Sustainable Development and What It Is in Developing Countries
By Morris Mabior Awikjokdit
“Development lexicon is loaded with jargon and phraseology which are as controversial as polemical but which, as a matter of fact, are not designed to confuse the uninitiated. It should be advanced that inherently; they are constitutes and/or functions of the dynamics of the area of study and/or praxis. Happily too, such lexicon and phraseology are not wholly and solely confined to development as both a Discipline and Practice but also in other areas of study and praxis across academia. So I suppose or advance that we can take solace at such and embrace the jargon and get on with it!
One such phraseology which we hear every so often is “sustainable development” and which may not be as lucidly clear to us as would otherwise have been the happy case or liked! Let me immediately advance that the phraseology is an eclectic concept and a wide array of political views fall under its ambit ranging from weak sustainability, strong sustainability to deep ecology and thus its meaning and amplitude are on a continuum! It is in this regard that I borrow one meaning or definition as advanced by the Brundt land Report: “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs …”
Embedded within this simple but very far reaching definition and its implication is that there is this fundamental principle: that human life and, ipso facto human activity, are hinged on and carried out on a finite planet in which our living conditions and resources exploitation should not only meet human needs but which, for our own sake and very survival, should not or actually does not unduly undermine the robustness and sustainability of the inherited natural ecosystems and environment such that, on the one hand, we are not at risk of causing uncalculated and even more adverse and irreparable environmental and ecosystems sub-optimality if not destruction-cum-collapse and on the other, guarantees the needs of future generations! Such an inclination or position posits a rational and win-win situation for us now and generations to come and, in all seriousness, accountability on our part!
As it stands, to which we are all witnesses, our past and current destructive tendencies were and continue to be so rabidly capital-driven to such an adverse extent that the naturally determined, occurring and finite carrying capacities of our life-supporting eco-systems are not only unduly lumbered and/or confronted with huge man-made challenges as expressed in social, ecological and economic dispropotionalities and downward spiraling curves, but also our habitats and everything else associated with such! This is not any “Prophet of Doom” position or overstretching the facts as some would wont to argue, but rather genuine attempts at presenting the reality and the sooner (if not already late) we recognized such and did something’s about the impending and potentially hugely disastrous calamities, the better off we would stand to be! To this extent, our participatory efforts must be directed at the quartet that constitute the centers of gravity if and when we talk about sustainable development i.e. ecological, environmental, economic and social.
The underpinning variables that we must, as matter of urgency embrace and holistically deal with are (1) the populations of respective geo-political cum-administrative entities, (2) food production and nutrition security (3) pollution (4) uncontrolled and unregulated industrialization and (5) resources depletion. There is no alternative to this as the scenario is not a non-zero sum game! There are very adverse prices to pay for including systemic collapse! If and when we approach the current situation in a more rational and sustainable way, there remains the potential for not only arousing a sustainable feedback loop and mechanism (albeit belated) for the regeneration and reengineering of human and environmental development and sustainability! It must always be borne in mind that sustainable development dovetails with the concern for the carrying capacity of natural systems with the attendant social and economic challenges faced by humanity (as mentioned above) and thus the imperative for striking the requisite equilibrium could not be any more poignant than such.
Very importantly, such moves are best facilitated by a geo-polity pegged on concern for human survival within a good governance framework and nexus. Such is so because they not only constitute the enabling environment for the enunciation of the requisite policy vision and direction, but also the programmatic content of the policy. Such was discussed in great detail at the South Sudan media and SSTV and Radios talks show emphasizing that sustainable political development is not only concerned with only governance but also as he domain of practices and meaning associated with basic issues of social power as they pertain to the polity or organization, authorization, legitimization and regulation of a social life held in common by all of us!
Equally important in the discourse is the cultural variable which is important to note as it is a constituent and constitutes a dynamic variable to sustainable development in two respects and approaches. One, developing a solid cultural policy and two, advocating a cultural dimension in all public policies help integrate multidisciplinary capacities while interpreting cultural diversity as a key element for a renewed strategy for sustainable development.
To conclude this brief in the face of a highly eclectic subject, it suffices to say that the concept is rooted in systems thinking in which the world orders are systemic and that the problems or challenges we face are complex and serious but mainly confined to very important variables or elements the first of which is the reality of needs and in particular the essential needs (as distinct from the extras) of the “wretched of the Earth” which overriding premium must be placed and two, the reality of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organizations on the ability of the environment to meet both the present and future needs. The policy dictates are important in all of these!
The author is: a freelance opinion writer and a professional experience teacher based in Warrap state- Kuajok. You can reached him by email: morrisawikjok@yahoo.com
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