CLASS 12 MEASURING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT LECTURE TAKEN FROM

Environmental Indicators

• Goeteyn maintains that environmental sustainability can be measured using the following data:

P = Number of people

GS = Goods and services

ER = Energy and resources

EI = Environmental impact

GS/P

gives and indicator of our consumption pattern

ER/GS

looks at the productivity

EI/ER

looks at the environmental impact for the energy and other resources consumed

Goeteyn suggests that sustainable development involves minimizing these factors

• Environmental utilization space (EUS) - total amount of resources that can be used and polluting substances released without threatening the sustainability of environmental functions and ecosystems

Quantity of natural resources and services which the ecosystem can provide without reaching the productive capacity of generating irreversible damage

• How do you quantify the Environmental Utilization Space (EUS)?

From the Dutch Council for Environment and Nature Research

* 50 years reserve of oil left (not accounting for replacements)

* 30 years reserve of copper

* Critical acidification load in Western Europe = 1,400-2,400 acid equivalents

Current deposition rate = 5,000-6,000 acid equivalents

* Annual depletion of soils by erosion, exhaustion, and salination = 24 billion tons/yr (another reports 75 billion tons/yr on the high side)

Compared with the natural loss of 9.3 billion tons/yr

* 50,000 species become extinct each year

* 20 million ha of forests are destroyed each year

* Irrigation per capita has declined since 1978

* Food per capita (based on grains) has declined since 1980

* Fossil energy use per capita has declined since 1990

Economic Indicators

• Basic measurement of the investment in production processes which use energy and natural resources in a more efficient way

• Taking the value of the environment into account in the choice of consumer goods

• Both of these concepts require calculation of environmental costs

* Ecological costs (depletion of natural resources)

* Production costs

* Waste treatment/remediation

• Look at the modified net national farm income for South Africa

Table 1. p. 170

• The “green” Gross National Product is often called a Sustainable National Product (SNP)

Use of the SNP offers advantages from an ecological point of view, however, very detailed cost/benefit analyses are required

Also have the traditional problems regarding placing a monetary value on environmental damage

Importance of Indicators

• First step in connecting human activities to the health and vitality of the natural ecosystem

• Provide feedback on the direction that a community is moving (toward or away from sustainability)

What is a good sustainability indicator or metric?

• Consistently reflects the status of a significant and fundamental characteristic

• Well understood and accepted by the community

• Statistically valid and practically measurable (defensible and backed by logic)

• Clear, understandable links to other indicators

• Represents or directly relates to community values

Sustainable Seattle Case Study

• A group called “Sustainable Seattle” began at the Global Tomorrow Coalition conference on sustainability held in Seattle in November 1990

• 12 individuals met and decided to establish and track the progress of sustainability goals

• Expertise from city administrators, consultants, engineers, architects, business representatives, educators, scientists, and entrepreneurs was provided (over 50 people contributed)

• Principals for creating the indicators:

* Use of existing data

Cheeper, easier to maintain, easier to get started

* Re-evaluate underlying assumptions

Check assumptions for existing data, understand basis

* Integrate long-term focus with short-term change

Concentrated on selecting indicators that could change in one year so that feedback was current. However the value of some indicators outweighed the need for rapid change.

* Relate indicators to the individual

Put on a per capita basis for individual comparison

* Identify direction of sustainability

Is the direction of change toward or away from sustainability

* Present indicators as a whole system

Don’t look at just one indicator - all are important

* Determine linkages

Identify and describe the relationships between indicators

• Developed the following categories

* Resource consumption

* Economy

* Natural Environment

* Population

* Social Environment

* Education

* Transportation

* Public Safety

* Health

* Culture and Recreation

* Community Participation and Involvement

• Sustainable Seattle proceeded in December 1992 to develop a list of indicators (190 civic leaders participated)

Developed 99 indicators

In 1993 the list was revised to 40 that met the data availability criteria

Primary groups were:

Environment

Population and Resources

Economy

Culture and Society

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