Reducing Risk:

Sustainability and Sustainable Development

Session 39

Session 39 2

Session Objectives

Identify key linkages between environmental processes and conditions and disaster vulnerability

Understand alternative conceptualizations of sustainability

Understand key issues in the political ecology of development and underdevelopment

Identify key linkages between development and environment

Session 39 3

Environmental Processes and Conditions

Session 39 4

Linking Environmental Processes and Disaster Vulnerability

Environment can be experienced as both resource and hazard

Environmental conditions can protect humans and buffer extreme events

Human activity can cause or exaggerate the effects of extreme natural events

Human land use decisions can put settlements and groups of people at risk

Session 39 5

Typical Definition of “To Sustain”

To keep in existence To maintain or

prolong To continue or last

Problems with Definition– Inherent contradictions– Extreme cases– Boundaries over what is

being “maintained” or “prolonged”

– For how long?– Who should manage?– Lack of perfect knowledge

may make it hard to “manage” in the right direction

Session 39 6

Typical Definitions of “Sustainable Development”

Human activity that “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (WCED, 1987, p. 8)

“A strategy for improving the quality of life while preserving the environmental potential for the future, of living off interest rather than consuming natural capital” (Natl. Commission on the Environment, 1993, cited in Beatley, 1998, pp. 235-36)

Session 39 7

How do Gender, Ethnic, and Caste Differences Affect Life Chances, Human and Economic Development?

Land tenure systems Water rights and “tree tenure” Labor relations and labor law Biases in the education system Biases in access to financial credit Biases in access to technical

assistance and advice Geographical isolation

Session 39 8

Differences Between Economic Development and Human Development

Economic Development– Concerns increase of

production of goods and services

– Measure in money and mediated through markets

Human Development– Concerns increase in

satisfaction of basic needs

– Concerns increase in autonomy

– Measured by more than money

– Requires public investment and not just resource allocation provided by unregulated markets

Session 39 9

Views of Sustainability

Strong View– No consideration of

financial costs– Key concept is ‘ecological

sustainability’– Focuses primarily on the

environment– Reliance on physical

measures of things

Weak View– Consideration of financial

costs– Benefit/cost analysis often

used to evaluate ‘trade-offs’

– Key concept is ‘economic sustainability’

– Reliance on measurements of financial value and relationship between resource allocation and level of consumption

Session 39 10

“Traps” Produced by Underdevelopment

Lack ofpolitical influence

Spatialisolation

Low income

Access to poor,difficult land

Physical weaknessdue to disease and

undernutrition