TREN 2P94 REVIEW Introduction to Sustainability

courses/tren2p93/ These notes available via the online course outline on Isaak / Sakai or (after lectures) at:

en·vi·ron·ment [n] 1 : the circumstances, objects, or conditions by which one is surrounded 1 : the circumstances, objects, or conditions by which one is surrounded 2 a : the complex of physical, chemical, and biotic factors (as climate, soil, and living things) that act upon an organism or an ecological community and ultimately determine its form and survival 2 a : the complex of physical, chemical, and biotic factors (as climate, soil, and living things) that act upon an organism or an ecological community and ultimately determine its form and survival b : the aggregate of social and cultural conditions that influence the life of an individual or community. b : the aggregate of social and cultural conditions that influence the life of an individual or community. - Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, 2012

environment [n] the totality of surrounding conditions. [n] the totality of surrounding conditions.

From ‘pristine’ ‘natural’ environments…

…through all kinds of urban environments…

Old Town, Hastings, East Sussex St. Lawrence Market, Toronto Quinta Fay, Gustine, California Yates Street Heritage District, St. Catharines

Dharavi district, Mumbai, India La Oroya, Peru Love Canal, New York Sherman Avenue North, Hamilton, Ontario

…through industrial environments…

…to defined natural and anthropogenic environments at all scales.

policy … a course or general plan of action to be adopted by a government, party, person, etc. … a course or general plan of action to be adopted by a government, party, person, etc. - Concise Oxford Dictionary

policy …a selected, planned line of conduct in the light of which individual decisions are made and coordination achieved …a selected, planned line of conduct in the light of which individual decisions are made and coordination achieved - Webster’s Encyclopedic Dictionary

Conceptual tools

scale - an ordered series of graduated quantities, values, degrees, etc. - relative magnitude - Webster’s Encyclopedic Dictionary

scale may be: - physical / geographical - physical / geographical –ranking based upon size, dimension, geographical subunit, etc. - ecological - ecological –individual, deme, community, population - jurisdictional - jurisdictional –local, municipal, regional, federal, global

scale earthcontinentcountryprovinceregionmunicipalityneighbourhoodhouseholdindividual United Nations..governments.. ngos / community groups. individuals individuals GLOBAL / MACRO LOCAL / MICRO spatial jurisdictional / decision making jurisdictional / decision making

jurisdiction - the legal power to administer and enforce the law - the exercising of this power - the region within which this power is valid, or in which a person or agency has authority - authority - Webster’s Encyclopedic Dictionary

Sustainabledevelopment

Sustainable development: u meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. –World Commission on Environment and Development (1987): Our Common Future

Elements of sustainability Environment EconomySociety - World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987

the sustainable development triangle

Elements of sustainability Environment EconomySociety - World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987

Elements of sustainability Environment - World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987 biodiversitybiodiversity materialsmaterials energyenergy biophysical interactionsbiophysical interactions

Elements of sustainability Economy - World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987 money and capitalmoney and capital employmentemployment technological growthtechnological growth investmentinvestment market forcesmarket forces

Elements of sustainability Society - World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987 human diversity (cultural, linguistic, ethnic)human diversity (cultural, linguistic, ethnic) equity (dependence / independence)equity (dependence / independence) quality of lifequality of life institutional structures and organizationinstitutional structures and organization political structurespolitical structures

information and decision making

Sustainable development... u considers future and present needs when making decisions about: –resource and energy use –technological development –direction of investments –social, political & institutional change...etc. etc. etc. Applied POLICY

Fragmented decision-making ISSUE federal / national municipal public private provincial / state regional otherinterests communitygroups - after Barrett and Kidd, 1991

Integrated decision-making regionalprovincial/ state municipalmunicipal privateprivate communitycommunity groups groups publicpublic other interests federal/ federal federal/ national national ISSUEISSUE - after Barrett and Kidd, 1991

decision making reactive reactive

decision making reactive reactive (‘end of pipe’) (‘end of pipe’)

decision making anticipatory anticipatory reactive reactive

decision making anticipatory anticipatory (planning for change) change) reactive reactive

decision making radical radical anticipatory anticipatory reactive reactive

decision making radical radical(fundamental; root causes) root causes) anticipatory anticipatory reactive reactive

decision making radical radical anticipatory anticipatory reactive reactive

radical radical anticipatory anticipatory reactive reactive Industry Industry change in demand change in demand - less consumption - less consumption - alternative consumption - alternative consumption change in process change in process - clean technology - clean technology - elimination of toxics - elimination of toxics sewage treatment plant sewage treatment plant - ‘end of pipe’ solution environment environment and and economy economy and and society society environment environmentandeconomy oreconomy

valuesideologystrategies values, ideologies and strategies

interactions amongst values / ideologies / strategies valuesideologystrategies

values individual, cultural, social, spiritual, moral

interactions amongst values / ideologies / strategies values ideologies Definable sets of values constitute (e.g. Industrial Capitalism, Marxism, Christianity, Liberalism, Socialism, Conservatism, Judaism) individual, cultural, social, spiritual, moral

interactions amongst values / ideologies / strategies values ideologies strategies Definable sets of values constitute (e.g. Industrial Capitalism, Marxism, Christianity, Liberalism, Socialism, Conservatism, Judaism) …which give rise to practical applications of ideologically consistent ideas, actions, policies and programs individual, cultural, social, spiritual, moral

interactions amongst values / ideologies / strategies valuesideologystrategies

valuesideologystrategies

valuesideologystrategies

valuesideologystrategies

valuesideologystrategies

valuesideologystrategies feedback loop allows for reflection, feedback loop allows for reflection, re-evaluation, adaptive management re-evaluation, adaptive management

ideology interactions amongst values / ideologies / strategies valuesstrategies if no feedback loop: inflexible, unresponsive if no feedback loop: inflexible, unresponsive

ideology interactions amongst values / ideologies / strategies valuesstrategies dogma

valuesideologystrategies

To be useful, principles of sustainability must: u be easily understood u be applicable in many contexts u be transferrable across scales u translate well from fundamental values into applied policy and practical action u identify possibilities for radical transformative change AND positive incremental change positive incremental change

Recent compilation of Principles of Sustainability -IISD (Winnipeg) -IISD (Winnipeg)

Guideposts for Sustainability (after Nickerson, 1993) Activities are sustainable when they: 1.Use materials in continuous cycles. 2.Use continuously reliable sources of energy. 3.Encourage desirable human traits (equity; creativity; communication; coordination; appreciation; intellectual and spiritual development). One example:

Guideposts for Sustainability Activities are not sustainable when they: 4.Require continual inputs of non-renewable resources. 5.Use renewable resources faster than their rate of renewal. 6. Cause cumulative degradation of the environment. 7. Require resources in quantities that could never be available for people everywhere. 8. Lead to the extinction of other life forms.

Landscape Ecology Principles

Farina (2006) u Highly theoretical u Many conceptual models for viewing landscapes u Non-prescriptive Hough (2003) u Quite pragmatic u Primary focus on the ecosystem approach u Prescriptive and policy oriented

Definitions of landscape - - “the total character of a region” (von Humboldt); - - “landscapes will deal with their totality as physical, ecological and geographical entities, integrating all natural and human (“caused”) patterns and processes... (Naveh 1987); - - “landscape as a heterogeneous land area composed of a cluster of interacting ecosystems that is repeated in similar form throughout (Forman & Godron 1986);

Definitions of landscape - - a particular configuration of topography, vegetation cover, land use and settlement pattern which delimits some coherence of natural and cultural processes and activities” (Green et al. 1996); - - “a piece of land which we perceive comprehensively around us, without looking closely at single components, and which - looks familiar to us” - Haber (2004)

Landscape Ecology Principles Peer instruction session In groups of 5, define, compare and contrast the following approaches to understanding landscapes: u Epistomological approaches u Ecological approaches u Cognitive landscape approaches: –Spacing –Space and memory –Embodiment and cognition –Safety and aesthetic landscape amenity –The visual landscape –Mystery in landscape –Behavioural ecology –Information landscape –Eco-field hypothesis –Soundscape –Animal movements in the landscape