State of the World 2013: Is Sustainability Still Possible? by The Worldwatch Institute

Author:The Worldwatch Institute [The Worldwatch Institute]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Island Press
Published: 2013-04-14T22:00:00+00:00

Melissa Leach is a social anthropologist and Professorial Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, United Kingdom. She directs the ESRC STEPS (Social, Technological and Environmental Pathways to Sustainability) Centre, an interdisciplinary research and policy engagement organization with partners in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

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www.sustainabilitypossible.org

Pathways and Politics

Pathways of change toward sustainability must steer us toward a safe ecological and economic operating space for humanity, as well as toward a social space that respects basic standards of human dignity, well-being, and rights. This challenge is inherently political, requiring the recognition and realignment of the political-economic interests, institutions, and power relations that constrain us to well-worn pathways. Examples of such pathways include fossil-fueled energy regimes that have developed along with incumbent political interests, patterns of economic activity, and established technologies and infrastructures in both older and newly industrializing countries and the heavily industrialized agriculture and high meat consumption that threaten biodiversity, land, and freshwater use and that are interlocked with the political-economic interests of the food industry and the lifestyles and preferences of many consumers.3

Yet the challenges do not stop there. Even agreeing on the general need to move toward sustainability leaves us facing a multiplicity of diverse possible goals and related pathways. In global, national, and local settings, there are inevitably contested versions of sustainability and “sustainable development,” implying different winners and losers. These specificities were glossed over in the 1987 definition of sustainable development by the World Commission on Environment and Development, and they are equally downplayed in current debates around “the future we want.” Seeking “true sustainability” requires addressing far more precisely who exactly “we” are in different contexts and whose needs and goals are at stake.4

To consider just one example, take the challenge of combating hunger in various rural settings across the world. Does sustainable development mean improving food security through boosting agricultural productivity, using modern plant breeding and genetic engineering to roll out technical solutions at scale? Or does it mean tackling diverse local food insecurities shaped by ecological, market, social, and institutional contexts through farmer-participatory approaches? Or some other approach not yet developed?

The same abundance of choices arises with respect to energy, water, and many other sustainability challenges. Of course, these are not clear-cut either-ors. What might work, or be desirable, will vary from place to place and for different groups of people. And keeping open a diversity of policy, technology, and economic options and approaches is itself desirable. Given the complexities and uncertainties surrounding so many environmental and economic processes, it makes sense to avoid putting all our eggs in one basket. Diversity of possible pathways also allows for decisionmakers and users to select, adapt, and innovate creatively to suit what inevitably are highly diverse contexts and values. The point, though, is that not all pathways can be pursued; there are always going to be trade-offs between and controversies about alternatives. Politics and power are thus critical at this level, too, in shaping which possible versions of sustainable development are recognized and how these disputes play out in global, national, and local settings.

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