Professional Documents
Culture Documents
A. Lecture - Eng & Environment - VBB4043
A. Lecture - Eng & Environment - VBB4043
A. Lecture - Eng & Environment - VBB4043
THE ENVIRONMENT
1
1. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
AS A GLOBAL FRAMEWORK
• Basic definition …
• …and Main Characteristics
• The Social Dimension of Sustainable
Development
2
What is sustainability ???
4
5
Definition of Sustainability
Sustainable
practices
Sustainability
“Meets the needs
of the present without
“The ability to compromising the
continue a defined ability of future
behavior indefinitely” Generations to meet
their own needs”
United Nations, 1987
7
Basic Definition ….
• A concept popularised by the Brundtland Report:
“Our Common Future”, 1989
• “A sustainable development is able to answer
the needs of the present generation without
compromising the capacity of future generations
to satisfy their own needs”
• It is a development : it aims at improving the
well-being and the quality of life for all
• It has conditions for sustainability : this implies to
protect the existing resources (i.e. economic,
social, natural…) which may be required by the
future generations to maintain a standard of
living at least as good as our
8
… and Main Characteristics
• Three main operational characteristics:
– A multidimensional aspect. There are several
interrelated dimensions (economic, social and
ecological, …). They have to be taken into account
together for any analytical and decision process
– Linkages between generations. This raises the issues
of (i) impact on the next generation, (ii) transmission
between the generations, and (iii) intra and inter-
generational equity
– A focus on people’s capacity. This brings : (i) the issue
of participation, through stakeholders, in the decision
making process, (ii) the inclusion of everybody within a
society, (iii) the importance of the capacity
9
Objectives of Sustainable Development
Social Objective
Ecological Objective
Reduce poverty/
SD has 3 Management of
increased equity main natural resources
objectives
Economic Objective
Increased efficiency
and growth
10
Objectives of Sustainable Development
Economic Objective
(Increased efficiency and growth)
14
Concepts and Definitions
• The capability is “the capacity of doing and being”:
i.e. a capability to function (A.Sen)
• It requires potentialities (assets), individual ability
of conversion, social opportunities and the ability of
agency (act, think, communicate with others)
• This leads to achieved functionings and well-being:
to have the means to live the life which is expected
• A list of central human functional capabilities in 10
items was proposed (M.Nussbaum)
• It is based on the person (reasonable in a social
network) and not on the individual (rationality)
15
Core Concepts of Sustainability
Future Thinking:
Intergenerational responsibility
Environmental Thinking:
Carrying capacity of the planet
to absorb waste and support life
Social Justice:
Equity, Dignity, Basic services, Human rights,
Stakeholder voices
Economic Responsibilities
16
Traditional quality of life indicators
Growth is both
essential and good
PLANET
PEOPLE Defining economic
Re-engineer value: “eco-services”
Human rights
Reuse Social responsibility
Challenge: Assimilating
Revert “Local” community
profitability into accreditation
Labor protections
Recycle programs and regulation
20
Temperature increase of
2 - 6oC by 2100
GCC
Indonesia
KSA 12/12/2009
Oman 6/07/2010 Floods
Heat gain
Construction
and Electricity
Wastes
Consumptions
Land uses
Modification
36
Different view
38
The vagueness of SD is often
deplored
From a governance perspective such disagreement is an
essential part of sustainable development, one that makes
operationalisation and implementation difficult simply because:
– there are different ideas of what sustainable development
amounts to for actors in various sectors (e.g., energy,
transport, agriculture, food systems, waste management);
– existing solutions tend to be sustainable within these sectors
rather than across the whole of society:
– new developments bring new risks that cannot be
anticipated;
– it is a long-term, open-ended project that precedes and
supersedes limited term, democratically elected
governments;
– it involves trade-off decisions on highly contested issues that
cause dilemmas
39
Sustainability is not an end-state to
be reached
• Sustainability cannot be translated into a
blueprint or a defined end state from which
criteria can be derived and unambiguous
decisions can be taken to get there (Mog)
• The non-sustainability of present systems can
be used as a guide
– High-input agriculture agriculture
– Over-depletion in world fisheries
– Fossil-fuel based energy use
40
What science can do
• Operationalise elements of SD
• Offer tools for evaluation and critical analysis
• Assess the (non)sustainability of existing and
future systems
• Highlight consequences of action
• Offer models of adaptive management at the
programme level and national level
• While accepting that sustainability is itself the
emergent property of a conversion about what
kind world we collectively want to live in now and
in the future (Robinson)
41
3. THE PROCESS OF EDUCATION
42
Informing on Sustainable
Development
• Education is the best way to teach the people:
– On the world current situation (both for economic, social,
environment issue) and the consequences for future generations
– On how to behave for saving protected resources, avoiding pollution
and waste, relating with the others…
• This could be done through specific modules in all forms of
education, formal, non-formal and informal, and towards the
various population groups
• Training of the teachers and decision-makers on the
content and objectives of human sustainable development
is essential. The support of the medias is needed.
• Adapted training materials (books, pictures, videos) to the
public and the local context are required
43
Strengthening People’s
Capabilities
• Enhancing the person’s capabilities is the basis of
Education for All programs
• The four pillars of Dakar Framework for Action
– Learning to know (cognitive skills): reasoning
– Learning to be (personal skills): dignity
– Learning to live together (social skills): social capital
– Learning to do (practical skills): know-how to act
• Acquiring these skills helps to convert potentialities
into capabilities and to achieve functionings
• Through all forms of education: primary, secondary,
technical and vocational, higher, lifelong learning…
44
Ensuring Social Sustainability
• A key issue nowadays:
– Poverty reduction objective: going out of poverty traps, avoiding
social exclusion, eradicating destitution, ensuring access…
– Living peacefully together: social and cultural diversity, gender
sensitivity, children acceptance…
• The guarantee of quality education for all brings a answer to
the first point
• For the second, the role of psycho-social abilities: to
enhance personal skills (self-esteem, coping) and social
skills (cooperation, empathy, negotiation). The objectives of
learning to be and learning to live together.
• Other specific values and capabilities are to teach: the
sense of justice, equity, responsibility, sharing with others...
This could complement the senses of freedom and liberty
45
Facilitating the Transmission
of Capabilities
• By definition, education aims at transmitting any form of
knowledge from one person to another
• For sustainable development, the issue is to ensure that
the future generations receive, in an equitable way, both
the potentialities and the skills they need to build their
capability of improving the quality of life (well-being)
• There is a complex chain of transmission: the teachers, the
parents, the pupils, the trainees, people in the medias
• At this level, the quality for education is fundamental: it
guarantees the quality of what will be transmitted to the
next generation
46
Common Environmental
Problems in the World
The world faces a number of major environmental
issues, which threaten to have dire consequences for
the future of the planet and its life-forms unless
tackled. Many of these environmental problems are
man-made, the result of pressures the human race
has placed on the planet through activities such as
land clearance, globalization and industrialization.
Environmental problems contribute to global warming
and to the destruction of ecosystems.
47
Air Pollution
A range of gases, typically emitted through human
activities, are threatening the Earth's atmosphere and
causing global warming. Among these, carbon
dioxide is perhaps most commonly discussed.
Harmful amounts of carbon dioxide are emitted when
we burn fossil fuels; activities such as production
plants and commercial travel are responsible for
releasing this pollutant into the atmosphere in huge
quantities. Since the 2000s, many people have
attempted to cut their carbon footprint to reduce these
emissions, as noted by the National Geographic
website.
Chlorofluorocarbons --- sometimes found in aerosol
canisters --- and methane also damage Earth's
protective ozone layer, increasing the threat of global
warming. Levels of sulfur dioxide must also be
monitored. This pollutant is found in the smog which
appears above industrialized cities, and it can lead to
48
acid rain when released.
Deforestation
Deforestation involves the clearing of Earth's natural forests,
typically for the purpose of creating building materials. This
threatens the environment, since trees perform important roles
for our planet: they regulate carbon dioxide gases, acting as a
sponge and preventing the gas re-entering the atmosphere,
and also absorb sunlight as part of their photosynthesis
process. A heavily forested area, such as a rainforest, will
reflect only 12 to 15 percent of the sun's rays, while a
deforested area will reflect 20 percent, according to the
Atmosphere, Climate and Environment Information Program.
Thus if forests are removed, more gases are released into the
atmosphere, and more sunlight is reflected back, leading to
climate change
49
Water Pollution
50
Soil Erosion
51
The Main Causes of
Environmental Problems
Environmental problems are a hot-button issue in
today's society. Many organizations have raised an
alarm about disappearing habitats and global
warming. The question of what is contributing to
these problems is sometimes controversial, but
there are a number of underlying causes of
environmental problems with which most can agree.
52
Climate Change
53
Population Growth
54
Poverty
55
Wasteful Use of Resources
56
Ecological Ignorance
57
Five Stages in Addressing an
Environmental Problem
Environmental problems include the pollution of air and
water sources, erosion of soils, increase of world
temperature, and the rise of ocean levels by global
warming, as well as the loss of biodiversity. An
increasing world population and its subsequent
consumption and waste generation are among the main
causes of these and other environmental damages.
According to the Norwegian University of Life Sciences,
land degradation also causes environmental problems.
58
Defining the Environmental
Problem
The first stage in addressing an environmental problem is to
define it accurately. This is done by using information
sources and techniques that can help locate and identify
issues related to the problem. The problem is defined in a
detailed, step-by-step manner that highlights all its
associated effects that require immediate attention. The first
stage also includes the identification of opportunities and
challenges in defining the environmental problems. The
purpose of this stage is to strategically focus on locating
accurate and complete information on the environmental
problem, define it in a usable format, and justify its selection
over other environmental problems. Examples of well-
defined environmental problems include child lead poisoning
and the environmental and human health impact of smog.
59
Establishing Goals and
Measures
The objective of stage two is to detail the (step-by-
step) process involved in achieving a desired result.
The goals and measures defined are SMART
(specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time
sensitive). This stage also determines whether
desired results have been achieved or not. Each
individual goal is isolated and its specific measures
are identified.
60
Selecting Appropriate Tools
61
Establishing Roles and
Responsibilities
This stage defines how to select the team that will
plan, implement and monitor the environmental
strategy. The team should be well suited to develop
an appropriate strategy and achieve its desirable
goals. A team of experts with well-defined roles,
responsibilities, skill sets and knowledge should
form the leadership component of the process. An
overall manager will oversee all operations,
manage resources, select and deselect team
members, and put in time to work on the
implementation of the defined strategy.
62
Developing & Implementing
the Plan
This stage details a work plan and ways that
ensure its successful implementation. Work plans
are developed by team leaders who are fully
committed to achieving desired objectives. One of
the most common ways of establishing work plans
is through brainstorming. Once a work plan is
defined, team leaders assign appropriate activities
and appoint progress coordinators whose task is to
monitor, evaluate and report the results of the
implemented strategy. This stage also includes the
designation of resources and the deployment of
workforce.
63
Electricity
Generation from
fossil fuels
Household
appliances
64
Chacaltaya Glacier, Bolivia (1940 - 2005)
By 2005, the glacier had separated into three distinct small bodies
65
(IPCC AR4, 2007)
The Disappearance of Lake Chad in Africa 66
The scientific consensus is that
most of the warming observed over
the last fifty years is attributable to
human activity, through emissions
of greenhouse gases – such as
carbon dioxide and methane – into
the atmosphere.
67
Ecological Enhancements
Ecological enhancements are strategies designed to improve wildlife
habitat for plants and animals. Ecological enhancements restore a site
to a more natural, ecologically healthy state, which increases the
value of the affected ecosystem as well as the neighboring built
environment. The benefits of ecological enhancements are:
• Landscape restoration
and rehabilitation
72
Implications: Landscape
• Role of landscaping
– Cooling and air scrubbing
– Green roofs and buffers
– Interior plant scaping
• Controversial issues
– Water use
– Yard waste
73
Wind Energy
74
Photovoltaique Panels
75
Hydroelectric Power Generation
76
77
Save Electricity
78
Recycling of Waste Materials
79
Thank you
Questions ?
85