SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT:
Sustainable
development is a dominant idea of development in recent age. Most of the
development theorists, environmentalists, academics, aid agencies and NGOs
favor it with some exceptions. The term “sustainable development” came into use
after the publication of the Bruntland commission’s report on environment and
development in 1987. (Castro, 2004)
The sustainable development is a reaction to 1970s
limits-to-growth literature. It was an outcome of mainstream reaction to
radicalism of environmental movement. Which was proposing limits-to-growth idea
and also advocating regulations as a means of stopping environmental
degregation. (Pearce & Warford, 1993)
Limits-to-growth or environmental movement of 1970s
emphasized on ‘prohibition’ as a way of protecting the natural world. Here
‘Prohibition’ means government should do something directly or order different
required companies to use particular technology to limit pollution.
Accordingly to World commission on Environment and
Development report published in 1987 sustainable development is a special kind
of development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet theirs.
Some authors like Norgaard identifies this definition as too
vague and not defining what needs are and how to achieve them. The definition,
in any case, reflects a political compromise between growth and environmental
sustainability that the pro-growth delegations at the UN could accept. (Norgaard, 1994)
In bare eyes it seems that “Sustainable Development” is
merely an economical and environmental concept but it is not. Actually
“Sustainable Development” is a political concept which indirectly advocating Neo-liberal
ideology. (Castro, 2004)
So if we intend to understand “Sustainable development” deeply
we must discuss the political dimensions as well as scientific dimensions. And
we also have to discuss, what we need? Who decides this? And on what basis are
the decisions are made?
In 2015, the 193 countries of the
UN General Assembly adopted the 2030 Development Agenda
titled “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development”. Following the decision, UN agencies, under the umbrella of
the United Nations Development Programme decided to support a campaign by
several independent entities, among them corporate institutions and International
Organizations. This Campaign, popularly known as ‘Project Everyone’. The
Official Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted on 25 September 2015
outlining the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. This included the following
goals:
Scientific and Economic dimensions of sustainable
development:
The Brundtland Report put spotlight on the idea Sustainable
Development and provided its most famous definition that “….meets the needs of
the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet
theirs”. The report recognized that there was huge poverty and environmental
degradation in the countries of periphery and proposed suggestion to solve them.
(Castro, 2004)
Report says poverty needed to be reduced. UN sees poverty as
a result of environmental degradation. Hence, environmental degradation will be
reduced when poverty is reduced. To reduce poverty, the countries in periphery
need to have economic growth. To achieve it, there need to free markets. To
ensure free market, developed countries have to transfer to the underdeveloped
countries knowledge, capital and technology.
Which actually means that businesses in the core will
continue accumulating capital selling expertise, resources and technologies to
countries in the periphery. This is not a new, this idea it existed. It is hard
to find any real differences between old plain development and so called new sustainable
development. In other words, sustainable development echoes suspiciously like
old plain development.
Sustainable development promotes trade liberalization at the
same time it advocates environmental sustainability. But mainstream economists
do not think free market will promote environmental sustainability. (Daly, 1993)
Actually in political sense sustainable development
advocates for the neo-liberal idea of Milton Friedman. Which gives opportunity
to western world selling expertise, technology and capital to the countries of
the periphery. But unfortunately free market economy doesn’t even promote
economic growth let alone environmental sustainability as the data show.
Latin America’s GDP growth was 3.1% during the state led
growth period (1945 to 1980) but only 1.6% during the neoliberal period for
which data available (1990 to 2000) (Dussel, 2003) . The idea that economic growth and
poverty reduction will be achieved by free trade and once poverty is reduced
environmental degradation will be reduced automatically doesn’t work in
practical.
Some economists criticize sustainable development. To them
this idea serve the purpose of business communities. Sustainable development advocates
for deregulation of business and oppose any state intervention.
Brundtland commission’s report provides much more importance
on different non-governmental organizations, institutions and civil society as
well as business community for achieving sustainable development goals in
developing countries. It encourages seminar, symposium and training sessions in
the country of periphery on SDG. To them lack of training is one of the major
problem in the peripheral countries, and providing training is a process to
empower indigenous people and their community. But then they making people and
community so called ‘empower’ often ignore indigenous culture and tradition.
Sustainable Development puts so much importance on modern
technology and recommends to change existing technology in the countries of
periphery. According to Sustainable Development Goals ‘Environmentally Sound’
technology is essential for development. It emphasizes on technological
transfer between Centre and Periphery. But it often skips different
complexities regarding technology transfer.
Proprietary technology is available through commercial
channels, and international business is an important vehicle for technology
transfer. (United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, 1992).
The confidence
in ‘Technology
transfer’ disregards the fact that in the international political economy,
‘Environmentally sound’ technology is very expensive, and most countries of the
periphery will have to export more natural resources, thereby creating more
environmental destruction, to be able to buy this so called ‘Environmentally
sound’ technology. If the countries of periphery have to create more pressure
on environment to buy this so called ‘Environmental sound’ technology then how
it helping to reduce environmental degradation. If the first world (countries
of the center) would provide this technology to peripheral countries free, it
could probably reduce environmental degradation. Different organizations,
environmentalists and economists argue that countries of periphery don’t need
to create more pressure on environment as World Bank, IMF and different
international organizations providing loan in this issue. But they often don’t
pay any attention on the complexities of loan and the prescription World Bank
or IMF provides with loan. Radical Marxist economists believe that loan
provided by different organizations don’t empower third world rather it creates
a cycle of poverty which is more dangerous than environmental degradation.
Furthermore, the commission does not recognize that communities
in the periphery may have ‘environmentally sound’ technologies. And those
technologies are more compatible in the countries of periphery than the
capitalist modernization that the report promotes.
We see, sustainable development approach doesn’t recognize
that people of peripheral country or indigenous communities may have the power to
make development sustainable. The Acceptance of neo-liberal agenda as
fundamental tool is a one of the main weaknesses of sustainable development
programme as I mentioned before.
Post Structural and Marxist view on Sustainable Development:
Defining development from western perspectives is a problem.
Most of the cases development programmes and policies don’t meet the desired destination
because development agencies do not take into account the characteristics of
indigenous people and communities in development process. They say the
countries in periphery have to have different institutions like west for
development. As if it’s a Prerequisite for development.
‘Development projects that do not take into account the
historical development of communities they are supposed to develop end up
destroying their culture and identity’. Escober said it criticizing sustain
development.
Post-structuralist idea criticizes this view. According to
post structuralist idea it is essential to consider indigenous culture in
development process. They emphasis to make a hybrid culture by assimilating
western and local culture. Most importantly post structuralism recognizes that
local culture may have the power to sustain development what conventional idea
of development rejects.
A professor from India who lives in United States and wants
to develop his village said to a reporter from The New York Times, the problem is “how to bring country’s (India)
thousands of thousands villages ….. Into the 21th century”- as if the 21th
century has not reached Indian villages yet. (Waldman, 2003)
A country like India or Bangladesh where people still
struggle to reconcile their basic needs like food, shelter, education, here
western development model won’t success. UNCSO, UNDP, World Bank and other
organizations underestimate the local characteristics and culture in their
development policy that’s why development progremmes often fail to attain its
goal. Post-structuralist economists suggest to incorporate indigenous culture
in development policy and process.
Accumulation of capital is the most important feature of the
capitalist system. Capitalism always wants to expand profit. On the other hand
sustainable development emphasis on environmental sustainability. For Marxist
economists it is impossible to achieve sustainability and economic growth at the
same time.
Marx theorized that capitalism
brings about environmental destruction is by creating a metabolic rift in the
relations between humans and nature. With the introduction of trade to distant
places and the concentration of population in cities, capital moves energy and
matter from one place to another, taking them away from the places they had
evolved, sending them to other places, and creating this metabolic rift. (Foster, 2000)
For Marxists, human interaction
in a capitalist economy is motivated by the profit motive, which is an accepted
social goal that legitimizes the exploitation of nature and labor. This profit
motive drives science and technology as well, and this is why environmental Marxists,
even though they do not take a negative stance toward science and technology, and
are aware of their limitations. Science and technology are produced in a
capitalist society and their results and applications do not represent a value
neutral effort by scientists to improve humanity.
Marxist economists don’t believe
that environment friendly development is possible in capitalist society. To
them sustainable development is basically economic growth and a capitalist
term, which was originated to maximize profit for the business community and to
oppress the people in third world.
Sustainable
development and Bangladesh:
The National Sustainable Development Strategy (NSDS) of
Bangladesh has been prepared to meet the tremendous environmental challenges
that Bangladesh faces in the way to development. The challenges arise when the
country’s development efforts and made without proper recognition of
consequential environmental impacts which lead to degraded agro-ecosystem,
rivers and wetlands, coastal and urban environment, degradation and depletion
of ground water and desertification in different parts of the country. (Bangladesh planning commission, 2013)
Equally and perhaps more important are the challenges arising
from global climate change induced by the production and consumption patterns
of other countries especially the developed and fast growing developing
countries that exert multiple impacts on our development. Apart from the
domestic exigencies, The National Sustainable Development Strategy fulfils
Bangladesh’s commitment to the international community to formulate and
implement a sustainable development strategy addressing environmental issues.
Conclusion:
Sustainable development is still largely
defined within the mainstream paradigm of development, which gives primacy to
the market in allocating resources and theoretically takes account of the
environment only as a subsidiary concern when pursuing its main object of promoting
economic growth. One of the main weaknesses of sustainable development is it
defines development from Neo-liberal approach assuming that
third world have to have different organizations like west for development and
sustainable development often doesn’t take into indigenous characteristics of
third world in development process.
Marxist and
Post-Structuralist approach criticize this view. And suggest some idea to make
development sustainable. With some criticism sustainable development has become
the main development idea in 21th century. We hope sustainable
development will reduce environmental degradation and make our lovely world
greener, where we’ll able to live in peace.
References
Bangladesh planning commission. (2013). Retrieved November 8, 2016, from
www.plancomm.gov.bd:
http://www.plancomm.gov.bd/national-sustainable-development-strategy/
Castro, C. J. (2004). Sustainable development:
mainstream and critical perspectives.
Daly, H. E. (1993). The obstacle of sstainable
development. Boston: Beacon.
Dussel, E. P. (2003). The dictatorsdip of
macroeconomy in latin america. moscow: progress publication.
Foster, J. B. (2000). Mark's ecology: Mainsteam
and nature. New York : Monthly review press.
Norgaard, R. (1994). development betrayed: the end
of progress and a coevolutionary revisioning of the future. london:
routledge kegan paul .
Pearce, D., & Warford, J. (1993). World
without end: Economics, environment and sustainable development. New york:
Oxford university press.
Sustainable development. (n.d.). Retrieved November 5, 2016, from
wikipedia.org: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_development
United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development. (1992).
Waldman, A. (2003, august 17). Professor teaches
change in his Indian village. The new york times.
খান, আ. আ. (২০০০)। পরার্থপরতার অর্থনীতি। ঢাকা: দি ইউনিভসিটি প্রেস লিমিটেড।
No comments:
Post a Comment