Sustainable Development in a global perspective

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Everything or Nothing?

• Sustainable Development in a global perspective

Per Knutsson Human Ecology School of Global
Studies University of Gothenburg per.knutsson_at_glob
alstudies.gu.se
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The outline of the lecture/seminar

• Introduction and discussion of central aspects
  of sustainable development- Gothenburg as a
  case study
• Questions for joint discussion

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5 ways to understand sustainable development

• Definitions
• Goals (time)
• Indicators
• Values
• Practice

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The Brundtland Commission 1987

• "Sustainable development is development that
  meets the needs of the present without
  compromising the ability of future generations to
  meet their own needs. It contains within it two
  key concepts
• the concept of needs, in particular the essential
  needs of the world's poor, to which overriding
  priority should be given and
• the idea of limitations imposed by the state of
  technology and social organization on the
  environment's ability to meet present and future
  needs."

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We recognize that poverty eradication, changing
consumption and production patterns and
protecting and managing the natural resource base
for economic and social development are
overarching objectives of and essential
requirements for sustainable development.
The Johannesburg Declaration 2002
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• Globalization has added a new dimension to these
  challenges. The rapid integration of markets,
  mobility of capital and significant increases in
  investment flows around the world have opened new
  challenges and opportunities for the pursuit of
  sustainable development. But the benefits and
  costs of globalization are unevenly distributed,
  with developing countries facing special
  difficulties in meeting this challenge.

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unless we act in a manner that fundamentally
changes their lives the poor of the world may
lose confidence in their representatives and the
democratic systems to which we remain committed,
seeing their representatives as nothing more than
sounding brass or tinkling cymbals. 
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Millenium Goals (2015)

• 1. End Povertyand Hunger
• 2 Universal Education
• 3. GenderEquality
• 4. ChildHealth
• 5 MaternalHealth
• 6. CombatHIV/AIDS
• 7. Environmental Sustainability
• 8. Global Partnership

http//www.un.org/millenniumgoals/
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The World Business Council for Sustainable
Development wants to

• Be a leading business advocate on sustainable
  development
• Participate in policy development to create the
  right framework conditions for business to make
  an effective contribution to sustainable human
  progress
• Develop and promote the business case for
  sustainable development
• Demonstrate the business contribution to
  sustainable development solutions and share
  leading edge practices among members
• Contribute to a sustainable future for developing
  nations and nations in transition.

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Rockström et al. 2009. Nature Vol. 461
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Socio-Ecological Resillience

• Interplay between disturbance, reorganization,
  sustaining and developing
• Adaptive capacity, transformability, learning,
  innovation
• Cross-scale interactions

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Retreat? Defend? Attack?
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Seminar discussion

• Think about the city/area you live in (or a
  city/area you know well).
• How would you define sustainable development, in
  the context of your city/area?
• What are the key environmental, social, economic
  concerns?
• What interlinkages between environmental, social
  and economic concerns can you see in your
  city/area?
• Are there any conflicts of interest between
  environmental, social and economic goals?
• How is development being planned? Which time
  scale?
• Are there any policies/programs for SD?
• In what ways is the development in your city/area
  linked to global development, or development in
  other parts of the world?