Environmental Planning, Laws and Impact Assessment

(SE 409)

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

TOPIC OUTCOME
To describe the role of sustainable development and its concepts to today’s society.

WHAT IS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT?

Sustainable = Balance, Continual, Maintained
Development = Growth, Progress
Sustainable + Development = Maintained Progress
“Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (Brundtland Report, 1987)

FORMATION OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

1962 - The book “Silent Spring” written by

Rachel Carson was published in 1962. The
seemingly related connection between the
insecticide applications and bird populations was
considered a turning point in our basic
understanding of the interconnections among
the environment, the economy, and social well-
being.

1972 - The United Nations Conference on the

Human Environment held in Stockholm brought
the industrialized and developing nations
together to delineate the “rights” of the human
family to a healthy and productive environment
(United Nations, 2013)
- First world conference to make the
environment a major issue.
 - Participants adopted a series of principles for sound management of the
environment including the Stockholm Declaration and Action Plan for the
Human Environment.
- The Stockholm Declaration contained 26 principles, placed
environmental issues at the forefront of international concerns and
marked the start of dialogue between industrialized and developing
countries on the link between economic growth, the pollution of the
air, water, and oceans and the well-being of people around the world.
- The Action Plan contained 3 major categories:
a. Global environmental assessment program
b. Environmental management activities
c. International measures to support assessment and
management activities carried out at the national and
international levels.
- These categories were broken down into 109 recommendations.
- One of the major results was the creation of the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP).
1980s - Human society was increasingly conscious of possible detrimental effects that its
economic activities can have on ecosystems and the environment.

1980 - The World Conservation Strategy of 1980 is

the first international document on living resource
conservation produced with inputs from
governments, non-governmental organizations, and
other experts.
- Report argues that for development to
be sustainable, it should support
conservation rather than hinder it.
- It targets policymakers,
conservationists and development
practitioners with its core tenets of
protection ecological processes and
life-support systems, preservation of
genetic diversity and sustainable
utilization of species and ecosystems. It
 highlights priority conservation issues and ways to tackle them to achieve the
Strategy’s aim.
- Prepared by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural
Resources (IUCN), it contains inputs from the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP), the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco).
- The report influenced “Our Common Future”, also known as the “Brundtland
Report” (1987) and laid the foundations for defining the principle of
sustainable development.

1983 - The United Nations General Assembly, in its resolution 38/161 of 19 December
1983, inter alia, welcomed the establishment of a special commission that should make
available a report on environment and the global problematique to the year 2000 and
beyond, including proposed strategies for sustainable development.
- The commission later adopted the name World Commission on Environment
and Development.
- In the same resolution, the Assembly decided that, on matters within the
mandate and purview of the United Nations Environment Programme, the
report of the special commission should in the first instance be considered by
the Governing Council of the Programme, for transmission to the Assembly
together with its comments, and for use as
basic material in the preparation, for
adoption by the Assembly, of the
Environmental Perspective to the Year 2000
and Beyond.

1987 - Our Common Future also known as the

Brundtland Report, was published in October 1987 by
the United Nations. This publication was in recognition of
Gro Harlem Brundtland's, former Norwegian Prime
Minister, role as Chair of the World Commission on
Environment and Development (WCED).
- Concept of “sustainable development” was
formalized.
 - The most frequently quoted definition of sustainable development is from “Our
Common Future” in the Brundtland Report:

“Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”

1992 - The United Nations Conference on

Environment and Development (UNCED), also
known as the 'Earth Summit', was held in Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil, from 3-14 June 1992.
- This global conference, held on the
occasion of the 20th anniversary of the
first Human Environment Conference in
Stockholm, Sweden, in 1972, brought together political leaders, diplomats,
scientists, representatives of the media and non-governmental organizations
(NGOs) from 179 countries for a massive effort to focus on the impact of human
socio-economic activities on the environment.
- A 'Global Forum' of NGOs was also held in Rio de Janeiro at the same time, bringing
together an unprecedented number of NGO representatives, who presented their
own vision of the world's future in relation to the environment and socio-economic
development.
- The Rio de Janeiro conference highlighted how different social, economic and
environmental factors are interdependent and evolve together, and how success in
one sector requires action in other sectors to be sustained over time. The primary
objective of the Rio 'Earth Summit' was to produce a broad agenda and a new
blueprint for international action on environmental and development issues that
would help guide international cooperation and development policy in the twenty-
first century.
- The 'Earth Summit' concluded that the concept of sustainable development was an
attainable goal for all the people of the world, regardless of whether they were at
the local, national, regional or international level. It also recognized that integrating
and balancing economic, social and environmental concerns in meeting our needs is
vital for sustaining human life on the planet and that such an integrated approach is
possible. The conference also recognized that integrating and balancing economic,
social and environmental dimensions required new perceptions of the way we
produce and consume, the way we live and work, and the way we make decisions.
 This concept was revolutionary for its time, and it sparked a lively debate within
governments and between governments and their citizens on how to ensure
sustainability for development.
- One of the major results of the UNCED Conference was Agenda 21, a daring
program of action calling for new strategies to invest in the future to achieve overall
sustainable development in the 21st century. Its recommendations ranged from
new methods of education, to new ways of preserving natural resources and new
ways of participating in a sustainable economy.
- The 'Earth Summit' had many great achievements: the Rio Declaration and its 27
universal principles, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC), the Convention on Biological Diversity; and the Declaration on the
principles of forest management . The 'Earth Summit' also led to the creation of the
Commission on Sustainable Development, the holding of the first world conference
on the sustainable development of small island developing States in 1994, and
negotiations for the establishment of the agreement on straddling stocks and highly
migratory fish stocks.

2002 - The 2002 World Summit on Sustainable

Development in Johannesburg adopted a
Political Declaration and Implementation Plan
which included provisions covering a set of
activities and measures to be taken in order to
achieve development that takes into account
respect for the environment. In doing so, this
Summit, which saw the participation of more than a hundred heads of state and
government and tens of thousands of government representatives and non-governmental
organizations, resulted, after several days of deliberations, decisions that related to water,
energy, health, agriculture, biological diversity and other areas of concern.

- In the area of water, the Plan of Implementation encouraged partnerships

between the public and private sectors based on regulatory frameworks
established by governments. With regard to energy, the need to diversify the
energy supply was highlighted, as well as the need to add renewable energy
sources to the global energy supply. In the area of health, the commitments
made in the fight against HIV/AIDS were reaffirmed and the emphasis was
placed on the right of States to interpret the Agreement on Trade-Related
 Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights in order to promote universal access
to medicines.
- On agriculture, comprehensive negotiations on the WTO Agreement on
Agriculture were envisaged and these included market access and the
reduction of export subsidies. With regard to biodiversity, the Plan of
Implementation called for the establishment of an international regime to
ensure a fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the use of
genetic resources. The text included provisions on the Kyoto Protocol on the
reduction of greenhouse gases for those states which had ratified it. Those
which had not yet done so were urged to ratify it without delay. The
provisions also includes the creation of a global solidarity fund for the
eradication of poverty and the launch of ten-year programmes to support
regional and national initiatives aimed at accelerating the transition to viable
production and consumption patterns.

2022 - On 2 and 3 June 2022, a crucial international environmental meeting will be held
in Stockholm, Sweden. Anchored in the Decade of Action, under the theme
“Stockholm+50: a healthy planet for the prosperity of all – our responsibility, our
opportunity,” this high-level meeting will follow months of consultations and discussions
with individuals, communities, organizations and governments around the world. A one-
day preparatory meeting will also be held at United Nations Headquarters in New York on
28 March 2022.

- Stockholm+50 will commemorate the 1972 United Nations Conference on the

Environment and celebrate 50 years of global environmental action. By
recognizing the importance of multilateralism in tackling the Earth’s triple
planetary crisis – climate, nature, and pollution – the event aims to act as a
springboard accelerate the implementation of the UN Decade of Action to
deliver the Sustainable Development Goals, including the 2030 Agenda, Paris
Agreement on climate change, the post-2020 global Biodiversity Framework,
and encourage the adoption of green post-COVID-19 recovery plans.

THE THREE PILLARS IN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

In 2002, the World Summit on Sustainable Development was convened in Johannesburg
to renew the global commitment to sustainable development. The conference agreed to
the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation to follow up on the implementation of
sustainable development.

Sustainable development seeks to achieve economic development, social welfare, and

environmental protection, in a balanced manner, from which we start seeing the world as
a collection of interconnected systems.

Sustainable development relies on a systems-based approach that seeks to understand

the interactions that exist among the three pillars (environment, social, and economic) in
an effort to better realize the unintended consequences of our actions (USEPA, 2013).

❖ Economic Pillar
➢ Jobs: Create or maintain current and future jobs (e.g., create green jobs)
➢ Incentives: Generate incentives that work with human nature to encourage
sustainable practices (e.g., conservation reserve program, encouraging
sustainable logging practices)
➢ Supply and demand: Promote price or quantity changes that alter
economic growth, environmental health, and social prosperity (e.g.,
increasing supply of green energy sources to reduce the need for fossil
fuels).
➢ Natural resources accounting: Incorporate natural capital depreciation in
accounting indices and ecosystem services in cost-benefit analysis (e.g.,
green net national product)
 ➢ Costs: Positively impact costs of processes, services, and products (e.g.,
strive to develop a waste-free process for eliminating the need for regulation
costs).
➢ Prices: Promote a cost structure that accounts for externalities to production
(e.g., bottle bill - beverage container deposit laws)
❖ Environmental Pillar
➢ Ecosystem Services: Protect, sustain, and restore the health of critical
natural habitats and ecosystems (e.g., potential impacts of hydraulic
fracturing)
➢ Green Engineering and Chemistry: Develop chemical products and
processes to reduce/prevent chemical hazards, reuse or recycle chemicals,
treat chemicals to render them less hazardous, and dispose of chemical
properly (e.g., life cycle environmental impacts)
➢ Air Quality: Attain and maintain air quality standards and reduce the risk
from toxic air pollutants (e.g., investigate potential greenhouse gas
emissions reduction strategies)
➢ Water Quality: Reduce exposure to contaminants in drinking water
(including protecting source of waters) in fish and shellfish and in
recreational waters (e.g., pathogen removal in riverbank filtration)
➢ Stressors: Reduce effects by stressors (e.g., pollutants, greenhouse gas
emissions, genetically modified organisms) to the ecosystem (e.g., fate of
modified nanoparticles in aqueous media)
➢ Resource integrity: Reduce adverse effects by reducing waste generation,
increasing recycling, and ensuring proper waste management; and restore
resources by mitigating and cleaning up accidental or intentional releases
(e.g., improving recycling technology to prevent the environmental impact of
mining).
❖ Social Pillar
➢ Environmental justice: Protect health of communities over-burdened by
pollution by empowering them to take action to improve their health and
environment (e.g., establish partnership with local, state, tribal, and federal
organizations to achieve healthy and sustainable communities)
➢ Human health: Protect, sustain, and improve human health (e.g.,
parameterize the model to predict developmental toxicology)
➢ Participation: Use open and transparent processes that engage relevant
stakeholders (e.g., develop database of reduced-risk pesticides for commonly
 used products, create greater public access and understanding about
sustainability)
➢ Education: Enhance education on sustainability to the general public,
stakeholders, and potentially affected groups (e.g., provide opportunities for
students to learn about sustainability).
➢ Resource security: Protect, maintain, and restore access to basic resources
(e.g., food, land, and energy, and study impacts of dispersants/oil
combination on natural waterways).
➢ Sustainable communities: Promote the development, planning, building,
or modification of communities to promote sustainable living (e.g., landscape
with native plant species, construct “green” buildings).

These three fundamental pillars are

interconnected, so much so that the actions
in one area can reinforce the goals of
another. Thus, this indicates the importance
and overall goal of achieving integration
and a balance between the three pillars of
Sustainable Development. Accordingly, in
striving for a balance between the pillars,
we are in essence trying to achieve
sustainability, endeavoring to be:

● Bearable (Society + Environment = Bearable), whereby society works towards

lifestyle adjustments. In that, we are cognizant of our impact and thereafter
contribute towards a healthier environment and well being.
● Equitable (Society + Economic = Equitable), to fully attain an equal and fair share
of Nation’s resources to its people. Thus by having equitable distribution, we help to
eradicate poverty, social inequality and raise the standard of living of the society.
● Viable (Economic + Environment = Viable), where a Nation strives to meet
economic growth and development, while operations are pursued with
environmental protection in mind. Therefore, investments must be feasible to
sustain themselves, create jobs, contribute to the GDP, and protect the
environment from harm.

POSSIBLE ACTIONS TO ACHIEVE THE SUSTAINABILITY GOAL

In 2012, the United Nations published “Review of Implementation of Agenda 21 and the
Rio Principles”, which outlined areas that would need to be addressed to enable more
rapid progress toward the objective set during the Rio Earth Summit 20 years earlier.

1. PROGRESSING AND PROTECTING HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

A right-based approach: Human development requires having a true right-based

approach to coping with various welfare, well-being, and environmental issues that are
essential to sustainable development.

Increasing participation: All people have the basic right to receive environmental
information, participate in transparent decision-making processes, and access judicial and
administrative proceedings.

Giving a voice to future generations: The future needs of next generations are a
crucial element of sustainable development; but they are not represented in the relevant
decision-making processes.

2. SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF THE EARTH

Acknowledge environmental limits: There is an acute need to formally realize key

environmental thresholds within which we must count on for our livelihood and to
maintain the ecosystem sustainability of our planet.

Sustainable management of natural resources and capitals: All levels of

government should ensure that their accounting efforts may address not only the GDP but
also the state of natural assets and ecosystems and their role in sustaining human and
economic activity.

3. THE GREEN ECONOMY

Beyond gross domestic product (GDP): GDP is an indicator of success that is the
current reliance on economic growth in most of the developing countries. This tendency
has led to perverse outcomes due to the ignorance of environmental sustainability. A new
economic indicator that has correction of environmental costs may better justify the true
outcomes.

Fiscal reform: Taxes or other policy instruments should be used to motivate positive
behavior and discourage undesirable behavior.

Restart a meaningful conversation about the role of corporations in the

achievement of sustainable development: Conversations could take the form of a
“Convention on Corporate Social Responsibility” to improve the producer’s responsibility.

4. SUSTAINABLE INSTITUTIONS AND GOVERNANCE

Sustainable development goals: The inclusion of sustainable development goals is a

possible foundation for building international consensus, aiming to the provision of
quantifiable “tangible goals” for sustainable development.

Improving international cooperation and development aid: As outlined in the

review of Chapter 33 of Agenda 21, future agreements concerning the financing effort for
sustainable development should be centered on measurable and time-bound targets.

Reform of international financial institutions: As discussed in Chapter 33 and 38 of

Agenda 21, sustainable development parameters must be better incorporated into the
existing international financial institutions.
National, local, and regional governance: These sustainable development strategies
with different scales should be revived and refreshed with full engagement and support
from business and all parts of civil society.

International court to the environment: Environmental problems extend across

international boundaries should be governed globally.

THE FRAMEWORK FOR SUSTAINABILITY ASSESSMENT

The National Research Council in the United States laid out a framework for sustainability
assessment structured from the formulation of a problem through achievement of
outcomes that warrant a multi-agency approach. (CSLFG/STSP/PGA/NRC, 2013)

PHASE I: PREPARATION AND PLANNING

● Frame the problem: A thorough understanding of the problem is required in all
aspects, including environmental resources connections, societal connections, and
economic connections. The focus is to determine baseline information, key drivers,
metrics, and goals.
● Identify and enlist stakeholders: Relevant agency linkages and non-agency
stakeholders to serve on the project team must be identified and contacted.
● Develop a project management plan: Roles and responsibilities, and
accountability of each member must be delineated to create a business plan for
project design, implementation, and operation.

PHASE II: DESIGN IMPLEMENTATION

● Set project goals: The project team members should formalize the goals together
with essential inputs from all stakeholders and relevant members. Evaluation
metrics in terms of short-term and long-term outcomes must be outlined in this
step.
● Design an action plan: The team members should develop a comprehensive plan
to elucidate the approaches, strategies, and actions to meet the prescribed goals of
the project.
● Implement the action plan: At this stage, selecting a boundary organization that
bridges scientific and technical experts with policy makers and stakeholders is
deemed critical.
PHASE III: EVALUATION AND ADAPTATION
● Realize short-term outcomes: Short-term outcomes that occur on the scale of a
year to a few years need to be assessed relative to the baseline information
collected in the first phase.
● Assess and evaluate outcomes: The knowledge and experience gained is applied
to modify problem formulation and adjust approaches, methods, and strategies.

PHASE IV: LONG-TERM OUTCOMES

● Achieve long-term outcomes: Short-term outcomes that occur on the scale of a few
years or more may be close to the project goals to be achieved. The evaluation plan
 generated in the second phase may be instrumental to judge if short-term and long
term goals are met.

THE UNITED NATIONS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (17 GOALS TO

TRANSFORM OUR WORLD
At the historic UN General
Assembly Summit in
September 2015, the 2030
Agenda for Sustainable
Development was adopted by
the UN's 193 member states.
The 17 Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs)
and their 169 targets are
part of this agenda.
The Sustainable
Development Goals are a
bold, universal agreement to
end poverty and all its
dimensions and craft an
equal, just and secure world
- for people, planet and prosperity.
The SDGs have been developed through an unprecedented consultative process that
brought national governments and millions of citizens from the globe together to
negotiate and adopt this ambitious agenda.

5Ps of Sustainable Development

Planet
Protect our Planet's natural resources and climate for future generations

People
End poverty and hunger in all forms and ensure dignity and equality

Prosperity
Ensure prosperous and fulfilling lives in harmony with nature

Peace
Foster peaceful, just and inclusive societies

Partnership
Implement the agenda through a solid global partnership