Page 176 - Environment: The Science Behind the Stories

TABlE 6.1 u.N. Millennium Development goals for 2015
• Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
• Achieve universal primary education
Environmental Social goals • Promote gender equality and empower women
goals
• Reduce child mortality
• Improve maternal health
• Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases
• Ensure environmental sustainability
• Develop a global partnership for development
Source: United Nations. End poverty 2015: Millennium Development
Goals. © United Nations. Reproduced with permission.
Economic goals Sustainable
development

a global partnership for development” include working
with governments and corporations of wealthy nations to
FIguRE 6.21 Sustainable development occurs where three provide poor nations with more financial aid, more debt
sets of goals overlap: social, economic, and environmental
goals. relief, freer access to global markets, and better access to
inexpensive drugs and to technologies such as cell phones
and Internet access.
As we approach the 2015 target date for many of the
Of course, designing sustainable solutions to complex Millennium Development Goals, we are making better pro-
problems is never simple, and people differ in what they mean gress on some than on others. We still have a long way to
by “sustainable development.” Proponents of a school of go to resolve the many challenges facing our world. Pursu-
thought called weak sustainability feel that we can allow natu- ing solutions that meet environmental, economic, and social
ral capital to decline as long as human-made capital increases goals simultaneously, addressing a triple bottom line, can
to compensate for it. In contrast, proponents of strong sustain- help pave the way for a truly sustainable society that pro-
ability insist that human-made capital cannot substitute for motes economic and social well-being while limiting envi-
natural capital and that we must not allow natural capital to ronmental impact.
diminish.

Sustainable development is a global Conclusion
movement
The valuation of ecosystem services, ecolabeling and ecotour-
Sustainable development has blossomed on the world ism, corporate sustainability, and alternative means of meas-
stage as a distinctly international movement. For years the uring growth have all helped to bring economic approaches to
United Nations, the World Bank, and other international bear on environmental protection and resource conservation.
organizations (p. 196) have sponsored conferences, funded As economics becomes more oriented toward sustainability, it
projects, published research, and facilitated collaboration renews some of its historic ties to ethics.
across national borders among governments, businesses, Environmental ethics has expanded people’s domain of
and nonprofit organizations, all in the name of sustainable ethical concern outward to encompass more societies, cul-
development. tures, creatures, and even nonliving entities. This ethical CHAPTER 6 • Ethi C s, E C ono mi C s, A nd s ustA in A bl E dE v E lopm E nt
In 1992, the Earth Summit at Río de Janeiro, Brazil, was expansion involves the concept of distributional equity, or
the world’s first major gathering focused on sustainable equal treatment, which is the aim of environmental justice.
development, bringing together representatives from over One type of distributional equity is equity among generations.
200 nations. This conference gave rise to several nota- Concern among today’s generations for the well-being of
ble achievements, including the Convention on Biologi- tomorrow’s generations is the basis of sustainability and sus-
cal Diversity (p. 315) and the Framework Convention on tainable development.
Climate Change (p. 538). Ten years later, nations reconvened In pursuing sustainable development, we recognize that
in Johannesburg, South Africa, at the 2002 World Summit on economic well-being and environmental well-being work
Sustainable Development. Then in 2012, the world returned in tandem and depend on one another. Equating economic
to Río de Janeiro for the Rio-Plus-20 conference (p. 195). well-being solely with economic growth, as many econo-
Meanwhile, in 2000 world leaders came together to adopt mists traditionally have, suggests that economic health entails
the United Nations Millennium Declaration, which set forth a trade-off with environmental quality. However, if we can
eight Millennium Development Goals for humanity (TABlE 6.1). enhance economic well-being without intensifying resource
Each broad goal for sustainable development has several depletion, then economic health and environmental quality
specific underlying targets that may be met by implement- can be mutually reinforcing, and sustainable development
ing concrete strategies. For instance, strategies to “develop will be within reach. 175

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