Sustainable Management In the past century, environmental management practices have changed dramatically. Current philosophies lean toward a management system of ‘sustainable development’, but there is still a great deal of confusion over what this means and how to achieve it. Determining what is economically and technologically practical while being ecologically necessary and politically feasible is greatly based on perceptions, which vary among groups. Implicit in changing strategies are differing philosophies of human-nature relationships. Five systems of environmental management of human-nature relationships include frontier economics, deep ecology, environmental protection, resource management, and ‘eco-development’ have been identified. The progression of management styles involves increasing integration of economic, ecological, and social systems into the definition of development and the organization of human societies. Each perceives different evidence, imperatives, and problems, and prescribes different solutions, strategies, technologies, roles for economic sectors, culture, governments, and ethics, etc. The scope and scale of environmental problems has expanded considerably over the past three decades, from pollution issues at local, regional and then international levels, to deforestation, soil erosion, declining water tables, and other forms of natural resource depletion and degradation, to global concerns such as climate change and the ozone layer. This expansion has coincided with unprecedented growth in the scope and scale of human activities, and in many countries, improvements in human welfare. Frontier economics describes the approach that prevailed in most countries until at least the late 1960s. At its most basic, it treats nature as an infinite supply of physical resources (i.e., raw materials, energy, water, soil, and air) to be used for human benefit, and as an infinite sink for the by-products of the consumption of these benefits, in the form of various types of pollution and ecological degradation. This throughput aspect of the flow of resources from nature into the economy and the flow of wastes back out into the environment did not enter into economic thinking, because it was believed to be infinite in extent. Deep ecology has been widely interpreted as the polar opposite of frontier economics; a fundamentally different value/ethical system. Deep ecology is far from a unified, consistent philosophy as of this date though some of its advocates consider this to be a strength rather than a weakness, promoting diversity and flexibility. Deep ecologists advocate merging appreciation of some of the more scientific aspects of systems ecology with a harmonious view of the relationship between man and nature. Environmental protection might be called the negative, or defensive, agenda in environmental politics and management. It is termed negative because it institutionalized an approach that focused on damage control: on repairing and setting limits to harmful activity. Rather than focusing on ways to improve both development actions and ecological resilience, this approach was inherently defensive or remedial in practice. Environmental impact statements were developed to provide a rational means for assessing the costs and benefits of development activities before they began. In this system; the principal strategy is to legalize the environment as an economic externality. ‘Optimal pollution levels’ are defined, more by short- term economic acceptability, and therefore, politics, than by what is necessary for the maintenance of ecosystem resilience. Environmental Protection agencies are created and given responsibility for setting pollution and waste limits, and in some cases, cleaning up after limits are exceeded. But they are not responsible for planning development activities in ways that do not pollute or impair necessary ecological functions, or that facilitate ecological functions at the same time as making use of them. Resource Management involves incorporating all types of capital and resources - biophysical, human, infrastructural, and monetary - into calculations of national accounts, productivity, and policies for development and investment planning. Climate and the processes regulating it are coming to be regarded as a fundamental, vital resource to be managed. The interdependence and multiple values of various Curriculum for Agricultural Science Education © 2014 NRE –Lesson 9.1.2 Sustainable Management – Page 1 resources are taken into greater account (e.g., the role of forests as watersheds, affecting hydropower, soil fertility and agricultural productivity, climate regulation and even fisheries productivity). Resource managers view the stabilization of population levels in developing countries and reductions in the per capita consumption in the industrial nations as absolutely essential to achieving sustainability. Resource depletion is often felt more severely than pollution effects, but those most affected have had little means of generating meaningful change. Concern for the environment no longer implies that one is necessarily anti- development. In fact, sustainable development depends on it. Eco-Development sets out to restructure the relationship between society and nature by reorganizing human activities so as to be synergetic with ecosystem processes and services. Eco-Development would expand the boundaries of the system considered under Resource Management. It would attempt to move from polluter pays to pollution prevention pays. Eco-Development would stride purposefully toward the ideal of maintaining throughput at a sustainable level while achieving growth in economic welfare. It would pursue not just efficiency as it is conventionally thought of, but also synergies gained from designing agricultural and industrial processes to mimic the logic of, and where possible, actually use ecosystem processes. Examples of ecological engineering include constructed wetlands and in situ aquifer purification for wastewater processing, integrated pest management, multi-cropping and agro-forestry, and turning the unused byproducts of one production process into the inputs for another. Eco-development requires longer term management of adaptability, resilience, and uncertainty, to reduce the occurrence of ‘surprises’ caused by crossing over unknown ecological thresholds. From the Eco-Development perspective, one of the most significant attitude changes modern society needs is to give up the notion that people have a right to do whatever they have done in the past (business as usual). Adapted from: Colby, M. (1991, September). Environmental management in development: The evolution of paradigms. Ecological Economics, 3(3), 193-213. Curriculum for Agricultural Science Education © 2014 NRE – Activity 9.1.2 Sustainable Management – Page 2 Name: ___________________________________________________________________ Activity 9.1.2 Past, Present, and Future Purpose Sustainability involves methods of using a resource so that the resource is not depleted or permanently damaged. The goal of sustainability is “to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development). Renewable and natural resources must be used sustainably so that the rate of use does not exceed the capacity for renewal. Practicing sustainability does not come without tradeoffs. To use resources wisely and effectively, an understanding of wants versus needs is needed. Needs are necessities, items that are required for survival. Wants are non-essential things, or luxuries, that are nice to have. An agreement of what are needs and wants is important in coming to an agreement on sustainability. Achieving sustainability also requires cooperation various components of society including agriculture, business and industry, government, and local communities. Pay close attention to the decisions and mistakes of the past and current generations as those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it. Materials Per student: Computer with Internet access Sustainability Management article Pencil NRE Notebook Procedure In this activity, you will explore the historic, present, and future perceptions of resource management and sustainability. Your teacher will assign you to a group of four. Your group will focus on a specific segment of society. Within your group assign each member a time period to study. The time periods are 1900, 1950, 2010, and 2100. Table 1. Focus groups Agriculture Government Agencies Business and Industry Local Community Environmental Organizations Part One – Wants versus Needs Consider your life and daily activities. What are wants versus needs in your life? Share as instructed by your teacher during a class discussion. In your group, discuss the long term objective of your focus area. Use the following questions to assist your discussion. Why is this group critical to society? How have the structure and/or function of this group changed over time? What role will this group have in the future? Curriculum for Agricultural Science Education © 2014 NRE – Activity 9.1.2 Past, Present, and Future – Page 1 When you have established the long term objectives of your group, begin researching the wants and needs of your group according to the time period you have been assigned. Record the following in Table 2. Wants and Needs on your student worksheet. At least three wants and three needs of your assigned perspective