Topic 2: History of Sustainability

MODULE OUTLINE

Topic 1: Introduction to Sustainability

Topic 2: History of Sustainability

Theoretical Advances and institutionalization of sustainability

Topic 3: Global Challenges as ‘Wicked’ Problems

Topic 4: Principles and Concept of Sustainability

Topic 5: Sustainability Issues Social, Economic and Environment

Topic 6: Frameworks for Strategic Sustainable Development

Topic 7: Decision Making tools for sustainable development

Topic 8: Role of the construction industry and civil engineers in sustainable development
What is Unsustainable Development?

It is –

➢ Unsystematic planning

➢ Irresponsible Planning

➢ Living without planning

➢ Living without thinking about others

Beginning of Unsustainable Development

1. Age of Discovery and Colonialism

➢ In the age of discovery and colonialism between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries, natural
resources were viewed as endlessly abundant.

➢ If resources in a European home country became scarce, other resources from colonies were
substituted.
2. The First Industrial Revolution

➢ The first industrial revolution in the mid-1700s saw series of large-scale changes in production
methods
➢ Manual labor was substituted by machine-based factories offering new employment opportunities,
increased wages, and better living conditions
➢ This led to an explosion in population growth
3.The 2nd Industrial Revolution

➢ The second industrial revolution began in the mid 1800s, initiated by the use of petroleum-based, non-
renewable fuels
➢ This revolution was the beginning of today’s fossil fuel dependency
➢ Fossil fuels pollute and they are non-renewable
➢ Petroleum was formed over many years under high geological pressures and heat and is
now being used at an alarming speed
➢ As a result, society is using energy beyond what can be harvested on the earth
➢ This non-renewable energy source, which is the basis of our economies, cannot be
sustained.
4. Green Revolution

➢ The green revolution was experienced from the 1940s to1960s.

➢ This involved the use of chemical herbicides and pesticides –monoculture and technology in cultivation to
increase productivity.
➢ This development reduced food costs and led to overconsumption
➢ It also caused environmental degradation due to water pollution from chemical products and biodiversity
loss from pesticides and monoculture
Call for Sustainability

One of the first predictors of unsustainability of Western lifestyles was the

Native American Cree prophecy by Chief Seattle dated in the 1850s–it reads as
follows:

“When the earth is being ravaged and polluted, the forests being destroyed,
the birds would fall from the air, the waters would be blackened, and fish
being poisoned in streams, and the trees would no longer be, mankind as
we know it would all but cease to exist”
➢ In 1798, Thomas Malthus published Essay of the Principle of population where he
warned about the dangers of over population
➢ Malthus predicted famines and suffering in the future, claiming that food supplies
could not keep up with growing world population
The Limits of Growth (Meadows et al. 1972, 1992 and 2004)

➢ In 1972 the book Limits to Growth was published by the Club of Rome
➢ The Limits of Growth warned of an “overshoot” –a situation of economic and societal collapse
from unsustainable use of natural resources.
➢ Five variables were examined in the original model of Meadows et al. (1972). These variables

are: 1. world population, 2. Industrialization, 3. Pollution, 4. food production

and 5. Resource depletion.
The Conclusion from The Limit of Growth

1. Human use of many essential resources and generation of many kinds of pollutants have already
surpassed the rates that are physically sustainable. Without significant reductions in material and energy
flows, there will be in the coming decades an uncontrolled decline in per capita food output, energy use, and
industrial production.
2.The decline is not inevitable. To avoid it, two changes are necessary. The first is a comprehensive
revision of policies and practices that perpetuate growth and material consumption and population.
The second is a rapid, drastic increase in the efficiency with which materials and energy are used.
3.A sustainable society is still technically and economically possible. It could be much more desirable than a
society that tries to solve its problems by constant expansion. The transition to a sustainable society
requires a careful balance between long-term and short-term goals and an emphasis on sufficiency,
equity and quality of life rather than on quantity of output. It requires more than productivity and
technology; it also requires maturity, compassion and wisdom.
United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (1972)

➢ Most of the important global sustainability institutions are related to the United Nations (UN)
➢ An important starting point of sustainable development was the United Nations Conference on Human
Environment (UNCHE) in 1972 in Stockholm, Sweden, where the UN declared the need for a:

“common outlook and for common principles to inspire and guide the people of the world
in the preservation and enhancement of the human environment”
World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) -Our Common
Future (1987)

The report “Our Common Future” focused on issues around population growth, food
security, biodiversity loss, energy, resource depletion, pollution and urbanization as
they affect sustainability.

What was needed was a new kind of economic growth that had much less environmental
impact and which increased the capacity of the environment to deliver human satisfaction.
The report comprised three objectives:

1. To re- examine the critical environment and development issues and to formulate
realistic proposals for dealing with them;

2. To propose new Forms of international cooperation on issues that will influence policies
and events in the direction of needed changes;

3. To raise the levels of understanding and commitment to action of individuals, voluntary

organizations, businesses, institutes and governments.
United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (1992)-
Rio Earth Summit

Rio Earth Summit in 1992 was attended by;

➢ 172 governments participated, with 108 sending their head of State or
Government
➢ 2,400 representatives from non-governmental organisations(NGOs)
➢ 17,000 people attended a parallel NGO Forum
Issues addressed

➢ Systematic scrutiny of patterns of production —particularly the production

of toxic components, such as lead in gasoline, or poisonous waste including
radioactive chemicals

➢ Alternative sources of energy to replace the use of fossil fuels which are
linked to global climate change

➢ New reliance on public transportation systems in order to reduce vehicle

emissions, congestion in cities and the health problems caused by polluted
air

➢ the growing scarcity of water

The Rio Earth Summit resulted in the following documents:
➢ Rio Declaration on Environment and Development
➢ Agenda 21
➢ Convention on Biological Diversity
➢ Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
World Summit on Sustainable Development (2002) (Rio+10)

➢ The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) or Earth Summit

2002 took place in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 2002.

➢ It was convened to discuss sustainable development by the United Nations.

➢ The Johannesburg Declaration was the main outcome of the Summit;

however, there were several other international agreements.

➢ It laid out the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation as an action plan.

➢ The absence of the United States rendered the summit partially impotent.
Johannesburg Declaration on Sustainable Development

1. Re affirm commitment to Sustainable Development

2. Build humane, equitable and caring global society for the need of human dignity.

3. The future to inherit a world free of indignity and indecency, occasioned by poverty,
environmental degradation and patterns of unstainable development

4. Responding positively to produce a practical and visible plan in bringing about

poverty eradication and human development
United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (2012) (Rio+20)

The Conference took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 20-22 June 2012 to mark
the 20th anniversary of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment
and Development (UNCED), in Rio de Janeiro, and the 10th anniversary of the
2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg.
The conference had three objectives:
1. Securing renewed political commitment for sustainable development.
2. Assessing the progress and implementation gaps in meeting previous
commitments.
3.Addressing new and emerging challenges.
7 Critical Issues at Rio+20:
The preparations for Rio + 20 have highlighted seven areas which need priority
attention; these include: 1. decent jobs, 2. energy, 3. sustainable cities, 4. food
security and sustainable agriculture, 5. water, 6. oceans and 7. disaster
readiness.
•Rio +20 birth the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
•The objective was to produce a set of universal goals that meet the urgent
environmental, political and economic challenges facing our world.
•The SDGs replace the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which started a
global effort in 2000 to tackle the indignity of poverty.
Key MDG achievements
✓More than 1 billion people have been lifted out of extreme poverty (since 1990)
✓Child mortality dropped by more than half (since 1990)
✓The number of out of school children has dropped by more than half (since 1990)
✓HIV/AIDS infections fell by almost 40 percent (since 2000)
✓(Source: UN Development Programme)
17 UN –SDGs

GOAL 1: No Poverty
GOAL 2: Zero Hunger
GOAL 3: Good Health and Well-being
GOAL 4: Quality Education
GOAL 5: Gender Equality
GOAL 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
GOAL 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
GOAL 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
GOAL 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
GOAL 10: Reduced Inequality
GOAL 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
GOAL 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
GOAL 13: Climate Action
GOAL 14: Life Below Water
GOAL 15: Life on Land
GOAL 16: Peace and Justice Strong Institutions
GOAL 17:Partnerships to achieve the Goal