scientific models, so the two factors reinforced one another. Hopefully, the breakthrough achieved with climate change models will presage greater acceptance of environmental predictive models as decision making and policy tools. At the same time, it is necessary to develop environmental predictive models of greater sophistication and certainty. Advances in the understanding of ecosystem functioning and improvements in computer technology are combining to achieve this. Chapter 8 presents detailed examples of some models that have 1 8 • T O W A R D S S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y
recently been developed by the CSIRO to help with decision making and policy analysis. INSTITUTIONAL MECHANISMS All developed nations and many developing nations have now established institutional mechanisms for reporting on the environment to parallel existing arrangements for reporting on the economy and on social trends. The most common mechanisms are state of the environment reporting, supported by the OECD and the United Nations Environment Programme, and national statistical agencies producing ‘satellite’ environmental accounts, based on the United Nation’s System of National Accounts. However, these institutional arrangements are fragile compared to those for economic and social reporting. While institutional arrange- ments for generating and bringing together, for example, information about the national accounts are cohesive, comparable environmental data are scattered, or non-existent, and difficult to integrate. Government processes have been established in some countries and international organisations to examine the sustainability of particular sec- tors. The Montreal Process on Sustainable Forest Management recently involved 12 nations in a first approximation report on key information about the sustainability of forest management. A few countries have begun to explore the possibility of developing and reporting on a set of national sustainability indicators, or even a ‘sustainability index’. In 1996 the United Kingdom released a draft set of 120 sustainability indicators, followed in 1998 by a discussion paper suggesting a suite of just 13 indicators. At the local scale, a number of projects by councils or communities around the world are considering reporting regularly on a set of indi- cators of the environment or the sustainability of the local area. The Sustainable Seattle project has served as an exemplar for many com- munities, and Local Agenda 21 — a spin-off from the 1992 Rio Conference — is gaining worldwide popularity. As mentioned above, corporations, too, are taking a greater inter- est in reporting on their environmental as well as economic perfor- mance. Corresponding organisational changes are required in order to integrate, analyse, and present this information. While these signs are promising, it is not yet evident that the information produced by these institutional mechanisms always penetrates to the core of the decision and policy-making process. The often-tenuous nature of links between information and decision makers is a key weakness of many informing systems dealing with sustainable development. Correcting this will require further changes to the institutional machinery, to ensure that institutions are responsible for responding to environmental and social signals as well as to economic ones. Institutional mechanisms are dis- cussed more fully in Chapter 9. I N T R O D U C T I O N • 1 9
TARGETS AND BENCHMARKS The trend towards setting environmental targets and benchmarks has been less pronounced but there are some encouraging signs. The Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer and the Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gas emission are both examples of inter- national agreements that involved parties accepting binding targets to reduce the production of substances that damage the environment. Individual nations have independently established benchmarks or targets for environmental parameters that are of national or regional concern. Most developed countries have targets or benchmarks for the concentration of a range of water or air pollutants — although these have often been set to protect human health rather than for purely environmental reasons. However, targets are being set in many coun- tries to achieve environmental objectives not directly related to human health. Australia has adopted formal targets for the preservation of var- ious types of forest ecosystems (Commonwealth of Australia 1992). Concern over the collapse or potential collapse of fisheries has led most countries to set limits on commercial fish catches. Corporations have also set targets for aspects of their operations such as emission of pol- lutants and greenhouse gases. Targets and benchmarks are discussed more fully in Chapter 5. CONCLUSIONS Some broad conclusions may be drawn from the material presented in this book. • Systems to inform sustainable development are still emerging; • There are a variety of approaches to the different aspects of emergings sys- tems and the validity of these approaches is often contested; • Many of the solutions offered are partial, rather than complete; • There is no single system, or type of system, for informing sustainable development. Despite these caveats, the quality and quantity of information available to make decisions about sustainable development, and our capacity to make good use of it, is increasing. There is good reason to believe that this trend will continue. Perhaps these conclusions should not be surprising. When stated in the most general terms, sustainable development is a powerful, intu- itively appealing concept. Few would argue with, for example, the Brundtland definition. But the more this concept is focused on partic- ular sectors, groups, or activites, the more difficult it becomes to agree on a meaning. Not only is there debate about meanings, but the seem- ingly simple unitary concept of ‘sustainable development’ shatters into myriad concepts such as ‘sustainable agriculture’, ‘sustainable fisheries’, 2 0 • T O W A R D S S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y
‘sustainable steelmaking’ and ‘sustainable communities’. While these concepts may be the best efforts of stakeholders to ‘translate’ sustain- able development into their own sectors or spheres of life, all too often it is difficult to recognise any familial resemblance. The various ‘translations’ are not only due to the fact that different groups of people have been responsible for the translations. There are real differences between different sectors and spheres of life, which dic- tate differences in the practical meaning of sustainable development in each. It has therefore been necessary to develop many different mod- els, tools and approaches to institutional arrangements, as ‘one size’ is unlikely to fit all. A further consideration is that, although sustainable development is an integrative, holistic concept, the tools available to analyse it in detail are derived from a disciplinary and fragmented approach to knowledge. It hardly need surprise us, then, that approaches that are useful for analysing a carefully defined part do not provide a full account of the much more complex whole. Until somebody does come up with a ‘theory of everything’, which is unlikely, we will just have to accept that science and economics will only give us partial insights into the problems associated with sustainable development. A concomitant to this is that there will always be a role for subjec- tive judgements in making decisions about sustainable development. The challenge is to make these informed and rational judgements. That is the role of the informing systems that are the subject of this book. NOTES 1 The material in the first half of this section relies heavily on Bowler (1992), McCormick (1992) and Ponting (1991). 2 Functions such as national defence, maintaining law and order, international rela- tions, education etc are also important, but economic management has an over- arching importance and is the main driver of information needs. Matters such as education and infrastructure may be seen to derive much of their validity from their contribution to economic prosperity. 3 There are shades of meaning in these terms. A theory refers to formally posited relationships between various entities, often expressed in mathematical formalism. Models are a class of less precise intellectual objects, which are best thought of as mental props or extended metaphors. They present a way of thinking about a problem or issue without setting out the relationships between entities as precise- ly as theories do. Tools are specific procedures for transforming data into informa- tion and communicating it to decision makers. Examples of tools in this sense are the various indicators (such as GDP, CPI) in common use and the algorithms used to derive these indicators from the raw data on which they are based. Discursive reports can also be viewed as a species of tool in this sense. I N T R O D U C T I O N • 2 1
INTRODUCTION At least since Plato lamented in his Critias the ‘consequences of exces- sive logging and grazing in the mountainous region of Attica, near Athens’ (Coates 1998) and observed that the mountains were ‘only the bones of the wasted body’ (Critias), humans in Western intellectual traditions have been aware that human activity has impacts on their environments. A hemisphere away and nearly 2500 years later, humans are still aware of those impacts. For example, while much of Australia’s biodiversity remains in good shape, ‘About 40 per cent of Australia’s forests have been cleared in the 200 years since European settlers arrived, with another 35 per cent affected by logging’ (SEAC 1996). Since 1788, ‘five per cent of higher plants, seven per cent of reptiles, nine per cent of birds, nine per cent of fresh-water fish, 16 per cent of amphibians and 23 per cent of mammals are extinct, endangered or vulnerable. Twenty species of mammals, 20 bird species and 68 plant species are known to have become extinct’ (SEAC 1996). For the most part of time between Plato and the present, the impact of human activity on the environment has not overly concerned most humans in Western traditions, because of three very simple assumptions, among others. First assumption: humans in the Western traditions have since the earliest times taken it as part of their world- view that they have a ‘right to dominate nature, and to multiply [their] species … Whatever changes have come about in the rest of [their] atti- tude to the world, dominion and multiplication have persisted and have indeed been intensified. The result of this view of nature as subordinate to man’s requirement has been to set man apart from nature’ (Black 1970). Second assumption: ‘humans have considered D E V E L O P M E N T O F S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y C O N C E P T S I N AU S T R A L I A DAVID BENNETT 2
themselves above, and immune from, the ecological laws which dictate the numbers and fates of other species’ (Happold 1995). Third assumption: there is ‘a sufficiency of natural resources to provide the human race with an unlimited supply of wealth’ (King 1998). When human impact on the Earth became obvious or enduring, mal- practice, rather than the assumptions, was blamed. In his Critias, Plato asserts malpractice by implication. He remarks that Attica before it was overlogged and overgrazed was ‘cultivated, as we may well believe, by true husbandmen, who made husbandry their business’. Even when mal- practice was shown, it was blamed at the local level and not at the sys- temic level. Slowly over centuries, then more rapidly over the past five or six decades, these assumptions have been challenged. As human under- standing of anthropogenic impacts on the Earth improved, the truth of these assumptions has been increasingly questioned. A number of factors have been identified as contributing to envi- ronmental degradation and have lead to a different appreciation and understanding of relationships between humans and their environ- ment. These factors can be summarised in either or both of the fol- lowing formulae: Ed (environmental damage) = P (population) x C (consumption per capi- ta) x D (environmental damage per unit of consumption). And … I (impact on the environment) = P (population) x A (per capita afflu- ence) x T (damage done by technologies supplying each unit of con- sumption). (Tickell 1997, 455). Yet, even when there is agreement that the environment is changing and agreement that the formulae capture some notion of the trends of change, there is disagreement about how to interpret these trends. Economists like Julian Simon hold, ‘Almost every trend that affects human welfare points in a positive direction, as long as we consider a reasonably long period of time and hence grasp the overall trend’ (Simon and Myers 1994). Simon holds, for instance, on the human population aspect of these formulae, ‘The doomsayers of the popula- tion control movement offer a vision of limits, decreasing resources, a zero-sum game, conservation, deterioration, fear, and conflict … Or should our vision be that of those who look optimistically upon people as a resource rather than as a burden — a vision of receding limits, increasing resources and possibilities, a game in which everyone can win …’ (Simon and Myers 1994). Simon was noted for engaging in debates and bets with well-known environmental advocates, such as Norman Myers and Paul Ehrlich to prove that although some concern was justified there was no resource crisis, since ‘technology would … find alternatives to existing processes and use of resources when they were needed’ (Yencken and Wilkinson 2000). D E V E L O P M E N T O F S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y C O N C E P T S I N A U S T R A L I A • 2 3
If Simon represents the anthropocentric end of a spectrum on interpreting these trends, then Deep Ecology represents the ecocen- tric end of this spectrum. Deep Ecologists characterise the anthro- pocentric end as ‘shallow ecology’. Simon maintains that environmental issues should be judged within the context of human and economic worth, to illustrate, he says, ‘that just about every important measure of human welfare shows improvement over the decades and centuries’ (Simon and Myers 1994). This view is clearly set in an anthropocentric context. Deep Ecologists reject ‘the assumption that humans and human projects are the only items with value’ as well as ‘the assumption that humans and human projects always outvalue other considerations and the value of other things’ (Sylvan and Bennett 1994). Arne Naess, the founder of Deep Ecology, contrasts the positions, ‘The shallow ecolo- gy movement talks only about resources of mankind, whereas in Deep Ecology we talk about resources for each species’ (Bodian 1982). On the human population, Deep Ecologists maintain, ‘The flourishing of human life and cultures is compatible with a substantial decrease of the human population. The flourishing of non-human life requires such a decrease’ (Naess and Sessions 1984). This, of course, does not mean draconian measures to eliminate current humans, but sensible policies to slow population growth. On technology and wealth, Deep Ecologists hold, ‘Present human interference with the non-human world is excessive, and the situation is rapidly worsening’ and an ideo- logical change to ‘appreciating life quality (dwelling in situations of inherent value) rather than adhering to an increasingly higher standard of living’ (Naess and Sessions 1984). There is no intention of attempting to resolve this debate here. The intention here is to examine the concept of sustainability, which embodies responses to the above formulae and the sorts of issues raised by such debates. Despite disagreement over interpretations and over the paths, both ends of the spectrum would agree, ‘sustainability is the outcome we desire’ (Yencken and Wilkinson 2000). Although sustainability is a broad concept, a good deal of the recent discussion of the concept has centred on ‘sustainable develop- ment’ and ‘ecologically sustainable development (ESD)’, which in turn have been multifariously defined. Two Chairs of Australia’s Ecologically Sustainable Development Working Groups, Stuart Harris and David Throsby state, ‘a review of the literature revealed nearly 300 definitions of sustainable development’ (Harris and Throsby 1998). So, to state the obvious: Sustainable development may mean different things to different people, but the idea itself is simple. We must work out models for a relatively steady state society, with population in broad balance with resources and the environment. (Tickell 1997, 456). 2 4 • T O W A R D S S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y
Sustainability recognises two key tenets: 1) needs and 2) limitations in the broad balance between development and the environment. The single, most often quoted definition of sustainable development comes from the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) formulated in Our Common Future, also known as the Brundtland Report after Gro Harlem Brundtland, the head of the Commission. The WCED definition has become a reference point for meanings of sustainable development. This definition brings out these two tenets: Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the pre- sent without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. (WCED 1987, 87). While the statement of needs is clear, the statement of limitations is less so. Recognising that future generations have needs and that those needs will have to be met places limitations on the rate and methods of the current generation in meeting their needs. One limitation is tem- poral. The limitation on the present generation is to develop in such a way that does not exhaust a resource and exclude its use or enjoyment by future generations. Or put another way, a limitation on natural resources, even on natural resources that are in theory renewable, is that they should not be used more rapidly than they can be replaced. Despite the pervasiveness of the WCED definition, there is a strong impression that sustainable development has acquired a use without having acquired any clear meaning. Herman E. Daly expresses colour- fully the consequences of not providing sustainable development with a clear meaning, ‘call it “sustainable development” — in the hope that chanting this mantra will free us from the obligation to define it, and absolve us from our addiction to robbing the future’ (Daly 1992). One of the outcomes of the 1994 Fenner Conference on the Environment, Sustainability: Principles to Practice states ‘the best approach to the problem of understanding the concept of sustain- ability may be to encourage the various sectors and interest groups in Australia to translate the principles into their own languages and con- texts as a basis for implementation’ (Harding 1996). The conference outcomes held that the ‘language of ESD’ had become a barrier to implementation of the principles of sustainability. These principles will be taken up later. If the recommendation that the various sectors should express these limitations in their own language were followed, then sectors as defined by the Commonwealth of Australia (1992), such as agriculture, fisheries ecosystem management, forest resource use and management, manufacturing, mining, urban and transport planning, tourism and energy use, energy production and transport would not only express them in different ways, but also would provide for the needs of the future in different ways. For example, a D E V E L O P M E N T O F S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y C O N C E P T S I N A U S T R A L I A • 2 5
sustainable agriculture would be a whole-systems approach to food, feed and fibre production that balances environmental soundness, social equity, and economic viability among all sectors of the public, including international and inter-generational peoples. Inherent in this is the idea that sustainability must be extended not only global- ly but also indefinitely in time, and to all living organisms including humans. Establishing a reference point and recognising key tenets is a use- ful, yet insufficient step in interpreting sustainability, and comprehend- ing the development of the concept. The meanings of sustainability are as much a function of historical evolution as interpretation. A HISTORY OF ELEMENTS OF THE CONCEPTS OF SUSTAINABILITY While the terms ‘sustainable development’ and ‘ecologically sustain- able development’ are recent, dating back only two or three decades, the concept of sustainability can be traced over centuries. There are several important and often mentioned seminal developments in this history. STEWARDSHIP In Western Judeo-Christian traditions, the concept of sustainability is as old as the concept of stewardship. Stewardship involves looking after something, such as land or natural resources, and taking care of it, without owning it. A steward looks after something on behalf of its owner. The relationship is based on trust — the owner trusts his or her steward to prudently care for his or her possession, use it sensibly and in a sustainable manner, and to give it back in an equal or better con- dition when the time is right. Stewardship dates back at least to Genesis of the Old Testament of the Bible and to the post-Platonic philoso- phers of the Roman Empire. The tradition of stewardship is derived from a hierarchal arrangement God:Humans:Nature. Under this arrangement God put humans on the earth in order that they should look after it, i.e., nature. While humans served as stewards, the ultimate ownership of the earth was never for a moment in doubt. (Sylvan and Bennett 1994, 70). Australian philosopher, Val Plumwood argues that ‘according to at least some versions of the Stewardship position, humans do not have absolute title to the earth but are merely Stewards for God, and have obligation to care for the plants and animals of the earth because God cares for them, even if humans do not. Thus they are not entitled to manipulate the earth exclusively for their own benefit’ (Routley 1975). Attfield describes the point of stewardship thus: 2 6 • T O W A R D S S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y
… stewards are essentially managers who act on behalf of owners … and … the point of the metaphor is the steward’s responsibility and answer- ability, not the devaluation of the world which is their trust, and which is regarded as a reflection of the divine glory, and judged by its creator to be ‘very good’. Even if the tradition is secularized and adopts a nonthe- istic form, people do not forfeit their responsibilities, but remain answer- able to the community of moral agents for the fostering and the preservation of all that is intrinsically valuable. (Attfield 1991, 61). Hence, the concept of sustainability is a latter day progeny of a stew- ardship position in that both recognise limitations on the demands that can be placed on the environment, although the origins of those demands may be different. Also both recognise the necessity for main- taining resources because there are needs and interested parties beyond the present generation. In ‘meeting the needs of future generations’ sustainability replaces the God of stewardship with posterity. This is succinctly phrased in the oft quoted popular expression, ‘We don’t inherit the earth from our ancestors, but borrow it from our children’. Secularised stewardship can be understood along the lines that The Natural Step, a non-profit environmental education organisation, sets out in their Four System Conditions: 1 In a sustainable society, nature is not subject to increasing concentrations of substances extracted from the earth’s crust. This means that fossil fuels, metals, and other minerals cannot be extracted at a faster rate than they are re-deposited back into the Earth’s crust. 2 In a sustainable society, nature is not subject to increasing concentrations of substances produced by society. This means that things like plastics, ozone-depleting chemicals, carbon dioxide, waste materials, etc. must not be produced at a faster rate than they can be broken down in nature. 3 In a sustainable society, nature is not subject to increasing degradation by physical means. This means that we cannot harvest or manipulate ecosys- tems in such a way as to diminish their productive capacity, or threaten biodiversity. 4 In a sustainable society human needs are met worldwide. This means that basic human needs must be met with the most resource-efficient methods possible, including a just resource distribution. (Adapted from http://www.naturalstep.org). Current humans have an obligation to society and to the planet to manage the Earth well and pass it on to the next generation without excess pollution, the depletion of resources, the destruction of species and of wilderness and the growth of deserts. This obligation extends to the planet, because: Stewards certainly are in most cases responsible to owners, but if creation consists of bodies each with their own glory (I Cor. 15:40), it cannot be regarded merely as expendable resources or as disposable property. Most D E V E L O P M E N T O F S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y C O N C E P T S I N A U S T R A L I A • 2 7
adherents to the stewardship view have implicitly accepted that intrinsic value is to be found among nonhumans as well as many humans; this granted, stewards of the earth should be seen not only as managers of resources, but equally as curators of treasures or as trustees of the bios- phere. The property metaphor suggests that nature is regarded solely as instrumental; but on the stewardship view is has characteristically also been regarded as of value in itself. (Attfield 1983, 216–17). RACHEL CARSON’S SILENT SPRING — 1962 Biologist and writer Rachel Carson’s legacy to sustainability was a graph- ic demonstration of an instance of unsustainability. She supplied an imperative for developing the concept of ecologically sustainability. ‘As early as 1961 [sic], Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring had highlighted the need for more concern to be shown regarding the effects that humankind was having on the environment’ (ESD Working Groups 1991: v). She questioned humanity’s faith in technological progress and helped set the stage for the environmental movement. Indeed, Silent Spring is widely viewed as the beginning of the modern environmental movement. Much of human food production in developed countries skates on a thin veneer of technology. Carson demonstrated that the profligate use of synthetic chemical pesticides, particularly chlorinated hydrocar- bons such as DDT, was causing serious pollution and killing many ani- mals. Specifically, she detailed how the pesticide DDT had entered the food chain and caused major problems for birds at the top of the food chain. Because of DDT, the shells of raptors, such as bald eagles and falcons, and brown pelicans were too thin. Adult birds were crushing their eggs. It was the first time anyone had publicly shown how poi- sons affect everything in nature. She illustrated the hazards of the pes- ticide/resistance cycle and bio-accumulation. In doing so, she also extended the obligation to future generations beyond future genera- tions of humans and to future generations of plants and animals as well. Carson called for a change in the way humankind viewed the nat- ural world, arguing that nature was vulnerable to human intervention and that human beings were but one part of nature distinguished pri- marily by their power to alter it, in some cases irreversibly. She argued that human beings are a vulnerable part of the natural world subject to the same damage as the rest of the ecosystem. She illuminated one of the fundamental limitations to development: at times, technological progress is so at odds with natural processes that it must be curtailed. While not all technological change is necessarily unfortunate or requires remedial action, Carson outlined threats — the contamination of the food chain, cancer, genetic damage, the deaths of entire species — too frightening to ignore. For the first time, the need to regulate development to make it sustainable in ecological terms in order to protect the environment became widely acknowledged. 2 8 • T O W A R D S S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y
UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON HUMAN ENVIRONMENT: STOCKHOLM — 1972 ‘At the international level the concept of ecologically sustainable devel- opment was first developed in a cohesive fashion at the United Nations Stockholm Conference in 1972’ (ESD Working Groups 1991). By 1972, the environmental crisis had come so evident that it could no longer be ignored and the United Nations Conference on Human Environment was convened. While none of the seven introductory paragraphs nor the 26 Principles of the Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment specifically uses the term ‘sustainable develop- ment’, paragraph 2 nevertheless sets out the concept with specific application to humans: The protection and improvement of the human environment is a major issue which affects the wellbeing of peoples and economic development throughout the world; it is the urgent desire of the peoples of the whole world and the duty of all Governments. Paragraph 2 places a limitation on development in terms of human wellbeing. In effect, it acknowledges that the quickest way to drive a species to extinction is to destroy its habitat, or as it is phrased in the case, its environment. Following on from this, the opening sentences of paragraph 6 have a resonance with both the earlier warnings of Rachel Carson and the later Brundtland definition: A point has been reached in history when we must shape our actions throughout the world with a more prudent care for their environmental consequences. Through ignorance or indifference we can do massive and irreversible harm to the earthly environment on which our life and well- being depend. Conversely, through fuller knowledge and wiser action, we can achieve for ourselves and our posterity a better life in an environ- ment more in keeping with human needs and hopes. There are broad vis- tas for the enhancement of environmental quality and the creation of a good life. Paragraph 6 elucidates the two key tenets of needs and limitations in the balance between development and the environment. It elucidates needs in terms of prudent care for an environment more in keeping with human needs. It elucidates limitations in the balance between development and the environment in terms of enhancing environmen- tal quality simultaneously with creating a ‘good life’. While the Declaration recognises these two key tenets, it nevertheless makes it clear in Principle 11 that the ‘balance’ is tipped in favour of development: The environmental policies of all States should enhance and not adversely affect the present or future development potential of D E V E L O P M E N T O F S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y C O N C E P T S I N A U S T R A L I A • 2 9
developing countries, nor should they hamper the attainment of better living conditions for all, and appropriate steps should be taken by States and international organizations with a view to reaching agreement on meeting the possible national and international economic consequences resulting from the application of environmental measures. Mitigating the effects of tipping the ‘balance’ in favour of develop- ment, Principle 13 calls for prudence: In order to achieve a more rational management of resources and thus to improve the environment, States should adopt an integrated and co- ordinated approach to their development planning so as to ensure that development is compatible with the need to protect and improve envi- ronment for the benefit of their population. It is obvious that the Declaration ties prudence to sustainability. Further it ties rational management to limited development, thus mod- ification without devastation. Going back to the idea that each sector must define sustainability, in doing this, each sector must act prudent- ly and each sector must rationally manage development in a manner that protects and improves the environment. WORLD CONSERVATION STRATEGY — 1980 The World Conservation Strategy was published in 1980. It emphasized that humanity, which exists as a part of nature, has no future unless nature and natural resources are conserved. It asserted that conservation cannot be achieved without development to alleviate the poverty and misery of hundreds of millions of people. Stressing the interdependence of conservation and development, the WCS first gave currency to the term ‘sustainable development’. (IUCN/UNEP/WWF 1991). Now published as Caring for the Earth: A Strategy for Sustainable Living, the World Conservation Strategy uses ‘sustainable develop- ment’ to mean: ‘improving the quality of human life while living with- in the carrying capacity of supporting ecosystems’ (World Conservation Strategy 1991). This interpretation also brings out the idea of a ‘good life’ as a limitation as well as providing ‘carrying capac- ity’ as a rule of thumb in determining sustainability. Carrying capacity is usually defined as the maximum population of a given species that can be supported indefinitely in a defined habitat without permanent- ly impairing the productivity of that habitat. It is important to observe that this definition explicitly states ‘within the carrying capacity of sup- porting ecosystems’, because humans normally increase their own car- rying capacity by eliminating competing species, by importing locally scarce resources, and by technology. Indeed, trade and technology are often cited as reasons for rejecting the concept of human carrying capacity out of hand. 3 0 • T O W A R D S S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y
The World Conservation Strategy therefore emphasised three objectives: • essential ecological processes and life-support systems must be maintained; • genetic diversity must be preserved; • any use of species or ecosystems must be sustainable. (IUCN/UNEP/WWF 1991, 1). To be sustainable a strategy must preserve essential ecological process- es as well as the species and genetic diversity that make up the compo- nents of those processes. These three objectives give substance to a definition of sustainable development. Reflecting back on Rachel Carson’s legacy to the meaning of sustainability, these three objectives clearly outline what constitutes unsustainability. The aim of Caring for the Earth is to help improve the condition of the world’s people, by defining two requirements. One is to secure a widespread and deeply-held commitment to a new ethic, the ethic for sustainable living, and to translate its principles into practice. The other is to integrate conservation and development: conservation to keep our actions within the Earth’s capacity, and development to enable people everywhere to enjoy long, healthy and fulfilling lives. (IUCN/UNEP/WWF 1991, 2). By identifying a new ethic of sustainability and the requirements of that ethic, needs and limitations can be translated into practice. Perhaps more important than providing a brief definition, the World Conservation Strategy defines sustainable development as a set of strategies and tools which respond to five broad requirements: • the integration of conservation and development, • the satisfaction of basic human needs, • the achievement of equity and social justice, • the provision for social self-determination and cultural diversity, • the maintenance of ecological integrity. Each of these is a goal in itself and a condition for achieving the oth- ers, thus underlining the interdependence of the different dimensions of sustainability and the need for an integrated, interdisciplinary approach to the achievement of development that is sustainable. OUR COMMON FUTURE — 1987 Despite being the single, most often quoted definition of sustainable development, the lack of concreteness in the Brundtland Report defi- nition and the juxtaposition of such apparently contradictory terms as ‘sustainable’ and ‘development’ have engendered many competing interpretations of sustainable development, particularly since the report D E V E L O P M E N T O F S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y C O N C E P T S I N A U S T R A L I A • 3 1
emphasises that economic growth is needed and advocates a five to tenfold increase, worldwide, in manufacturing output. In case anyone fails to grasp the message, Our Common Future states: The Commission’s overall assessment is that the international economy must speed up world growth while respecting environmental constraints. (p 89). Yet, much of our existing economic activity is already destroying the natural world around us, as global warming, species extinction, ozone depletion, toxic contamination, rising sea levels, acid rain, and other indicators and events demonstrate. Although Simon would argue that these are short-term effects and that in the long-term economic growth would be good for human wellbeing, as Tickell points out, ‘Whether expressed as Ed = PxCxD, or as I = PxAxT, the results as we can foresee them are the same — catastrophe — whether in fast or easy stages’ (Tickell 1997). UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT (UNCED) — 1992 The Brundtland Report was the forerunner to UNCED, which was called in response to a growing concern over the environmental degra- dation of developing countries, vividly illustrated in the Brundtland Report. Both the Brundtland Report and UNCED served to focus greater attention on the Earth’s rapidly depleting resources and the need to change the manner in which development is approached, focusing upon sustainable use. From 3 to 14 June 1992, Rio de Janeiro hosted the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, better known as The Earth Summit or The Rio Summit or UNCED. The conference was the culmination of two years of negotiations by four Preparatory Committees (PrepComs). With 179 nations in attendance, it was the largest environmental conference ever. For the first time the environ- ment was given equal status with war and economics. The major objec- tive of the Conference was worldwide agreement on environment and development. Or as it is most often stated, sustainable development. The Earth Summit represents the attempt to integrate at the global level the economic side with the environmental side, even if the envi- ronmental side came out the lesser quantity. It is an attempt to convert sustainable development from rhetoric into practice. Five major agreements on global environmental issues were signed. Two of these, the Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Biological Diversity, were formal treaties whose provi- sions are binding on the parties. The other three UNCED agreements were non-binding statements on the relationship between sustainable environmental practices and the pursuit of social and socio-economic 3 2 • T O W A R D S S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y
development. The Statement on Forest Principles pledges parties to more sustainable use of forest resources. Agenda 21 is a wide-ranging assessment of social and economic sectors with goals for improving environmental and developmental impact of each. The Rio Declaration summarises consensus principles of sustainable development. Principle 4 of the Rio Declaration states: In order to achieve sustainable development, environmental protection shall constitute an integral part of the development process and cannot be considered in isolation from it. This statement brings together the key tenets of needs and limitations. Sustainable use cannot be achieved without ecological limitations on development. If development outstrips renewal, sustainability is impos- sible. If development proceeds in a manner that prevents renewal, sus- tainability is impossible. MEANINGS The major point to be derived from reading the literature critical of the idea of sustainable development is that this is a movement that is more ethereal than concrete. (Davis nd, np). Providing a meaning or definition for sustainability — or for any term for that matter — can take various forms, but there are two forms of definition that are of particular relevance here: substantive and opera- tional. A substantive definition provides the essence or significance of a term, while operational definition provides information that can be used in decision making. Operational definitions should be consistent with substantive definitions when elaborating the same term. The sub- stantive definition of the Brundtland Report does not indicate how to implement ‘development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’. If the World Conservation Strategy’s five broad requirements do not in and of themselves provide an operational definition, they would provide flexible, yet clear guidelines, if they are taken together with the substantive definition of the Brundtland Report. The World Conservation Strategy makes the following observation about ‘sustainable development’: The term has been criticized as ambiguous and open to a wide range of interpretations, many of which are contradictory. The confusion has been caused because ‘sustainable development’, ‘sustainable growth’ and ‘sus- tainable use’ have been used interchangeably, as if their meanings were the same. They are not. ‘Sustainable growth’ is a contradiction in terms: nothing physical can grow indefinitely. ‘Sustainable use’ is applicable only to renewable resources: it means using them at rates within their capaci- ty for renewal. (IUCN/UNEP/WWF 1991, 9). D E V E L O P M E N T O F S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y C O N C E P T S I N A U S T R A L I A • 3 3
This argues that ‘sustainable growth’ is the oxymoron that is often interpreted to be sustainable development. A nice elaboration of this oxymoron draws on George Orwell’s novel 1984. In 1984, Orwell describes a society ‘in which language is an important means of social control’. The state uses ‘Newspeak’, the state language, and ‘double- think’ as means of control. Orwell has a linguistic category B, into which sustainable development interpreted as sustainable growth would fit well. Orwell gives the following description, ‘The B vocabu- lary consisted of words which had been deliberately constructed for political purposes: words, that is to say, which not only had in every case a political implication, but were intended to impose a desirable mental attitude upon the person using them’. They were always com- pound words, ‘A sort of verbal shorthand, often packing whole ranges of ideas into a few syllables’. As sustain, on the one hand, implies ‘to keep in being, to cause to continue in a certain state’ and development, on the other hand, implies ‘change, development or growth from with- in’, the concept of ‘doublethink’ appears particularly appropriate.1 Development in other words precludes sustainability. The dialectical tension locked up in sustainable development is easily exposed in other connected ways. In so far as a macro-goal of economics, at least as con- ceived by development proponents, is increased throughput, and such throughput means enhanced environmental impact, development eco- nomics is in diametrical opposition to environmental sustainability. The inclusion of ‘ecological’ with ‘sustainable development’ attempts to identify ‘the distinguishing features of an ecological approach to development — taking an integrated approach and taking a long term view’ (Lothian 1998). As Andrew Lothian notes a good deal of the debate over sustainable development has centred on achiev- ing balance between the environment and development: Commonly the view is expressed that we need to keep these things in bal- ance, that it is a matter of balancing the economic and the environmen- tal … However in practice it merely provides a publicly acceptable face to a decision which almost invariably favours development over the envi- ronment. One never hears the balance argument used when the decision favours the environment — then it is portrayed in terms of a bold new program or a courageous decision. The application of the balance para- digm generally results in win–lose outcomes, wins for development, loss- es for the environment. Thus the paradigm of balance does not benefit the environment, it merely masks its gradual demise. (Lothian 1998, 54)2 . The key tenets that need to be incorporated into the meaning of sustainable development are known. A range of the limitations, includ- ing classes of activities that must be excluded, has been identified. Having different but consistent operational definitions aligned to a substantive definition can be a benefit rather than a deficit to 3 4 • T O W A R D S S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y
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The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Frozen North
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook. Title: The Frozen North Author: Richard Mayde Release date: July 6, 2018 [eBook #57455] Language: English Credits: Produced by F E H, MWS and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) *** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FROZEN NORTH ***
Transcriber’s Note Author’s name [Richard Mayde] supplied by the transcriber. In some chapters, there are very few paragraph breaks therefore the illustrations have been positioned as close as possible to their original position in the book. There are 18 illustrations within the book without accompanying captions, so I have used the individual captions from the Table of Illustrations and have placed them beneath each illustration. I have retained the title ‘Greenlanders’ in the Table of Illustrations page 67, plus retained the illustration title as quoted in the body of the book as, ‘A Young Man. A Young Woman’. Page 54: The word ‘they’ has been added to the sentence. ....the danger would be greatest, they made with their dogs....
A RUSSIAN CARRIAGE. THE FROZEN NORTH. ILLUSTRATED. NEW YORK: DODD, MEAD, AND COMPANY, 751 BROADWAY. Copyright, 1876, Dodd, Mead, & Company. Press of Rand, Avery, and Company, Boston.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 1. A Russian Carriage. Frontispiece 2. An Old Woman of Greenland. PAGE 9 3. The Barren Grounds in Summer. 14 4. Egg Gathering. 21 5. Arctic Birds. 23 6. Bird Catching. 25 7. The Edge of a Pack. 30 8. Lifted by the Ice. 32 9. Among the Icebergs. 33 10. Encounter with Icebergs. 40 11. An Arctic Scene. 40 12. A Greenland Glacier. 43 13. Arctic Navigation. 47 14. Seal-hunting on the Ice. 50 15. Walrus. 53 16. The Walrus. 55 17. Polar Bears. 61 18. An Unpleasant Experience. 62 19. Greenlanders. 66 20. Esquimaux Hut. 70 21. Esquimaux Village. 73 22. Dog Sledge. 76 23. Arctic Dog. 77
24. Danish Settlement in Greenland. 81 25. The River Jokulsa. 85 26. Mt. Hecla. 85 27. Great Geyser. 94 28. Reykjavik. 95 29. Travelling in Iceland. 98 30. Icelandic Interior. 101
AN OLD WOMAN OF GREENLAND. CHAPTER I. As we travel northward, leaving the sunny lands of the temperate zone, we come after a time to mighty and seemingly endless forests of pines and firs. Mile after mile, they stretch away in a lonely silence. The wintry gale that rages among them is answered only by the howl of the wolf, while a few bears, reindeer, and the arctic fox, alone of animals, find a home in their snowy depths. Gradually as we go onward the trees are more stunted, gradually the pines and firs give way to dwarfed willows, and soon we come to the barren grounds, a vast region extending about the pole, and greater in size than the whole continent of Europe. The boundary line of these barren grounds, is not everywhere equally distant from the pole. The temperature of arctic lands, like that of other climes, is affected greatly by the surrounding seas and by ocean currents. In the sea-girt peninsula of Labrador they reach their most extreme southerly point; and as a rule they extend southward where the land borders on the ocean, receding far to the northward in the centre of the continents. All this vast territory is a frozen waste, its only vegetation a few mosses and lichens. The few weeks of arctic summer do not allow the growth of even shrubs. As we advance through the forests the trees are more and more dwarfed. Soon they become merely stunted stems, for though they put forth buds in summer, winter is upon them before wood can be formed. On the shores of the Great
Bear Lake, it is said that a trunk a foot in diameter requires four hundred years for its formation. A more desolate scene than the barren grounds in winter, it is difficult to imagine. Buried deep under the heaped up snows, with the winds howling across their dreary wastes, and an intense cold of which we have little idea, it is no wonder that almost no animal, save the hardy arctic fox, can find a subsistence upon them. But no sooner does the returning sun bring the short weeks of summer than all this is changed, and they are the scene of varied life and activity. Vast herds of reindeer come from the forests to feed upon the fresh mosses, flocks of sea-birds fly northward to lay their eggs upon the rocks, and to seek their food in the rivers teeming with fish, while millions of gnats fill the air in clouds, enjoying to the utmost their short lives. And their lives are indeed short, for it is almost July before the snows are gone and the hardy lichens can send forth shoots, and by September all vegetation is again beneath its snowy coverlet for another long nine months’ sleep. The reindeer have, before this, made haste to seek the shelter of the forest, the bears have disposed of themselves for their winter sleep, the birds have all sought the milder region southward, and all is again silence and solitude. It is due to the snow, that at first seems such an enemy to vegetation, that even such low forms of life as mosses are able to exist on the barren grounds. Before the intense cold of the arctic winter has set in, they are buried deep beneath its warm folds. Outside the wind may howl and the cold grow more and more severe till the thermometer marks for months forty degrees below zero; beneath the snow an even and comparatively mild temperature exists. Dr. Kane found that when the outside air was thirty below zero, beneath eight feet of snow it was twenty-six above zero, a difference of fifty-six degrees.
THE BARREN GROUNDS IN SUMMER. Great as are the barren grounds, or tundri, as they are called in Siberia, the arctic forest region is far greater, for it reaches around the globe in a broad belt, nearly a thousand miles in width. Few indeed are the occupants of these great tracts, compared with the more favored southern lands. The poverty of the soil, and the severity of the climate, prevent the growth of crops, and man is offered only such subsistence as can be gained by hunting and fishing. In consequence they are inhabited but by scattered tribes of savages and by hardy trappers, who brave their dangers for the rich booty to be gained from their many fur-bearing animals. Of all the four footed inhabitants of these forests, by far the most interesting is the reindeer. What the camel is to the native of the
desert, the reindeer is to the Lapp, or the Samojede. While it cannot compare with its finely formed relative the stag, it is excellently fitted for the situation in which nature has placed it. Its hoofs are very broad, forming a species of snow shoe, which prevents it from sinking in the drifts and allows it to leap and run with the greatest swiftness, while the squarely-built body, short legs and broad hoofs are of the greatest help in swimming. The most surprising thing about reindeer is their sense of smell. For the greater part of the year, their food consists entirely of mosses which are buried beneath the snow. These they uncover with their feet, having first discovered their existence by their scent, and no case has ever been known, where a reindeer has made a mistake and dug for moss in vain. They are easily domesticated and taught to draw a light sledge, though it is said when overloaded or otherwise maltreated, they turn upon their persecutors with horns and hoofs, and force him to take refuge in flight. In many countries, as for instance Lapland, they form the chief article of wealth and are owned in herds of thousands. Unfortunately an epidemic disease often appears, and the wealthy proprietor sees his whole herd die in a single season, while he himself must resort to the uncertain occupation of the fisherman for support. Besides the reindeer the arctic forests are the home of many other animals. Such are the black bear, the marten, ermine, mink, sable, various foxes, and others. Notwithstanding the vast extent of this forest region and the small number of its inhabitants, so eagerly are all these animals hunted for their skins, that already certain varieties are fast disappearing. The hand of every man is against them, and hundreds of thousands fall every year, either by the arrow or trap of the native races, or the rifle ball of the trapper. The number of men who follow this life is very great. Wild, hazardous and lonely as it is, it possesses for them a strange attraction, and though they may forsake it for a time, they invariably return to it. Nearly the whole of the arctic lands of North America are hunted over by the Hudson’s Bay Company, which has its trading forts and its outposts at intervals over the whole country, from the Atlantic to
the Pacific, and northward to the barren grounds. This great company employs as overseers, guides, or voyageurs, over three thousand men, and may be said beside to have in its service nearly every Indian in North America; in all perhaps a hundred thousand men. Communication is held between the posts in the interior by means of voyageurs, who, with birch bark canoes, paddle up the rivers, carrying immense loads, passing onward through the trackless forest as unerringly as if upon a broad highway. “When after a hard day’s work, they rest for the night, the axe is immediately at work in the forest, and in less than ten minutes the tent is up, and the kettle simmering on the fire. They drag the unloaded canoe ashore, turn it over and examine it carefully, either to fasten again some loose stitches or to paint over some damaged part with fresh rosin. Under the cover of the boat, and with a flaming fire in the foreground, they bid defiance to the weather. At one o’clock in the morning lève lève is called; in half an hour the encampment is broken up, and the boat reladen and relaunched. At eight in the morning a halt is made for breakfast, for which three- quarters of an hour are allowed. About two, half an hour’s rest suffices for a cold dinner. Eighteen hours work and six rest make out the day.” And this is not all; presently a rapid is reached. Here the whole cargo has to be taken out, the boat lifted on the shoulders of one of the men and carried perhaps for several miles through swamp and brier, while the cargo is carried by the others in a like laborious manner.
EGG GATHERING.
ARCTIC BIRDS. But the scene of greatest life, in the arctic regions, is to be found among the birds. On the rocky cliffs, that stand out in the Polar sea in the short northern summer, they are to be found in such quantities as to literally darken the sky. Auks, and gulls, and ducks, cover the rocks. The most daring arctic explorer has never penetrated to lands where he has not found the eider duck. Well may this bird dare to make journeys into tracts where none can follow. With its warm coat it can bid defiance to the cold, and on its swift wing it can fly over fifty miles an hour, and should danger arise, can soon be beyond its reach. The hardy natives of Iceland gather each year large quantities of their feathers, which have a high value. Reaching their nests they take from them the delicate feathers, which the female bird has pulled from her breast to make a soft covering for the expected young. No sooner does she find her nest bare, than she again pulls a fresh supply, which is again taken from her. A third time she lines anew her nest, and now she is left in peace, for if again disturbed, the bird deserts entirely her accustomed breeding place, and seeks a new region beyond the reach of man.
BIRD CATCHING. Coasts, such as those of Norway, where the rocky cliffs rising hundreds of feet above the sea stretch for mile after mile, are especially fancied by sea birds. Every ledge is crowded with their nests, while the air is dark with them. But no cliff can protect them against their great enemy, man. No cliff is too inaccessible for him to reach. Where the rocks can be approached from the sea, a boat lands two men on some projecting ledge. Their only aid is a long pole terminating in a hook, and the rope by which they are tied together. One, using his hands and feet, proceeds to climb up the cliff to some
higher ledge, while his comrade fixing the hook firmly in his leathern belt, pushes from below till the point is reached. He himself is then pulled upward, by the rope, till both stand together. Continuing this perilous journey, they often ascend to a height of five or six hundred feet above the sea. Here the birds are so tame that they have but to put forth their hand to catch them, and the work of destruction begins. As fast as killed, they are thrown into the sea and picked up by the boat’s crew in waiting below. Sometimes when the weather is fair, the men spend several days on the cliff, sleeping at night on some broad ledge. When the cliff cannot be reached in this way, it is common for a man to be lowered over the face of the rock by a rope, as is shown in the picture. Hanging thus in mid-air, with the ocean roaring a thousand feet below and the sea-birds flying wildly about him, a single mistake, or often a moment’s hesitation, would cause his certain death, and a cool head alone can be trusted at this perilous work. It is said that an ancient law of Norway required that when a man fell in this way, his nearest relative should at once take the position in which the dead man was. If he could keep it in safety, Christian burial was allowed the body, but if he refused to undertake it, death was considered the result of recklessness, and the dead man was considered a suicide.
CHAPTER II. THE EDGE OF A PACK. Barren as are the arctic lands, the arctic ocean far exceeds them in desolation. In the winter it is in many parts frozen solidly over to a depth of nine feet, forming a level plain stretching as far as the eye can reach. But this is generally the case only in land-locked bays, or in places where surrounding hills give shelter from the furious gales that sweep over the dreary waters. More often the open sea is one mass of enormous cakes, tossing and grinding against one another in the wildest way. The huge ice floes, driven by the wind or by currents, strike against one another with fearful force, hurling great masses high in the air. Woe to the unfortunate ship that is caught in such a rough embrace. Her oaken timbers are crushed like egg
shells. It has happened that a ship thus caught, has been lifted bodily, by the ice coming slowly together, out of the water and laid neatly upon it, and the sailors have been forced to saw the ice about her, so as to launch her again from this sudden and unexpected dry dock. LIFTED BY THE ICE.
AMONG THE ICEBERGS. Through all this grinding tossing mass come majestically floating southward huge icebergs, passing through all this strife, and heeding it as little as some cliff the waves that dash and roar about its base and cover it with spray. Sometimes these mighty masses are no pleasant neighbors, for as they float southward under the ever increasing heat of the sun, during the months of July and August large cataracts pour from them, and the whole mass becomes rotten and suddenly goes to pieces in huge fragments each as large as a ship, which would inevitably destroy anything with which they came into contact. Dr. Hayes’ vessel, the United States, had a narrow escape from destruction in this way. For four days they had been
sailing through seas where the bergs seemed to be countless, some a mile in length and towering high in air, others no larger than the ship itself. In a calm, the vessel had drifted close to one which looked particularly dangerous, and before a rope could be made fast to another berg and the ship be hauled from its unsafe position, it had struck. Though the collision was a slight one, such masses of ice came rattling down upon the deck as to render anything but pleasant the position of the men stationed there. Suddenly a huge mass of the submerged part broke off and came to the surface, lashing it to foam. Then a succession of loud reports was heard, and vast masses broke off the opposite side of the berg, causing it to reel to and fro, and sending showers of ice on the vessel’s deck. By this time the crew sent out to make fast a rope to another berg gave the signal to haul, and never did men pull more lustily; and with good reason, for they had barely got clear when with a loud report the whole top broke loose, and fell exactly where the vessel had lain a few minutes before, causing a swell on which the ship tossed to and fro as if in a gale. Soon after a huge berg in the distance began to go to pieces. “First a lofty tower came plunging into the water, starting from their inhospitable perch an immense flock of gulls that went screaming into the air; over went another; then a whole side settled squarely down; then the wreck capsized, and at length after five hours of rolling and crashing, there remained of this splendid mass, not a fragment that rose fifty feet above the water. Another, which appeared to be a mile in length and upwards of a hundred feet in height, split in two with a quick, sharp, and at length long rumbling report, which could hardly have been exceeded by a thousand pieces of artillery simultaneously discharged.” Lofty as are these icebergs, the part above water gives no true idea of their vast size. It has been computed that of fresh water ice floating in salt water, only one-seventh is visible above the sea. In 1860, a huge iceberg lay off the little harbor of Tessuissak on the Greenland coast. It had grounded there two years before, and had not moved since. It was three-quarters of a mile in length and towered by actual measurement, three hundred and fifteen feet in the air, so that it must have come to anchor in water half a mile in depth.
ENCOUNTER WITH ICEBERGS.
AN ARCTIC SCENE. Whence come these mighty masses? They are discharged from the frozen rivers of the North, the great glaciers that line the west coast of Greenland and the shores of Iceland. The constant snows of the arctic regions falling on the mountains and drifting into the valleys, solidify into mighty glaciers which, pent in by the rocky hills, come sweeping through the winding valleys to the sea. Great as are the glaciers of the Alps, they are but pigmies compared with those of Greenland. The Tyndall glacier where it discharges into the sea is two miles in width;—but grand above all is the great Humboldt glacier, whose lofty face reaches three hundred feet above the sea level and beneath it to an unknown depth, while it is over sixty miles in width. Slowly but steadily this whole mass is pushed forward. The angle at which it descends from the hills soon forces under the water a greater part of the ice than would be submerged were it floating unattached, and the natural buoyancy of the ice causes it to break loose with a thundering report. Splashing and plunging, it finally rights itself and goes majestically sailing on borne by the currents, till melted by the warmer waters of the Atlantic it finally disappears entirely. The amount of snow that falls upon the arctic lands is unknown. It is no doubt very great. In the Swiss Alps in a single night it has fallen to the depth of six and a half feet. At the Hospice of Grimsel, Agassiz noted in six months a fall of fifty-seven and a half feet. If we suppose that no more than this falls on the mountains of Greenland, we should have an annual deposit of one hundred and fifteen feet. Now every cubic yard of snow weighs one hundred and eighty-seven pounds, so that the lower strata would have upon it a pressure of over three tons, a weight sufficient to change the snow at once to solid ice. This change into ice by pressure can be noticed on a small scale by any one who walks abroad after a slight fall of snow. On ceasing to walk, the bottom of the boot will be found to be covered with a thin layer of ice.
A GREENLAND GLACIER. In this way the great arctic glaciers are formed, and take up their slow and solemn march to the sea. At what rate they advance is not known, but their movement like that of a river is much more rapid in the centre of the mass than at the sides, where contact with the earth retards its onward movements. In the Alps, where the nature and actions of great frozen streams have been studied with care, the movements of the different glaciers are found to be unlike. Some reach a speed of five hundred feet a year, but a great proportion of this is made during the summer heat. Since the summer in the arctic regions is so very short, it is fair to infer that the arctic glaciers move more slowly than this. The speed of the Glacier des Bossons was exactly measured in a strange manner. In 1820 three guides fell into a chasm in the ice at the foot of Mt. Blanc and disappeared. In the years 1861, 1863 and 1865, the glacier delivered up their remains at its termination, three and a quarter miles from where they perished. In 1860 a glacier of the Austrian Alps which is of very slow motion laid bare the frozen
body of a mountaineer, clad in an ancient dress which had not been worn by the peasantry for centuries. ARCTIC NAVIGATION. In spite of all these dreary wastes of ice, the arctic ocean is by no means devoid of life. The waters of the polar seas are renowned for their clearness. Off the Greenland coast the bottom can plainly be seen at a depth of five hundred feet, and the tangled masses of seaweed which grow upon it. Through these clear waves can be seen many varieties of sea life. The surface currents of the Gulf Stream bring hither tiny molluscs in such quantities that at times the waters are colored by them. In and out among them swim schools of the Greenland whale, swallowing them as they swim by the hundred thousand.
It is no quiet haven of rest for the whale. His great enemy, man, knows only too well his favorite resort, and here every year braving the dangers of ice and cold come fleets of whaling ships seeking the almost certain return of their hardy labors, even though it may involve, as it generally does, a winter of enforced idleness in some ice-bound bay. Smaller members of the whale family abound, too, in vast numbers. Sometimes venturing too near the shores of inhabited islands, they are intercepted in their attempts to escape to the open sea by the natives, who surrounding them in canoes, drive them with blows of the oar and with stones toward the shore, where they are stranded and die in vast numbers. On the Faroe Islands, in this way on one occasion, eight hundred were captured, a fortune which does not often happen, but is peculiarly happy since it renders certain a winter of plenty. SEAL-HUNTING ON THE ICE-FIELDS. The Esquimaux who inhabit the northern limits of North America are perhaps the most daring hunters of the whale, though from their limited resources and poor weapons they do not carry before them the same destruction that do the well organized and disciplined crews of whaling ships. Approaching carefully in their frail canoes
their victim, they drive into him the barbed end of a long shaft to the other end of which is attached an inflated bag of seal skin. Carefully avoiding the wrath of the great monster, they attack him again and again, until conquered at last he is towed ashore amid the rejoicings of the tribe who assemble for the feast. No time is lost in preparing for the banquet. The Esquimaux indulge in no such luxury as cooking, but all stand about devouring with rapture the strips of raw blubber which they have cut from the quivering side of their booty. In the capture of the seal, too, the Esquimaux show great cunning. At times they hunt them on the ice where they love to lie basking in the sun, creeping cautiously along till they come near enough to strike them with a harpoon. Great care has to be used that they do not take alarm. Sometimes the hunter pushes before him on a sledge a white screen, behind which he hides himself until ready to strike. The middle of summer is the best time for this, for then the seal is afflicted with snow blindness so as not to know of his approach. Another mode of capture, is to let down into the water a net with coarse meshes which is kept down by heavy stones fastened to its lower edge. Into these meshes the seal blunders when swimming, and being unable to get to the surface to breathe is soon drowned. In winter a still different method is in use. Travelling over the frozen sea the hunter hears a seal gnawing the ice from below, to make a breathing hole. His plan is instantly formed. He stands motionless with uplifted lance, and no sooner does the unfortunate animal nearly work his way through, than the iron barb descends through the thin ice and pierces his skull. So quiet must the hunter be, that to prevent any involuntary motion of his body it is sometimes his habit to tie his knees together with a thong.
WALRUS. The hunting of the walrus is carried on in very much the same way as that of the seal. Sometimes the animal has climbed the side of an iceberg to bask in the sun, and when he tries to return to the water finds the hole through which he made his exit frozen over. The wary Esquimau guided by his dogs is soon upon him. In stormy weather, this hunting on the ice is very dangerous. A sudden gale breaks up the solid field, and the unfortunate hunter is carried to sea at the mercy of the waves. Dr. Kane tells of the adventures of two Esquimaux, Awaklok and Myouk, who were hunting with their dogs when a storm burst upon them. Instantly the whole sea was one tumultuous mass of cakes of ice grinding and tossing one against another. Realizing that near the shore the danger would be greatest, they made with their dogs and a walrus which they had just killed, for an iceberg upon which they managed after great exertions to find a resting place, though they were obliged to tie their dogs to projections of ice to avoid their being blown away by the gale. One whole month they floated on this iceberg living on the meat of the
walrus, when their huge ship grounded, and the weather being calm, ice formed sufficiently strong for them to escape to the shore. THE WALRUS. The walrus does not interfere with man unless attacked, when his long tusks make him a very formidable opponent. Dr. Hayes tells of an encounter which shows how resolute an enemy they become. A party in a boat had just harpooned a large animal, one of a herd, whereupon all took to flight, but “in a few minutes the whole herd appeared at the surface about fifty yards away, the harpooned animal being among them. The coming up of the herd, was the signal for a scene which baffles description. They uttered one wild concerted shriek, as if an agonized cry for help; and then the air was filled with answering shrieks. The ’huk huk huk’ of the wounded bull
seemed to find an echo everywhere, as the cry was taken up and passed along from floe to floe like the bugle blast passed from a squadron along a line of battle, and down from every piece of ice plunged the startled beasts. With their ugly heads just above water, and with mouths wide open, belching forth the dismal ’huk huk huk’ they came tearing toward the boat. That they meditated an attack, there could be no doubt. To escape the onslaught was impossible. We had raised a hornet’s nest about our ears and we must do the best we could. Even the wounded animal to which we were fast turned upon us, and we became the focus of at least a thousand gaping, bellowing mouths. “It seemed to be the purpose of the walrus to get their tusks over the gunwale of the boat, and it was evident that in the event of one such monster hooking to us, the boat would be torn in pieces and we would be left floating in the sea helpless. We had good motive therefore to be active. Miller plied his lance from the bows and gave many a serious wound. The men pushed back the onset with their oars while Knorr, Jensen and myself, loaded and fired our rifles as rapidly as we could. Several times we were in jeopardy, but the timely thrust of an oar or the lance or a bullet saved us. Once I thought we were surely gone. I had fired and was hastening to load; a wicked looking brute was making at us, and it seemed probable that he would be upon us. I stopped loading and was preparing to cram my rifle down his throat, when Knorr who had got ready his weapon sent a fatal shot into his head. Again an immense animal, the largest I had ever seen, and with tusks apparently three feet long, was observed to be making his way through the herd with mouth wide open, bellowing dreadfully. I was now as before busy loading: Knorr and Jensen had just discharged their pieces, and the men were well engaged with their oars. It was a critical moment, but happily I was in time. The monster his head high above the water was within two feet of the gunwale when I raised my piece and fired into his mouth. The discharge killed him instantly, and he went down like a stone. This ended the fray. I know not why, but the whole herd seemed suddenly to take alarm, and all dove down with
a tremendous splash almost at the same instant. When they came up again, still shrieking as before, they were some distance from the shore, their heads now all pointing seaward making from us as fast as they could go, their cries growing more and more faint, as they retreated in the distance.” POLAR BEARS.
AN UNPLEASANT EXPERIENCE. It is hard to know whether to class the Polar bear among land animals or sea animals. He is a capital swimmer, and can make headway in the waves at the rate of three miles an hour. Dr. Hayes found one swimming in the open ocean, completely beyond sight of land or ice; evidently he had been carried to sea on some floe which had crumbled beneath him. The Esquimaux hunt them with dogs which are trained to attract their attention in front, till the hunter can plunge his lance into their side. A skilful man can thus often kill a bear at a single blow, but it is no rare thing for him to have to leave his lance sticking in the animal’s side to take refuge in flight. A very ingenious way, which is sometimes tried, is to take a very stiff piece of whalebone, some two inches wide and four feet long. This is with much labor coiled into a narrow space and then covered with blubber, which being frozen holds the whalebone in its place. Approaching a bear they hurl a spear at him, and when he turns to
pursue they drop the frozen mass before him, which he speedily swallows. The heat of the body soon dissolves the blubber, and the whalebone being set free springs back with great violence, tearing the stomach in such a way as to cause speedy death. The bear is very fond of seal, and is almost as expert a hunter of them as the Esquimaux. Captain McClintock tells of the adventure of an Esquimau with one of these bears. He was kneeling on the ice and had just drawn up his net in which a seal was caught, when he felt a blow upon the shoulder. Fancying that it was his companion he paid no attention to it, but a heavier blow caused him to turn, when he found beside him an enormous bear, who tearing the seal from the net deliberately proceeded to eat it. Our friend did not dispute his right, but lost no time in seeking more comfortable quarters.
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Towards Sustainability Emerging Systems for Informing Sustainable Development Venning

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    Towards Sustainability EmergingSystems for Informing Sustainable Development Venning Digital Instant Download Author(s): Venning, Jackie, Higgins, John C. ISBN(s): 9780585436463, 0585436460 Edition: Kindle File Details: PDF, 1.57 MB Year: 2001 Language: english
  • 7.
    T O WA R D S S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y Julianne (Jackie) Venning specialises in environment and natural resource management. Her earlier work involved the conservation of rural landscapes, particularly the retention, rehabilitation and re-establishment of remnant native vegetation. More recently she was responsible for the South Australian State of the Environment Reporting program. In this role she was involved in the development of environmental reporting systems at both a state and national level. She holds a PhD in biological sciences and an MBA. John Higgins worked on the Commonwealth State of the Environment Reporting program for three years. He holds a PhD in chemistry and an MA in science, technology and society. He was a postdoctoral fellow at Oxford and the Australian National University before joining the Australian Public Service.
  • 8.
  • 9.
    TOWA R DS S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y EMERGING SYSTEMS FOR INFORMING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT e d i t e d by J a c k i e Ve n n i n g a n d J o h n H i g g i n s UNSW PRESS
  • 10.
    A UNSW Pressbook Published by University of New South Wales Press Ltd University of New South Wales UNSW Sydney NSW 2052 AUSTRALIA www.unswpress.com.au © UNSW Press 2001 First published 2001 This book is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. While copyright of the work as a whole is vested in UNSW Press, copyright of individual chapters is retained by the chapter authors. Inquiries should be addressed to the publisher. National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry: Towards sustainability: emerging systems for informing sustainable development. Bibliography. Includes index. ISBN 0 86840 667 8. 1. Sustainable development — Australia. 2. Sustainable development — Social aspects — Australia. I. Venning, J. (Jackie). II. Higgins, John, 1962– . 338.994 Printer Griffin Press, Adelaide The views expressed by the contributors in this work are not necessarily those of the editors or their employers.
  • 11.
    Acknowledgments vi Foreword vii Listof Contributors ix 1 Introduction 1 John Higgins and Jackie Venning 2 Development of sustainability concepts in Australia 22 David Bennett 3 Environmental models 48 John Higgins 4 Economic models 71 John Hatch 5 Environmental indicators: Development and application 90 Jackie Venning 6 Economic measures of sustainability 120 Tor Hundloe 7 Sustainability indicators: Measuring progress towards sustainability 138 Ann Hamblin 8 Modelling physical realities: Designing and testing future options 165 to 2050 and beyond Barney Foran and Franzi Poldy 9 Informing institutions and policies 196 Stephen Dovers References 221 Index 235 C O N T E N T S
  • 12.
    AC K NOW L E D G M E N T S The editors would like to acknowledge the valuable assistance of the fol- lowing people during the preparation of this book: Dr Tom Beer, CSIRO Atmospheric Research; Dr Geoffrey Bishop, Bishop and Associ- ates, Basket Range, South Australia; Mark Faulkner, South Australian Department for Water Resources; Allan Haines, Environment Australia (now retired); Associate Professor Ronnie Harding, Centre for Environmental Studies, University of New South Wales; Dr Steve Hatfield-Dodds, Environment Australia; Dr Andrew Lothian, South Australian Department for Environment and Heritage; Brett Odgers, Environment Australia (now retired); Dr Ray Wallis, Western Australian Department of Environmental Protection; Dr David Williams, CSIRO Energy Technology; Professor David Yencken, Landscape, Architecture and Environmental Planning, University of Melbourne.
  • 13.
    We cannot workto create a future which we do not first imagine. If humanity is to live on this beautiful planet of ours indefinitely, we must design and innovate within the next generation or so, the means of creating a sustainable society, and we must complete a mis- sion to realise it. This in turn requires that we envision, design and create sustainable prosperity, which involves the simultaneous advancement of four forms of prosperity: economic, ecological, social and cultural. To create a sustainable society we must be able to imagine it, model it and understand how it would behave. We cannot work to create a future that we do not first imagine, and we must be able also to imagine how it would work through the creation of appropriate metaphors and models. We must also be able to measure our progress towards the realisation of a sustainable society through the creation of appropriate indicators and assessment processes. Finally we must innovate many new products, services and technologies to market to the world’s peoples to provide the tools that would enable them to make this heroic transformation on the ground. The innovations we will need to create should not only make us less unsustainable but more sustainable as well. To treat illness and to cease to be sick is very different to creating health. To lessen a bad outcome is not the same as creating a good outcome. To improve the efficiency and effectiveness of fossil fuel engines is not the same as creating a hydrogen powered alternative and to reduce waste is not the same as abolishing it. F O R E WO R D
  • 14.
    We need alsoto create many new ways to measure change in our world. For example, we need a true partnership of economics and ecol- ogy in the provision of indicators if we are to assess whether we are achieving economic and ecological prosperity, as win–win rather than win–lose. We must be able to measure whether we are doing econom- ically well while and by doing ecological good, or whether we are still continuing the ways of the modernist past by doing economically well by doing ecological bad. Our economists must incorporate the value of natural capital and of the environmental services provided by nature, such as the production of clean water or the pollinating roles of insects and birds, into our measures of prosperity. This will achieve real progress in our capabilities to measure prosperity in all its forms, including in concepts such as the ‘triple bottom line’, or as I would prefer, ‘the quadruple bottom line’. To realise a sustainable society and to design and innovate our way to sustainability, we need to create what I call green ways and green wares. Green ways are the values and attitudinal shifts, the customer preferences, and the professional practices and ethical behaviours we need to progress towards a sustainable future. Green wares are the new designs, products, services and technologies we need to innovate. We need both, and those who innovate and market these will be the new leaders in the new green economy of the twenty-first century. These green ways and green wares will assist us, amongst other things, to live within perpetual solar income, abolish the concept of waste, protect biodiversity and avoid or ameliorate all forms of collateral damage. These concepts are among the design rules we need for the creation of a sustainable society. This book will help our understanding of some core aspects of sus- tainability, in particular our understanding of the working of both sus- tainable and unsustainable systems, and it will help us develop the tools to assess whether we are progressing in our journey towards the reali- sation of a sustainable society. Our hearts tell us that we need a sus- tainably prosperous society. We however also need to put our best minds and our highest intelligences to the task of building pathways towards its realisation. This book is a significant contribution to this mind work. Peter Ellyard Dr Peter Ellyard is currently Executive Chairman of Preferred Futures, and Chairman of the Universal Greening Group of companies and of the MyFuture Foundation. He has been a Senior Adviser to the United Nations system for more than 25 years, including at the 1993 Earth Summit. Peter is the author of the best selling book Ideas for the New Millennium (1998, 2001). V I I I • T O W A R D S S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y
  • 15.
    DAVID BENNETT wasthe Executive Director of the Australian Academy of the Humanities and the Executive Director of National Academies Forum until the end of 2000. During his diverse career, he has also worked on environmental issues for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, been a policy officer with the Department of the Environment, Sport and Territories and was the Acting Director of the Mawson Graduate Centre for Environmental Studies at the University of Adelaide. He has published on environmental philoso- phy, particularly environmental ethics, the ethical treatment of non- human animal species, and population issues relating to the environment. David is co-author with Richard Sylvan of The Greening of Ethics. STEPHEN (STEVE) DOVERS is a Fellow with the Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies at the Australian National University. He has spent the past decade researching, writing and communicating in the area of sustainable development, institutional and policy arrange- ments for resources and environment, and environmental history. BARNEY FORAN is an ecologist by training and has spent most of his career in the rangelands of Australia, southern Africa and New Zealand. His current task brought him to the Resource Futures group at CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems in Canberra in 1993. His current research interests focus on radical options for the redesign of Australia’s economy that take it to low levels of energy and material usage by 2050. The group is tasked with designing and testing transi- tion pathways ‘towards sustainability’ for national and regional scales in L I S T O F C O N T R I B U TO R S
  • 16.
    Australia. Central tothe job has been the development of a number of analytical frameworks that describe how Australia actually works in physical terms … the so-called ‘physical economy’. ANN HAMBLIN specialises in agricultural land-uses and ecosystem management and currently works at the Bureau of Rural Sciences in Canberra. Ann has worked on international and national land indica- tors for the World Bank and Environment Australia, and on national indicators of sustainable agriculture for SCARM. She serves on several national and international boards related to environment and agricul- tural research. She was director of the Cooperative Research Centre for Soil and Land Management 1994–98. In 1999 she convened the Fenner Conference on the Environment called Visions of Future Landscapes and more recently she has prepared the land theme for the Australian 2001 State of the Environment report. JOHN HATCH is a senior lecturer in the School of Economics at Adelaide University. He teaches in several courses in environmental economics and has a special interest in wildlife resources. He has pub- lished in the areas of commercialisation of wildlife, waste management and recycling. Most recently he made a major submission to the Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee on the Commercial Utilisation of Australian Native Wildlife. In his spare time he is an avid ornithologist. TOR HUNDLOE is Professor of Environmental Management at the University of Queensland. He is Chair of the Wet Tropics Management Authority, responsible for the oversight of this World Heritage Area. He also chairs the Nature and Ecotourism Accreditation Program that is responsible for certifying ecotourism products. Tor served as Chair of the Australia Institute in 1999 and 2000 and had been a board member previously. He was Founding President of the Environment Institute of Australia. He trained in economics, political science and environmental management. FRANZI POLDY is a physicist by training with wide interests in opera- tions research, energy futures and the relationship between the eco- nomic and the physical worldviews presented by this analytical approach. His is currently with the Resource Futures group at CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems in Canberra. His research interests focus on radical options for the redesign of Australia’s economy that take it to low levels of energy and material usage by 2050. X • T O W A R D S S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y
  • 17.
    ‘Everyone’s an environmentalistnow.’ So said Australian Prime Minister John Howard at a photo opportunity during the 1998 Federal election campaign. This statement illustrates how environmental issues have recently been absorbed into the political mainstream. Increasing politi- cal cognisance of the environment has been accompanied by the grow- ing awareness of sustainable development: most famously defined as ‘development that meets the needs of the present, without compromis- ing the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’ (WCED 1987). It is not the intention of this book to enter the debate over partic- ular policies or to argue over the degree to which sustainable develop- ment is practised. Rather, proceeding from the premise that sustainable development is the basis of a new, emerging paradigm for corporate, local, national and global activity, the book explores what sort of infor- mation will be useful for making decisions in the new milieu. Our interest includes how this information will be generated, what tools and methods will be used, what institutional structures are appropriate to them — and how information will be presented to, and used by, decision makers. In short, this book is about how to inform sustainable development. DRIVERS OF CHANGE In the pre-industrial era, the resources and capacity of the world’s ecosystems were so large relative to the scale of human activity as to be effectively infinite. There are well-documented cases of pre-industrial civilisations recklessly exploiting, and thus depleting to the point of collapse, the capacity of the environment — in particular, isolated I N T RO D U C T I O N JOHN HIGGINS AND JACKIE VENNING 1
  • 18.
    regions. However, humanactivity was not on a scale to disrupt global ecosystems (Ponting 1991, WCED 1987). Industrialisation and the rapid growth of the human population have changed the equation. There are many more people, and on aver- age each person makes much greater demands on the environment. People in the developed world are mostly responsible for raising the average demand on global resources. Improving the living standards of the two thirds of the world’s population who live in the developing world without imposing intolerable strains on Earth’s ecosystems is the problem for which sustainable development has been suggested as a solution (WCED 1987). Human activity now has the potential to affect the functioning of ecosystems on a global scale. Further, there is strong evidence that it has done so. This evidence is seen most clearly in the depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer (WMO 1995) and in global climate change (IPCC 1995). The environmental effects of other changes, such as massive deforestation, are still being debated but are incontestably adverse (UNEP 1999). The local and regional effects of problems such as pollution and land degradation have also been felt around the globe. In Australia, salinisation and loss of biodiversity associated with land clearing are among the most important environmental challenges. Awareness of these adverse environmental effects, together with a realisation that the world’s population continues to grow and that each person is making, on average, greater demands on the environ- ment, dictates that attitudes to decision making must change. Simply put, the world must pay more attention to the environment or face catastrophe. The alternatives to continued rapacity are sustain- able development or de-industrialisation and a return to a simpler way of life. While some ‘deep green’ activists urge the latter course, it is unlikely to be acceptable to the vast majority of the world’s people, leaving sustainable development as the only prudent and feasible alter- native. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND1 INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS Our confidence in sustainable development as an emerging paradigm is based largely on the clear historical trend toward greater awareness of, and emphasis on, environmental issues, and the concomitant recogni- tion of the need to take environmental as well as economic and social factors into account when planning development. Environmental problems are not an exclusively modern phenome- non, nor is concern about the environment a recent development. The city of Florence made laws regulating pollution of the Rivers Arno, Sieve and Serchio as long ago as 1477. The roots of modern 2 • T O W A R D S S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y
  • 19.
    environmentalism may befound in the nineteenth century when the first environmental non-government organisations (NGOs) were founded, and recognisable conservation movements emerged. National parks and reserve systems were established, and there were efforts to conserve resources and regulate trade in wildlife. There was something quite new, however, about the nature and intensity of concern about the environment in the late twentieth cen- tury. There was a surge in environmentalism in the 1960s and 1970s. Some statistics illustrate how dramatic the changes have been (McCormick 1992): • in 1992 there were more than 20 000 environmental NGOs worldwide, one third of which were founded after 1972; • in 1971 only 12 countries had national environment agencies and today few countries lack one; • as of 1992 there were 250 international environmental treaties in force, three quarters of them established in the last 30 years; and • the first Green Party was formed in New Zealand in 1972: two decades later there were more than 20 Green political parties around the world, 11 of which were represented in parliaments. Five factors have been implicated in the explosion in environmental concern of the 1960s and 1970s. Firstly, there were broad social changes that predisposed people in the West, particularly younger people, to question established values and ways of life. Economic prosperity offered the security to question and protest without too much anxiety about the financial future, and at the same time raised questions about whether the drive for material abundance that had absorbed previous generations was really worthwhile. The protest movements against the Vietnam War and patriarchal social structures, and the fight for civil rights created an atmosphere of radicalism. Secondly, there was a series of environmental disasters during the 1960s that received wide publicity. Two of the most famous were the spill of 117 000 tonnes of crude oil from the Torrey Canyon off the west coast of England in March 1967 and the terrible mercury- induced neurological damage suffered by thousands of Japanese in the towns of Minamata and Niigata. Mercury entered the human food supply through seafood contaminated by the wastes that factories dis- charged into local waters, and the companies were finally forced to admit liability and pay compensation in 1971 (Niigata) and 1973 (Minamata). Thirdly, there was widespread alarm over nuclear weapons testing. The policy of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) alarmed many people, and concern about the effects of fallout from above-ground testing drifting over populated areas added an extra dimension. The I N T R O D U C T I O N • 3
  • 20.
    4 • TO W A R D S S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y environmental and anti-nuclear movements have been, and remain, closely linked. Fourthly, better scientific understanding of the consequences of human activity, especially since industrialisation, was demonstrating the dangers to the environment and the alarming implications these might have for people. The health effects of pollution were increasingly recognised. The fifth factor was the publication in 1962 of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring. Despite strong opposition from the political, business, and even scientific establishment, Carson’s book raised public aware- ness of the environmental damage being done by pesticides. It was an impassioned, polemic work grounded in solid science. Had it appeared a few years earlier, Silent Spring may have had little impact. Appearing when it did, in an era where the counter culture was developing and environmental disasters were widely publicised, the book was an important catalyst for change. Other influential best-selling books depicting an environmental crisis followed, including The Population Bomb by Paul Ehrlich (1968) and the Club of Rome’s (1972) Limits to Growth. There have been three significant international developments in the debate over the environment since the emergence of modern environmentalism. These are: the Stockholm Conference of 1972, the report of the World Commission on Environment and Develop- ment (the Brundtland Report) in 1987, and the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. The Stockholm Conference was the first high profile international meeting to deal exclusively with environmental issues, and it attracted enormous public interest. Amongst its important features were the debate between ‘first’ and ‘third’ world nations on how environment and development should be approached, the involvement of a range of NGOs, and the establishment of the United Nations Environment Programme. The Conference also set the international environmental agenda for years to come by formulating a Declaration, a set of Principles, and an Action Plan. The Brundtland Report (WCED 1987) was a landmark document, and remains the most important manifestation of the trend toward a more holistic approach to the environment and development that evolved in the 1980s. The tendency of the early environmental move- ment was to view development and environmental protection as mutu- ally exclusive. Further reflection suggested that ecologically sustainable development trajectories could be found. The environment and devel- opment lobbies began to move away from adversarial approaches to environmental issues and towards co-operative solutions; from win–lose scenarios to win–win outcomes. A critical insight of the Brundtland Report was that social as well as
  • 21.
    environmental and economicfactors must be taken into account as part of a holistic approach in order to reconcile the environment and development properly. This insight was not original; the realisation had been growing throughout the 1980s. The Brandt Report and the World Conservation Strategy were important steps along this path. The Brundtland Report was the apotheosis of this way of thinking, which was encapsulated by the Brundtland definition of sustainable development as ‘development that meets the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’. The Earth Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, saw more than 100 nations formally commit themselves to sustainable development. The summit produced Agenda 21, an ambitious, relatively detailed plan to achieve sustainable development in the 21st century (UNCED 1992). The summit also expanded the international environmental agenda established in Stockholm. The new prominence given to bio- logical diversity through the Convention on Biological Diversity and a commitment to take action on the enhanced greenhouse effect, expressed through the Convention on Climate Change, were the most important additions. A follow-up meeting, known as Earth Summit + 5, was held in New York in June 1997. Some progress was reported, although many found the achievements disappointing compared with the high aspirations of Rio. Each of these major international developments has clarified the relationship between the environment and development, and strength- ened commitment to sustainable development. This process has been mirrored on national and local scales. Many nations, and local govern- ments, now have strategies for sustainable development, and the signatories to Agenda 21 report regularly on their progress. Many companies have incorporated sustainable development into their plan- ning (Elkington et al. 1998). AUSTRALIAN DEVELOPMENTS In Australia, the first major environmental statutes were enacted in the 1970s, beginning with the New South Wales State Pollution Control Commission Act 1970 and the Victorian Environment Protection Act 1970. The first Commonwealth legislation was the Environment Protection (Impact of Proposals) Act 1974. State Governments created agencies to tackle the problems of pollution, and a Federal Environment Department was established in 1971. In keeping with the spirit of the 1970s, these early efforts were aimed at protecting the environment and fixing the problems caused by development. In the 1970s and early 1980s there were emotive debates over a range of environmental issues. Those with the highest profiles were I N T R O D U C T I O N • 5
  • 22.
    uranium mining, theflooding of Lake Peddar, sand mining at Fraser Island, and the proposed construction of the Gordon below Franklin Dam. Building and construction unions became involved through the ‘green bans’, in which labour was withdrawn from projects that were thought to be environmentally damaging. Uranium mining went ahead, and in 1972 Lake Pedder was flooded. However, Common- wealth Government action prevented sand mining at Fraser Island and the construction of a dam on the Gordon River below its junc- tion with the Franklin River. In these debates, business and conservation interests often adopt- ed strongly adversarial and opposing roles. By 1992 it was possible to develop a National Strategy for Ecologically Sustainable Development (Commonwealth of Australia 1992), which was endorsed by all gov- ernments and has the broad support of most major players in indus- try, and the environment movement. Disagreements over the interpretation and application of the principles contained in the strat- egy remain, but the various interests have a great deal more common ground than they did in the 1970s. The Regional Forests Agreement (RFA) process is an example of the new more integrated approach. Forests were a commercially valu- able resource to the timber industry, many workers and communities relied upon them, indigenous and other people attached important heritage values to them, and conservationists pointed to their impor- tant ecological roles, including as habitat for native flora and fauna, as greenhouse sinks, and as systems for purifying water and control- ling hydrology. There was intense conflict over the use of forests, which included large scale demonstrations against forestry practices and activities. In 1992, the National Forests Policy Statement (Commonwealth of Australia 1992) set out principles for forest management that took economic, social and environmental concerns into account. Flowing from the statement, the RFA process involved a massive commitment of resources to develop detailed plans for managing forests sustain- ably, based on an agreed set of principles and objectives and the best available information. Although debate continues over whether individual agreements meet the stated objectives, the process was grounded in sustainable development principles. Elsewhere, conservation groups are working with industry to establish and implement corporate standards (for example, ISO 14000), codes of practice for key industries such as fishing, forestry and mining, and performance measures to demonstrate the effective- ness of environmental management. While it is premature to say that sustainable development has become the dominant paradigm, there is a clear historical trend to suggest that it is emerging as such. 6 • T O W A R D S S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y
  • 23.
    INTERESTS, INFORMATION ANDDECISIONS Decisions are not always made rationally, or on the basis of informa- tion alone. Interests, history, tradition, politics, prejudice and person- ality all have an important role. Interests are, perhaps, the most potent factor of all. Where there is broad agreement on desirable outcomes, or interests coincide, decisions are simplified, although there may still be disagreement over the best course of action. Where differing inter- ests are involved, some way of balancing them must be found. Sometimes, one interest predominates while others are ignored. Such solutions are rarely stable in the long term, especially in democratic societies. Equally, it is overly cynical to suggest that information plays no role in decision making. On the contrary, the role of information in deci- sion making is often critical. Information allows better judgements about how various interests can be advanced, and may change percep- tions of what is in the best interests of various stakeholders. Where there is an agreed framework for balancing interests, the information needs are likely to be most clearly articulated. For example, the Reserve Bank of Australia has clear policies for deciding whether to change offi- cial interest rates, and a clearly articulated set of indicators (consumer price index, average wages, the current account, gross domestic prod- uct) that are relevant to that decision. Interests and information are closely related. As a rule, the infor- mation that a society, government, corporation, or other entity gener- ates is required in order to advance its interests. This does not mean that information is simply a species of propaganda; information may advance interests by enabling balanced and informed decisions about critical issues as well as being used to sway political arguments. The emergence of sustainability as a paradigm for development involves a significant shift in the perceived interests of individuals, com- panies, societies and governments. The type of information required to achieve those interests must also change. In line with these changes, both government and industry tend increasingly to generate their own environmental information, rather than being informed mainly through universities, research institutions and environmental lobby groups. The development of state of the environment reporting is an example. The first state of the environment report in Australia was lit- tle more than a compendium of available environmental facts with minimal commentary (Commonwealth of Australia 1986). It was fol- lowed in 1996 by Australia: State of the Environment 1996 (SEAC 1996), the first comprehensive scientific assessment of the nation’s environment. The Australian States and Territories also produce state of the environment reports, the first comprehensive report being The I N T R O D U C T I O N • 7
  • 24.
    State of theEnvironment Report for South Australia (Environment Protection Council 1988). Corporate environmental reporting is following a similar trajecto- ry. The Earth Summit called for regular reporting by corporations on the environmental aspects of their operations. Early reports often took the form of glossy brochures promoting ‘good news stories’, and some corporate environmental reports still have this character. Increasingly, though, corporations are producing balanced, objective assessments of their progress. Leading corporate environmental reports include quantitative performance measures, full disclosure of breaches of envi- ronmental regulations, and assessments of progress against realistic targets and benchmarks. Bodies such as the World Industry Council for the Environment and the World Bank have published guidelines and indicators for cor- porate environmental reporting. As of mid-1998, some 600 corpora- tions had produced corporate environmental reports, and some companies are also reporting on social aspects of their operations in corporate sustainability reports. In Australia, the Company Law Review Act 1998 amended the Corporations Law to require limited corporate environmental report- ing. Directors must report on compliance with environmental regula- tions, although small proprietary companies are exempt. Additional reporting is at the discretion of the company, and Australian practices generally lag behind those in Europe and North America (Fayers 1997, Deegan 1998). There are some promising signs, however (Elkington 1999). Major resource companies have led the way, and some are near to best practice. Western Mining Corporation released a relatively com- prehensive corporate environmental report in 1995, and BHP a simi- larly comprehensive document in 1997. Both companies have since released annual environmental reports. THE NEED FOR NEW SYSTEMS In this book, it is argued that new systems are required to inform decision makers in the context of sustainability. Specifically, it is suggested that the emerging system must be broadly based, emphasise economic, environmental and social considerations equally, use suitable tools and models, and be expressed through institutions that will both generate the information and respond to the ‘signals’ received through such information. Three points about the evolution of new systems follow from the preceding discussion. Firstly, the need to develop new systems was not identified until recently. This is partly because the concept of sustainability was articu- lated only in the last 20 years (although its intellectual roots twine through many centuries — see Chapter 2), but also because humans 8 • T O W A R D S S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y
  • 25.
    have only recentlyrecognised the importance of environmental con- siderations in development. Secondly, a time lag is to be expected between the emergence of the concept of sustainability and the devel- opment of systems appropriate to a sustainable society. Thirdly, the dri- vers behind changes are very powerful. However, it does not follow from this that systems will swing completely to the ideal forms described in this book. In practice there are a host of interlinked sys- tems that will vary considerably in how nearly they approach the mod- els described here. INFORMING SYSTEMS This book deals with the whole gamut of processes and apparatus involved in selecting data, processing it to generate information, com- municating that information to those who need it, and using it to make decisions. The boundaries of the system are thus broad, encompassing the users as well as the generators of information. We use the term ‘informing systems’ (Dovers 1996) to denote this complex mix. The expression is deliberately wider than ‘information system’, because our brief is broader, extending well beyond the question of how data are processed to create information. Informing systems are not necessarily formally organised, self- contained, or even readily identified. One person or organisation may be part of several overlapping informing systems concerned with delivering information to different decision makers. Further, these sys- tems can operate at a variety of levels, from the international to the local. For example, a national system may deliver information to the national government, a local system would deliver information to a local community, and a corporate system would deliver information to the managers of an enterprise. For convenience, we will generally refer to ‘the’ informing system, and often use national scale systems as the main source of examples. However, the principles described apply equally to systems at other scales, and attention will be given to local and corporate systems as well as those that serve national governments. For analytical purposes, we can identify the elements of an inform- ing system as: the broad conceptual framework, the interpretative con- text, theories, models, tools, predictive models, institutional mechanisms, targets and benchmarks. INFORMING SYSTEMS IN FLUX The central thesis of this book is that informing systems are evolving from a ‘traditional’ to an ‘emerging’ form. Table 1.1 summarises the characteristics of the ‘traditional’ and ‘emerging’ systems as well as the characteristics of informing systems as they are now. I N T R O D U C T I O N • 9
  • 26.
    The ‘traditional’ and‘emerging’ informing systems described here are cartoons. They illustrate salient features of past, current and potential future systems without pretending to describe accurately the real fea- tures of any. Accordingly, we do not suggest that the system in place 20 years ago was the ‘traditional’ system described here, or that the sys- tem in place 20 years hence will be exactly the same as the ‘emerging’ system. However, we do contend that present systems draw many of their salient features from the ‘traditional’ system, but are progressive- ly incorporating more characteristics of the ‘emerging’ system. Broad conceptual framework Interpretive context Theories Models Tools Predictive models Institutional mechanisms Targets and benchmarks Traditional system (20 years ago) Economic growth with environmental remediation Economic growth is the main concern of decision makers Taken from neo-classical economics. Environmental and social sciences relatively poorly developed and/or uninfluential. The economy operates with unlimited natural resources. Economic indicators, limited range of social indicators. Economic predictive models highly developed and widely influential. Highly developed institutional mecha- nisms for gathering and analysing eco- nomic and some social data. Limited environmental data gathered, mainly to protect human health. Economic targets drive policy. Social and environmental benchmarks are limited, and mostly the bare minimum to main- tain stability and protect human health. 1 0 • T O W A R D S S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y Table 1.1 Traditional, current and emerging informing systems
  • 27.
    THE ‘TRADITIONAL’ SYSTEM Thedistinguishing characteristic of the traditional system is its strong emphasis on economic factors. This reflects a view that economic man- agement is the major role of government2 while making a profit is the major task of corporations. The traditional system’s conceptual frame- work assumes that there will be no major environmental or social prob- lems. The capacity of the natural environment to assimilate wastes is regarded as unlimited, and natural resources are considered to be I N T R O D U C T I O N • 1 1 Current system Decision makers aware of sustainable development, but many operate in tradi- tional mode. Increasing community awareness of environmental and social issues, and greater political and corporate commit- ment to them. Economic concerns remain central. Environmental and social sciences becoming increasingly sophisticated and influential. A number of models are emerging, (for example, PSR, ecosystem health, resource economics). Emerging tools include environmental indicators, ‘green accounting’ and sus- tainability indicators. Economic predictive models continue to be very influential. Some environmental predictive models being developed and beginning to influence policy making. Institutional mechanisms for reporting on the environment are embryonic. Few institutions are responsible for acting on the basis of environmental information. Environmental targets and benchmarks are emerging, but in an ad hoc manner and often resisted by vested interests. Emerging system (20 years from now) Sustainable development Economic, social and environmental considerations are all-important and are given appropriate weight. Powerful and influential theories for understanding the environment and society as well as the economy. It is still not clear which models will be useful. It is still not clear which tools will be useful. Environmental predictive models as well developed and widely used as economic predictive models. Strong institutional base for gathering and analysing economic, social and envi- ronmental data in an integrated fashion. There are institutions responsible for acting on the basis of social, economic, and environmental information. Environmental and social targets are as important as economic targets.
  • 28.
    either inexhaustible orreadily replaced by a practical equivalent when they are exhausted. Social problems are thought to be kept in check by a stable, relatively homogenous society based on the nuclear family. It is further assumed that increased economic prosperity will strengthen social cohesion by reducing pressure on families and indi- viduals — thus reinforcing the primacy of economic considerations. Any social or environmental problems that arise can be remedied by ad hoc and relatively inexpensive measures. For example, relief can be offered to communities affected by natural disaster or regional down- turn, welfare will assist families or individuals temporarily experiencing difficulty, and accidents (such as oil spills) with adverse environmental effects can be ‘cleaned up’. Whereas the conceptual framework refers to the intellectual milieu within which decisions are made, the interpretative context is the atti- tude or orientation of decision makers and those who surround them. In line with the preceding paragraphs, the interpretative context of the traditional system is a strong emphasis on economic growth as the most important outcome for which governments and other institutions ought to strive. In the private sector this corresponds to maximising profits and/or income. This attitude does not necessarily represent a devaluation of society or the environment, but rather reflects an under- lying assumption that they will ‘take care of themselves’. Not surprisingly in view of this emphasis on economics, the tech- nical apparatus required to process and interpret economic data are well developed and influential. By technical apparatus we mean the the- ories, models and toolsiii that are used to guide the selection, processing, and interpretation of data and information. Importantly, these theories, models and tools reflect the assumptions of the broad conceptual framework. For example, economic theories tend to assume unlimited natural resources, and methods for deriving key economic indicators do not take social and environmental factors into account. The appa- ratus themselves may vary: neo-classical economic theories currently hold sway, but Keynesian views were in vogue as recently as the 1970s. Theories, models and tools for studying social and environmental trends, on the other hand, are less well developed. A limited set of social measures is in place — mainly related to demography and income distribution. Environmental tools and models tend to be closely linked to human health. That is, the environment is seen as being important to the extent that it affects human health, and tools for monitoring the environment concentrate on potential damage to human health (for example, air pollution, heavy metals in drinking water). In the traditional system, predictive models for the economy are well developed, widely used, and have a strong influence on decision making. For example, Treasury and private forecasters regularly make projections of economic growth, inflation, unemployment, current account deficit 1 2 • T O W A R D S S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y
  • 29.
    amongst others, andthese are used to guide government policy and pri- vate investment decisions. Limited social modelling takes place, but this is largely restricted to studies of demographic changes that can be used to plan infrastructure investments and delivery of key services. The traditional system is also marked by very well developed insti- tutional mechanisms for economic information. For example, in most developed nations, a central statistical organisation is responsible for generating key economic indicators — including gathering raw data and processing those data into the required form. In the case of the national accounts, the United Nations’ System of National Accounts provides international guidelines to which most national agencies adhere. Typically, the central statistical agency will have a statutory mandate to produce such indicators, possibly with enforcement pow- ers to ensure data are provided in a timely manner. Traditional systems also have institutions responsible for respond- ing to economic information. Generally, treasuries, finance depart- ments and central banks keep a close watch on economic information, and respond to changes by adjusting fiscal and monetary policy in ‘standard’ ways. For example, it is common practice to respond to slug- gish growth in the national accounts by reducing official interest rates. The institutional machinery for generating environmental data is much less developed in traditional systems. Collection of environmental data is typically ad hoc, with little consolidation or integrated analysis. The links between decisions and information are generally poorly devel- oped. The few environmental data collected are often used to protect human health and not the broader environment. For example, there may be minimum standards for the concentration of certain pollutants in air and water, and a particular agency or government department may be responsible for monitoring compliance with these standards. As for the other aspects of the traditional system, targets and bench- marks are well developed for the economy, but virtually absent for the environment. Central banks are committed to formal or informal infla- tion targets. Governments are committed to a target for economic growth as measured by the national accounts, which is in the range of 3–5 per cent for developed nations and around 8–10 per cent for developing countries. International comparisons are another form of benchmark for economic indicators. THE ‘EMERGING’ SYSTEM The ‘emerging’ system is our vision for a system that will meet the information needs of a sustainable society. Sustainable development is the conceptual framework for the emerging system. All versions of the sustainability concept involve a long-term per- spective and a conviction that it is necessary to take full account of environmental and social as well as economic factors when making I N T R O D U C T I O N • 1 3
  • 30.
    decisions. The emergingsystem will operate in a society that has trans- lated the concept of sustainable development into a set of social and political priorities that gives due prominence to environmental, social and economic outcomes. This will be expressed in explicitly recognised economic, environmental and social goals and a requirement that any decision must promote all three. This approach will provide the inter- pretative context for the emerging system. The theories, models and tools of the emerging system will be suited, where appropriate, to an integrated analysis of economic, social and environmental trends and outcomes within the sustainability paradigm. In most cases, integrated analysis of information from the economic, social and environmental spheres will probably be carried out using flex- ible models rather than a single theory or tool. A theory capable of inte- grated analysis would involve a precise, purely objective, formulation of the relationships between critical aspects of society, the economy and the environment. Given the subjective and qualitative nature of aspects of sustainable development and the current state of theories relating the environment, the economy and society, this seems unlikely. For similar reasons, a single tool (such as an aggregated index) that relates all aspects of sustainable development is unlikely to be meaningful. The economic theories and tools used in the emerging system may be different to those employed in the traditional system. One school of thought suggests that traditional economic theories and tools must be modified in order to take environmental and social factors more fully into account (Daly and Cobb 1989, Eckersley 1998). This is discussed more fully in Chapters 4 and 6. In the emerging system, predictive models will be available to build pictures of economic, social, and environmental outcomes under a range of scenarios. It is unlikely that a single model will be able to pro- ject outcomes for all aspects of the environment (climate change, air pollution, soil loss and so on), let alone model economic and social outcomes as well. A suite of predictive models that can be used in con- cert to explore broad scenarios is more feasible. In such an arrange- ment, the outputs of one model would constrain other models. For example, a model showing the effects of increasing greenhouse gas emissions on world climate might constrain the amount of fossil-fuel energy that could be used as an input to a model of the economy. The institutional mechanisms in the emerging system will also reflect the greater emphasis on social and environmental information. Changes will be greatest for institutions collecting environmental data. Their activities will be better focused using the tools, models and the- ories noted above and they will have a more secure basis and more resources for their work. A second change from the traditional system will be that institu- tions are designed to integrate economic, social and environmental 1 4 • T O W A R D S S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y
  • 31.
    information rather thanbeing concerned solely, or principally, with only one of these. It is only a slight caricature to suggest that in the tra- ditional system the institutions responsible for economic, social and environmental management are seen as adversaries or competitors. In the emerging system, these adversarial relationships will be replaced by co-operative arrangements. Integrated institutions having broad responsibility for sustainable development rather than the economy, welfare, or environmental protection are also possible, although there may be administrative advantages to retaining organisations specialis- ing in particular aspects of sustainable development. The third characteristic of institutional mechanisms in the emerg- ing system is that there will be institutions responsible for responding to ‘signals’ from the environment and society as well as the economy. This leads naturally to the observation that in the emerging system, targets and benchmarks will be set for environmental and social as well as economic parameters. Economic, social and environmental targets will be set and analysed in concert rather than individually. Targets and benchmarks will be based on explicit goals and objectives, and should be constantly revised in light of changing circumstances. This is partic- ularly important with environmental goals and targets, in view of the imperfect knowledge of how many systems operate, and in keeping with the ethos of ‘adaptive management’. DIRECTIONS OF CHANGE As stated above, the thesis of this book is that informing systems are changing from something like the traditional system to something that more resembles the emerging system. The chapters give more details on these changes and the possibilities for the future. The changes described here are not consciously co-ordinated or planned, nor has the pace of change been uniform in different places, spheres of activity, or components of the informing system. Rather, change is driven at varying paces by broader historical and other forces. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK The last decade has seen increasing acceptance of the concept of sus- tainable development, sparked by the publication in 1987 of the Brundtland Report (WCED 1987) by the World Commission on Environment and Development. In response to this report, the United Nations established the Commission for Sustainable Development, and encouraged countries to develop national sustainability strategies. Many nations have already done so. Sectors, local governments, and corporations are also developing sustainable development strategies. The concept of sustainable development is relatively easy to state in the broad, but notoriously difficult to apply in particular circum- stances. A great deal remains to be done to ‘translate’ the concept of I N T R O D U C T I O N • 1 5
  • 32.
    sustainable development forapplication to different enterprises and organisational units and at a range of spatial scales. Governments, com- munities, commercial sectors, businesses, and individuals must under- stand what it means for them to contribute to sustainable development in their own particular, dynamic and contingent circumstances. The evolution of the sustainable development concept is discussed more fully in Chapter 2, with an analysis of how Australian governments (and some industry sectors) grappled in the 1990s with ‘translation’. INTERPRETATIVE CONTEXT There has been a trend in the last two decades toward greater empha- sis on environmental issues. Surveys of public opinion in Western democracies consistently show that the environment is a major con- cern, and respondents often rank it with economic development. At the same time, the environment has shifted from the fringe of political debate and become a mainstream issue. Recent statements by senior officials in the Treasury and the Reserve Bank acknowledging the importance of environmental considerations when planning for Australia’s economic future are further signs of a changing interpretive context. This does not mean, however, that environmental, social and economic considerations are now equal partners in the political sphere. Economic issues still dominate. THEORIES The developments in theory most important for evolving informing sys- tems are taking place in ecology and economics. Ecology is a relatively young science. It emerged as a distinct discipline only at the beginning of the twentieth century, and did not grow significantly, at least in terms of numbers of practitioners, until the middle of that century (Bowler 1992). The functioning of ecosystems is critical in any consideration of sustainable development. The theories that provide the language in which ecosystems can be described and analysed are still being refined, and ecologists have yet to discover how many of the world’s ecosystems work. As an example of the rapid development of this field, the concept of biological diversity — critical in most accounts of sustainable devel- opment — was clearly stated only in the last 20 years. It has been long recognised that economics, as practised through most of its disciplinary history, does not adequately take the environ- ment into account. Recent decades have seen various attempts to cor- rect this, through sub-disciplines known variously as ‘environmental economics’, ‘ecological economics’, or ‘resource economics’. A number of partial solutions have been found, and economics is much better placed to contribute to environmental debates than it was 30 years ago. Whether economics can ever take full account of all environmental considerations is debatable. Perhaps it should not be expected to. Other 1 6 • T O W A R D S S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y
  • 33.
    disciplines provide validbut limited insights, and why should we suspect that economics is any different? In the meantime, there is considerable debate over the degree to which economics can, or should, be ‘adjust- ed’ for environmental concerns. The argument over whether the tech- nique of ‘discounting’ should be applied to the environment is a case in point. The to and fro between advocates of ‘strong’ and ‘weak’ sustain- ability is another. ‘Strong’ sustainability effectively quarantines some aspects of the environment from economic analysis. Developments in economic theory are discussed more fully in Chapter 4. MODELS In recent years a plethora of models has sprung up to help us think about sustainable development, or aspects of it. The models that have received the most attention include the pressure-state-response model developed by the OECD for reporting on the state of the environment, the concept of ecosystem health and various sustainability frameworks that set out criteria for the sustainability of a particular activity or sec- tor. In the corporate sector, the natural step model has won many fol- lowers, as have various management frameworks which, while not models in quite the same sense, can be used in a functionally equiva- lent way to organise information. It is unlikely that all of the models will survive the coming decades. However, at this stage it is not clear which models will best help deci- sion makers think about sustainable development. The current situa- tion is probably best viewed as a period of healthy competition between rival models, the ‘fittest’ of which will survive and be used in the future. Chapter 3 discusses these emerging models in more detail. TOOLS As with models, a wide range of tools to provide information relevant to sustainable development is being developed. Environmental indica- tors are designed to measure environmental trends in the same way that economic indicators measure economic trends. Sustainability indi- cators are related to environmental indicators, being suites of econom- ic, social and environmental indicators arranged in a suitable framework. These indicator approaches typically rely upon indepen- dent measures of different aspects of sustainability, allowing decision makers to weigh the various elements. Other tools are based on modifications of economic theory that take social and environmental factors into account. Adjusting gross domestic product so that it reflects social and environmental factors is a common strategy. There are several approaches to such a modification, ranging from constructing ‘satellite accounts’ for the environment that stand alongside the ‘standard’ GDP, to various so-called ‘Green GDPs’ that assign monetary values to social and environmental factors. I N T R O D U C T I O N • 1 7
  • 34.
    Another approach is‘quality of life’ indices, which combine eco- nomic, social and environmental measures. The Human Development Index is the best known of these. Which of these tools will be most use- ful to decision makers, and which will survive in the long term, is still an open question. The emerging tools are described more fully in Chapters 5, 6 and 7. Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is a process for systemati- cally assembling information about the environmental impacts of a project or suite of projects and has provided useful input to many deci- sions touching on sustainable development. Although not a tool in the sense considered here it is touched upon in Chapter 9. PREDICTIVE MODELS Economic and demographic models have had a powerful influence on decision making for many years. Possibly the only environmental pre- dictive models to have a comparable influence is the suite of models relating to global climate change, which played a major role in secur- ing global action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Global climate change models were accepted only after a long struggle to convince decision makers of their value. The controversy that surrounded these models was instructive. Decision makers found it difficult to act on the projections produced by the models. While it is not possible to say with certainty why this was so, a number of factors may have played a part. Lobbying by vest- ed interests is an obvious one, but more subtle considerations are prob- ably also relevant. Most decision makers are unfamiliar with the nature and uncer- tainty of scientific models. Whereas the uncertainty of economic pro- jections is taken for granted (as witnessed by the biannual revision of Treasury forecasts) decision makers criticise environmental models if their outputs are uncertain. Similarly, the fact that different economic forecasters make widely varying predictions about the economy does not reduce the confidence of decision makers in economic predictive models, but disputes amongst scientists about the magnitude of cli- mate change and its effects led to grave reservations on the part of decision makers about the wisdom of acting on global climate change models. Of course lobbyists exploited uncertainty in scientific models, so the two factors reinforced one another. Hopefully, the breakthrough achieved with climate change models will presage greater acceptance of environmental predictive models as decision making and policy tools. At the same time, it is necessary to develop environmental predictive models of greater sophistication and certainty. Advances in the understanding of ecosystem functioning and improvements in computer technology are combining to achieve this. Chapter 8 presents detailed examples of some models that have 1 8 • T O W A R D S S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y
  • 35.
    recently been developedby the CSIRO to help with decision making and policy analysis. INSTITUTIONAL MECHANISMS All developed nations and many developing nations have now established institutional mechanisms for reporting on the environment to parallel existing arrangements for reporting on the economy and on social trends. The most common mechanisms are state of the environment reporting, supported by the OECD and the United Nations Environment Programme, and national statistical agencies producing ‘satellite’ environmental accounts, based on the United Nation’s System of National Accounts. However, these institutional arrangements are fragile compared to those for economic and social reporting. While institutional arrange- ments for generating and bringing together, for example, information about the national accounts are cohesive, comparable environmental data are scattered, or non-existent, and difficult to integrate. Government processes have been established in some countries and international organisations to examine the sustainability of particular sec- tors. The Montreal Process on Sustainable Forest Management recently involved 12 nations in a first approximation report on key information about the sustainability of forest management. A few countries have begun to explore the possibility of developing and reporting on a set of national sustainability indicators, or even a ‘sustainability index’. In 1996 the United Kingdom released a draft set of 120 sustainability indicators, followed in 1998 by a discussion paper suggesting a suite of just 13 indicators. At the local scale, a number of projects by councils or communities around the world are considering reporting regularly on a set of indi- cators of the environment or the sustainability of the local area. The Sustainable Seattle project has served as an exemplar for many com- munities, and Local Agenda 21 — a spin-off from the 1992 Rio Conference — is gaining worldwide popularity. As mentioned above, corporations, too, are taking a greater inter- est in reporting on their environmental as well as economic perfor- mance. Corresponding organisational changes are required in order to integrate, analyse, and present this information. While these signs are promising, it is not yet evident that the information produced by these institutional mechanisms always penetrates to the core of the decision and policy-making process. The often-tenuous nature of links between information and decision makers is a key weakness of many informing systems dealing with sustainable development. Correcting this will require further changes to the institutional machinery, to ensure that institutions are responsible for responding to environmental and social signals as well as to economic ones. Institutional mechanisms are dis- cussed more fully in Chapter 9. I N T R O D U C T I O N • 1 9
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    TARGETS AND BENCHMARKS Thetrend towards setting environmental targets and benchmarks has been less pronounced but there are some encouraging signs. The Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer and the Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gas emission are both examples of inter- national agreements that involved parties accepting binding targets to reduce the production of substances that damage the environment. Individual nations have independently established benchmarks or targets for environmental parameters that are of national or regional concern. Most developed countries have targets or benchmarks for the concentration of a range of water or air pollutants — although these have often been set to protect human health rather than for purely environmental reasons. However, targets are being set in many coun- tries to achieve environmental objectives not directly related to human health. Australia has adopted formal targets for the preservation of var- ious types of forest ecosystems (Commonwealth of Australia 1992). Concern over the collapse or potential collapse of fisheries has led most countries to set limits on commercial fish catches. Corporations have also set targets for aspects of their operations such as emission of pol- lutants and greenhouse gases. Targets and benchmarks are discussed more fully in Chapter 5. CONCLUSIONS Some broad conclusions may be drawn from the material presented in this book. • Systems to inform sustainable development are still emerging; • There are a variety of approaches to the different aspects of emergings sys- tems and the validity of these approaches is often contested; • Many of the solutions offered are partial, rather than complete; • There is no single system, or type of system, for informing sustainable development. Despite these caveats, the quality and quantity of information available to make decisions about sustainable development, and our capacity to make good use of it, is increasing. There is good reason to believe that this trend will continue. Perhaps these conclusions should not be surprising. When stated in the most general terms, sustainable development is a powerful, intu- itively appealing concept. Few would argue with, for example, the Brundtland definition. But the more this concept is focused on partic- ular sectors, groups, or activites, the more difficult it becomes to agree on a meaning. Not only is there debate about meanings, but the seem- ingly simple unitary concept of ‘sustainable development’ shatters into myriad concepts such as ‘sustainable agriculture’, ‘sustainable fisheries’, 2 0 • T O W A R D S S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y
  • 37.
    ‘sustainable steelmaking’ and‘sustainable communities’. While these concepts may be the best efforts of stakeholders to ‘translate’ sustain- able development into their own sectors or spheres of life, all too often it is difficult to recognise any familial resemblance. The various ‘translations’ are not only due to the fact that different groups of people have been responsible for the translations. There are real differences between different sectors and spheres of life, which dic- tate differences in the practical meaning of sustainable development in each. It has therefore been necessary to develop many different mod- els, tools and approaches to institutional arrangements, as ‘one size’ is unlikely to fit all. A further consideration is that, although sustainable development is an integrative, holistic concept, the tools available to analyse it in detail are derived from a disciplinary and fragmented approach to knowledge. It hardly need surprise us, then, that approaches that are useful for analysing a carefully defined part do not provide a full account of the much more complex whole. Until somebody does come up with a ‘theory of everything’, which is unlikely, we will just have to accept that science and economics will only give us partial insights into the problems associated with sustainable development. A concomitant to this is that there will always be a role for subjec- tive judgements in making decisions about sustainable development. The challenge is to make these informed and rational judgements. That is the role of the informing systems that are the subject of this book. NOTES 1 The material in the first half of this section relies heavily on Bowler (1992), McCormick (1992) and Ponting (1991). 2 Functions such as national defence, maintaining law and order, international rela- tions, education etc are also important, but economic management has an over- arching importance and is the main driver of information needs. Matters such as education and infrastructure may be seen to derive much of their validity from their contribution to economic prosperity. 3 There are shades of meaning in these terms. A theory refers to formally posited relationships between various entities, often expressed in mathematical formalism. Models are a class of less precise intellectual objects, which are best thought of as mental props or extended metaphors. They present a way of thinking about a problem or issue without setting out the relationships between entities as precise- ly as theories do. Tools are specific procedures for transforming data into informa- tion and communicating it to decision makers. Examples of tools in this sense are the various indicators (such as GDP, CPI) in common use and the algorithms used to derive these indicators from the raw data on which they are based. Discursive reports can also be viewed as a species of tool in this sense. I N T R O D U C T I O N • 2 1
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    INTRODUCTION At least sincePlato lamented in his Critias the ‘consequences of exces- sive logging and grazing in the mountainous region of Attica, near Athens’ (Coates 1998) and observed that the mountains were ‘only the bones of the wasted body’ (Critias), humans in Western intellectual traditions have been aware that human activity has impacts on their environments. A hemisphere away and nearly 2500 years later, humans are still aware of those impacts. For example, while much of Australia’s biodiversity remains in good shape, ‘About 40 per cent of Australia’s forests have been cleared in the 200 years since European settlers arrived, with another 35 per cent affected by logging’ (SEAC 1996). Since 1788, ‘five per cent of higher plants, seven per cent of reptiles, nine per cent of birds, nine per cent of fresh-water fish, 16 per cent of amphibians and 23 per cent of mammals are extinct, endangered or vulnerable. Twenty species of mammals, 20 bird species and 68 plant species are known to have become extinct’ (SEAC 1996). For the most part of time between Plato and the present, the impact of human activity on the environment has not overly concerned most humans in Western traditions, because of three very simple assumptions, among others. First assumption: humans in the Western traditions have since the earliest times taken it as part of their world- view that they have a ‘right to dominate nature, and to multiply [their] species … Whatever changes have come about in the rest of [their] atti- tude to the world, dominion and multiplication have persisted and have indeed been intensified. The result of this view of nature as subordinate to man’s requirement has been to set man apart from nature’ (Black 1970). Second assumption: ‘humans have considered D E V E L O P M E N T O F S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y C O N C E P T S I N AU S T R A L I A DAVID BENNETT 2
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    themselves above, andimmune from, the ecological laws which dictate the numbers and fates of other species’ (Happold 1995). Third assumption: there is ‘a sufficiency of natural resources to provide the human race with an unlimited supply of wealth’ (King 1998). When human impact on the Earth became obvious or enduring, mal- practice, rather than the assumptions, was blamed. In his Critias, Plato asserts malpractice by implication. He remarks that Attica before it was overlogged and overgrazed was ‘cultivated, as we may well believe, by true husbandmen, who made husbandry their business’. Even when mal- practice was shown, it was blamed at the local level and not at the sys- temic level. Slowly over centuries, then more rapidly over the past five or six decades, these assumptions have been challenged. As human under- standing of anthropogenic impacts on the Earth improved, the truth of these assumptions has been increasingly questioned. A number of factors have been identified as contributing to envi- ronmental degradation and have lead to a different appreciation and understanding of relationships between humans and their environ- ment. These factors can be summarised in either or both of the fol- lowing formulae: Ed (environmental damage) = P (population) x C (consumption per capi- ta) x D (environmental damage per unit of consumption). And … I (impact on the environment) = P (population) x A (per capita afflu- ence) x T (damage done by technologies supplying each unit of con- sumption). (Tickell 1997, 455). Yet, even when there is agreement that the environment is changing and agreement that the formulae capture some notion of the trends of change, there is disagreement about how to interpret these trends. Economists like Julian Simon hold, ‘Almost every trend that affects human welfare points in a positive direction, as long as we consider a reasonably long period of time and hence grasp the overall trend’ (Simon and Myers 1994). Simon holds, for instance, on the human population aspect of these formulae, ‘The doomsayers of the popula- tion control movement offer a vision of limits, decreasing resources, a zero-sum game, conservation, deterioration, fear, and conflict … Or should our vision be that of those who look optimistically upon people as a resource rather than as a burden — a vision of receding limits, increasing resources and possibilities, a game in which everyone can win …’ (Simon and Myers 1994). Simon was noted for engaging in debates and bets with well-known environmental advocates, such as Norman Myers and Paul Ehrlich to prove that although some concern was justified there was no resource crisis, since ‘technology would … find alternatives to existing processes and use of resources when they were needed’ (Yencken and Wilkinson 2000). D E V E L O P M E N T O F S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y C O N C E P T S I N A U S T R A L I A • 2 3
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    If Simon representsthe anthropocentric end of a spectrum on interpreting these trends, then Deep Ecology represents the ecocen- tric end of this spectrum. Deep Ecologists characterise the anthro- pocentric end as ‘shallow ecology’. Simon maintains that environmental issues should be judged within the context of human and economic worth, to illustrate, he says, ‘that just about every important measure of human welfare shows improvement over the decades and centuries’ (Simon and Myers 1994). This view is clearly set in an anthropocentric context. Deep Ecologists reject ‘the assumption that humans and human projects are the only items with value’ as well as ‘the assumption that humans and human projects always outvalue other considerations and the value of other things’ (Sylvan and Bennett 1994). Arne Naess, the founder of Deep Ecology, contrasts the positions, ‘The shallow ecolo- gy movement talks only about resources of mankind, whereas in Deep Ecology we talk about resources for each species’ (Bodian 1982). On the human population, Deep Ecologists maintain, ‘The flourishing of human life and cultures is compatible with a substantial decrease of the human population. The flourishing of non-human life requires such a decrease’ (Naess and Sessions 1984). This, of course, does not mean draconian measures to eliminate current humans, but sensible policies to slow population growth. On technology and wealth, Deep Ecologists hold, ‘Present human interference with the non-human world is excessive, and the situation is rapidly worsening’ and an ideo- logical change to ‘appreciating life quality (dwelling in situations of inherent value) rather than adhering to an increasingly higher standard of living’ (Naess and Sessions 1984). There is no intention of attempting to resolve this debate here. The intention here is to examine the concept of sustainability, which embodies responses to the above formulae and the sorts of issues raised by such debates. Despite disagreement over interpretations and over the paths, both ends of the spectrum would agree, ‘sustainability is the outcome we desire’ (Yencken and Wilkinson 2000). Although sustainability is a broad concept, a good deal of the recent discussion of the concept has centred on ‘sustainable develop- ment’ and ‘ecologically sustainable development (ESD)’, which in turn have been multifariously defined. Two Chairs of Australia’s Ecologically Sustainable Development Working Groups, Stuart Harris and David Throsby state, ‘a review of the literature revealed nearly 300 definitions of sustainable development’ (Harris and Throsby 1998). So, to state the obvious: Sustainable development may mean different things to different people, but the idea itself is simple. We must work out models for a relatively steady state society, with population in broad balance with resources and the environment. (Tickell 1997, 456). 2 4 • T O W A R D S S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y
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    Sustainability recognises twokey tenets: 1) needs and 2) limitations in the broad balance between development and the environment. The single, most often quoted definition of sustainable development comes from the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) formulated in Our Common Future, also known as the Brundtland Report after Gro Harlem Brundtland, the head of the Commission. The WCED definition has become a reference point for meanings of sustainable development. This definition brings out these two tenets: Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the pre- sent without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. (WCED 1987, 87). While the statement of needs is clear, the statement of limitations is less so. Recognising that future generations have needs and that those needs will have to be met places limitations on the rate and methods of the current generation in meeting their needs. One limitation is tem- poral. The limitation on the present generation is to develop in such a way that does not exhaust a resource and exclude its use or enjoyment by future generations. Or put another way, a limitation on natural resources, even on natural resources that are in theory renewable, is that they should not be used more rapidly than they can be replaced. Despite the pervasiveness of the WCED definition, there is a strong impression that sustainable development has acquired a use without having acquired any clear meaning. Herman E. Daly expresses colour- fully the consequences of not providing sustainable development with a clear meaning, ‘call it “sustainable development” — in the hope that chanting this mantra will free us from the obligation to define it, and absolve us from our addiction to robbing the future’ (Daly 1992). One of the outcomes of the 1994 Fenner Conference on the Environment, Sustainability: Principles to Practice states ‘the best approach to the problem of understanding the concept of sustain- ability may be to encourage the various sectors and interest groups in Australia to translate the principles into their own languages and con- texts as a basis for implementation’ (Harding 1996). The conference outcomes held that the ‘language of ESD’ had become a barrier to implementation of the principles of sustainability. These principles will be taken up later. If the recommendation that the various sectors should express these limitations in their own language were followed, then sectors as defined by the Commonwealth of Australia (1992), such as agriculture, fisheries ecosystem management, forest resource use and management, manufacturing, mining, urban and transport planning, tourism and energy use, energy production and transport would not only express them in different ways, but also would provide for the needs of the future in different ways. For example, a D E V E L O P M E N T O F S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y C O N C E P T S I N A U S T R A L I A • 2 5
  • 42.
    sustainable agriculture wouldbe a whole-systems approach to food, feed and fibre production that balances environmental soundness, social equity, and economic viability among all sectors of the public, including international and inter-generational peoples. Inherent in this is the idea that sustainability must be extended not only global- ly but also indefinitely in time, and to all living organisms including humans. Establishing a reference point and recognising key tenets is a use- ful, yet insufficient step in interpreting sustainability, and comprehend- ing the development of the concept. The meanings of sustainability are as much a function of historical evolution as interpretation. A HISTORY OF ELEMENTS OF THE CONCEPTS OF SUSTAINABILITY While the terms ‘sustainable development’ and ‘ecologically sustain- able development’ are recent, dating back only two or three decades, the concept of sustainability can be traced over centuries. There are several important and often mentioned seminal developments in this history. STEWARDSHIP In Western Judeo-Christian traditions, the concept of sustainability is as old as the concept of stewardship. Stewardship involves looking after something, such as land or natural resources, and taking care of it, without owning it. A steward looks after something on behalf of its owner. The relationship is based on trust — the owner trusts his or her steward to prudently care for his or her possession, use it sensibly and in a sustainable manner, and to give it back in an equal or better con- dition when the time is right. Stewardship dates back at least to Genesis of the Old Testament of the Bible and to the post-Platonic philoso- phers of the Roman Empire. The tradition of stewardship is derived from a hierarchal arrangement God:Humans:Nature. Under this arrangement God put humans on the earth in order that they should look after it, i.e., nature. While humans served as stewards, the ultimate ownership of the earth was never for a moment in doubt. (Sylvan and Bennett 1994, 70). Australian philosopher, Val Plumwood argues that ‘according to at least some versions of the Stewardship position, humans do not have absolute title to the earth but are merely Stewards for God, and have obligation to care for the plants and animals of the earth because God cares for them, even if humans do not. Thus they are not entitled to manipulate the earth exclusively for their own benefit’ (Routley 1975). Attfield describes the point of stewardship thus: 2 6 • T O W A R D S S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y
  • 43.
    … stewards areessentially managers who act on behalf of owners … and … the point of the metaphor is the steward’s responsibility and answer- ability, not the devaluation of the world which is their trust, and which is regarded as a reflection of the divine glory, and judged by its creator to be ‘very good’. Even if the tradition is secularized and adopts a nonthe- istic form, people do not forfeit their responsibilities, but remain answer- able to the community of moral agents for the fostering and the preservation of all that is intrinsically valuable. (Attfield 1991, 61). Hence, the concept of sustainability is a latter day progeny of a stew- ardship position in that both recognise limitations on the demands that can be placed on the environment, although the origins of those demands may be different. Also both recognise the necessity for main- taining resources because there are needs and interested parties beyond the present generation. In ‘meeting the needs of future generations’ sustainability replaces the God of stewardship with posterity. This is succinctly phrased in the oft quoted popular expression, ‘We don’t inherit the earth from our ancestors, but borrow it from our children’. Secularised stewardship can be understood along the lines that The Natural Step, a non-profit environmental education organisation, sets out in their Four System Conditions: 1 In a sustainable society, nature is not subject to increasing concentrations of substances extracted from the earth’s crust. This means that fossil fuels, metals, and other minerals cannot be extracted at a faster rate than they are re-deposited back into the Earth’s crust. 2 In a sustainable society, nature is not subject to increasing concentrations of substances produced by society. This means that things like plastics, ozone-depleting chemicals, carbon dioxide, waste materials, etc. must not be produced at a faster rate than they can be broken down in nature. 3 In a sustainable society, nature is not subject to increasing degradation by physical means. This means that we cannot harvest or manipulate ecosys- tems in such a way as to diminish their productive capacity, or threaten biodiversity. 4 In a sustainable society human needs are met worldwide. This means that basic human needs must be met with the most resource-efficient methods possible, including a just resource distribution. (Adapted from http://www.naturalstep.org). Current humans have an obligation to society and to the planet to manage the Earth well and pass it on to the next generation without excess pollution, the depletion of resources, the destruction of species and of wilderness and the growth of deserts. This obligation extends to the planet, because: Stewards certainly are in most cases responsible to owners, but if creation consists of bodies each with their own glory (I Cor. 15:40), it cannot be regarded merely as expendable resources or as disposable property. Most D E V E L O P M E N T O F S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y C O N C E P T S I N A U S T R A L I A • 2 7
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    adherents to thestewardship view have implicitly accepted that intrinsic value is to be found among nonhumans as well as many humans; this granted, stewards of the earth should be seen not only as managers of resources, but equally as curators of treasures or as trustees of the bios- phere. The property metaphor suggests that nature is regarded solely as instrumental; but on the stewardship view is has characteristically also been regarded as of value in itself. (Attfield 1983, 216–17). RACHEL CARSON’S SILENT SPRING — 1962 Biologist and writer Rachel Carson’s legacy to sustainability was a graph- ic demonstration of an instance of unsustainability. She supplied an imperative for developing the concept of ecologically sustainability. ‘As early as 1961 [sic], Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring had highlighted the need for more concern to be shown regarding the effects that humankind was having on the environment’ (ESD Working Groups 1991: v). She questioned humanity’s faith in technological progress and helped set the stage for the environmental movement. Indeed, Silent Spring is widely viewed as the beginning of the modern environmental movement. Much of human food production in developed countries skates on a thin veneer of technology. Carson demonstrated that the profligate use of synthetic chemical pesticides, particularly chlorinated hydrocar- bons such as DDT, was causing serious pollution and killing many ani- mals. Specifically, she detailed how the pesticide DDT had entered the food chain and caused major problems for birds at the top of the food chain. Because of DDT, the shells of raptors, such as bald eagles and falcons, and brown pelicans were too thin. Adult birds were crushing their eggs. It was the first time anyone had publicly shown how poi- sons affect everything in nature. She illustrated the hazards of the pes- ticide/resistance cycle and bio-accumulation. In doing so, she also extended the obligation to future generations beyond future genera- tions of humans and to future generations of plants and animals as well. Carson called for a change in the way humankind viewed the nat- ural world, arguing that nature was vulnerable to human intervention and that human beings were but one part of nature distinguished pri- marily by their power to alter it, in some cases irreversibly. She argued that human beings are a vulnerable part of the natural world subject to the same damage as the rest of the ecosystem. She illuminated one of the fundamental limitations to development: at times, technological progress is so at odds with natural processes that it must be curtailed. While not all technological change is necessarily unfortunate or requires remedial action, Carson outlined threats — the contamination of the food chain, cancer, genetic damage, the deaths of entire species — too frightening to ignore. For the first time, the need to regulate development to make it sustainable in ecological terms in order to protect the environment became widely acknowledged. 2 8 • T O W A R D S S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y
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    UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCEON HUMAN ENVIRONMENT: STOCKHOLM — 1972 ‘At the international level the concept of ecologically sustainable devel- opment was first developed in a cohesive fashion at the United Nations Stockholm Conference in 1972’ (ESD Working Groups 1991). By 1972, the environmental crisis had come so evident that it could no longer be ignored and the United Nations Conference on Human Environment was convened. While none of the seven introductory paragraphs nor the 26 Principles of the Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment specifically uses the term ‘sustainable develop- ment’, paragraph 2 nevertheless sets out the concept with specific application to humans: The protection and improvement of the human environment is a major issue which affects the wellbeing of peoples and economic development throughout the world; it is the urgent desire of the peoples of the whole world and the duty of all Governments. Paragraph 2 places a limitation on development in terms of human wellbeing. In effect, it acknowledges that the quickest way to drive a species to extinction is to destroy its habitat, or as it is phrased in the case, its environment. Following on from this, the opening sentences of paragraph 6 have a resonance with both the earlier warnings of Rachel Carson and the later Brundtland definition: A point has been reached in history when we must shape our actions throughout the world with a more prudent care for their environmental consequences. Through ignorance or indifference we can do massive and irreversible harm to the earthly environment on which our life and well- being depend. Conversely, through fuller knowledge and wiser action, we can achieve for ourselves and our posterity a better life in an environ- ment more in keeping with human needs and hopes. There are broad vis- tas for the enhancement of environmental quality and the creation of a good life. Paragraph 6 elucidates the two key tenets of needs and limitations in the balance between development and the environment. It elucidates needs in terms of prudent care for an environment more in keeping with human needs. It elucidates limitations in the balance between development and the environment in terms of enhancing environmen- tal quality simultaneously with creating a ‘good life’. While the Declaration recognises these two key tenets, it nevertheless makes it clear in Principle 11 that the ‘balance’ is tipped in favour of development: The environmental policies of all States should enhance and not adversely affect the present or future development potential of D E V E L O P M E N T O F S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y C O N C E P T S I N A U S T R A L I A • 2 9
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    developing countries, norshould they hamper the attainment of better living conditions for all, and appropriate steps should be taken by States and international organizations with a view to reaching agreement on meeting the possible national and international economic consequences resulting from the application of environmental measures. Mitigating the effects of tipping the ‘balance’ in favour of develop- ment, Principle 13 calls for prudence: In order to achieve a more rational management of resources and thus to improve the environment, States should adopt an integrated and co- ordinated approach to their development planning so as to ensure that development is compatible with the need to protect and improve envi- ronment for the benefit of their population. It is obvious that the Declaration ties prudence to sustainability. Further it ties rational management to limited development, thus mod- ification without devastation. Going back to the idea that each sector must define sustainability, in doing this, each sector must act prudent- ly and each sector must rationally manage development in a manner that protects and improves the environment. WORLD CONSERVATION STRATEGY — 1980 The World Conservation Strategy was published in 1980. It emphasized that humanity, which exists as a part of nature, has no future unless nature and natural resources are conserved. It asserted that conservation cannot be achieved without development to alleviate the poverty and misery of hundreds of millions of people. Stressing the interdependence of conservation and development, the WCS first gave currency to the term ‘sustainable development’. (IUCN/UNEP/WWF 1991). Now published as Caring for the Earth: A Strategy for Sustainable Living, the World Conservation Strategy uses ‘sustainable develop- ment’ to mean: ‘improving the quality of human life while living with- in the carrying capacity of supporting ecosystems’ (World Conservation Strategy 1991). This interpretation also brings out the idea of a ‘good life’ as a limitation as well as providing ‘carrying capac- ity’ as a rule of thumb in determining sustainability. Carrying capacity is usually defined as the maximum population of a given species that can be supported indefinitely in a defined habitat without permanent- ly impairing the productivity of that habitat. It is important to observe that this definition explicitly states ‘within the carrying capacity of sup- porting ecosystems’, because humans normally increase their own car- rying capacity by eliminating competing species, by importing locally scarce resources, and by technology. Indeed, trade and technology are often cited as reasons for rejecting the concept of human carrying capacity out of hand. 3 0 • T O W A R D S S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y
  • 47.
    The World ConservationStrategy therefore emphasised three objectives: • essential ecological processes and life-support systems must be maintained; • genetic diversity must be preserved; • any use of species or ecosystems must be sustainable. (IUCN/UNEP/WWF 1991, 1). To be sustainable a strategy must preserve essential ecological process- es as well as the species and genetic diversity that make up the compo- nents of those processes. These three objectives give substance to a definition of sustainable development. Reflecting back on Rachel Carson’s legacy to the meaning of sustainability, these three objectives clearly outline what constitutes unsustainability. The aim of Caring for the Earth is to help improve the condition of the world’s people, by defining two requirements. One is to secure a widespread and deeply-held commitment to a new ethic, the ethic for sustainable living, and to translate its principles into practice. The other is to integrate conservation and development: conservation to keep our actions within the Earth’s capacity, and development to enable people everywhere to enjoy long, healthy and fulfilling lives. (IUCN/UNEP/WWF 1991, 2). By identifying a new ethic of sustainability and the requirements of that ethic, needs and limitations can be translated into practice. Perhaps more important than providing a brief definition, the World Conservation Strategy defines sustainable development as a set of strategies and tools which respond to five broad requirements: • the integration of conservation and development, • the satisfaction of basic human needs, • the achievement of equity and social justice, • the provision for social self-determination and cultural diversity, • the maintenance of ecological integrity. Each of these is a goal in itself and a condition for achieving the oth- ers, thus underlining the interdependence of the different dimensions of sustainability and the need for an integrated, interdisciplinary approach to the achievement of development that is sustainable. OUR COMMON FUTURE — 1987 Despite being the single, most often quoted definition of sustainable development, the lack of concreteness in the Brundtland Report defi- nition and the juxtaposition of such apparently contradictory terms as ‘sustainable’ and ‘development’ have engendered many competing interpretations of sustainable development, particularly since the report D E V E L O P M E N T O F S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y C O N C E P T S I N A U S T R A L I A • 3 1
  • 48.
    emphasises that economicgrowth is needed and advocates a five to tenfold increase, worldwide, in manufacturing output. In case anyone fails to grasp the message, Our Common Future states: The Commission’s overall assessment is that the international economy must speed up world growth while respecting environmental constraints. (p 89). Yet, much of our existing economic activity is already destroying the natural world around us, as global warming, species extinction, ozone depletion, toxic contamination, rising sea levels, acid rain, and other indicators and events demonstrate. Although Simon would argue that these are short-term effects and that in the long-term economic growth would be good for human wellbeing, as Tickell points out, ‘Whether expressed as Ed = PxCxD, or as I = PxAxT, the results as we can foresee them are the same — catastrophe — whether in fast or easy stages’ (Tickell 1997). UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT (UNCED) — 1992 The Brundtland Report was the forerunner to UNCED, which was called in response to a growing concern over the environmental degra- dation of developing countries, vividly illustrated in the Brundtland Report. Both the Brundtland Report and UNCED served to focus greater attention on the Earth’s rapidly depleting resources and the need to change the manner in which development is approached, focusing upon sustainable use. From 3 to 14 June 1992, Rio de Janeiro hosted the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, better known as The Earth Summit or The Rio Summit or UNCED. The conference was the culmination of two years of negotiations by four Preparatory Committees (PrepComs). With 179 nations in attendance, it was the largest environmental conference ever. For the first time the environ- ment was given equal status with war and economics. The major objec- tive of the Conference was worldwide agreement on environment and development. Or as it is most often stated, sustainable development. The Earth Summit represents the attempt to integrate at the global level the economic side with the environmental side, even if the envi- ronmental side came out the lesser quantity. It is an attempt to convert sustainable development from rhetoric into practice. Five major agreements on global environmental issues were signed. Two of these, the Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Biological Diversity, were formal treaties whose provi- sions are binding on the parties. The other three UNCED agreements were non-binding statements on the relationship between sustainable environmental practices and the pursuit of social and socio-economic 3 2 • T O W A R D S S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y
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    development. The Statementon Forest Principles pledges parties to more sustainable use of forest resources. Agenda 21 is a wide-ranging assessment of social and economic sectors with goals for improving environmental and developmental impact of each. The Rio Declaration summarises consensus principles of sustainable development. Principle 4 of the Rio Declaration states: In order to achieve sustainable development, environmental protection shall constitute an integral part of the development process and cannot be considered in isolation from it. This statement brings together the key tenets of needs and limitations. Sustainable use cannot be achieved without ecological limitations on development. If development outstrips renewal, sustainability is impos- sible. If development proceeds in a manner that prevents renewal, sus- tainability is impossible. MEANINGS The major point to be derived from reading the literature critical of the idea of sustainable development is that this is a movement that is more ethereal than concrete. (Davis nd, np). Providing a meaning or definition for sustainability — or for any term for that matter — can take various forms, but there are two forms of definition that are of particular relevance here: substantive and opera- tional. A substantive definition provides the essence or significance of a term, while operational definition provides information that can be used in decision making. Operational definitions should be consistent with substantive definitions when elaborating the same term. The sub- stantive definition of the Brundtland Report does not indicate how to implement ‘development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’. If the World Conservation Strategy’s five broad requirements do not in and of themselves provide an operational definition, they would provide flexible, yet clear guidelines, if they are taken together with the substantive definition of the Brundtland Report. The World Conservation Strategy makes the following observation about ‘sustainable development’: The term has been criticized as ambiguous and open to a wide range of interpretations, many of which are contradictory. The confusion has been caused because ‘sustainable development’, ‘sustainable growth’ and ‘sus- tainable use’ have been used interchangeably, as if their meanings were the same. They are not. ‘Sustainable growth’ is a contradiction in terms: nothing physical can grow indefinitely. ‘Sustainable use’ is applicable only to renewable resources: it means using them at rates within their capaci- ty for renewal. (IUCN/UNEP/WWF 1991, 9). D E V E L O P M E N T O F S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y C O N C E P T S I N A U S T R A L I A • 3 3
  • 50.
    This argues that‘sustainable growth’ is the oxymoron that is often interpreted to be sustainable development. A nice elaboration of this oxymoron draws on George Orwell’s novel 1984. In 1984, Orwell describes a society ‘in which language is an important means of social control’. The state uses ‘Newspeak’, the state language, and ‘double- think’ as means of control. Orwell has a linguistic category B, into which sustainable development interpreted as sustainable growth would fit well. Orwell gives the following description, ‘The B vocabu- lary consisted of words which had been deliberately constructed for political purposes: words, that is to say, which not only had in every case a political implication, but were intended to impose a desirable mental attitude upon the person using them’. They were always com- pound words, ‘A sort of verbal shorthand, often packing whole ranges of ideas into a few syllables’. As sustain, on the one hand, implies ‘to keep in being, to cause to continue in a certain state’ and development, on the other hand, implies ‘change, development or growth from with- in’, the concept of ‘doublethink’ appears particularly appropriate.1 Development in other words precludes sustainability. The dialectical tension locked up in sustainable development is easily exposed in other connected ways. In so far as a macro-goal of economics, at least as con- ceived by development proponents, is increased throughput, and such throughput means enhanced environmental impact, development eco- nomics is in diametrical opposition to environmental sustainability. The inclusion of ‘ecological’ with ‘sustainable development’ attempts to identify ‘the distinguishing features of an ecological approach to development — taking an integrated approach and taking a long term view’ (Lothian 1998). As Andrew Lothian notes a good deal of the debate over sustainable development has centred on achiev- ing balance between the environment and development: Commonly the view is expressed that we need to keep these things in bal- ance, that it is a matter of balancing the economic and the environmen- tal … However in practice it merely provides a publicly acceptable face to a decision which almost invariably favours development over the envi- ronment. One never hears the balance argument used when the decision favours the environment — then it is portrayed in terms of a bold new program or a courageous decision. The application of the balance para- digm generally results in win–lose outcomes, wins for development, loss- es for the environment. Thus the paradigm of balance does not benefit the environment, it merely masks its gradual demise. (Lothian 1998, 54)2 . The key tenets that need to be incorporated into the meaning of sustainable development are known. A range of the limitations, includ- ing classes of activities that must be excluded, has been identified. Having different but consistent operational definitions aligned to a substantive definition can be a benefit rather than a deficit to 3 4 • T O W A R D S S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y
  • 51.
    Another Random ScribdDocument with Unrelated Content
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    The Project GutenbergeBook of The Frozen North
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    This ebook isfor the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook. Title: The Frozen North Author: Richard Mayde Release date: July 6, 2018 [eBook #57455] Language: English Credits: Produced by F E H, MWS and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) *** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FROZEN NORTH ***
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    Transcriber’s Note Author’s name[Richard Mayde] supplied by the transcriber. In some chapters, there are very few paragraph breaks therefore the illustrations have been positioned as close as possible to their original position in the book. There are 18 illustrations within the book without accompanying captions, so I have used the individual captions from the Table of Illustrations and have placed them beneath each illustration. I have retained the title ‘Greenlanders’ in the Table of Illustrations page 67, plus retained the illustration title as quoted in the body of the book as, ‘A Young Man. A Young Woman’. Page 54: The word ‘they’ has been added to the sentence. ....the danger would be greatest, they made with their dogs....
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    A RUSSIAN CARRIAGE. THEFROZEN NORTH. ILLUSTRATED. NEW YORK: DODD, MEAD, AND COMPANY, 751 BROADWAY. Copyright, 1876, Dodd, Mead, & Company. Press of Rand, Avery, and Company, Boston.
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    LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 1.A Russian Carriage. Frontispiece 2. An Old Woman of Greenland. PAGE 9 3. The Barren Grounds in Summer. 14 4. Egg Gathering. 21 5. Arctic Birds. 23 6. Bird Catching. 25 7. The Edge of a Pack. 30 8. Lifted by the Ice. 32 9. Among the Icebergs. 33 10. Encounter with Icebergs. 40 11. An Arctic Scene. 40 12. A Greenland Glacier. 43 13. Arctic Navigation. 47 14. Seal-hunting on the Ice. 50 15. Walrus. 53 16. The Walrus. 55 17. Polar Bears. 61 18. An Unpleasant Experience. 62 19. Greenlanders. 66 20. Esquimaux Hut. 70 21. Esquimaux Village. 73 22. Dog Sledge. 76 23. Arctic Dog. 77
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    24. Danish Settlement in Greenland. 81 25.The River Jokulsa. 85 26. Mt. Hecla. 85 27. Great Geyser. 94 28. Reykjavik. 95 29. Travelling in Iceland. 98 30. Icelandic Interior. 101
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    AN OLD WOMAN OFGREENLAND. CHAPTER I. As we travel northward, leaving the sunny lands of the temperate zone, we come after a time to mighty and seemingly endless forests of pines and firs. Mile after mile, they stretch away in a lonely silence. The wintry gale that rages among them is answered only by the howl of the wolf, while a few bears, reindeer, and the arctic fox, alone of animals, find a home in their snowy depths. Gradually as we go onward the trees are more stunted, gradually the pines and firs give way to dwarfed willows, and soon we come to the barren grounds, a vast region extending about the pole, and greater in size than the whole continent of Europe. The boundary line of these barren grounds, is not everywhere equally distant from the pole. The temperature of arctic lands, like that of other climes, is affected greatly by the surrounding seas and by ocean currents. In the sea-girt peninsula of Labrador they reach their most extreme southerly point; and as a rule they extend southward where the land borders on the ocean, receding far to the northward in the centre of the continents. All this vast territory is a frozen waste, its only vegetation a few mosses and lichens. The few weeks of arctic summer do not allow the growth of even shrubs. As we advance through the forests the trees are more and more dwarfed. Soon they become merely stunted stems, for though they put forth buds in summer, winter is upon them before wood can be formed. On the shores of the Great
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    Bear Lake, itis said that a trunk a foot in diameter requires four hundred years for its formation. A more desolate scene than the barren grounds in winter, it is difficult to imagine. Buried deep under the heaped up snows, with the winds howling across their dreary wastes, and an intense cold of which we have little idea, it is no wonder that almost no animal, save the hardy arctic fox, can find a subsistence upon them. But no sooner does the returning sun bring the short weeks of summer than all this is changed, and they are the scene of varied life and activity. Vast herds of reindeer come from the forests to feed upon the fresh mosses, flocks of sea-birds fly northward to lay their eggs upon the rocks, and to seek their food in the rivers teeming with fish, while millions of gnats fill the air in clouds, enjoying to the utmost their short lives. And their lives are indeed short, for it is almost July before the snows are gone and the hardy lichens can send forth shoots, and by September all vegetation is again beneath its snowy coverlet for another long nine months’ sleep. The reindeer have, before this, made haste to seek the shelter of the forest, the bears have disposed of themselves for their winter sleep, the birds have all sought the milder region southward, and all is again silence and solitude. It is due to the snow, that at first seems such an enemy to vegetation, that even such low forms of life as mosses are able to exist on the barren grounds. Before the intense cold of the arctic winter has set in, they are buried deep beneath its warm folds. Outside the wind may howl and the cold grow more and more severe till the thermometer marks for months forty degrees below zero; beneath the snow an even and comparatively mild temperature exists. Dr. Kane found that when the outside air was thirty below zero, beneath eight feet of snow it was twenty-six above zero, a difference of fifty-six degrees.
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    THE BARREN GROUNDSIN SUMMER. Great as are the barren grounds, or tundri, as they are called in Siberia, the arctic forest region is far greater, for it reaches around the globe in a broad belt, nearly a thousand miles in width. Few indeed are the occupants of these great tracts, compared with the more favored southern lands. The poverty of the soil, and the severity of the climate, prevent the growth of crops, and man is offered only such subsistence as can be gained by hunting and fishing. In consequence they are inhabited but by scattered tribes of savages and by hardy trappers, who brave their dangers for the rich booty to be gained from their many fur-bearing animals. Of all the four footed inhabitants of these forests, by far the most interesting is the reindeer. What the camel is to the native of the
  • 64.
    desert, the reindeeris to the Lapp, or the Samojede. While it cannot compare with its finely formed relative the stag, it is excellently fitted for the situation in which nature has placed it. Its hoofs are very broad, forming a species of snow shoe, which prevents it from sinking in the drifts and allows it to leap and run with the greatest swiftness, while the squarely-built body, short legs and broad hoofs are of the greatest help in swimming. The most surprising thing about reindeer is their sense of smell. For the greater part of the year, their food consists entirely of mosses which are buried beneath the snow. These they uncover with their feet, having first discovered their existence by their scent, and no case has ever been known, where a reindeer has made a mistake and dug for moss in vain. They are easily domesticated and taught to draw a light sledge, though it is said when overloaded or otherwise maltreated, they turn upon their persecutors with horns and hoofs, and force him to take refuge in flight. In many countries, as for instance Lapland, they form the chief article of wealth and are owned in herds of thousands. Unfortunately an epidemic disease often appears, and the wealthy proprietor sees his whole herd die in a single season, while he himself must resort to the uncertain occupation of the fisherman for support. Besides the reindeer the arctic forests are the home of many other animals. Such are the black bear, the marten, ermine, mink, sable, various foxes, and others. Notwithstanding the vast extent of this forest region and the small number of its inhabitants, so eagerly are all these animals hunted for their skins, that already certain varieties are fast disappearing. The hand of every man is against them, and hundreds of thousands fall every year, either by the arrow or trap of the native races, or the rifle ball of the trapper. The number of men who follow this life is very great. Wild, hazardous and lonely as it is, it possesses for them a strange attraction, and though they may forsake it for a time, they invariably return to it. Nearly the whole of the arctic lands of North America are hunted over by the Hudson’s Bay Company, which has its trading forts and its outposts at intervals over the whole country, from the Atlantic to
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    the Pacific, andnorthward to the barren grounds. This great company employs as overseers, guides, or voyageurs, over three thousand men, and may be said beside to have in its service nearly every Indian in North America; in all perhaps a hundred thousand men. Communication is held between the posts in the interior by means of voyageurs, who, with birch bark canoes, paddle up the rivers, carrying immense loads, passing onward through the trackless forest as unerringly as if upon a broad highway. “When after a hard day’s work, they rest for the night, the axe is immediately at work in the forest, and in less than ten minutes the tent is up, and the kettle simmering on the fire. They drag the unloaded canoe ashore, turn it over and examine it carefully, either to fasten again some loose stitches or to paint over some damaged part with fresh rosin. Under the cover of the boat, and with a flaming fire in the foreground, they bid defiance to the weather. At one o’clock in the morning lève lève is called; in half an hour the encampment is broken up, and the boat reladen and relaunched. At eight in the morning a halt is made for breakfast, for which three- quarters of an hour are allowed. About two, half an hour’s rest suffices for a cold dinner. Eighteen hours work and six rest make out the day.” And this is not all; presently a rapid is reached. Here the whole cargo has to be taken out, the boat lifted on the shoulders of one of the men and carried perhaps for several miles through swamp and brier, while the cargo is carried by the others in a like laborious manner.
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  • 67.
    ARCTIC BIRDS. But thescene of greatest life, in the arctic regions, is to be found among the birds. On the rocky cliffs, that stand out in the Polar sea in the short northern summer, they are to be found in such quantities as to literally darken the sky. Auks, and gulls, and ducks, cover the rocks. The most daring arctic explorer has never penetrated to lands where he has not found the eider duck. Well may this bird dare to make journeys into tracts where none can follow. With its warm coat it can bid defiance to the cold, and on its swift wing it can fly over fifty miles an hour, and should danger arise, can soon be beyond its reach. The hardy natives of Iceland gather each year large quantities of their feathers, which have a high value. Reaching their nests they take from them the delicate feathers, which the female bird has pulled from her breast to make a soft covering for the expected young. No sooner does she find her nest bare, than she again pulls a fresh supply, which is again taken from her. A third time she lines anew her nest, and now she is left in peace, for if again disturbed, the bird deserts entirely her accustomed breeding place, and seeks a new region beyond the reach of man.
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    BIRD CATCHING. Coasts, suchas those of Norway, where the rocky cliffs rising hundreds of feet above the sea stretch for mile after mile, are especially fancied by sea birds. Every ledge is crowded with their nests, while the air is dark with them. But no cliff can protect them against their great enemy, man. No cliff is too inaccessible for him to reach. Where the rocks can be approached from the sea, a boat lands two men on some projecting ledge. Their only aid is a long pole terminating in a hook, and the rope by which they are tied together. One, using his hands and feet, proceeds to climb up the cliff to some
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    higher ledge, whilehis comrade fixing the hook firmly in his leathern belt, pushes from below till the point is reached. He himself is then pulled upward, by the rope, till both stand together. Continuing this perilous journey, they often ascend to a height of five or six hundred feet above the sea. Here the birds are so tame that they have but to put forth their hand to catch them, and the work of destruction begins. As fast as killed, they are thrown into the sea and picked up by the boat’s crew in waiting below. Sometimes when the weather is fair, the men spend several days on the cliff, sleeping at night on some broad ledge. When the cliff cannot be reached in this way, it is common for a man to be lowered over the face of the rock by a rope, as is shown in the picture. Hanging thus in mid-air, with the ocean roaring a thousand feet below and the sea-birds flying wildly about him, a single mistake, or often a moment’s hesitation, would cause his certain death, and a cool head alone can be trusted at this perilous work. It is said that an ancient law of Norway required that when a man fell in this way, his nearest relative should at once take the position in which the dead man was. If he could keep it in safety, Christian burial was allowed the body, but if he refused to undertake it, death was considered the result of recklessness, and the dead man was considered a suicide.
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    CHAPTER II. THE EDGEOF A PACK. Barren as are the arctic lands, the arctic ocean far exceeds them in desolation. In the winter it is in many parts frozen solidly over to a depth of nine feet, forming a level plain stretching as far as the eye can reach. But this is generally the case only in land-locked bays, or in places where surrounding hills give shelter from the furious gales that sweep over the dreary waters. More often the open sea is one mass of enormous cakes, tossing and grinding against one another in the wildest way. The huge ice floes, driven by the wind or by currents, strike against one another with fearful force, hurling great masses high in the air. Woe to the unfortunate ship that is caught in such a rough embrace. Her oaken timbers are crushed like egg
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    shells. It hashappened that a ship thus caught, has been lifted bodily, by the ice coming slowly together, out of the water and laid neatly upon it, and the sailors have been forced to saw the ice about her, so as to launch her again from this sudden and unexpected dry dock. LIFTED BY THE ICE.
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    AMONG THE ICEBERGS. Throughall this grinding tossing mass come majestically floating southward huge icebergs, passing through all this strife, and heeding it as little as some cliff the waves that dash and roar about its base and cover it with spray. Sometimes these mighty masses are no pleasant neighbors, for as they float southward under the ever increasing heat of the sun, during the months of July and August large cataracts pour from them, and the whole mass becomes rotten and suddenly goes to pieces in huge fragments each as large as a ship, which would inevitably destroy anything with which they came into contact. Dr. Hayes’ vessel, the United States, had a narrow escape from destruction in this way. For four days they had been
  • 73.
    sailing through seaswhere the bergs seemed to be countless, some a mile in length and towering high in air, others no larger than the ship itself. In a calm, the vessel had drifted close to one which looked particularly dangerous, and before a rope could be made fast to another berg and the ship be hauled from its unsafe position, it had struck. Though the collision was a slight one, such masses of ice came rattling down upon the deck as to render anything but pleasant the position of the men stationed there. Suddenly a huge mass of the submerged part broke off and came to the surface, lashing it to foam. Then a succession of loud reports was heard, and vast masses broke off the opposite side of the berg, causing it to reel to and fro, and sending showers of ice on the vessel’s deck. By this time the crew sent out to make fast a rope to another berg gave the signal to haul, and never did men pull more lustily; and with good reason, for they had barely got clear when with a loud report the whole top broke loose, and fell exactly where the vessel had lain a few minutes before, causing a swell on which the ship tossed to and fro as if in a gale. Soon after a huge berg in the distance began to go to pieces. “First a lofty tower came plunging into the water, starting from their inhospitable perch an immense flock of gulls that went screaming into the air; over went another; then a whole side settled squarely down; then the wreck capsized, and at length after five hours of rolling and crashing, there remained of this splendid mass, not a fragment that rose fifty feet above the water. Another, which appeared to be a mile in length and upwards of a hundred feet in height, split in two with a quick, sharp, and at length long rumbling report, which could hardly have been exceeded by a thousand pieces of artillery simultaneously discharged.” Lofty as are these icebergs, the part above water gives no true idea of their vast size. It has been computed that of fresh water ice floating in salt water, only one-seventh is visible above the sea. In 1860, a huge iceberg lay off the little harbor of Tessuissak on the Greenland coast. It had grounded there two years before, and had not moved since. It was three-quarters of a mile in length and towered by actual measurement, three hundred and fifteen feet in the air, so that it must have come to anchor in water half a mile in depth.
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    AN ARCTIC SCENE. Whencecome these mighty masses? They are discharged from the frozen rivers of the North, the great glaciers that line the west coast of Greenland and the shores of Iceland. The constant snows of the arctic regions falling on the mountains and drifting into the valleys, solidify into mighty glaciers which, pent in by the rocky hills, come sweeping through the winding valleys to the sea. Great as are the glaciers of the Alps, they are but pigmies compared with those of Greenland. The Tyndall glacier where it discharges into the sea is two miles in width;—but grand above all is the great Humboldt glacier, whose lofty face reaches three hundred feet above the sea level and beneath it to an unknown depth, while it is over sixty miles in width. Slowly but steadily this whole mass is pushed forward. The angle at which it descends from the hills soon forces under the water a greater part of the ice than would be submerged were it floating unattached, and the natural buoyancy of the ice causes it to break loose with a thundering report. Splashing and plunging, it finally rights itself and goes majestically sailing on borne by the currents, till melted by the warmer waters of the Atlantic it finally disappears entirely. The amount of snow that falls upon the arctic lands is unknown. It is no doubt very great. In the Swiss Alps in a single night it has fallen to the depth of six and a half feet. At the Hospice of Grimsel, Agassiz noted in six months a fall of fifty-seven and a half feet. If we suppose that no more than this falls on the mountains of Greenland, we should have an annual deposit of one hundred and fifteen feet. Now every cubic yard of snow weighs one hundred and eighty-seven pounds, so that the lower strata would have upon it a pressure of over three tons, a weight sufficient to change the snow at once to solid ice. This change into ice by pressure can be noticed on a small scale by any one who walks abroad after a slight fall of snow. On ceasing to walk, the bottom of the boot will be found to be covered with a thin layer of ice.
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    A GREENLAND GLACIER. Inthis way the great arctic glaciers are formed, and take up their slow and solemn march to the sea. At what rate they advance is not known, but their movement like that of a river is much more rapid in the centre of the mass than at the sides, where contact with the earth retards its onward movements. In the Alps, where the nature and actions of great frozen streams have been studied with care, the movements of the different glaciers are found to be unlike. Some reach a speed of five hundred feet a year, but a great proportion of this is made during the summer heat. Since the summer in the arctic regions is so very short, it is fair to infer that the arctic glaciers move more slowly than this. The speed of the Glacier des Bossons was exactly measured in a strange manner. In 1820 three guides fell into a chasm in the ice at the foot of Mt. Blanc and disappeared. In the years 1861, 1863 and 1865, the glacier delivered up their remains at its termination, three and a quarter miles from where they perished. In 1860 a glacier of the Austrian Alps which is of very slow motion laid bare the frozen
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    body of amountaineer, clad in an ancient dress which had not been worn by the peasantry for centuries. ARCTIC NAVIGATION. In spite of all these dreary wastes of ice, the arctic ocean is by no means devoid of life. The waters of the polar seas are renowned for their clearness. Off the Greenland coast the bottom can plainly be seen at a depth of five hundred feet, and the tangled masses of seaweed which grow upon it. Through these clear waves can be seen many varieties of sea life. The surface currents of the Gulf Stream bring hither tiny molluscs in such quantities that at times the waters are colored by them. In and out among them swim schools of the Greenland whale, swallowing them as they swim by the hundred thousand.
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    It is noquiet haven of rest for the whale. His great enemy, man, knows only too well his favorite resort, and here every year braving the dangers of ice and cold come fleets of whaling ships seeking the almost certain return of their hardy labors, even though it may involve, as it generally does, a winter of enforced idleness in some ice-bound bay. Smaller members of the whale family abound, too, in vast numbers. Sometimes venturing too near the shores of inhabited islands, they are intercepted in their attempts to escape to the open sea by the natives, who surrounding them in canoes, drive them with blows of the oar and with stones toward the shore, where they are stranded and die in vast numbers. On the Faroe Islands, in this way on one occasion, eight hundred were captured, a fortune which does not often happen, but is peculiarly happy since it renders certain a winter of plenty. SEAL-HUNTING ON THE ICE-FIELDS. The Esquimaux who inhabit the northern limits of North America are perhaps the most daring hunters of the whale, though from their limited resources and poor weapons they do not carry before them the same destruction that do the well organized and disciplined crews of whaling ships. Approaching carefully in their frail canoes
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    their victim, theydrive into him the barbed end of a long shaft to the other end of which is attached an inflated bag of seal skin. Carefully avoiding the wrath of the great monster, they attack him again and again, until conquered at last he is towed ashore amid the rejoicings of the tribe who assemble for the feast. No time is lost in preparing for the banquet. The Esquimaux indulge in no such luxury as cooking, but all stand about devouring with rapture the strips of raw blubber which they have cut from the quivering side of their booty. In the capture of the seal, too, the Esquimaux show great cunning. At times they hunt them on the ice where they love to lie basking in the sun, creeping cautiously along till they come near enough to strike them with a harpoon. Great care has to be used that they do not take alarm. Sometimes the hunter pushes before him on a sledge a white screen, behind which he hides himself until ready to strike. The middle of summer is the best time for this, for then the seal is afflicted with snow blindness so as not to know of his approach. Another mode of capture, is to let down into the water a net with coarse meshes which is kept down by heavy stones fastened to its lower edge. Into these meshes the seal blunders when swimming, and being unable to get to the surface to breathe is soon drowned. In winter a still different method is in use. Travelling over the frozen sea the hunter hears a seal gnawing the ice from below, to make a breathing hole. His plan is instantly formed. He stands motionless with uplifted lance, and no sooner does the unfortunate animal nearly work his way through, than the iron barb descends through the thin ice and pierces his skull. So quiet must the hunter be, that to prevent any involuntary motion of his body it is sometimes his habit to tie his knees together with a thong.
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    WALRUS. The hunting ofthe walrus is carried on in very much the same way as that of the seal. Sometimes the animal has climbed the side of an iceberg to bask in the sun, and when he tries to return to the water finds the hole through which he made his exit frozen over. The wary Esquimau guided by his dogs is soon upon him. In stormy weather, this hunting on the ice is very dangerous. A sudden gale breaks up the solid field, and the unfortunate hunter is carried to sea at the mercy of the waves. Dr. Kane tells of the adventures of two Esquimaux, Awaklok and Myouk, who were hunting with their dogs when a storm burst upon them. Instantly the whole sea was one tumultuous mass of cakes of ice grinding and tossing one against another. Realizing that near the shore the danger would be greatest, they made with their dogs and a walrus which they had just killed, for an iceberg upon which they managed after great exertions to find a resting place, though they were obliged to tie their dogs to projections of ice to avoid their being blown away by the gale. One whole month they floated on this iceberg living on the meat of the
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    walrus, when theirhuge ship grounded, and the weather being calm, ice formed sufficiently strong for them to escape to the shore. THE WALRUS. The walrus does not interfere with man unless attacked, when his long tusks make him a very formidable opponent. Dr. Hayes tells of an encounter which shows how resolute an enemy they become. A party in a boat had just harpooned a large animal, one of a herd, whereupon all took to flight, but “in a few minutes the whole herd appeared at the surface about fifty yards away, the harpooned animal being among them. The coming up of the herd, was the signal for a scene which baffles description. They uttered one wild concerted shriek, as if an agonized cry for help; and then the air was filled with answering shrieks. The ’huk huk huk’ of the wounded bull
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    seemed to findan echo everywhere, as the cry was taken up and passed along from floe to floe like the bugle blast passed from a squadron along a line of battle, and down from every piece of ice plunged the startled beasts. With their ugly heads just above water, and with mouths wide open, belching forth the dismal ’huk huk huk’ they came tearing toward the boat. That they meditated an attack, there could be no doubt. To escape the onslaught was impossible. We had raised a hornet’s nest about our ears and we must do the best we could. Even the wounded animal to which we were fast turned upon us, and we became the focus of at least a thousand gaping, bellowing mouths. “It seemed to be the purpose of the walrus to get their tusks over the gunwale of the boat, and it was evident that in the event of one such monster hooking to us, the boat would be torn in pieces and we would be left floating in the sea helpless. We had good motive therefore to be active. Miller plied his lance from the bows and gave many a serious wound. The men pushed back the onset with their oars while Knorr, Jensen and myself, loaded and fired our rifles as rapidly as we could. Several times we were in jeopardy, but the timely thrust of an oar or the lance or a bullet saved us. Once I thought we were surely gone. I had fired and was hastening to load; a wicked looking brute was making at us, and it seemed probable that he would be upon us. I stopped loading and was preparing to cram my rifle down his throat, when Knorr who had got ready his weapon sent a fatal shot into his head. Again an immense animal, the largest I had ever seen, and with tusks apparently three feet long, was observed to be making his way through the herd with mouth wide open, bellowing dreadfully. I was now as before busy loading: Knorr and Jensen had just discharged their pieces, and the men were well engaged with their oars. It was a critical moment, but happily I was in time. The monster his head high above the water was within two feet of the gunwale when I raised my piece and fired into his mouth. The discharge killed him instantly, and he went down like a stone. This ended the fray. I know not why, but the whole herd seemed suddenly to take alarm, and all dove down with
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    a tremendous splashalmost at the same instant. When they came up again, still shrieking as before, they were some distance from the shore, their heads now all pointing seaward making from us as fast as they could go, their cries growing more and more faint, as they retreated in the distance.” POLAR BEARS.
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    AN UNPLEASANT EXPERIENCE. Itis hard to know whether to class the Polar bear among land animals or sea animals. He is a capital swimmer, and can make headway in the waves at the rate of three miles an hour. Dr. Hayes found one swimming in the open ocean, completely beyond sight of land or ice; evidently he had been carried to sea on some floe which had crumbled beneath him. The Esquimaux hunt them with dogs which are trained to attract their attention in front, till the hunter can plunge his lance into their side. A skilful man can thus often kill a bear at a single blow, but it is no rare thing for him to have to leave his lance sticking in the animal’s side to take refuge in flight. A very ingenious way, which is sometimes tried, is to take a very stiff piece of whalebone, some two inches wide and four feet long. This is with much labor coiled into a narrow space and then covered with blubber, which being frozen holds the whalebone in its place. Approaching a bear they hurl a spear at him, and when he turns to
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    pursue they dropthe frozen mass before him, which he speedily swallows. The heat of the body soon dissolves the blubber, and the whalebone being set free springs back with great violence, tearing the stomach in such a way as to cause speedy death. The bear is very fond of seal, and is almost as expert a hunter of them as the Esquimaux. Captain McClintock tells of the adventure of an Esquimau with one of these bears. He was kneeling on the ice and had just drawn up his net in which a seal was caught, when he felt a blow upon the shoulder. Fancying that it was his companion he paid no attention to it, but a heavier blow caused him to turn, when he found beside him an enormous bear, who tearing the seal from the net deliberately proceeded to eat it. Our friend did not dispute his right, but lost no time in seeking more comfortable quarters.
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