The Local Agenda 21 Planning Guide - Democrats Against UN ...

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The Local Agenda 21 Planning Guide This page intentionally left blank CHAPTER 1 Sustainable Development: The Local Context 1.0 What is Sustainable Development? The realities of life on our planet dictate that continued economic development as we know it cannot be sustained. This is so because present-day forms of economic activity are rapidly under-mining two other development processes that are essential for human life and civilization: the process of ecological development and the process of community development. Ecological development reproduces the biological wealth and climatic conditions necessary for life on our planet. Community development reproduces communities, families, educated and responsible citizens, and civilization itself. The compromising of these processes by current economic activities is destroying both the viability of human communities in a growing number of areas of the planet and the quality of human life in many other communities and neighborhoods throughout the world. Sustainable development, therefore, is a program of action for local and global economic reform—a program that has yet to be fully defined. The challenge of this new program is to develop, test, and disseminate ways to change the process of economic development so that it does not destroy the ecosystems and community systems (e.g., cities, villages, neighborhoods, and families) that make life possible and worthwhile. No one fully understands how, or even if, sustainable development can be achieved; however, there is a growing consensus that it must be accomplished at the local level if it is ever to be achieved on a global basis. At the local level, sustainable development requires that local economic development supports community life and power, using the talents and resources of local residents. It further challenges us to distribute the benefits of development equitably, and to sustain these benefits for all social groups over the long term. This can only be achieved by preventing the waste of ecological wealth and http://www.idrc.ca/openebooks/448-2/ (10 of 180)18/10/2010 12:47:23 AM
The Local Agenda 21 Planning Guide the degradation of ecosystems by economic activities. FIGURE 1 THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGE There are always three distinct development processes under-way at the local level—economic development, community development, and ecological development. Each of these processes has its own distinct imperatives. The development imperatives of the current economic system favor market expansion, externalization of costs, and sustained private profit. The current imperatives of community development are to meet basic human needs, increase economic and social equity, and create community self-reliance. The imperatives of ecological development are established in the natural order. Humans can support ecological development by limiting the consumption of natural resources to a rate that allows nature to regenerate resources and by reducing the production of wastes to levels that can be absorbed by natural processes. The imperatives of these development processes often contradict one another. Many examples can be found of such contradictions. For instance, the externalization of costs in order to maintain rates of private profit can contradict the ecological imperative to value and conserve natural resources. The global expansion of markets and the integration of national economies through structural adjustment programs and free-trade agreements can undermine the community development imperatives of local self-reliance and meeting basic human needs. Sustainable development is a process of bringing these three development processes into balance with each other. The implementation of a sustainable development strategy therefore involves negotiation among the primary interest groups (stakeholders) involved in these three development processes. Once an Action Plan for balancing these development processes is established, these stakeholders must each take responsibility and leadership to implement the plan. 1.0.1 HOW CAN THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT CONCEPT BE APPLIED BY LOCAL http://www.idrc.ca/openebooks/448-2/ (11 of 180)18/10/2010 12:47:23 AM
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