Engineering: issues, challenges and opportunities for development ...

ENGINEERING: ISSUES CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR DEVELOPMENT Batad rice terraces.© LambThe challenge in responding to the MDGs is to integrate thesystems and techniques that have been successfully used inpilot projects in developing countries into the mainstreamof public sector infrastructure delivery and to increase thecapacity of the public sector to deliver in response to currentincreasing investment in infrastructure. The standards andbest practice approach adopted in South Africa provides aworkable model for mainstreaming outcomes of pilot projectsand provides an excellent platform for developing capacity.The next few decades for civil and structural engineering willnot be ‘business as usual’. Civil and structural engineers willneed to deliver infrastructure in a manner that contributesdirectly to sustainable development objectives that are pertinentto developing countries, including the reduction ofpoverty.6.1.4Tony MarjoramSustainable developmentEngineering and sustainable developmentCountries around the world face increasing and dauntingchallenges regarding the need for their development to beenvironmentally sustainable and to counter climate changeand the associated effects of a changing climate. Resource useneeds to be sustainable for future generations, and we needto protect our environment from pollution, degradation anddeterioration. Natural resource use is becoming critical insome areas, (e.g. peak production of oil and environmental‘tipping points’). Natural disasters are more frequent and affectmore people. The gap between the rich and many poor countriescontinues to widen. All these issues are a major threat toglobal prosperity, security, stability and sustainable development.One cannot address issues of sustainability and climatechange mitigation without first addressing issues of poverty,consumption and the distribution of resources.Engineering lies at the heart of addressing the majority ofthese issues. All countries now recognize these issues andagree that there is an urgent and overwhelming need toreduce emissions and use resources more efficiently to minimizethe catastrophic effects of climate change. The question,amid increasing population and consumerism, is how can weachieve this? Such questions were first raised in 1972, with thepublication of Limits to Growth by the Club of Rome, whichcreated major interest, concern and a new paradigm of debate.Many countries also understand that engineering is one of themost important activities in the context of sustainable development,climate change mitigation and adaptation. By 2009,many countries had already introduced policies and initiativesfor climate change mitigation and adaptation prior to theUnited Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has emphasizedthe importance of technology and finance, and henceengineering, in climate change mitigation and adaptation,and this is echoed elsewhere in this Report. Addressing theseissues, and the specific outcomes and follow-up to COP15, willbe one of the greatest demands and challenges that engineeringhas ever faced.One of the major areas of need for engineers and the developmentof engineering will be in the area of sustainable or greenengineering. It will also be a challenge for the engineering communityto make sure that engineering and technology are atthe centre of the sustainable development and climate changemitigation agenda.The greening of engineeringTo address the sustainable development agenda, investmentin technology and infrastructure will need to increase significantly.It is likely that coal use will double by 2030, and sothe need for carbon capture, sequestration and related technologieswill be a challenge on a scale similar to that of thepetro chemical and fossil fuel industry. Many countries arealso looking to develop or redevelop nuclear power, whichwill be equally challenging because the nuclear industry hasdeclined over the last decades. The renewable energy sectorhas been developing rapidly over the last decade, and willneed to develop further to keep up with demand. The sameapplies to developments in the housing and transportationsectors. The demand for engineers will increase dramatically.While increasing market demand will help attract young peopleinto engineering, it takes over five years to develop coursesto produce graduates; so urgent government action will berequired to support course development and associated R&Dand innovation. Although investment in current technologyis the pressing issue, R&D for new technology is also required,and governments need to invest now to encourage the developmentof R&D and industry in the sustainable direction andthe next main wave of technological development.An important contribution to the ongoing ‘Limits to Growth’debate in 1997 was the publication of Factor Four on doublingwealth and halving resource use by Ernst von Weizsäcker. Thedebate has intensified with increasing concern over climatechange, coupled with the recent financial and economic crisisand the interest of politicians around the world in a ‘green newdeal’ to help lift economies out of recession. Von Weizsäcker 109and the Natural Edge Project 110 have recently shown that109 Ernst von Weizsäcker. 1997. Factor Four: Doubling Wealth, Halving Resource Use; andErnst von Weizsäcker and The Natural Edge Project, Earthscan, 2009, Factor Five: Transformingthe Global Economy through 80% Improvements in Resource Productivity.110 The Natural Edge Project, Australia. Critical Literacies Portfolio - Introduction to SustainableDevelopment for Engineering and Built Environment Professionals (with UNESCO,2007); Whole System Design: An Integrated Approach to Sustainable Engineering (withEarthscan, 2008); Factor Five: Transforming the Global Economy through 80% Improvementsin Resource Productivity (Earthscan, 2009).258