1. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

3. Environmental sustainability –Main article: Environmental degradationEnvironmental degradation Environmental degradation is the damage to the biosphere as a whole due to human activity. Environmental degradation occurs when nature's resources (such as trees, habitat, earth, water and air) are being consumed faster than nature can replenish them, when pollution results in irreparable damage done to the environment or when human beings destroy or damage ecosystems in the process of development. Environmental degradation can take many forms including, but not limited to, desertification, deforestation, extinction and radioactivity. Some of the major causes of such degradation include: overpopulation, urban sprawl, industrial pollution, waste dumping, intensive farming, over fishing, industrialization, introduction of invasive species and a lack of environmental regulations.Environmental degradationbiospherehumandesertificationdeforestationextinctionradioactivityoverpopulationurban sprawlintensive farmingindustrializationinvasive species The goal of environmental sustainability is to minimize these, and other causes, to halt and, ideally, reverse the processes they lead to. An unsustainable situation occurs when natural capital (the sum total of nature's resources) is used up faster than it can be replenished. Sustainability requires that human activity, at a minimum, only uses nature's resources at a rate at which they can be replenished naturally.natural capitalSustainability Theoretically, the long term final result of environmental degradation would result in local environments that are no longer able to sustain human populations to any degree. Such degradation on a global scale would, if not addressed, of course mean extinction for humanity. In the short-term, environmental degradation leads to declining standards of living, the extinctions of large numbers of species, health problems in the human population, conflicts, sometimes violent, between groups fighting for a dwindling resource, water scarcity and many other major problems.

4. Consumption of renewable resources State of environment Sustainability More than nature's ability to replenish Environmental degradation Not sustainable Equal to nature's ability to replenish Environmental equilibrium Steady-state Sustainability Less than nature's ability to replenish Environmental renewal Sustainable development

5. Criticism of the term Many environmentalists have criticized some interpertations of the term "sustainable development"[citation needed] as an oxymoron, claiming that economic policies based around concepts of growth and continued depletion of resources cannot be sustainable, since that term implies resources remain constant. Resources such as petroleum are consumed much faster than they are created by natural processes, and are continually being depleted. It is argued that the term "sustainable development" is a term invented by business to show capitalism as ecologically friendly, thereby placating people promoting environmentalist values.environmentalistscitation neededoxymoroneconomic policies petroleum However, technologies such as renewable energy, recycling and the provision of services can, if carried out appropriately, provide for growth in the economic sense, either without the use of limited resources, or by using a relatively small amount of resources with a small impact. In the latter case, even the use of small amounts of resources may be unsustainable if continued indefinitely without incorporation of more effective recycling.renewable energyrecycling

6. Sustainable design Jump to: navigation, searchnavigationsearch Sustainable design (also referred to as "green design", "eco-design", or "design for environment") is the art of designing physical objects to comply with the principles of economic, social, and ecological sustainability. It ranges from the microcosm of designing small objects for everyday use, through to the macrocosm of designing buildings, cities, and the earth's physical surface. It is a growing trend within the fields of architecture, landscape architecture, engineering, industrial design and interior design.economicsocialecologicalsustainabilitymicrocosmmacrocosmarchitecturelandscape architectureengineeringindustrial designinterior design The essential aim of sustainable design is to produce places, products and services in a way that reduces use of non-renewable resources, minimizes environmental impact, and relates people with the natural environment. Sustainable design is often viewed as a necessary tool for achieving sustainability. It is related to the more heavy- industry-focused fields of industrial ecology and green chemistry, sharing tools such as life cycle assessment and life cycle energy analysis to judge the environmental impact or "greenness" of various design choices. non-renewable resourcessustainabilityindustrial ecologygreen chemistrylife cycle assessment life cycle energy analysis Sustainable design is a reaction to the global "environmental crisis", i.e., rapid growth of economic activity and human population, depletion of natural resources, damage to ecosystems and loss of biodiversity [1]. Proponents of sustainable design believe that the crisis is in large part caused by conventional design and industrial practices, which disregard the risks and environmental impacts associated with goods and services. Green design is considered a means of reducing or eliminating these impacts while maintaining quality of life by using careful assessment and clever design to substitute less harmful products and processes for conventional ones.[1] The motivation for sustainable design was articulated famously in E. F. Schumacher's 1973 book Small is Beautiful. Finally, green design is not the attachment or supplement of architectural design, but an integrated design process with the architectural design.[2]Small is Beautiful[2]

7. Principles of sustainable design While the practical application varies among disciplines, some common prinicples are as follows: Low-impact materials: choose non-toxic, sustainably-produced or recycled materials which require little energy to process Energy efficiency: use manufacturing processes and produce products which require less energy Quality and durability: longer-lasting and better-functioning products will have to be replaced less frequently, reducing the impacts of producing replacements Design for reuse and recycling: "Products, processes, and systems should be designed for performance in a commercial 'afterlife'."[3][3] Biomimicry: "redesigning industrial systems on biological lines... enabling the constant reuse of materials in continuous closed cycles..."[4]Biomimicry[4] Service substitution: shifting the mode of consumption from personal ownership of products to provision of services which provide similar functions, e.g. from a private automobile to a carsharing service. Such a system promotes minimal resource use per unit of consumption (e.g., per trip driven).[5]carsharing[5] Standardization and modularity: standard, modular parts allow products to be repaired rather than replaced and promote interoperability so that systems can be upgraded incrementally rather than wholly scrapped and replaced.

8. Sustainable planning Cohousing community illustrating greenspace preservation, tightly clustered housing, and parking on periphery, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 2003. Ann Arbor, Michigan Urban planners that are interested in achieving sustainable development or sustainable cities use various design principles and techniques when designing cities and their infrastructure. These include Smart Growth theory, transportation-oriented development, sustainable urban infrastructure and new urbanism. Smart Growth is an urban planning and transportation theory that concentrates growth in the center of a city to avoid urban sprawl; and advocates compact, transit-oriented development, walkable, bicycle-friendly land use, including mixed-use development with a range of housing choices. Transit-oriented development attempts to maximise access to public transport and thereby reduce the need for private vehicles. Public transport is considered a form of Sustainable urban infrastructure, which is a design approach which promotes protected areas, energy-efficient buildings, wildlife corridors and distributed, rather than centralised, power generation and wastewater treatment. New urbanism is more of a social and aesthetic urban design movement than a green one, but it does emphasize diversity of land use and population, as well as walkable communities which inherently reduce the need for automotive travel.plannerssustainable developmentsustainable citiesSmart Growthurban sprawlwalkablebicycle-friendlymixed-use developmentTransit-oriented development public transport Sustainable urban infrastructureprotected areasenergy-efficient buildingswildlife corridors New urbanismwalkable communities Both urban and rural planning can benefit from including sustainability as a central criterion when laying out roads, streets, buildings and other components of the built environment. Conventional planning practice often ignores or discounts the natural configuration of the land during the planning stages, potentially causing ecological damage such as the stagnation of streams, mudslides, soil erosion, flooding and pollution. Applying methods such as scientific modelling to planned building projects can draw attention to problems before construction begins, helping to minimise damage to the natural environment.built environmentstreamsmudslidessoil erosionfloodingpollution scientific modellingnatural environment Cohousing is an approach to planning based on the idea of intentional communities. Such projects often prioritize common space over private space resulting in grouped structures that preserve more of the surrounding environment.Cohousingintentional communities

9. Sustainable landscape architecture –Main article: Sustainable landscape architectureSustainable landscape architecture Sustainable landscape architecture is a category of sustainable design concerned with the planning and design of outdoor space. Design techniques planting trees to shade buildings from the sun or protect them from wind, using local materials, on-site composting and chipping to reduce greenwaste hauling, hand tools instead of gasoline-powered, and also may involve using drought-resistant plantings in arid areas (xeriscaping)and buying stock from local growers to avoid energy use in transportation.xeriscaping

10. Agriculture There are strenuous discussions - among others by the agricultural sector and authorities - if existing pesticide protocols and methods of soil conservation adequately protect topsoil and wildlife. Doubt has risen if these are sustainable, and if agrarian reforms would permit an efficient agriculture with fewer pesticides, therefore reducing the damage to the ecosystem.agriculturalsoil conservationtopsoil wildlifeagrarian reforms agricultureecosystem

11. Agriculture There are strenuous discussions - among others by the agricultural sector and authorities - if existing pesticide protocols and methods of soil conservation adequately protect topsoil and wildlife. Doubt has risen if these are sustainable, and if agrarian reforms would permit an efficient agriculture with fewer pesticides, therefore reducing the damage to the ecosystem.agriculturalsoil conservationtopsoil wildlifeagrarian reforms agricultureecosystem

12. Domestic machinery Automobiles and appliances can be designed for repair and disassembly (for recycling), and constructed from recyclable materials such as steel, aluminum and glass, and renewable materials, such as Zelfo, wood and plastics from natural feedstocks. Careful selection of materials and manufacturing processes can often create products comparable in price and performance to non-sustainable products. Even mild design efforts can greatly increase the sustainable content of manufactured items.AutomobilesappliancesZelfowood

14. Disposable products Detergents, newspapers and other disposable items can be designed to decompose, in the presence of air, water and common soil organisms. The current challenge in this area is to design such items in attractive colors, at costs as low as competing items. Since most such items end up in landfills, protected from air and water, the utility of such disposable products is debated.landfills

15. Sustainable technologies Sustainable technologies are technologies which use less energy, fewer limited resources, do not deplete natural resources, do not directly or indirectly pollute the environment, and can be reused or recycled at the end of their useful life. There is a significant overlap with appropriate technology, which emphasises the suitability of technology to the context, in particular considering the needs of people in developing countries. However, the most appropriate technology may not be the most sustainable one; and a sustainable technology may have high cost or maintenance requirements that make it unsuitable as an "appropriate technology," as that term is commonly used.technologies appropriate technology

16. Encouraging sustainability The use of sustainable technologies may be encouraged through means such as reducing the capacity of the electrical cable supplying a home (e.g. Crystal Waters Village in Australia). In some cases the electricity supplier charges a higher rate for the energy used when the capacity of the supply is increased (for example, in Indonesia[citation needed]).Crystal Waters Villagecitation needed In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of certificate and degree programs offered with a concentration in sustainable design. Boston Architectural College offers both a certificate in sustainable design, as well as a bachelor of design studies degree with a concentration in sustainable design. Additionally, the University of Texas main campus in Austin offers a masters degree in architecture with emphasis on sustainable design.[6] With an increased focus on the importance of sustainable design globally, there is likely to be higher demand for professionals educated specifically in this discipline.Boston Architectural CollegeUniversity of Texas[6] Extending the application of sustainability knowledge to the rest of the built world, Minneapolis College of Art and Design is the first college in the US to offer a certificate in sustainable design and business for disciplines not dedicated to architecture. Using an applied Big Picture approach, the program serves: product designers, graphic designers, packaging designers, interior designers, fine artists, creative service buyers, government planners, business people, and marketers. Minneapolis College of Art and Design

17. Terminology In some countries the term sustainable design is known a Ecodesign, green design or environmental design. Ecodesign as meant by Victor Papanek, did include social design and social aspects. Over the past years the terms sustainable design and design for sustainability - besides other new terms - became more accepted globally, including the triple bottom line (people, planet and profit).Ecodesigngreen design environmental design Victor Papaneksocial designtriple bottom line

18. Sustainability Sustainability is an attempt to provide the best outcomes for the human and natural environments both now and into the indefinite future. One of the most formidable definitions has been given by the former Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland, who defined sustainable development as development that "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs". It relates to the continuity of economic, social, institutional and environmental aspects of human society, as well as the non-human environment. It is intended to be a means of configuring civilization and human activity so that society, its members and its economies are able to meet their needs and express their greatest potential in the present, while preserving biodiversity and natural ecosystems, and planning and acting for the ability to maintain these ideals in a very long term. Sustainability affects every level of organization, from the local neighborhood to the entire planet.Gro Harlem Brundtlandconfiguringcivilizationsocietybiodiversity ecosystemsplanet

19. Definitions, metrics and indices See also main article sustainability metric and indicessustainability metric and indices Sustainability- The ability to meet present needs without compromising those of future generations. Many people have pointed to various practices and philosophies in the world today as being useful to sustainability. In order to distinguish which activities are destructive and which are benign or beneficial, various models of resource use have been developed.resource use Sustainability can be defined both qualitatively in words, and quantitatively as a pair of compound exponentials - the rising one being the life of a system, the declining one leading to death if the final tipping point for intervention is irreversibly past. In 1996 the International Institute for Sustainable Development developed a Sample Policy Framework which proposed that a sustainability index "would give decision- makers tools to rate policies and programs against each other" (1996, p.9). Ravi Jain (2005) [1] argued that, "The ability to analyze different alternatives or to assess progress towards sustainability will then depend on establishing measurable entities or metrics used for sustainability." Likewise the International Institute For Environment And Development, Environmental Planning Group (1993, p.2) said,International Institute for Sustainable Development[1] International Institute For Environment And Development The need for sustainability analysis and particularly for indicators of sustainability is a key requirement to implement and monitor the development of national sustainable development plans, as required by Agenda 21 agreed at UNCED in June 1992.

20. Life cycle assessment and ecological footprint analysis The algorithms of the ecological footprint model have, on the one hand, been used in combination with the emergy methodology (S. Zhao, Z. Li and W. Li 2005), and a sustainability index has been derived from the latter. They have also been combined with an index of quality of life (Marks et al, 2006), and the outcome christened the "(Un)Happy Planet Index" (HPI)shows indices for 178 nations. One of the striking conclusions to emerge from ecological footprint analyses is that it would be necessary to have 4 or 5 back up planets engage in nothing but agriculture for all those alive today to live a Western lifestyle.emergy sustainability indexquality of life

21. Global Reporting Initiative In 1997 the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) was started as a multi-stakeholder process and independent institution whose mission has been "to develop and disseminate globally applicable Sustainability Reporting Guidelines". The GRI uses ecological footprint analysis and became independent in 2002. It is an official collaborating centre of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and during the tenure of Kofi Annan, it cooperated with the UN Secretary-General’s Global Compact.Global Reporting Initiativeecological footprintUnited Nations Environment ProgrammeKofi AnnanUN Secretary-General

22. Energy, emergy and Sustainability Index (SI) In 1997, systems ecologists M.T.Brown and S.Ulgiati published their formulation of a quantitative sustainability index (SI) as a ratio of the emergy (spelled with an "m", i.e. "embodied energy", not simply "energy") yield ratio (EYR) to the environmental loading ratio (ELR). Brown and Ulgiati also called the sustainability index the "Emergy Sustainability Index" (ESI), "an index that accounts for yield, renewability, and environmental load. It is the incremental emergy yield compared to the environmental load".systems ecologists emergyembodied energy [2] » NOTE: The numerator is called "emergy" and is spelled with an "m". It is an abbreviation of the term, "embodied energy". The numerator is NOT "energy yield ratio", which is a different concept.embodied energy [3]

23. Environmental Sustainability Index In 2004, a joint initiative of the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy (YCELP) and the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) of Columbia University, in collaboration with the World Economic Forum and the Directorate-General Joint Research Centre (European Commission) also attempted to construct an Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI)[4]. This was formally released in Davos, Switzerland, at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) on 28 January 2005. The report on this index made a comparison of the WEF ESI to other sustainability indicators such as the Ecological footprint Index. However there was no mention of the emergy sustainability index.Yale Center for Environmental Law and PolicyCenter for International Earth Science Information NetworkColumbia UniversityWorld Economic ForumDirectorate-General Joint Research Centre (European Commission)[4]DavosSwitzerlandWorld Economic ForumEcological footprint Nevertheless writers like Leone (2005) and Yi et al. have also recently suggested that the emergy sustainability index has significant utility. In particular, Leone notes that while the GRI measures behavior, it fails to calculate supply constraints which the emergy methodology aims to calculate. See also: Environmental Accounting Using Emergy:Evaluation of the State of West Virginia, United States Environmental Protection AgencyEnvironmental Accounting Using Emergy:Evaluation of the State of West Virginia United States Environmental Protection Agency Dow Jones Sustainability Index.Dow Jones The 2006 US City Rankings(June, 2006) peer-reviewed study, by SustainLane.com, ranking the 50 most populated U.S. cities across 15 categories, utilizing over 2000 data points.The 2006 US City Rankings(June, 2006) peer-reviewed studySustainLane.com

24. Conceptual issues Values vary greatly in detail within and between cultures, as well as between academic disciplines (e.g., between economists and ecologists).[5] At the heart of the concept of sustainability is a fundamental, immutable value set that is best stated as 'parallel care and respect for the ecosystem and for the people within'. From this value set emerges the goal of sustainability: to achieve human and ecosystem well-being together. It follows that the 'result' against which the success of any project or design should be judged is the achievement of, or the contribution to, human and ecosystem well-being together. Seen in this way, the concept of sustainability is much more than environmental protection in another guise. It is a positive concept that has as much to do with achieving well-being for people and ecosystems as it has to do with reducing stress or impacts.[5]ecosystemwell-being Critics of American society state that the philosophy of infinite economic growth and infinite growth in consumption are completely unsustainable and will cause great harm to human civilization in the future. In recognition that the Earth is finite, there has been a growing awareness that there must be limits to certain kinds of human activity if life on the planet is to survive if not indefinitely, at least for the next seven generations. For example, life expectancy and overall quality of life in the USA, although relatively high, are still not as high (in terms of international comparisons) as many people believe. But the other side of the coin is devastating. This quality is delivered at enormous cost (calculated in terms of its ecological footprint). A perhaps even more surprising finding is that a few nations, even in today's world, do manage to deliver long and high quality of life more or less within a sustainable economic footprint. The explanation of these surprises stems from the fact that, as Marks et al and, earlier, Lane (1993) has shown, quality of life stems primarily from things like security for the future and networks of social contact. It has little to do with the materialistic components generally used to calculate GNP. One way of summarising the outcome of this work is to view the American dream as a Pied Piper unnecessarily leading us to our doom.economic growth Earthseven generationsthe American dream

25. Some people now consider the term "sustainable development" as too closely linked with continued material development, and prefer to use terms like "sustainability", "sustainable prosperity" and "sustainable genuine progress" as the umbrella terms. Despite differences, a number of common principles are embedded in most charters or action programmes to achieve sustainable development, sustainability or sustainable prosperity. These include (Hargroves & Smith 2005, see bibliography): Dealing transparently and systemically with risk, uncertainty and irreversibility.irreversibility Ensuring appropriate valuation, appreciation and restoration of nature.restoration Integration of environmental, social, human and economic goals in policies and activities. Equal opportunity and community participation/Sustainable community.community participationSustainable community Conservation of biodiversity and ecological integrity.Conservationbiodiversityecological integrity Ensuring inter-generational equity. Recognizing the global integration of localities. A commitment to best practice.best practice No net loss of human capital or natural capital.human capitalnatural capital The principle of continuous improvement.continuous improvement The need for good governance.

26. Population growth One of the critically important issues in sustainability is that of human overpopulation combined with human lifestyle. A number of studies have suggested that the current population of the Earth, already over six billion, is too many people to support sustainably at current material consumption levels. This challenge for sustainability is distributed unevenly. According to calculations of the ecological footprint, the ecological pressure of a US resident is 13 times that of a resident of India and 52 times that of a Somali resident.overpopulationpopulation Obviously, exponential growth is unsustainable in the long term, regardless of technology or lifestyle. For example, with the 2006 population of 6.5 billion, at the current world growth rate of 1.4%/year, the population will reach 1.49x1014 in 722 years, which is equal to the number of square meters of land area on the earth. This is clearly an unfeasible situation.exponential growth Critics of efforts to reduce population rather than consumption fear that efforts to reduce population growth may lead to human rights violations such as involuntary sterilization and the abandoning of infants to die. Some human-rights watchers report that this is already taking place in China, as a result of its one child per family policy.human rights violationsChina Albeit, it appears inevitable that human population numbers will be constrained and brought into some form of equilibrium by the Malthusian limit and in accordance with the Lotka-Volterra equation. In his book Collapse, author Jared Diamond makes the case that population growth mixed with unsustainable consumption levels have throughout human history bred sometimes very rigid cultural or religious systems. These systems required discipline and hierarchical alignment of the individual but with continued growth, further perpetrated an unsustainable culture. Eventually, a culture of unsustainable growth and consumption leads to unrest and imbalance. One consequence is a sudden collapse in population numbers.Malthusian limitLotka-Volterra equationCollapseJared Diamond

27. Sustainability and business The World Business Council for Sustainable Development, founded in 1995, has formulated the business case for sustainable development and argues that "sustainable development is good for business and business is good for sustainable development". This view is also maintained by proponents of the concept of Industrial ecology. The theory of Industrial Ecology declares that industry should be viewed as a series of interlocking man-made eco-systems interfacing with the natural global eco-system.World Business Council for Sustainable Development Industrial ecology

28. According to some economists, it is possible for the concepts of sustainable development and competitiveness to merge if enacted wisely, so that there is not an inevitable trade-off[6]. This merger is being motivated by the following six facts (Hargroves & Smith 2005):[6] Throughout the economy there are widespread untapped potential resource productivity improvements to be made to be coupled with effective design. There has been a significant shift in understanding over the last three decades of what creates lasting competitiveness of a firm. There is now a critical mass of enabling technologies in eco-innovations that make integrated approaches to sustainable development economically viable. Since many of the costs of what economists call ‘environmental externalities’ are passed on to governments, in the long-term sustainable development strategies can provide multiple benefits to the tax payer. There is a growing understanding of the multiple benefits of valuing social and natural capital, for both moral and economic reasons, and including them in measures of national well-being. There is mounting evidence to show that a transition to a sustainable economy, if done wisely, may not harm economic growth significantly, in fact it could even help it. Recent research by ex- Wuppertal Institute member Joachim Spangenberg, working with neo-classical economists, shows that the transition, if focused on improving resource productivity, will lead to higher economic growth than business as usual, while at the same time reducing pressures on the environment and enhancing employment.

29. It is an unresolved question as to whether all of the attempts at definitions have anything to do with the compound constructs of sustainability investment [1] advanced by network economics and systemic entrepreneurs. These mathematical maps explain how shocked most human beings now are to find that global business models have commonly excluded human sustainability from their long term consequences. Ray Anderson has been the most consistent hero within the corporate world on this issue; Al Gore a strong public servant.[1]network economicsglobal business modelsRay AndersonAl Gore However, it is as late as fall 2006 that a nation's treasury -the UK Stern Report - has released a report showing that 1% of GDP will now need to be invested to save 20% of GDP -because of failures to date by most global market sectors to integrate sustainability in the metrics they have governed with.

30. The Natural Step The international nonprofit The Natural Step, founded in 1989 by Swedish cancer scientist Karl-Henrik Robèrt, with the patronage of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, has coordinated a consensus process to define and operationalize sustainability. At the core of the process lies a consensus definition of sustainability, described as The System Conditions of sustainability (as derived from System theory).The Natural Step Karl-Henrik Robèrt Carl XVI Gustaf of SwedenThe System ConditionsSystem theory

31. Sustainable Livelihoods Approach Another application of sustainability has been in the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach, developed on conceptual work by Amartya Sen, and the UK's Institute for Development Studies (IDS). This was championed by the UK's Department for International Development(DFID), UNDP, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) as well as NGOs such as CARE, OXFAM and Khanya. Key concepts include the Sustainable Livelihoods (SL) Framework, a holistic way of understanding livelihoods, the SL principles, as well as six governance issues developed by Khanya.Amartya SenInstitute for Development StudiesDepartment for International DevelopmentUNDPFood and Agriculture OrganizationNGOsCARE OXFAM

32. Types of sustainability The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has identified considerations for technical cooperation that affect three types of sustainability:Food and Agriculture Organisation Institutional sustainability. Can a strengthened institutional structure continue to deliver the results of technical cooperation to end users? The results may not be sustainable if, for example, the planning authority that depends on the technical cooperation loses access to top management, or is not provided with adequate resources after the technical cooperation ends. Institutional sustainability can also be linked to the concept of social sustainability, which asks how the interventions can be sustained by social structures and institutions; Economic and financial sustainability. Can the results of technical cooperation continue to yield an economic benefit after the technical cooperation is withdrawn? For example, the benefits from the introduction of new crops may not be sustained if the constraints to marketing the crops are not resolved. Similarly, economic, as distinct from financial, sustainability may be at risk if the end users continue to depend on heavily subsidized activities and inputs. Ecological sustainability. Are the benefits to be generated by the technical cooperation likely to lead to a deterioration in the physical environment, thus indirectly contributing to a fall in production, or well-being of the groups targeted and their society. The United Nations has declared a Decade of Education for Sustainable Development starting in January of 2005. A non-partisan multi-sector response to the decade has formed within the U.S. via the U.S. Partnership for the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. [2] Active sectors teams have formed for youth, higher education, business, religion, the arts, and more. Organizations and individuals can join in sharing resources and success stories, and creating a sustainable future.[2]

33. Development sustainability Sustainability is relevant to development projects. A definition of development sustainability is "the continuation of benefits after major assistance from the donor has been completed" (Australian Agency for International Development 2000). Ensuring that development projects are sustainable can reduce the likelihood of them collapsing after they have just finished; it also reduces the financial cost of development projects and the subsequent social problems, such as dependence of the stakeholders on external donors and their resources. All development assistance, apart from temporary emergency and humanitarian relief efforts, should be designed and implemented with the aim of achieving sustainable benefits. There are ten key factors that influence development sustainability

34. Participation and ownership. Get the stakeholders (men and women) to genuinely participate in design and implementation. Build on their initiatives and demands. Get them to monitor the project and periodically evaluate it for results. Capacity building and training. Training stakeholders to take over should begin from the start of any project and continue throughout. The right approach should both motivate and transfer skills to people. Government policies. Development projects should be aligned with local government policies. Financial. In some countries and sectors, financial sustainability is difficult in the medium term. Training in local fundraising is a possibility, as is identifying links with the private sector, charging for use, and encouraging policy reforms. Management and organisation. Activities that integrate with or add to local structures may have better prospects for sustainability than those which establish new or parallel structures. Social, gender and culture. The introduction of new ideas, technologies and skills requires an understanding of local decision-making systems, gender divisions and cultural preferences. Technology. All outside equipment must be selected with careful consideration given to the local finance available for maintenance and replacement. Cultural acceptability and the local capacity to maintain equipment and buy spare parts are vital. Environment. Poor rural communities that depend on natural resources should be involved in identifying and managing environmental risks. Urban communities should identify and manage waste disposal and pollution risks. External political and economic factors. In a weak economy, projects should not be too complicated, ambitious or expensive. Realistic duration. A short project may be inadequate for solving entrenched problems in a sustainable way, particularly when behavioural and institutional changes are intended. A long project, may on the other hand, promote dependence.

35. Barriers to a sustainability culture Acknowledging the barriers to sustainability, numerous publications from the Tellus Institute examine the factors necessary to achieve an environmentally sustainable future, something Tellus terms a ‘Great Transition’ (see Raskin et al, 2002; Rajan, 2006; Kreigman, 2006). Using scenario analysis, Tellus shows that a new sustainability paradigm is possible if progressive elements of civil society, government, business, and an engaged citizenry work together to create an alternative vision of globalization centered on the quality of life, human solidarity, environmental resilience, and shared information.Tellus Institute scenario analysiscivil society globalization

36. The phenomenon of change resistance The above concepts focus primarily on the proper practices required to live sustainably. However, there is also the need to consider why there is such strong resistance to adopting sustainable practices. Unruh (2000, 2002) has argued that numerous barriers to sustainability arise because today's technological systems and governing institutions were designed and built for permanence and reliability, not change. In the case of fossil fuel-based systems this is termed "carbon lock-in" and inhibits many change efforts. Thwink.org argues that if enough members of the environmental movement adopted a problem solving process that fit the problem, the movement would make the astonishing discovery that the crux of the problem is not what it thought it was. It is not the proper practices or technical side of the problem after all. Any number of these practices would be adequate. Instead the real issue is why is it so difficult to persuade social agents (such as people, corporations, and nations) to adopt the proper practices needed to live sustainably? Thus the heart of the matter is the change resistance or social side of the problem.Thwink.orgenvironmental movement

37. Barriers to ecological sustainability Despite the now overwhelming evidence that the human species is set on a population adjustment course of immense proportions, and despite long-standing and widespread public awareness of the seriousness of the consequence (e.g., Nelson, 1986; Yankelovitch, et. al., 1983; Diamond, Jared (2005) ), it seems impossible to alter the course of our destiny.Diamond, Jared (2005) This is generally attributed to “change resistance” (see, e.g., Thwink.org), viewed as involving change in individual values, whether at personal, corporate, or collective levels (see e.g., Stafford Beer). Unfortunately, it has been frequently demonstrated, e.g., in the studies cited, that people’s values are, in general, in the right place. The problem is to enact them. This has led to the preparation of numerous “wish lists” – such as that compiled by Shah, H., & Marks, N. (2004) – drawing together many recommendations for government action.Thwink.orgStafford Beer Government and individual failure to act on the available information is widely attributed to personal greed (deemed to be inherent in human nature) especially on the part of international capitalists. But even Karl Marx did not suggest this, instead highlighting sociological processes which have been in operation for thousands of years. If fault is to be found with Marx's work it can be argued that it lies elsewhere. Because he believed that the collapse of capitalism was imminent, he never discussed how to run society in an innovative way in the long term public interest.Karl Marxcapitalism Two things seem to follow from this brief discussion. It is vital to follow up Marx’s scientific study of the sociocybernetic (see sociocybernetics), or systems (see also systems theory), processes which, it seems, primarily control what happens in society.sociocybernetics systemssystems theory We should use the social-science-based insights already available to evolve forms of Public management that will act on information in an innovative way in the long term public interest.Public management

38. Notes and References ^ Jain, Ravi; Sustainability: metrics, specific indicators and preference index, Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy (Journal), May 2005, pg. 71-72^ ^ Brown, M.T. and S. Ulgiati.1999. Emergy evaluation of natural capital and biosphere services. AMBIO. Vol.28 No.6, Sept. 1999.^ ^ Ulgiati, S. and M.T. Brown. 1999. Emergy accounting of human-dominated, large scale ecosystems. In Jorgensen and Kay (eds.) Thermodynamics and Ecology. Elsevier.^ ^ Environmental Sustainability Index (2005) Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy Yale University, New Haven and Yale University Center for International Earth Science Information Network Columbia University^Environmental Sustainability Index ^ Tisdell, C. 1988. Sustainable development: Differing perspectives of ecologists and economists, and relevance to LDCs. World Development 16(3): 373-384.^Tisdell, C. ^ Esty, D. C., Porter, M. E., Industrial Ecology and Competitiveness: Strategic Implications for the Firm, Journal of Industrial Ecology Winter 1998, Vol. 2, No. 1: 35-43.^ ↑ Leone, M. (2005). "The Quest for an Environmental Metric: Gazing at weather systems, a ground-breaking scientist spawned an ecological accounting standard that Wall Street might one day embrace". CFO Publishing. ↑The Quest for an Environmental Metric: Gazing at weather systems, a ground-breaking scientist spawned an ecological accounting standard that Wall Street might one day embrace ↑ Maine, T. (2003). "Towards a Metric of Sustainability". CSIRO Publishing. ↑Towards a Metric of Sustainability ↑ Brown, M.T. and Ulgiati, S. (1997). "Emergy-based indices and ratios to evaluate sustainability: monitoring economies and technology toward environmentally sound innovation". Ecological Engineering 9: 51-69. ↑Emergy-based indices and ratios to evaluate sustainability: monitoring economies and technology toward environmentally sound innovation ↑ Brown, M.T. and Ulgiati, S. (1999). "Emergy Evaluation of the Biosphere and Natural Capital". Ambio 28 (6). ↑Emergy Evaluation of the Biosphere and Natural Capital ↑ Zhao, S.; Li, Z.; Li, W. (2005). "A modified method of ecological footprint calculation and its application". Ecological Modelling 185 (1): 65-75. DOI:10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2004.11.016. ↑A modified method of ecological footprint calculation and its applicationDOI10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2004.11.016 ↑ Yi, Heui-seok; Hau, Jorge L. ; Ukidwe, Nandan U. and Bakshi, Bhavik R. (2004). "Hierarchical Thermodynamic Metrics for Evaluating the Environmental Sustainability of Industrial Processes". Environmental Progress 23 (4): 65-75. DOI:10.1002/ep.10049. ↑Hierarchical Thermodynamic Metrics for Evaluating the Environmental Sustainability of Industrial ProcessesDOI10.1002/ep.10049 ↑ Jain, R. (2005). "Sustainability: metrics, specific indicators and preference index". Clean Techn Environ Policy 7: 71-72. ↑Sustainability: metrics, specific indicators and preference index

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