Since the United Nations Conference on Human Environment in Stockholm, Sweden in 1972 until today, the achievements in environmental protection have been significant. Many nations have integrated environmental values into their development policies. Environmental institutions have been created at the national, sub-regional, regional, and international levels. Awareness of the environment among the general public has risen sharply, and knowledge of the environment has grown rapidly. Market-based environmental instruments have been made operational, and national, sub-regional, regional, as well as international conventions, have been instituted. The environment has become a household word and a popular topic of numerous conferences. And yet, In spite of all this, these achievements have not been able to stop the deterioration process that is taking place all over the world.
When in June 1997 the Special Session of the United nations General Assembly assessed five years of implementation at the World Conference on Environment and Development or Rio+5, the harsh conclusion was that the prevailing development pattern was still on the "business as usual" track and environmentally unsustainable.
Material consumption and production have followed a similar pattern throughout the economy of the world with the accompanying negative impacts on social and environmental development.
In the last fifty years of development, up to 1998, before the impact of the economic crisis started to be felt in Asia, the world economy has grown more than five-fold, pushed by world trade that has grown even faster. While the world economy grew at an average of 1.7 percent per annum, the Asia and Pacific region grew almost double that an average of over 3 percent.
On the other hand, in the social sector, total world population has increased from 1.6 billion (1950) to 6 billion (1998), of which 3.5 billion persons live in the Asia and Pacific region. Urban population has doubled in twenty years (1990-2000) to 3.7 billion persons. By 2015, this may reach 4.4 billion persons, which represents 50 percent of the total population in Asia and the Pacific. And life expectancy has increased from an average of 58 years (1975) to 67 years (200) in this region.
However, most of the people in the region have low incomes and low productivity. Unemployment, under-employment, and disguised unem-ployment are high. Many of them suffer under-nourishment and low calorie intakes, high infant and maternal mortality rates, and low education levels. The list can go on, revealing the serious degree of poverty, especially in the developing countries of Asia and the Pacific.
Fifty percent of the total Asia and Pacific population, equal to 900 million people, lives on one dollar a day. This has been successfully reduced to 25 percent in 2000. When the poverty line is raised to the level of two dollars a day, however, this number will increase to two billion people.
In this process of development, income inequality has grown between the top 20 percent and the bottom 20 percent of the population.
But worst is the impact of economic development on the degradation of the environment. Land degradation, freshwater scarcity, de-forestation, bio-diversity loss, and air, water, and marine environmental pollution are examples of the negative impacts of economic development. And by eroding nature's life support system, development becomes unsustainable and may well come to an abrupt halt.
What went wrong with this approach and pattern of development, and what needs to be improved?
It is important that at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa in September 2002, serious efforts must be made to review the development process and to elaborate further the concept of sustainable development to make it more effective and operational.
Economic development must take into account the environmental and social dimensions. Development im-pacts on the environment and social aspects must be specifically taken into account through the effective im-plementation of environmental and social impact analysis, which is further monitored and pursued through environmental auditing.
Social development needs to take into account economic and environ-mental dimensions that are then translated into economic costs and benefits, and then seriously consider the impacts on the environment.
Environmental development has to take into account its economic costs and benefits. Depletion of non-renewable resources must be depreciated, as is the case in the depreciation of human-made capital. Pollution is considered an externality but must be internalized in the cost structure of companies. For example, the loss of social value for indigenous populations as a result of environmental degradation is not considered by extractive industries operating in the jungle.
If we draw columns depicting economy, society, and environment in a box with horizontal lines divided into economic, social and environmental development, it is then possible to project the impacts of:
In brief, the interactions between the economy, society, and the en-vironment on economic, social, and environmental development and vice-versa are traced and properly treated in sustainable development.
From this viewpoint, the need emerges to improve the process of sustainable development along the following lines:
First, to cluster economic, social and environmental aspects of develop-ment into one bundle of activities that makes an inter-sectoral process of development possible. For example, agricultural projects are not treated in isolation from their impacts on the social and environmental aspects of development. Pollution related to pesticides or fertilizer is not considered independent from its social and economic costs. Clustering these activities together makes possible the prevention of sector dominance of one over the other. But more importantly it enables development to take a holistic approach, embracing the ecosystem, and social and economic systems in their totality as a coherent entity.
Second, sustainable development takes place at multiple levels, such as the national, sub-regional, regional, and international levels. Each level has its own unique set of issues that require different solutions. There are, however, inter-linkages between the various levels that require coordinated and synchro-nized approaches. Recognizing these facts, the first Preparatory Committee of the World Summit on Sustainable Development Meeting in April 2001 decided to start the preparatory process at the national level, to move gradually to the sub-regional and regional levels, and then to identify major concepts and draw conclusions at the international level.
Third, sustainable development is supported by the economic, social, and environmental pillars, which have their respective stakeholders. Hence, it is important that sustainable development caters to the needs and reveals the interests of the various stakeholders. This is the reason why Agenda 21 specifically elaborated the various stake holders, consisting of women, children and youth, indigenous people, non-governmental organizations, local authorities, trade unions, farmers, businesspeople, and scientists. Consultations and deliberations in the venue of the "multi-stakeholder dialogue" are therefore of primary importance.
Fourth, to make sustainable development operational, it requires a concerted effort of economic, social, and environmental development that is simultaneously conducted within a geographically determined space. In the spatial area, sustainable development can take specifically into account the various unique characteristics of the economyth, society, and ecosystems that exist there. This spatial approach can be applied at the national, sub-regional, regional, as wells as international level, making sustainable development more workable.
Fifth, sustainable development requires a "bottom-up approach," based on the principles of (1) inclusiveness-getting all stakeholders included in development; (2) partnership among actors of development in the private and public sector, as well as civil society; (3) transparency-getting the process open for all; (4) subsidiarity -- bringing the development decision-making process to the level closest to the beneficiaries; and (5) accountability by development leaders to the people in the field.
To make this process of sustainable development feasible and operational, it is important to establish a common focus that can integrate the outlook and efforts of the participants of development.
An example of employing these integrated factors is focussing sustainable development on the plights of the poor, the most vulnerable group in society. The poor are not only poor in terms of income, but also in terms of nutrition intake, low levels of education, low health, high food insecurity, high vulnerability to the impacts of disaster, and high unemployment rates.
They are poor because they lack access to financing due to a lack of collateral; lack access to natural resources because they have no purchasing power; lack access to education because they cannot pay for it; and lack access to political power and decision-making processes because they don't have the capacity and funds for political campaigning and organizing. In brief, the poor are caught in a vicious circle-they remain poor because they started off poor.
The goals of pulling the poor out of the poverty trap, eliminating barriers to accessibility that limit progress for the poor, and eradicating poverty at its roots can become powerful integrating factors for all stakeholders in launching sustainable development.
Market failure is another problem that hampers the proper functioning of the economy to absorb and internalize social and environmental considerations. The value of forest habitat for indigenous populations has a unique social value that has no calculable direct-use monetary value. Clean, fresh air provided by nature is taken for granted and has no direct-use value. By introducing environmental taxes and surcharges, market corrections may be introduced.
However, while these efforts are necessary, they are not sufficient. Institutional arrangements are required to cope with these market failures; examples include environmental certificates or eco-labeling on products that are produced in an eco-friendly manner. Financial incentives may not be enough to influence consumers toward environmentally sound consumption patterns that would stimulate sound production systems. Public pressure may also be required to influence either consumer or producer behavior, or both.
A dispute settlement mechanism was established in the World Trade Organization to handle cases in which trade disputes cannot be resolved by the market or parties involved. Disputes may also arise involving the environment in which the market or parties concerned fail to resolve problems. Thus, similar treatment dispute settlement mechanisms may be needed, involving not only trade but investment and production as well.
It is though such mechanisms that market failures can be dealt with. In addition, complementary institutions and arrangements need to be established to allow the market to function more properly and make sustainable development more sound. The goal of overcoming market failures can become useful, integrating the efforts of all stakeholders in implementing sustainable development.
Sustainable development must support economic, social, and environmental sustainability over the long term. It basically means:
In essence, the integrating factor that unites stakeholders Is the desire to implement sustainable development, comprised of sustainable production and consumption, which takes into account nature's caring capacity.
Within this framework of sustainable development there emerges the need to develop relevant technologies, such as biotechnology, material technology, and information-communication technology. These technologies are needed to raise the added values of natural resources, reduce the amount of material use, and reform methods and means of communication, transportation and information transfer with increased efficiency, less pollution, and more energy savings. In this context, it is crucial that developed and developing countries work together to overcome the technology gap and the "digital divide among the nations of the globe" ****
Development is carried out mainly by business, regulated by the government, and conducted within a network of civil society. It is important to consider development as the combined efforts involving the three pillars of government, business, and civil society. Each pillar has its role and common but differentiated re-sponsiblities, and each pillar has its own interests. Separate and differentiated interests can therefore drive development and give rise to the need for establishing consultation and dialogue between the government, business, and civil society.
Hence, sustainable development requires a form of governance that makes possible the emergence of checks and balances between the three major actors of development within a democratic environment and within the rule of law. As such, sustainable development cannot be conducted from "the top" down, looking only from the government's perspective. It requires an approach from "below," reflecting the interests and aspirations of civil society.
Sustainable development cannot be conducted along a singular line of the economy only while completely disregarding other dimensions. Sustainable development embraces the dimensions of economy, society, and the environment. It has to manage their relevant modes of capital -- man-made economic capital, human and social capital, an natural as well as ecological capital. It requires, therefore, an out look of living on the "interest" gained from these forms of capital, while continuously investing and enhancing their quantity and quality.
It is with this paradigm that through global action we can make positive changes to bring sustainable development from a dream to reality, in order to build the wold anew in this millennium.