67

THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD

Chapter VI: TOWARDS A SUSTAINABLE WORLD

I. Learning Outcomes:

At the end of the lesson, the students should have been able to:

1. differentiate stability from sustainability;

2. articulate models of global sustainable development;
3. define global food security; and,
4. critique existing models of global food security.

II. Motivational Activity: Let the students answer the question: “What are the signs of
Development in a country”? How would we know if there is a remarkable evidence of
Development?

III. Topics Discussion (Please read the notes provided)

A. Sustainable Development

Sustainable Development is a principle that strives to balance human development

goals with the sustainability of natural systems. It focuses on fulfilling human needs
without destabilizing the natural environment or depleting the resources and ecosystem
services that our society and economy rely on. The ultimate aim is to create a societal
state that persistently caters to human needs without eroding the integrity and stability
of the natural system.

The contemporary notion of sustainable development primarily originates from the

1987 Brundtland Report. However, it is also firmly grounded in earlier concepts of
sustainable forest management and environmental concerns from the 20th century.
Over time, the focus of sustainable development has broadened to encompass
economic and social development, alongside environmental protection for the benefit of
future generations. Some suggest that 'sustainability' should be considered as the
ultimate goal of achieving a harmonious balance between humanity and the ecosystem,
while 'sustainable development' refers to the comprehensive approach and ongoing
processes that guide us towards achieving sustainability.

The concept of sustainable development, however, has not escaped criticism. There is
debate over what exactly should be sustained in sustainable development. For
example, critics argue that non-renewable resources cannot be sustainably used as any
level of exploitation will eventually deplete Earth's finite reserves. This viewpoint
essentially labels the industrial revolution as unsustainable. Others argue that the

VENUS B. ALMINAZA, MILE- soc. Sci.

Faculty, Gen. Ed. Dept.
 68

definition of sustainable development has been manipulated for opportunistic purposes,

shifting from 'conservation management' to 'economic development'. Critics also claim
that the Brundtland Report essentially promotes a 'business as usual' strategy, with an
ambiguous and insubstantial concept of sustainability serving merely as a public
relations slogan (Baker, 2006).

(Reference: Baker, S. (2006). Sustainable development. Routledge.)

Sustainability versus Stability

Sustainability is the utilization of resources without compromising the other of the

future generation. It's a broader normative term. Sustainability can hardly be used as
solely ecological feature without considering human perception and impact. Stability is a
way to characterize a system behavior and is quite well bounded to certain method in
dynamic system analysis.

Sustainable Development Goals

In September 2015, the United Nations General Assembly formally adopted the
universal, integrated and transformative" 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a
set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The goals are to be implemented and
achieved in every country from year2016 to 2030,

Some Sustainable Development Goals include:

1. Sustainable Environment

Environmental sustainability concerns the natural environment and how it endures

and remains diverse and productive. Since natural resources are derived from the
environment, the state of air, water, and the climate are of particular concern. The IPCC
Fifth Assessment Report outlines current knowledge about scientific, technical and socio-
economic information concerning climate change, and lists options for adaptation and
mitigation. Environmental sustainability requires society to design activities to meet
human needs while preserving the life support systems of the planet. This, for example,
entails using water sustainably, utilizing renewable energy, and sustainable material
supplies (e.g. harvesting wood from forests at a rate that maintains the biomass and
biodiversity).

2. Sustainable Agriculture

Sustainable agriculture is an environmentally friendly approach to farming, which

permits crop or livestock production without causing harm to human or natural
systems. This method aims to prevent any negative impacts on soil, water, biodiversity,
nearby or downstream resources, and the individuals living or working on or around the
VENUS B. ALMINAZA, MILE- soc. Sci.
Faculty, Gen. Ed. Dept.
 69

farm. Sustainable agriculture is a concept that extends across generations, inheriting a

preserved or enhanced natural resource, biotic, and economic base rather than a
polluted or depleted one.

Key elements of sustainable agriculture encompass permaculture, agroforestry, mixed

farming, multiple cropping, and crop rotation. This approach involves agricultural
practices that do not undermine the environment, and it promotes the use of smart
farming technologies that enhance the quality of the environment for human
habitation. Furthermore, sustainable agriculture encourages the transformation and
reclamation of deserts into productive farmlands (Daly, H., 2017).

3. Sustainable Development on Environment Economies

The concept of the total environment encompasses not only the earth's biosphere - its
air, land, and water - but also the interplay between human activities, nature, and
human-made surroundings.

With global economies continually expanding, the ability of the natural environment to
absorb the excessive pollutants generated by this economic growth is increasingly
strained. Hence, solutions must be sought to facilitate ongoing economic development
without compromising the public good. From an economic perspective, the level of
environmental quality is limited in supply, and thus should be considered a scarce,
precious resource deserving of protection.

Cost-benefit analysis is a commonly used tool to analyze the potential outcomes of

policy decisions concerning this scarce resource. This analytical method juxtaposes
various resource allocation options. Based on an evaluation of the anticipated courses
of action and their implications, it determines the optimal route in alignment with
different policy objectives.

In essence, cost-benefit analysis examines various strategies to address a problem,

assigning the best solution based on the set of consequences anticipated from the
expansion of individual courses of action. It then chooses the course of action that
results in the least detriment to the expected environmental quality after that
development or process is executed.

However, this analysis becomes more complicated due to the interconnectedness of

various components of the environment that could potentially be affected by the
selected course of action. At times, predicting the various outcomes of an action is
almost impossible due to unforeseen consequences and the numerous unknowns not
considered in the cost-benefit analysis.

4. Sustainable Energy

Sustainable energy is clean and can be used over a long period of time Unlike fossil
fuels and biofuels that provide the bulk of the worlds energy renewable energy sources

VENUS B. ALMINAZA, MILE- soc. Sci.

Faculty, Gen. Ed. Dept.
 70

like hydroelectric, solar and wind energy produce far less pollution. Solar energy is
commonly used on public parking meters street lights and the roof of buildings. Wind
power has expanded quickly its share of worldwide electricity usage at the end of 2014
was 3.1%. Most of California's fossil fuel infrastructures are sited in or near low-income
communities and have traditionally suffered the most from California's fossil fuel energy
stem. These communities are historically left out during the decision-making process,
and often end up with dirty power plants and other dirty energy projects that poison the
air and harm the area. These toxicants are major contributors to health problems in the
communities. As renewable energy becomes more common, fossil fuel infrastructures
are replaced by renewables, providing better social equity to these communities. Overall,
and in the long run, sustainable development in the field of energy also deemed to
contribute to economic sustainability and national security of communities thus being
increasingly encouraged through investment policies.

5. Sustainable Technology

One of the core concepts in sustainable development is that technology can be used to
assist people meet their developmental needs. Technology to meet these sustainable
development needs is often referred to as appropriate technology, which is an ideological
movement (and its manifestations) originally articulated as intermediate technology by
the economist E. F. Schumacher in his influential work, Small is Beautiful. and now
covers a wide range of technologies. Both Schumacher and many modern-day
proponents of appropriate technology also emphasize the technology as people-
centered. Today appropriate technology is often developed using open source principles,
which have led to open-source appropriate technology (OSAT) and thus many of the
plans of the technology can be freely found on the Internet. OSAT has been proposed as
a new model of enabling innovation for sustainable development.

6. Sustainable Transport

Transportation is a large contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. It is said that one-

third of all gasses produced are due to transportation. Motorized transport also releases
exhaust fumes that contain particulate matter which is hazardous to human health and a
contributor to climate change.

Sustainable transport has many social and economic benefits that can accelerate local
sustainable development. According to a series of reports by the Low Emission
Development Strategies Global Partnership (LEDS GP), sustainable transport can help
create jobs, improve commuter safety through investment in bicycle lanes and
pedestrian pathways, make access to employment and social opportunities more
affordable and efficient. It also offers a practical opportunity to save people's time and
household income as well as government budgets, making investment in sustainable
transport a win-win' opportunity.

VENUS B. ALMINAZA, MILE- soc. Sci.

Faculty, Gen. Ed. Dept.
 71

Some Western countries are making transportation more sustainable in both long-term
and short-term implementations. An example is the modification in available
transportation in Freiburg, Germany. The city has implemented extensive methods of
public transportation, cycling, and walking, along with large areas where cars are not
allowed.

Since many Western countries are highly automobile-oriented, the main transit that
people use is personal vehicles. About 80% of their travel involves cars. Therefore,
California, is one of the highest greenhouse gases emitters in the United States. The
federal government has to come up with some plans to reduce the total number of
vehicle trips in order to lower greenhouse gases emission. Such as:

 Improve public transit through the provision of larger coverage area in order to provide
more mobility and accessibility, new technology to provide a more reliable and responsive
public transportation network.

 Encourage walking and biking through the provision of wider pedestrian pathway,
bike share stations in downtowns, locate parking lots far from the shopping center, limit
on street parking, slower traffic lane in downtown area.

 Increase the cost of car ownership and gas taxes through increased parking fees and
tolls, encouraging people to drive more fuel efficient vehicles. This can produce a social
equity problem, since lower income people usually drive older vehicles with lower fuel
efficiency. Government can use the extra revenue collected from taxes and tolls to
improve public transportation and benefit poor communities.

Other states and nations have built efforts to translate knowledge in behavioral
economics
into evidence-based sustainable transportation policies.

7. Corporate Sustainability.

The most broadly accepted criterion for corporate sustainability constitutes a firm's
efficient use of natural capital. This eco-efficiency is usually calculated as the economic
value added by a firm in relation to its aggregated ecological impact. This idea has been
popularised by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) under
the following definition: "Eco-efficiency is achieved by the delivery of competitively priced
goods and services that satisfy human needs and bring quality of life, while progressively
reducing ecological impacts and resource intensity throughout the life-cycle to a level at
least in line with the earth's carrying capacity (DeSimone and Popoff, 1997: 47).

Similar to the eco-efficiency concept but so far less explored is the second criterion for
corporate sustainability. Socio-efficiency describes the relation between a firm's value
added and its social impact. Whereas, it can be assumed that most corporate impacts on
VENUS B. ALMINAZA, MILE- soc. Sci.
Faculty, Gen. Ed. Dept.
 the environment are negative (apart from rare exceptions such as the planting of trees)
this is not true for social impacts. These can be either positive (e.g. corporate giving,
72
creation of employment) or negative (eg. work accidents, mobbing of employees, human
rights abuses). Depending on the type of impact socio-efficiency thus either tries to
minimize negative social impacts (i.e. accidents per value added) or maximize positive
social impacts (i.e. donations per value added) in relation to the value added.

Both eco-efficiency and socio-efficiency are concerned primarily with increasing economic
sustainability. In this process they instrumentalise both natural and social capital aiming
to benefit from win-win situations. However, as Dyllick and Hockerts. [74] point out the
business case alone will not be sufficient to realise sustainable development. They point
towards eco effectiveness, socio-effectiveness, sufficiency, and eco-equity as four criteria
that need to be met if sustainable development is to be reached.

CASI Global, New York "CSR & Sustainability together lead to sustainable development.
CSR as in corporate social responsibility is not what you do with your profits but is the
way you make profits. This means CSR is a part of every department of the company
value chain and not a part of HR / independent department. Sustainability as in effects
towards Human resources, Environment and Ecology has to be measured within each
department of the company." (Source: http://casiglobal.us/)

8. Sustainable Income

At the present time, sustainable development, along with the solidarity called for in
Catholic social teaching, can reduce poverty. While over many thousands of years the
'stronger (economically or physically) overcame the weaker, nowadays for various
reasons-Catholic social teaching social solidarity, sustainable development-the stronger
helps the weaker. This aid may take various forms. "The Stronger offers real help rather
than striving for the elimination or annihilation of the other. Sustainable development
reduces poverty through financial (among other things, a balanced budget),
environmental (living conditions), and social (including equality of income) means.

9. Sustainable Architecture

In sustainable architecture the recent movements of New Urbanism and New Classical
architecture promote a sustainable approach towards construction that appreciates and
develops smart growth, architectural tradition and classical design. This in contrast to
modernist and International Style architecture, as well as opposing to solitary housing
estates and suburban sprawl, with long commuting distances and large ecological
footprints. Both trends started in the 1980s. (It should be noted that sustainable
architecture is predominantly relevant to the economics domain while architectural
landscaping pertains more to the ecological domain.)

10. Sustainable Politics

VENUS B. ALMINAZA, MILE- soc. Sci.

Faculty, Gen. Ed. Dept.
 Research suggests that social indicators, encompassing sustainable development
indicators, are scientific constructs intended primarily to inform public policy decisions

73

(Daly & Cobb, 1989). In a similar vein, the International Institute for Sustainable
Development has designed a political policy framework, associated with a sustainability
index, for establishing measurable entities and metrics (IISD, 2022). This
comprehensive framework takes into account six key areas: international trade and
investment, economic policy, climate change and energy, measurement and
assessment, natural resource management, and the significance of communication
technologies in sustainable development.

Taking a broader perspective than the standard definition centered on states and
governance, the United Nations Global Compact Cities Programme has reinterpreted
sustainable political development (United Nations, 2016). It characterizes the political
as a domain of practices and meanings linked to critical social power issues, which
relate to the organization, authorization, legitimation, and regulation of shared social
life. This definition is consistent with the viewpoint that political change is crucial in
addressing economic, ecological, and cultural challenges (Daly & Cobb, 1989).
Furthermore, it implies that the politics of economic change can be addressed. Within
this context, seven subdomains of the political domain have been identified (United
Nations, 2016).

1 Communication and critique

2. Representation and negotiation

3. Security and accord

4. Dialogue and reconciliation

5. Ethics and accountability

This accords with the Brundtland Commission emphasis on development that is guided
by human rights principles.

11. Sustainable Culture

Shifting the focus slightly, certain researchers and organizations have suggested that a
fourth dimension should supplement the existing dimensions of sustainable
development. The current three-fold model, encompassing economic, environmental,
and social aspects, appears insufficient in capturing the intricacies of modern society.
In response, Agenda 21 for culture and the United Cities and Local Governments
(UCLG) Executive Bureau orchestrated the policy statement "Culture: Fourth Pillar of
Sustainable Development," ratified on November 17, 2010, at the World Summit of
Local and Regional Leaders - 3rd World Congress of UCLG in Mexico City (UCLG, 2010).
VENUS B. ALMINAZA, MILE- soc. Sci.
Faculty, Gen. Ed. Dept.
 This groundbreaking document introduces a fresh perspective and emphasizes the
interplay between culture and sustainable development through a dual approach:

74

cultivating robust cultural policy and advocating for a cultural dimension in all public
policies. Similarly, the Circles of Sustainability approach differentiates four domains of
sustainability: economic, ecological, political, and cultural (James, 2015).

Additional organizations have also backed the concept of a fourth domain of sustainable
development. The Network of Excellence "Sustainable Development in a Diverse
World," sponsored by the European Union, blends multidisciplinary capabilities and
views cultural diversity as a pivotal element in a novel sustainable development
strategy (SUS.DIV, 2020). The Fourth Pillar of Sustainable Development Theory has
been cited by Vito Di Bari, executive director of the IMI Institute at UNESCO, in his
manifesto of the Neo-Futurism art and architectural movement, the name of which was
inspired by the United Nations' 1987 report, Our Common Future (Di Bari, 2007). The
Circles of Sustainability approach utilized by Metropolis defines the cultural (fourth)
domain as practices, discourses, and material expressions that, over time, represent
the continuities and discontinuities of social meaning (Metropolis, 2018).

The debate around sustainable development hinges on the understanding that societies
must manage three distinct forms of capital: economic, social, and natural. These
forms of capital can be deemed non-substitutable, and their utilization can often be
irreversible. Leading ecological economist and steady-state theorist Herman Daly, for
instance, highlights that natural capital cannot necessarily be replaced by economic
capital. While we might be able to find ways to substitute some natural resources, it is
far less probable that we could ever replace ecosystem services, like the protection the
ozone layer offers, or the climate stabilizing function of the Amazon rainforest. In fact,
natural, social, and economic capital often complement each other. One more challenge
to substitutability lies in the multi-functionality of many natural resources. Forests, for
instance, not only yield the raw material for paper, which can be easily replaced, but
they also sustain biodiversity, regulate water flow, and absorb CO2.

The loss of biodiversity, for example, can often be permanent. The same might hold
true for cultural diversity. With globalization rapidly advancing, the number of
indigenous languages is decreasing at distressing rates. Furthermore, depleting natural
and social capital can yield non-linear results. Consumption of natural and social capital
may not have any observable effects until a certain threshold is reached. A lake, for
example, can absorb nutrients for a long time while actually improving its productivity.
However, once a certain level of algae is reached, the lack of oxygen can cause the
lake's ecosystem to collapse suddenly.

Business-as-usual

If the degradation of natural and social capital has such important consequence the
question arises why action is not taken more systematically to alleviate it. Cohen and
Winn [97] point to four types of market failure as possible explanations: 1) while the
benefits of natural or social capital depletion can usually be privatized, the costs are
VENUS B. ALMINAZA, MILE- soc. Sci.
Faculty, Gen. Ed. Dept.
 often externalized (i.e. they are borne not by the party responsible but by society in
general); 2) natural capital is often undervalued by society since we are not fully aware
of the real cost of the
75

depletion of natural capital; 3) Information asymmetry - the link between cause and
effect is obscured, making it difficult for actors to make informed choices; 4)many firms
are not perfect optimizers. Firms often do not optimize resource allocation because they
are caught in a "business as usual" mentality.

12. Sustainable Education

Indeed, the role of education in promoting sustainable development is critical. If

education can be reshaped to reflect a vision of sustainable human and social
development, one that is both equitable and sustainable, it could contribute greatly to
these efforts. Such a vision would need to encompass the social, environmental, and
economic dimensions of human development, as well as the various ways these
aspects interact with education.

Empowering education is one that cultivates the human resources

required for productivity, lifelong learning, problem-solving, creativity,
and peaceful coexistence with others and nature. When nations make
such an education accessible to all throughout their lives, a profound
transformation is initiated: education becomes the catalyst of
sustainable development and the key to a better world.
Higher education in sustainability across various fields including
engineering, finance, supply chain, and operations is increasingly
gaining importance. Various institutions, including Wharton, Columbia,
and CASI Global New York, offer certifications in Sustainability. Many
corporations prefer employees certified in sustainability, recognizing the
value of this training in fostering sustainable business practices
13. Sustainable Progress

The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD; also known as Rio
2012) was the third international conference on sustainable development, which aimed
at reconciling the economic and environmental goals of the global community. An
outcome of this conference was the development of the Sustainable Development Goals
that aim to promote sustainable progress and eliminate inequalities around the world.
However, few nations met the World Wide Fund for Nature's definition of sustainable
development criteria established in 2006. Although some nations are more developed
than others, all nations are constantly developing because each nation struggles with
perpetuating disparities, inequalities and unequal access to fundamental rights and
freedoms. (Source: Shaker, R.R. the Spatial Distribution of Development in Europe and
Its Underlying Sustainable Correlations, 2015)

VENUS B. ALMINAZA, MILE- soc. Sci.

Faculty, Gen. Ed. Dept.
 76
14. Sustainable Development Models

The 1987 Report of the Brundtland Commission, Our Common Future, defined
sustainable development as, "meeting the needs of the present generation without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet own needs." To supplement that
touchstone definition and others, here are three sustainability models that might help
explain what a sustainable society looks like, according to Bob Wilhord (2010). These are
the:
1) 3-legged stool model. The common three dimensions of sustainability: economic,
environmental, and social/cultural. The 3-legged stool metaphor reinforces the three
dimensions that are required for us to enjoy a high quality of life-and shows that society
is unstable if one of them is weak. The downside of this metaphor is that the economic,
environmental, and social legs look separate and equal.

Some people add a fourth leg/dimension: Culture is intertwined with the social leg, but
organizations like Living Principles divide the social aspect into people and culture. They
define the people dimension as, "actions and issues that affect all aspects of society,
including poverty, violence, injustice, education, healthcare, safe housing, labor and
human rights," and the culture dimension as "actions and issues that affect how
communities manifest identity, preserve and cultivate traditions, and develop belief
systems and commonly accepted values" Living Principles refer to the economy,
environment, people, and cultures as sustainability "streams." Others refer to three or
four "pillars" of sustainability.

The 2) overlapping-circles model of sustainability acknowledges the intersection of

economic, environmental, and social factors. Depending on our mindset, we re-size the
circles to show that one factor is more dominant than the other two. For example, some
business leaders
prefer to show the economy as the largest circle because it is the most important to their
success and it makes their world go round.

They draw society as the second largest circle because that is where their customers and
other important stakeholders live. The environment would then be the smallest because
it is the most external to standard business metrics. Unfortunately, this model implies
that the economy can exist independently of society and the environment that the part
of the red circle that does not overlap with the blue and green circles has an existence of
its own. This large incongruity leads us to the next, more accurate model.

The 3-nested-dependencies model. If you were to ask a maritime fisherman whether

the devastating collapse of the cod fishery off the east coast of Newfoundland an
environmental disaster, a social disaster, or an economic disaster was, he would say,
"Yes." The 3-nested-dependencies model reflects this co-dependent reality. It shows that

VENUS B. ALMINAZA, MILE- soc. Sci.

Faculty, Gen. Ed. Dept.
 human society is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the environment-that without food, clean
water, fresh air, fertile soil, and other natural resources, we're cooked.

77

It's the people in societies who decide how they will exchange goods and services. That
is, they decide what economic model they will use. Because they create their economies,
they can change them if they find their current economic models are not working to
improve their quality of life. To add another metaphor: the economy is the tail and
society is the dog not vice versa.

To be fair, the society-economy relationship is symbiotic. During the recent recession,

the economic downturn had a significant impact on people's quality of life. Good jobs are
so important to a vibrant modern-day society that sustainability champions who portray
the economy as subservient to society are sometimes accused of being naïve about how
the "real world" works.

Global Challenges in Food Security

Malnutrition, which encompasses both over-and under-nutrition as well as micronutrient

deficiencies, is a global concern affecting all countries and is the leading contributor to
the global disease burden. Around the world, 800 million people are undernourished, 2
billion are overweight or obese, and 2 billion are micronutrient deficient (Third
International Conference on Global Food Security, 2017).

Most of the world's undernourished population reside in developing nations, with

Southern Asia bearing the largest burden of hunger, housing approximately 281 million
undernourished individuals. Sub-Saharan Africa also grapples with significant
undernourishment, with a prevalence rate of about 23% (Third International
Conference on Global Food Security, 2017).

Despite an overall increase in food access across all income levels, diet quality has seen
a global decline. Even with recent boosts in food production, nutritious food remains
inaccessible to many. This results in dire consequences; poor nutrition is responsible for
nearly half of the deaths in children under five, and one in four children experiences
stunted growth. An estimated 66 million primary school-age children attend school
hungry in developing countries, with 23 million of them in Africa alone. If current
policies do not change, the number of obese individuals is expected to reach 3.28
billion by 2030, leading to an increase in non-communicable diseases and healthcare
costs (Third International Conference on Global Food Security, 2017).

Sustainable agriculture forms the cornerstone of food security and can also significantly
contribute to securing livelihoods. As the single largest employer globally, agriculture
provides livelihoods for 40% of the global population and is the primary source of
income and employment for impoverished rural households. Investing in smallholder
farmers is a vital strategy to enhance food security and nutrition for the most

VENUS B. ALMINAZA, MILE- soc. Sci.

Faculty, Gen. Ed. Dept.
 vulnerable and to increase food production for both local and global markets. However,
food provision and livelihood security must not be at the expense of the environment.
Since the 1900s, around 75% of crop diversity has been lost from farmers' fields. Better
utilization of agricultural biodiversity can lead to more nutritious diets, improved
livelihoods for farming

78

communities, and more resilient and sustainable farming systems (Third International
Conference on Global Food Security, 2017).

Global Food Security Index

The Global Food Security Index, developed by The Economist Intelligence Unit with
sponsorship from DuPont, is a benchmarking tool for food security worldwide. It
analyzes key aspects of food security, including affordability, availability, quality and
safety, natural resources, and resilience across 113 nations. It leverages 26 unique
indicators to measure these drivers of food security in both developing and advanced
countries (The Economist Intelligence Unit, n.d.).

This index is the first to thoroughly examine food security across the three universally
recognized dimensions. It also looks beyond hunger to the underlying factors
contributing to food insecurity. The GFSI now includes an adjustment factor for natural
resources and resilience. This new category evaluates a country's exposure to the
impacts of climate change, its vulnerability to natural resource risks, and how the
country is adapting to these risks (The Economist Intelligence Unit, n.d.).

Singapore significantly outperforms all other nations in the index (Global Rank: 19),
followed by Malaysia (43). Rice exporting nations rank lower, with Thailand (53),
Vietnam (64), Cambodia (84), and Myanmar (80) holding lower tiers.

Among the rice importing nations, excluding Singapore and Malaysia, Indonesia ranks
73rd and the Philippines ranks 79th. ASEAN countries with high GFSI scores perform
well in terms of affordability, availability, and quality and safety criteria (The Economist
Intelligence Unit, n.d.).

1. Affordability
2. Quality;
3. Safety; and
4. Availability
5. Natural Resources
6. Resilience (NRR)

Singapore posted the highest per capita income at $73,168, distantly followed by
Malaysia with $9,503 in 2016. Indonesia has $3,570, the Philippines $2,951, and
Vietnam, $2,186. The two leaders had little (if no) poverty. Malaysia's poverty incidence
was only 1.6% in 2014 versus 21.6% for the Philippines in 2015.

VENUS B. ALMINAZA, MILE- soc. Sci.

Faculty, Gen. Ed. Dept.
 Rice importers Singapore and Malaysia beat rice exporters Vietnam and Thailand by a
mile. The index has several factors of which supply sufficiency is only one of six. The
Philippines is even ahead of Cambodia, a rice exporter.

The level of development of a country affects the quality and safety criteria. Singapore
and Malaysia are far ahead. Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines are in the middle
cluster.
79

The 2017 GFSI includes "a new environmental criterion that recognizes the growing
emphasis on resource conservation, climate change adaption, and sustainable agriculture
practices. With factors, such as temperature change, land deforestation, and depletion of
water resources, the NRR category measures future impacts on the countries in the
GFSI." (To read the report, please visit the link http://bit.ly/ secure food or use a
smartphone to scan the QR code.)

III. Generalization: Give a Concluding Statement about Global Sustainability

IV. Assessment/Evaluation

A. Define the following terms according to your understanding: (Don't copy from the
textbook.)
1. sustainability -
2. stability -
3. sustainable development -
4. global sustainable development
5. global food security
B. Differentiate Stability from Sustainability

V. Enrichment Activity:

Deliver an oral discourse on any of the following topics

• Sustainable Development in Education

• Sustainable Development in Business and Entrepreneurship
• Sustainable Development in Social Science and Political Science Dimensions
 Global Food Security and Its Impact to Human Lives
 The Transport System in the Philippines

. This must be documented as group project. Each group must select their speaker, however,
members should contribute in writing the piece.

V. Essay

Write an essay consisting of 150-300 words in this topic: "Global Food Security: The Challenge of
Feeding the World". If possible, type your essay.

VENUS B. ALMINAZA, MILE- soc. Sci.

Faculty, Gen. Ed. Dept.
Criteria for Scoring the Essay:

Content -------------------------40 %
Organization of Ideas --------30 %
Language Facility/Grammar- 20 %
Neatness ------------------------10 %
Total ----------------------------100%
80

VI. References:

Baker, S. (2006). Sustainable development. Routledge.

Daly, H., & Cobb, J. (1989). For the Common Good: Redirecting the Economy Toward
Community, the Environment, and a Sustainable Future. Boston: Beacon Press.

Di Bari, V. (2007). Neo-Futurism: Art and Technology. In the Future of Architecture. Retrieved
from https://vitodibari.com/en/neo-futurism-art-and-technology-in-the-future-of-
architecture/

International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD). (2022). Sustainable Development.

Retrieved from https://www.iisd.org.

James, P. (2015). Urban Sustainability in Theory and Practice: Circles of Sustainability. London:
Routledge.

Metropolis. (2018). Circles of Sustainability Approach. Retrieved from

https://www.metropolis.org/

Sustainable Development in a Diverse World (SUS.DIV). (2020). SUS.DIV Network of Excellence.

Retrieved from http://www.susdiv.org/

United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG). (2010). Culture: Fourth Pillar of Sustainable
Development. UCLG Policy Statement. Retrieved from
http://www.agenda21culture.net/

United Nations. (2016). The Sustainable Development Goals Report. Retrieved from
https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2016/The%20Sustainable%20Development
%20Goals%20Report%202016.pdf

VENUS B. ALMINAZA, MILE- soc. Sci.

Faculty, Gen. Ed. Dept.