MAY 2005 ISSUE
BACKGROUNDER
Are You Moving Sustainable Development Forward?
APEGGA members represent a wide range of disciplines. And that presents a great opportunity to complement each other’s efforts to create economic growth while protecting Planet Earth.
Editor’s Note: This article is one in a series of opinion and background pieces generated by the APEGGA Environment Committee, designed to inform and motivate members, and generate debate.
BY DON PEEL, P.GEOL.
APEGGA Environment Committee
Global warming — along with the controversial Kyoto Protocol as a way of addressing it — has sparked an ongoing debate among APEGGA members. In response, the APEGGA Environment Committee has taken a holistic approach on such issues by promoting sustainability.
“Sustainable development” is a concept formulated by the United Nations, and it fits well with APEGGA’s mandate of maintaining public safety through regulating professional practice standards. APEGGA’s Guideline for Environmental Practice states that professional members are committed to “environmental protection and safeguarding the well-being of the public.”
Practices to induce sustainability are evolving as many organizations, including APEGGA, actively exchange innovative and creative ideas. The multidisciplinary scope of APEGGA professionals provides our members with a unique opportunity to contribute to sustainability. To give readers a perspective on this position, this article provides a historical overview of the concept.
Out of the Silence
The book Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, published in 1962, appears to be the first publication that captured public consciousness of human activities affecting the environment. In 1968 the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO, held the International Conference for Rational Use and Conservation of the Biosphere. The United Nations Conference on the Human Environment was the next significant event, in 1972, from which the United Nations Environment Programme was established.
In 1983 the United Nations appointed an international commission chaired by the Norwegian prime minister of the day, Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, a physician. The country’s first female PM, she went on to become the first female director-general of the World Health Organization as well.
The resulting Brundtland Report, Our Common Future (The World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987), introduced the concept of sustainable development, which is now the basis of many projects striving to achieve a balance between the biota and the environment.
The publication refers to the Earth “as an organism whose health depends on the health of all of its parts,” which is the perspective of the Gaia thesis. The report concludes that “humans have the power to reconcile human affairs with natural laws and to thrive in the process. In the broadest sense, the strategy for sustainable development aims to promote harmony among human beings and between humanity and nature.”
The report mentions the special attention required for tribal and indigenous peoples whose lifestyles are disrupted through the forces of economic development — lifestyles that offer modern societies valuable lessons in ecosystems management. It says that many changes are required to achieve sustainable development, and that these changes are beyond the reach of present decision-making structures and institutions.
Enter the Climate Change Panel
In 1988 the International Panel on Climate Change was formed and the Toronto Conference on the Changing Atmosphere was the first major conference on the issue. The first report said there was reason to believe the planet was warming and the warming could be linked to human activity.
At the Earth Summit of 1992, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development reaffirmed the Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (1972). In all, 27 principles were proclaimed as ways to induce sustainable development.
In addition to the establishment of the principles, all the participating 179 countries signed treaties on biodiversity and climate change, and adopted Agenda 21, a blueprint for sustainable development, the concept of economic growth while protecting natural resources.
Agenda 21 states, “No longer can social, economic and environmental development be seen as separate issues, their interdependence has become clearly established.” Chapter 31 focuses on “how to enable the scientific and technological community, which includes, among others, engineers, architects, industrial designers, urban planners and other professionals and policy makers, to make a more open and effective contribution to the decision-making processes concerning environment and development.”
The Commission on Sustainable Development was initiated in 1993 to help countries implement Agenda 21 and initiate regional roundtables to prepare for the 2002 Summit.
Countries that ratified the 1992 Declaration of Rio started to meet annually, beginning in 1995, as the Conference of Parties. It was at the 1997 such conference, in Kyoto, that new targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions were agreed to. Article 13 (2001), a report from one of the roundtables, stated a message of urgency: that the present generation may be among the last to be able to correct our path from the point of no return.
New Ethical Standards
A new level of commitment, responsibility and partnership is required to motivate people. Recognition of the health and carrying capacity of the natural environment has to be the basis of new ethical standards respecting the rights of forthcoming generations. There is a need to understand the philosophies of aboriginal societies, and to reconnect our children to the natural world and their capacity for positive action.
Working in parallel with the Brundtland Report, in 1987 the United Nations World Commission on the Environment called for the creation of a charter that would outline the new ethics of sustainable development. The Earth Charter, released on June 29, 2000, has been endorsed by more than 14,300 organiza-tions and individuals worldwide.
As an outcome of the World Summit on Sustainable Development Conference of 2002, the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation has highlighted a number of areas to focus on. Paragraph 150 identifies the need to induce partnerships between major groups.
This is where APEGGA can represent engineers and geoscientists in the evolution of sustainable development. And this is where our diverse and innovative membership comes in.
Your Role
The concept of sustainable development appears to be a viable path to maintain the health of the Earth. Although the concept integrates many perspectives, engineering and geoscience are essential in formulating credible solutions.
It is a full-time task to monitor the multitude of research projects and programs being conducted under the banner of sustainable development by a wide variety of organizations. These range from local to national to international. They stem from cultural origins and industry initiatives. Some are government driven.
Our most effective approach, as members of APEGGA, is to become familiar with Agenda 21 and the Earth Charter; to follow research developments in this area; to innovatively incorporate the Guideline for Environmental Practice in our daily practice; to collaborate with other disciplines; and to share our successes with the Environment Committee.
Please check out the websites listed with this article, become better informed and do your part to make the world sustainable for your children and grandchildren. Your Environ-ment Committee considers this a critical responsibility, regardless of where you stand on global warming and the Kyoto Accord.
Don Peel, P.Geol., is a sustainable development geologist with Alberta Sustainable Resource Development and serves on the APEGGA Environment Committee. He has over 25 years of experience with environmental and developmental aspects of public lands. Last year, he finished his master’s degree in sustainable development.
MORE INFORMATION:
The Gaia Thesis - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gai_hypothesis
Agenda 21 - http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/english/agenda21toc.htm
The Earth Charter - http://www.earthcharter.org/
The Joannesburg Summit - www.johannesburgsummit.org/html/documents/summit_docs/2309_planfinal.htm