Green Economy Journal Issue 63

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
dwellings. As of the most recent data, 2.2-million households
in South Africa live in informal dwellings. Approximately 37% of
South Africa households do not have access to a flush toilet inside
their dwellings. Not surprisingly, this burden falls exclusively
on the poor.
CONCLUSION
On almost all counts the current infrastructure paradigm is diametrically
opposed to the key factors of ecological economics.
The development and maintenance of the constructed ecosystem
(infrastructure) is reductive, ie the exchange of goods and services
between itself and the natural and social ecosystems diminishes
biological and sociological functionality over time. Every metre of
road, wall, pipe, cable and all other constructions requires resources
derived from the natural ecosystem for construction and maintenance
thereby reducing the resource quantity and quality, as does every
litre of fuel or water consumed. The exchange is also unequitable:
the flow is one-dimensional (from the resource base to the resource
consumer), and benefits of that resource use is unequally divided
among population groups and prejudicial to future generations.
The often-repeated claim that “infrastructure investment is key to
the future of cities” is not defensible if that investment is out of line
with ecological economics: so too, is the call for “infrastructure based
on quality-cost-selection” – it is so much more than this.
It is of critical importance that decisionmakers and participants
active in the South African National Infrastructure Plan stop and
review their investment paradigm against the key factors involved
in ecological economics. Failure to do so will unquestionably result
in investment continuing its damaging influence on natural, social
and constructed ecosystems.
Cities account for 80%
of global GDP and will
host 75% of the world’s
population by 2050.
REFERENCES
1 Nelson, A., & Coffey, B., 2019. “What is ‘ecological economics’ and why do we need to talk about it?” The Conversation, November 5, 2019.
2 WEF 2022. BiodiverCities by 2030: Transforming Cities’ Relationship with Nature. World Economic Forum in collaboration with Arup and AlphaBeta.
3 Ibid.
4 Ibid.
5 Constanza, R., 2010. “What is ecological economics?” Yale Insights, May 11, 2010.
6 WEF 2022. BiodiverCities by 2030: Transforming Cities’ Relationship with Nature. World Economic Forum in collaboration with Arup and AphaBeta.
7 Ibid.
8 Ibid.
9 Malte Faber. 2008. “How to be an ecological economist.” Ecological Economics 66(1):1-7.
10 WEF 2022. BiodiverCities by 2030: Transforming Cities’ Relationship with Nature. World Economic Forum in collaboration with Arup and AlphaBeta.
11 Ibid.
12 Mattson L. 1975. “Book Review: Positional Analysis for Decision-Making and Planning by Peter Soderbaum.” The Swedish Journal of Economics.
13 Soderbaum, P. 2008. “Understanding Sustainability Economics.” Earthscan, London. ISBN 978-1-84407-627-7. pp.109-110, 113-117.
14 Aslaksen, I.; Bragstad, T.; Ås, B., 2014. “Feminist Economics as Vision for a Sustainable Future”. In Bjørnholt, Margunn; McKay, Ailsa (eds.). Counting on Marilyn Waring: New Advances in Feminist Economics.
Demeter Press/Brunswick Books. pp. 21-36.
15 Erald, K., April 2021. “The Physics of Capitalism”, Sustainable Human Development, The Jus Semper Global Alliance.
16 Webb, R., O’Donnell, T., Auty, K., Bai, X., Barnett, G., Costanza, R., et al, 2023. “Enabling urban systems transformation: co-developing national and local strategies.” Urban Transformations, (2023) 5:5.
17 Ibid.
18 Constanzs, R., 1996. “Ecological economics: reintegrating the study of humans and nature.” Ecological Applications 6:978-990.
19 Constanza et al., 1997. “The value of the world’s ecosystem services and natural capital.” Nature 387:253-260.
20 Weston, P., 2024. “England brings in biodiversity rules to force builders to compensate for loss of nature.” Downloaded: February 13, 2024.
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