Praxis of Sustainability

Plan of sessionIssues of sustainability

Historical contextContemporary issues

Praxis of sustainabilityCapital assets

Delimiting terms

Sustainability: contested term both a means and an

end in itself implies spatial and

temporal perspectives and contexts

not the same as sustainable development or ecologically sustainable development

these are subsets of this broader principle of sustainability

Praxis: episteme (theoretical

understanding), techne (technical

application) and phronesis (practical

wisdom, intuition and imagination)

interdependent and mutually constitutive

first two privileged praxis is about

integrating the three in everything we do

Fault lines or spectra of sustainability

degree of environmental protection degree of intergenerational equity approach to participation breadth of subject area strong and weak variants

Sustainable development

Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It contains within it two key concepts:

the concept of needs, in particular the essential needs of the world’s poor, to which overriding priority should be given; and

the idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the environment’s ability to meet present and future needs.

Thus the goals of economic and social development must be defined in terms of sustainability in all countries—developed or developing, market-oriented or centrally planned [where development is defined as a progressive transformation of economy and society—that is the satisfaction of human needs and aspirations].

Sustainable systems of community life might look something like this:

They ensure human flourishing by furnishing those goods and services that ensure survival, opportunities for participation, and a good life

They preserve and foster forms of community wellbeing

They preserve and foster ecosystem viability They do not see the linkages between human

and non-human nature

A praxis of sustainability might be expected to

unify theory, technique and practice to bring critical understanding to problems of the ecological age

encompass ethical and political life offering a practical-moral perspective of ecological crises

foster ecological consciousness avoid uncritical acceptance of ecological ideas and totalizing

blueprints pursue adaptive change be about ecological restructuring not ecological modernization be characterized by an integrated balance of resilience,

flexibility, robustness

Sustainability’s imperatives

Sustainability implications Innovative thinking and practice Organizational innovation Innovations in governance

Attractions Focuses on full range of assets Facilitates innovation

Barriers to Sustainability Thinking and Practice

Tendency to individual self-interest Lack of long-term planning ability Reductionist thinking Inability to ensure continuity of initiatives

over/beyond their lifespan Limits to knowledge and ability Fallibility of human judgment and decision-

making Uncertainty about the future

Physical•buildings & infrastructure•communications•energy systems•transportation

Financial•savings•credit •pensions and remittances•welfare payments •grants and subsidies

Human•health, skills and nutrition•education and knowledge•access to services

Social capital•relations of trust and reciprocity•common rules and norms•networks and groups

Natural•natural resources-food,water, wood/fibre•ecosystems services-soil, fisheries, water, biological processes, wildlife habitat, waste assimilation•beauty of nature-recreation/leisure, aesthetic value

Capital Assets

Natural capital

Natural Capital is nature’s goods and services (the bounties of a living earth and the mechanisms by which these are kept in balance), and their accumulation relies on high levels of ecological literacy in citizens South Sydney City Council Greenhouse Effect Policy

Statement Concern for natural asset –

integration with other assets

Financial capital

Financial capital includes systems of savings, affordable credit, adequate pensions, welfare payments, grants and subsidies, and relies on local self-reliance, and a strong ethical stance about the equitable distribution of the assets Maidstone Borough Council

Ethical investment

Physical capital

Physical capital consists of transport and communication systems, buildings and other infrastructure and, being the material expression of the operation of the other assets, relies on their integration in planning, construction and maintenance phases Windsor Court, North Hobart Tasmanian Government (Housing

Tasmania)

Social capital

Social capital comprises social rules, relations of trust and reciprocity, and social exchanges that facilitate co-operation, networks and connectedness, and relies on high levels of active citizenship and participation in governance Greater Nottingham’s Local Transport Plan

Citizen panels

Human capital

Human capital embraces individuals’ knowledge, health, skills and capacities, and it relies on the appropriate development of these assets through education and training, health services, and strong and inclusive leadership South Sydney’s Local Food Policy

Ecological literacy

Ecological knowledge and sensitivity - understanding ecological processes and environmental facts; knowing what constitutes environmentally benign or detrimental actions; recognizing healthy landscapes;

Moral maturity - an ability to act from a concern for the well-being of others rather than mostly acting from self-interest

Critical/evaluative faculties - capacities to ask questions about the rightness of particular proposals, especially about possible outcomes, risks, and their justification

Capital Assets Approach:Benefits

Assets and Sustainability Objectives

Optimizing use of scarce resources Maintaining flow of benefits

Integration across functions

Building bridges

Building knowledge

Building funds

Building healthy

environs

Building networks

Integrating assetsIntegrating assets

Asset Accumulation and Depletion

Sustainable systems accumulate Unsustainable systems deplete Quality of life and sustainability

through investment to accumulate assets

financial

human

natural

physical

social

Processes — Policies — Institutions

Desirable outcomese.g. food, jobs, well-being, economic growth, clean

and safe environments

Undesirable outcomese.g. unemployment, land and water degradation,

social dislocation

Asset depletionAsset accumulation

Asset accumulation or depletionAsset accumulation or depletion

Summary

Sustainability’s imperatives – innovations Barriers to sustainability thinking and practice Capital assets approach

Individual assets Examples of local government programs focusing

on these The centrality of ecological and civic literacy Benefits of the approach Integration of assets – building bridges Accumulation and depletion and their effects