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Foreword

The United Nations (UN) Conference on Human Environment held in

1972 represents the turning point in the environmental thinking of theglobal community This conference, which subsequently led to the estab-lishment of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), for thefirst time recognized the importance of environmental management andthe use of environmental assessment as a management tool Even if thelink between environmental and developmental issues did not emergestrongly in the conference outcomes, there were clear indications that theform of economic development would have to be altered Around thesame period, a group of eminent scientists and concerned citizens gathered

in Rome to look at the global environmental crisis that was expanding at

an alarming rate This group, later to be known as the Club of Rome,produced a comprehensive report on the state of the natural environment.This report emphasized that the industrial society was going to exceedmost of the ecological limits within a matter of decades, if it continued

to promote the kind of economic growth witnessed in the 1960s and 1970s.The fact that environment and development could not for long remain

in a state of conflict gradually became apparent after the 1972 UNConference on the Human Environment In the following years, termssuch as environment and development, development without destruction,

ecodevelop-ment appeared in the UNEP review in 1978 By this time, it was recognizedinternationally that environmental and developmental ideas needed to beconsidered concurrently Throughout the 1980s, there had been a number

of initiatives that focused on understanding the linkages between ronment and development The most significant of these undertakings

envi-iv  Sustainable Development Policy and Administration

was the work done by the World Commission on Environment andDevelopment (WCED), which was established by the UN The work ofWCED culminated in the publication of its 1987 report, Our Common

major political turning point that gave the concept of sustainable opment great geopolitical significance and transformed it into a catch-phrase of global policy making

devel-The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development thatwas held in 1992 provided the basic framework for the promotion ofsustainable development through the adoption of Agenda 21 and a number

of declarations that provided the basis for global environmental nance The thousands of community-based, government-led, and privatesector initiatives that were undertaken in the 1990s in the context ofAgenda 21 made significant contribution to the promotion of sustainabledevelopment objectives The World Summit on Sustainable Development(WSSD) held in 2002 provided a new impetus to the global movementfor sustainable development The WSSD process led to the launching ofnumerous global and regional partnerships aimed at the promotion of thebroad objectives of global sustainability through concrete project imple-mentations It also adopted the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation,which outlined the key measures that need to be undertaken at thenational, regional, and international levels in order to tackle the challenges

gover-of meeting the needs gover-of the current generation while maintaining abalanced environment for future generations

Despite the significant progress that has been made since the UNConference on Human Environment, the global community is still facinghuge challenges in terms of global sustainability As was underlined inthe Johannesburg Plan of Implementation, addressing these challengeswould require a fundamental shift in both our institutional and individualways of thinking The Plan recognized the crucial role that educationplays for the promotion of sustainable development On the basis of thecall made by the WSSD, the United Nations General Assembly declaredthe years 2005 to 2014 the United Nations Decade on Education forSustainable Development

The elaboration of concepts and tools and the compilation of replicablecases of applications are important prerequisites for sound education forsustainable development The publication of this Sustainable Development Policy and Administration is expected to contribute to the further devel-opment of the knowledge base that is required for programs on educationfor sustainable development The combination of the sections on concep-

Foreword  v

tual review, policy and institutional analysis, and sectoral cases of cations enhances its utility I also believe the reader will benefit from thebroad area of topics combined with key sectoral focus and geographicalcoverage of cases

appli-Klaus Töpfer

Executive DirectorUnited Nations Environment Programme

Preface

The multidimensional sustainable development phenomenon has beenthe subject of theoretical and pragmatic discourses during the last twodecades While such discourses highlighted sustainability as one of themajor objectives of all development policies, ensuring a sustainable mode

of development may imply a continuous search for adequate means andways to address the persistent problems of food shortages and starvation

in marginalized regions of the world, the increasing incidence of man-madeand natural disasters, the failure to reduce environmentally hazardousactivities, and other dynamic development challenges that represent aglobal threat to sustainability Ultimately, since the initial sustainabilityprinciples were devised in efforts to improve on those of conventionaleconomic development, which were primarily conceived to achieve eco-nomic growth without appropriate consideration of other developmentdimensions, a call to revisit the underlying premises of sustainable devel-opment should aim at unraveling ongoing processes of unsustainableactivities while ascertaining holistic strategies to overcome recurring chal-lenges locally and worldwide

This book seeks to provide a learning resource describing some majorpolicy and administration issues that are critical to understanding themultiple dimensions of sustainable development The running theme ofall contributions underscores the urgent need of promoting the broadobjectives of global sustainability while shedding light on relevant insights

to tackle the challenges of meeting the needs of the current and futuregenerations Realizing that the United Nations General Assembly declaredthe period 2005–2014 the United Nations Decade on Education for Sus-tainable Development, this timely volume, Sustainable Development Policy

with the multiple facets of development, represents a rich reference

viii  Sustainable Development Policy and Administration

document for graduate students, professors, scholars, and public andprivate development managers interested in the emerging field of sustain-able development

The editors who assumed the final responsibility to coordinate thevarious manuscripts take this opportunity to acknowledge the talentedcontributors who shared willingly their research on major sustainabledevelopment issues Similarly, the editors thank Dr Jack Rabin, ExecutiveEditor of the Public Administration and Public Policy series (Taylor &Francis Group LLC), for accepting our proposal and offering valuablesuggestions during the publication process The editors would like also

to thank Dr Klaus Toepfer, the executive director of the United NationsEnvironment Programme (UNEP), for contributing the Foreword of thebook Last but not least, Naomi Lynch, the production editor, deservesspecial recognition for her commitment to get this project done on time

Gedeon M Mudacumura

Desta Mebratu

M Shamsul Haque

x  Sustainable Development Policy and Administration

Embrapa, Clima Temperado, Pelotas, Brazil

Rui Melo de Souza

Embrapa, Clima Temperado, Pelotas, Brazil

Contributors  xi

C Visvanathan

Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand

David Walker

Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA

João Pedro Zabaleta

Embrapa, Clima Temperado, Pelotas, Brazil

Andrew A Zekeri

Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, Alabama, USA

Table of Contents

SECTION I: Sustainable Development: Major Dimensions

and Theoretical Frameworks

1 Rethinking Sustainable Development Policy

and Administration 3

M Shamsul Haque and Gedeon M Mudacumura

2 Limits of “Sustainable Development” as a Concept 33

O P Dwivedi and Renu Khator

6 Toward a General Theory of Sustainability 135

Gedeon M Mudacumura

SECTION II: Sustainable Development: Policies and Institutions

7 Urbanization and Sustainable Development Policy and

Administration 169

Josef Leitmann

xiv  Sustainable Development Policy and Administration

8 What Is Sustainable Farming? 189

Eric Goewie, Júlio da Silva, João Pedro Zabaleta,

and Rui Melo de Souza

9 Bridging Sustainable Agriculture and Sustainable Tourism

to Enhance Sustainability 207

Tracy Berno

10 Sustaining Development Projects through Nongovernmental

Organizations in Municipal–Community Partnerships 225

12 Microfinance in Asia: Toward Economic Sustainable

Development Policies and Strategies 277

Kathryn Gow

13 Citizens’ Participation in Neighborhood Revitalization 297

Patricia A Hippler

14 Toward a Sustainable Rural Development in Africa:

A Sociological Case Study of a World Bank Agricultural

Development Project in Nigeria 311

Andrew A Zekeri

15 Prisons: A Cautionary Tale of Rural

Economic Development 331

David Walker

16 Sustainable Waste Management: A Case Study of the

Bangkok Metropolitan Authority 353

Watana Luanratana and C Visvanathan

17 Multi-Regime-Regulation and Sustainable Development:

A Study of the International Hazardous Waste Trade 373

Britta Meinke-Brandmaier

18 The Institutionalization of Poverty in the Third World:

The Case of Grenada 395

Paul C Mocombe

20 The Political Economy of Sustainable Development:

The Governance Perspective 445

Anthony Barclay

21 Technology Assessment in the Journey to Sustainable

Development 473

Getachew Assefa and Björn Frostell

22 Industry and Sustainable Development in 18 Developing

and Transition Economies 503

Ralph Luken and Nadejda Komendantova-Amann

23 Toward Sustainable Tourism: Moving Beyond Ecotourism 533

Graham Miller and Tracy Berno

24 An Assessment of Health Care System Reform in

Post-Soviet Transitional Economies 553

Patricia A Cholewka

SECTION V: Conclusion: Alternatives and Recommendations

25 The World Bank’s New Urban Strategy: An Assessment

from Development Ethics 571

Stephen G Schwenke

26 Private and Public Sector Interfaces: Prerequisites for

Sustainable Development 591

Lucio Munoz

27 Foundation Principles Governing Accounting: Revisiting

the Representation of Business Activities 611

Rethinking Sustainable Development Policy and Administration

M Shamsul Haque and Gedeon M Mudacumura

CONTENTS

Revisiting Sustainable Development: Why? 4Controversies over Sustainable Development 5Institutional Challenges for Sustaining Development 8

In This Volume 12Part I Sustainable Development: Major Dimensions and Theoretical Frameworks 13Part II Sustainable Development: Policies and Institutions 17Part III Sustainable Development: National and Regional Experiences 20Part IV Sustainable Development: Current and Future Challenges 23Part V Conclusion: Alternatives and Recommendations 27References 30

Revisiting Sustainable Development: Why?

In the current age, one of the most critical human concerns shaping theglobal discourse on the current mode of development or progress hasbeen related to the question of its eventual sustainability During the recentthree decades, the debate on a sustainable mode of development hasgained increasing significance through the worldwide proliferation ofconferences, seminars, reports, books, and journals as well as conventions,protocols, and institutions In the process, the idea of “sustainable devel-opment” has been reified almost into an “ideology” in both developedand developing nations (Crabbé, 1997, p 1) Thus, in one form or another,most international institutions, national governments, and local commu-nities tend to base their development policies and programs on sustain-ability as one of the major objectives In fact, some of the largest globalforums organized in recent years have been related to worldwide envi-ronmental concerns and sustainability objectives, which include the Stock-holm Conference on the Human Envir onment (1972), the OttawaConference on Conservation and Development (1986), the United NationsConference on Environment and Development or the Earth Summit in Rio

de Janeiro (1992), and the World Summit on Sustainable Development inJohannesburg (2002)

From these global forums attended by heads of states or their sentatives from countries all over the world emerged major conventionsand protocols for the protection of the environment and the realization

repre-of sustainable development For example, the Vienna Convention on theProtection of the Ozone Layer (1985) stressed the need for intergovern-mental cooperation to protect the ozone layer; it was reinforced further

by the Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer(1987), which provided specific guidelines for identifying the causes andremedies of ozone depletion Another related measure is the MadridProtocol (1991), which identified Antarctica as a “natural reserve” andemphasized the protection of its environment from commercial venturespursued by various countries

However, some of the most comprehensive protection measuresemerged from the Earth Summit (1992), including the Convention onBiological Diversity, the Framework Convention on Climate Change, theRio Declaration (for sustainable development), and the Agenda 21 (pre-scribing specific preventive and remedial measures) (Haque, 2000; Reid,1995) Another of the most widely known international measures forenvironmental protection and sustainability is the Kyoto Protocol (1997),which has generated worldwide debate and controversy With regard togreenhouse gases, the Kyoto Protocol defines the emissions limits andtargets to be followed by various categories of countries (excluding

developing countries) within the specific time frame (Sheeran, 2004) Thus,

since the publication of Our Common Future by the World Commission

on Environment and Development headed by Gro Harlem Brundtland(WCED, 1987), which emphasized and popularized the idea of sustainabledevelopment, some of these major international initiatives or measureshave been undertaken

Unfortunately, these international initiatives have been quite ineffective

in addressing environmental degradation and ensuring a sustainable mode

of development In particular, the industrialized countries have failed torealize their promises to reduce voluntarily environmentally hazardousactivities (such as emissions) that represent a global threat to sustainability(Sheeran, 2004) On the other hand, the current process of economicdevelopment, based on rapid industrialization, urban expansion, andhazardous production and consumption, continues to worsen the unsus-tainable conditions of air pollution, chemical contamination, land degrada-tion, ozone depletion, deforestation, biodiversity loss, global warming, and

so on (Haque, 2000; Flint, 2004) These unsustainable conditions are notisolated from the changing patterns of climate, increasing incidence of naturaldisasters, and growing problems of food shortages and starvation in differentparts of the world (Guimaraes, 2004; Haque, 1999a) Thus, the significance

of revisiting sustainable development not only lies in the proliferation ofglobal forums, conventions, institutions, and publications in this regard;

it is also evident from the failures of such initiatives to address thecontinuing process of unsustainable activities and overcome the newchallenges to sustainable development worldwide

Controversies over Sustainable Development

To address the problems of unsustainability mentioned, it is necessary toattain certain global consensus on the concepts, approaches, models, andstrategies of sustainable development But there are too many controver-

sies over the issue that need to be resolved First, there are some major

approaches of sustainable development that are mutually incompatible or

contradictory For example, the utilitarian approach prescribes the welfare

trade-off between generations and suggests that there is no need forchanging current economic activities that cause greenhouse gases, if thebenefit from these activities exceeds the harm done by such activities tofuture generations in terms of global warming (Anand and Sen, 1994)

On the other hand, the ethical approach to sustainable development is

concerned for welfare inequality between generations and emphasizesthat it is the “moral obligation” of the current generation enjoying welfare

to maintain the capacity and opportunity of future generations to have

equivalent welfare It is also stressed by some scholars that future ations are entitled to or have rights to the same level of environmentalquality and resources enjoyed by the current generation In this regard,Anand and Sen stress the moral obligation to do justice to the poor anddeprived population in the current generation itself.

gener-It is obvious that because of its narrow focus on the combined totalwelfare of the current and future generations, the utilitarian approach tosustainable development is not only insensitive to the needs of futuregenerations, it is also quite indifferent to the environmental implications

of economic activities as long as such activities maximize human welfare

or benefit On the other hand, although the ethical approach does addressthe question of intergenerational equality in welfare, it remains human-centered in terms of its emphasis on the maintenance of environmentalresources for human species without much concern for environmentalsustainability as an end in itself, which can be observed in varioustraditional cultures or belief systems Thus, in studying sustainable devel-opment, it is necessary to emphasize environmental sustainability not onlyfor the current and future generations (including all classes and groups

in each generation), but also for the environment itself

Second, there is also controversy over the various dimensions and

components of sustainable development In terms of dimensions, in ing studies, there are tendencies among some scholars and experts toemphasize “economic” sustainability that focuses on the implications ofdevelopment activities for environmental costs Some of them stress “envi-ronmental” sustainability that prescribes the realization of development inline with biotic capacity and resource constraints; others draw attention

exist-to “social” sustainability that supports people’s active involvement inmanaging environment and development (see Estes, 1993; Reed, 1996;Haque, 1999b) However, these major economic, social, and environmentaldimensions of sustainable development are mutually complementary ratherthan exclusive For instance, in pursuing development, one needs toconsider its environmental costs, make sure that it does not put excessivepressure on environmental capacity, and ensure its implementation based

on people’s participation In addition, there are cultural and attitudinaldimensions of sustainable development, including people’s lifestyles andconsumption patterns, that greatly affect environmental resources andconditions In fact, one major challenge to sustainable development today

is the environmentally hazardous modern lifestyle based on endless sumerism that has expanded worldwide in the current age of globalization.Thus, in both theory and practice of sustainable development, it is crucial

con-to stress its multidimensional nature

Similarly, there are some major perspectives of development in existingliterature that tend to focus on specific components of sustainability For

instance, the so-called ecosimplification perspective shows concern forthe current situation of diminishing plant and animal species, which islikely to cause the loss of biodiversity, simplification of the complexecosystems, and thus further ecological imbalance On the other hand,the “contamination” perspective focuses on the sustainability challenge orenvironmental threat posed by the biochemical contamination of land, air,

and water, whereas the “natural-resource-consumption” perspective

explains how such a challenge may have been created by the reductionistassessment of environmental resources in terms of their consumption value(see Haque, 1999; Hempel, 1996) Once again, there should not be anyconflict among these perspectives, each of which stresses one major set

of components constituting the overall sustainability There is a need for

a more holistic perspective that emphasizes the significance of neously resolving the problems of sustainability caused by biodiversityloss, biochemical contamination, utilitarian valuation of natural resources,and so on

simulta-Third, there is a major controversy in terms of priority between the

two major goals—economic growth and environmental ity—pursued today by almost all nations While economic growth remainsthe most dominant development agenda for most countries, many criticsstress its adverse environmental outcomes caused by growth-driven indus-trial expansion, resource depletion, and hazardous production However,there are arguments supporting the view that economic growth could be

sustainabil-an effective mesustainabil-ans for achieving sustainable development: “Sustainabilityrequires alleviation of poverty, a decline in fertility, the substitution ofhuman capital for natural resources, effective demand for environmentalquality, and a responsive supply These changes cannot take place on asustainable basis without growth” (Crabbé, 1997, p v) In reconciling this

debate, Our Common Future, or the Brundtland Report, emphasizes the

kind of economic growth that is conducive to the sustainability of theenvironmental resource base (World Commission on Environment andDevelopment [WCED], 1987) In this regard, it is necessary to highlightthat it is hardly possible to expand modern economic growth withoutdepleting natural resources and diminishing environmental sustainability

In fact, the current global fetish for rapid economic growth based onexpansive industrialization, urban development, and hazardous consump-tion—pursued or reinforced by market-led reforms (e.g., deregulation,liberalization, privatization, corporatization, and antiwelfarism)—has cre-ated havoc for environmental sustainability (Haque, 1999a) As a result,the reexamination of economic growth as a national and internationaldevelopment agenda became quite prominent at both the Earth Summit

in Rio de Janeiro and the World Summit on Sustainable Development inJohannesburg However, in both developed and developing nations, policy

makers are quite reluctant to compromise their growth-driven ment objectives Even the recent prescription for tradable emissions per-mits is unlikely to abate unsustainable economic growth, because underthis system, the affluent nations not only can continue their economicactivities and expand emissions by purchasing such emissions permitsfrom poor countries, but can also relocate their hazardous industries inthese less industrialized countries In short, while economic growth con-tinues to be the primary national goal for most countries, its adverseimplication for sustainable development remains largely unresolved.These are a few examples of some major controversies in sustainabledevelopment approaches, perspectives, and priorities There are manyother conceptual, theoretical, and structural dilemmas, which ar eaddressed by various authors in this volume The point here is that thesebasic controversies or dilemmas need to be resolved in order to delineateeffective policies and institutions for sustainable development, whichrequire a thorough reexamination of the issue In fact, there are divergentviews over policy options and institutional challenges, which are analyzed

develop-in the remadevelop-indevelop-ing sections of this chapter

Institutional Challenges for Sustaining Development

Despite multiple interventions from various public and private institutions

at the local, national, and international levels, the development researchcommunity has not yet sorted out the relevant sustainable developmentstrategies and the main factors leading to sustainability It is worth recallingthat sustainability principles were devised in efforts to improve on those

of conventional economic development, which were primarily conceived

to achieve economic growth without appropriate consideration of otherdevelopment dimensions: social, cultural, ecological, political, and spiritual(Kelly, 1998; Mudacumura, 2004) Such a narrow focus could have beenone of the main constraints preventing development researchers fromsuggesting adequate solutions (deLeon, 1992; Dryzek, 1990; Haque, 1999b;Stiglitz, 1998)

A close look at the history of exploitation of natural resources andcurrent environmental deterioration should indicate the seriousness ofprioritizing the economic dimension over the development dimensionsmentioned Thus, as stated at the beginning of this chapter, rethinkingthe underlying premises of sustainable development is no longer an optionbut a necessity if one takes into account the urgency of preventing the

“society from sailing by a wrong compass, at the expense of the ment” (Hueting, 1992, p 255) or implementing “decisions made on thebasis of curious blend of ideology and bad economics” (Stiglitz, 2002: xiii)

environ-In light of the preceding concerns, the institutions engaged in furtheringsustainable development face the challenging task of determining thenecessary and relevant information to identify, implement, and evaluatesustainable development policies geared toward meeting the needs of thecurrent generation without compromising the welfare of future genera-tions To minimize the likelihood of devising irrelevant solutions requiresgovernments, communities, and the private sector at different levels towork collaboratively in the design and implementation of sustainabledevelopment policies Such collaboration may allow decision-making insti-tutions to integrate valid and reliable information related to multipledevelopment dimensions in the identification of objectives, the design ofpolicies, and the evaluation of courses of action As Forrester (1994, p.249) remarked, most misbehavior of corporate, social, and governmentalsystems arises from the dependence on erroneous intuitive solutions tocomplex behavior, and failing to capture information about the structureand behavior of the system in which development decisions are beingmade will most likely lead to ineffective policy design In fact, removingconceptual barriers through interdisciplinary cooperation and cultivation

of systems thinking is one of the best strategic approaches to improvingthe design of development policies (Saeed, 1994)

Besides the challenge of devising adequate solutions, most scholarsand practitioners of development management agree that problems ofimplementing, managing, and institutionalizing development activitiesremain serious and pervasive (Rondinelli, 1982), and the majority ofinternational development agencies acknowledge that carefully plannedand systematically analyzed projects are worthless unless they can beimplemented effectively (World Bank, 1983) As emphasized earlier, rele-vant information plays a critical role in the effective implementation ofsustainable development policies Compiling such information must not

be restricted to the empirical methods since, as the World Bank (1998,

p 1) acknowledges, “the empirical base of decision making is weak.”Actually, the complex interrelationships surrounding sustainable devel-opment issues make obsolete the traditional management approachesstructured on rigid, deterministic control, which assume a high degree

of knowledge about what needs to be done and of certainty in a world

in which the correct solutions are not always clear, and the only certainty

is a high degree of uncertainty (Rondinelli, 1982) As such, institutionsinvolved in the implementation of sustainable development strategiesshould embrace the concept of multiagency networks (Mudacumura,2002) Premised on a continually evolving consensus among networkmembers, this management approach can preclude simple solutionsdevised by any agency acting alone With sustainability being beyondthe reach of individual agency, this approach makes sense when each

implementing agency recognizes that there are no easy solutions and nosingle solution for multidimensional sustainable development problems.Ultimately, addressing such problems requires a sustained multi-institutionalapproach to generate a range of plausible, implementable solutions(http://www.scienceinafrica.co.za/).

Furthermore, the multiagency network environment stresses the tance of continuous feedback and action to suit the ongoing needs of themultiple development stakeholders whose active involvement is vital inthe implementation of sustainable development policies Concretely, theactive involvement of all development stakeholders can foster creativethinking while generating ownership and motivation of the people tohonor the cultural and spiritual traditions of all network members Indeed,Goulet (1980, p 488) observed that a growing chorus of voices, in richand poor countries alike, proclaims that full human development is notpossible without regard for essential moral values

impor-Consequently, building networks of development institutions can create

an enabling environment for empowering all development stakeholders,providing them with the opportunity to share the information whilecollectively devising strategies to distribute equitably global resources, asine qua non condition for sustaining development on a global scale “Ifsustainable development is to be realized, it has to be built on the consentand support of those whose lives are affected” (http://globalknowledge.org).From this context, the empowerment of network members may con-stitute a development management strategy that is necessary for thegeneration and use of local/traditional knowledge As Stone (1966)remarked, a great deal of untapped, traditional knowledge and experience

is available in respect to the development of effective organizations tomanage comprehensive development programs Because of their com-plexity, sustainable development issues require the knowledge, commit-ment, and action of multiple stakeholders, in particular, the laypeoplewho bring valid perspectives to decision making (Beierle, 1999) In fact,

“most development analysts now maintain that developmental wisdom islodged not in government bureaucracies but in local communities andinstitutions” (Hyden, 1997, p 4)

Furthermore, such development management requires fostering sensus among all vested interests, in particular, grassroots organizations.Thus, allowing diverse groups and individuals to have their own culturalcontexts and local narratives taken into account fits with the concept ofdecentralized participatory decision making, an approach that improvesthe implementation of sustainable development strategies, which, in turn,could lead to increased economic growth and social justice (U.S ForeignAssistance Act of 1973) Among other features of this decentralizedparticipatory decision making are a strong scientific base, extensive

con-involvement of stakeholders, a proactive and holistic approach to issues,and the integration of a wide range of regulatory and nonregulatorysolutions (Randolph and Bauer, 1999) Specifically, active citizen partici-pation is needed for the organization and functioning of developmentactivities for the main purpose of guarding against abuses of state power(Hyden, 1997) Moreover, promoting a development management thatfosters participatory decision making is the right strategic approach toattack the root causes of development failures In fact, it has been foundthat effective development management is one of the prerequisites forremoving the structural barriers that limit people’s ability to get out ofpoverty (United Nations Development Programme, 1996; World Bank,1998).

Therefore, development institutions have to shift their focus fr omreductionist development management to a management premised onholistic thinking, a process that falls in line with the need to r evisitsustainable development foundations This shift to holistic thinking mightenable the networked institutions implementing sustainable developmentpolicies to explore the multiple development dimensions, ensuring par-ticularly that the cultural achievements of all societies and civilizations ofthe world are not overlooked Furthermore, such holistic thinking canprovide development stakeholders with the opportunity to match wordswith deeds, a process that the United Nations development agencies hadfailed to accomplish five years after the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro(Ismail, 1997)

Along the same line, this suggested development management impliesidentifying a core development value that opposing groups in the “North”and “South” agree on, a core value that can enable both groups to makedecisions that integrate the multiple development dimensions Ultimately,achieving such integration involves coordination, negotiation, and com-promise for the sake of ensuring a good quality of life for current andfuture generations, the cornerstone of sustainable development

Similarly, as indicated earlier, effective implementation of sustainabledevelopment strategies can emerge from broad-based network organiza-tions linking the public and private development entities on dif ferentgeographical levels Such global networks could rely on informationprovided by multidisciplinary teams of scholars, practitioners, think tanks,grassroots organizations, and all agencies interested in furthering sustain-able development

Particularly, the multidisciplinary dialogue should address the potentialrisks of subscribing to narrow perceptions of reality, which have beeninadequate for dealing with complex sustainable development problems.Specifically, the dialogue should rely on the holistic approach to ascertain

a deeper understanding and appreciation for how development problems

are identified, defined, and solved This multidisciplinary dialogue shouldaddress the contending issues among development theorists in differentdisciplines, all working within their own methodological traditions andusing often incompatible analytical tools and techniques This dialoguecould awaken the rationalists who still believe that complex social prob-lems can be understood in their entirety through systematic analysis andsolved through comprehensive planning (Lindblom, 1965) In fact, theuncertainty of development problems combined with the complexity ofrelationships between developing nations and international developmentinstitutions make it nearly impossible to plan, analyze, and manage projects

in highly rational and systematic ways (Rondinelli, 1982)

Moreover, the broad-based management decisions reached throughnetworks would ensure that local communities reach beyond their indi-vidual interests in future development to account for national and globalneeds Broadening the decision-making process can allow network mem-bers to devise development management strategies with built-in mecha-nisms reflecting two guiding principles: transparency and accountability.Such principles can ensure that development management decisions aregeared toward building sustainable and healthy communities in which allresources are shared equitably

To recap, most scholars and practitioners acknowledge that sustainabledevelopment problems are closely interconnected and interdependent sothat they cannot be understood using the “chop up and study the parts”reductionist method of current academic disciplines and government andnongovernment development institutions “Such an approach will neverresolve any of our difficulties but will merely shift them around in thecomplex web of social and ecological relations” (Capra, 1982, p 26).Therefore, the interconnectivity of sustainable development issues requiresall institutions at the local, national, and international levels to join effortsthrough global development network organizations, working collectively

in the design and implementation of sustainable development policies.Such active collaboration among development institutions can take advan-tage of creative synergies to achieve outcomes that might be impossiblefor any development institution to achieve alone

In This Volume

In light of the preceding discussion, the contributing authors exploredvarious aspects of the multidimensional sustainable development phenom-enon, focusing primarily on issues pertaining to policy and administration.This edited volume reflects insights from scholars and practitioners with

a broad range of development experiences in various nations of Africa,

Asia, Australia, Europe, and the Americas These geographically distributedcontributions make this volume an exceptional compilation of globalresearch on pertinent sustainable development issues.

While recognizing the inability to analyze all the multiple facets ofsustainability thoroughly and systematically, this volume strives to presentthe contributions of diverse scholars and practitioners in a coher entstructure of chapters categorized and arranged into the following sustain-able development themes: major dimensions and theoretical frameworks,policies and institutions, national and regional experiences, current andfuture challenges, and alternatives and recommendations A brief synopsis

of the chapters is provided under each theme

Part I Sustainable Development: Major Dimensions and Theoretical Frameworks

The dynamic and multifaceted concept of sustainable development hasbeen the subject of intense research in both developed and developingcountries during the last two decades In this first section, Shamsul Haqueexplores how the concept of sustainable development has become one

of the most significant global issues in terms of academic discourse andpractical policy debate, arguing that its conceptual clarity and consensusremain a basic precondition for meaningful debate and effective policyformulation Despite series of discussions, analyses, and critiques in anenormous number of books, journals, and global conferences, there arestill considerable disagreements over the idea of sustainable development.Haque presents existing concepts and definitions of sustainable develop-ment under some major categories and examines their limitations in terms

of their tendencies to be empiricist, reductionist, unilinear, human-centric,and even hegemonic He concludes with some suggestions with a view

to articulate a more comprehensive and holistic concept of sustainabledevelopment that could create an effective foundation of future discourseand policies

Along the same line, Berhe Costantinos elaborates on the underlyingpremises of the sustainable development concept while underscoring itsnexus with governance policy Concretely, he highlights how the globalcommunity has tried to build parallels between poverty and human des-titution with the governance regimes that exist in poor nations, a gover-nance program based on pillars of support aimed at strengthening civilsociety and various coordinates of government and governing institutions

He further acknowledges the challenges of transitioning to a sustainabledevelopment path despite the current democratically favorable contempo-rary global conditions In probing the sustainable development–governance

nexus, Costantinos focuses his research on the evolving “political theory”

of governance in which polity seeks mechanisms to convert politicalpreferences to sustainable development administration; sustainable devel-opment policy analysis, formulation, and management protocols makingpublic policy accountable, transparent, and predictable to the local/globalcommunity; and establishment of the conceptual, operational, and func-tional nexus among sustainable development theory, policy, and tools andsustainable development administration in relation to assets and capital

In his final analysis, Costantinos notes that the comprehension of nance as a sustainable development tool is imprecise simply because theconcept is still evolving

gover-Indeed, Daly (1996) recognized how this evolving sustainable opment concept had risen in a decade to the prominence of mantra or

devel-a shibboleth since the 1987 publicdevel-ation of Our Common Future, devel-a report

produced by the WCED Since then, thousands of initiatives have beenundertaken at local, national, and global levels in an attempt to addressdifferent aspects of the environmental challenges However, their impact

in shaping “our common future” on a more sustainable basis seems to beminimal when measured against the enormity of the global environmentalchallenges This has led to an increasing level of frustration and disen-chantment, even among the different groups promoting the concept ofsustainable development Desta Mebratu’s chapter attempts to present anew framework for sustainability and sustainable development by looking

at the conceptual precursors Among other precursors, he alludes to theAfrican tradition, which views man not as the master of the universe but

as the center, the friend, the beneficiary, and the user who must live inharmony with the universe, obeying the laws of natural, moral, andmystical order If these laws are unduly disturbed, man suffers most.Mebratu further reviews the most relevant systems and evolutionaryprinciples that constitute the conceptual frameworks of sustainability Heviews systems as thoroughly man-made and defines a specific system asthe point of view of one or several observers Thus, utilizing systemsthinking for the concept of sustainability requires revitalizing the special-ized systems thinking based on the principles and spirit of general systemsthinking Considering the complexity of the environmental challenges,Mebratu suggests that the conceptual limitations may be overcome throughthe combined application of the General Systems Theory and the GeneralEvolutionary Theory, whose basic principles are the following: (1) evolu-tion is an irreversible and nonlinear change of both natural and man-made systems in domains far from thermodynamic equilibrium; (2) thedirection of evolution is characterized by an increasing ability of organismsand systems to sense and assess the state of the environment, to learnappropriate responses, and to transmit this knowledge to succeeding

generations; and (3) systems with organized complexity can only beunderstood by looking at their dynamic interrelationships (feedback), aprocess that is more than linear summation of cause–effect chains.While Mebratu looks at the systems concept of sustainability, Mudacu-mura goes a step further to suggest a general theory of sustainability afterconsidering the growing dissatisfaction over what is known about theunderlying premises of development Several scholars have labeled suchknowledge as practically irrelevant, theoretically impoverished, ideologi-cally prejudiced, and narrowly focused—lacking multidisciplinary perspec-tives The absence of a clear theoretical and analytical framework makes

it difficult to determine whether the new policies will indeed foster anenvironmentally sound and socially meaningful form of development.Keeping in mind current large-scale global development changes,Mudacumura’s chapter alludes to the previous models of development,which failed to devote serious attention to the phenomenon of sustain-ability, and presents his general theory of sustainability, which attempts

to bridge the economic, social, cultural, political, ecological, and spiritualdimensions of development while giving equal consideration to eachdimension Three overall insights derived from his general theory ofsustainability conclude his chapter: (1) societal empowerment, whichconnotes a process by which individuals may gain mastery or control overtheir own life with democratic participation in the life of their communitywhile providing the opportunity for citizens to feel their own worth, beall they can be, and see the same worth in other people; (2) globalnetworking, which creates an enabling environment for solving complexdevelopment issues, since global networking rests on the premise thatactive collaboration among organizations engaged in promoting develop-ment may take advantage of creative synergies to achieve outcomes thatare impossible for anyone to achieve alone; and (3) holistic thinking, anemerging approach that provides a better analogy for understanding societyand its complex issues, in particular, the interrelationships among the sixdimensions and the two theoretical boundaries of the general theory ofsustainability As the ingredients of a cake are inexplicably intertwinedand are necessary for full flavor, so are the development dimensionsinterconnected and indispensable for sustainable development

Ultimately, addressing sustainable development issues implies thinkingholistically, that is, looking at the big picture (the whole phenomenon ofsustainability) while maintaining awareness of the interconnected dimen-sions of development

O P Dwivedi and Renu Khator, authors of the last chapter in the firstsection, looked at the major global development milestones, tracing theinitial large-scale attempts to sustain development from the 1972 StockholmConference, which heightened worldwide awareness of pollution prob-

lems These problems emerged in reaction to the publication of The Limits

to Growth, a study that underscored the urgency to control the present

growth trends in world population, industrialization and pollution, foodproduction, and resource depletion Until that time, the pollution problemwas seen as a by-product of industrialization, and the authors refer toIndira Gandhi, former prime minister of India, who coined the concept

of “pollution of poverty” while arguing that poverty and need are thegreatest polluters

The world gathering in Sweden led to the establishment of environmentministries, departments, and agencies worldwide, thus putting the envi-ronment on the international agenda It further laid the foundation for thenext United Nations (UN) Conference on Environment and Development(UNCED), also known as the Earth Summit, held in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro.The summit adopted Agenda 21, a blueprint for sustainable development,with agreed common vision for growth, equity, and nature conservationfor future generations, and created a new agency, the UN Commission

on Sustainable Development, to collect data on environmental and opment activities and to monitor individual and collective progress ofnations toward achieving the goals set forth in Agenda 21

devel-Ten years after the Rio conference, the anticipated progress had beenmuch slower to materialize than hoped The state of the world’s environ-ment remained very fragile, while the vast majority of human beings stilllived in conditions of unbearable deprivation and squalor Dwivedi andKhator note that these issues were the focus of the third global develop-ment milestone, the UN-sponsored Millennium Summit, in 2002 It washoped that by the time nations assembled in South Africa, concrete andpractical steps would be agreed on to deal with the core relationshipbetween human society and the natural environment The authors contendthat the summit missed the opportunity to respond seriously to the injustice

of disparity between the rich’s easy access to resources and what is left

to the poor, to halt the continuing assault on the ecological well-being ofMother Earth, and to do something concrete to help improve the life ofthe marginalized of the planet

The following section elaborates on specific policies and institutionsaimed at fostering sustainable development Policy makers have beenstruggling with issues ranging from ever-growing proportion of city dwell-ers, the challenges of sustaining farming operations while bridging farmingand tourism, and the role of government and nongovernmental institutions

in promoting sustainability

Part II Sustainable Development: Policies and Institutions

Josef Leitman’s chapter underscores the current trend toward an urbanizedworld, substantiating his arguments with current urban population statisticsand highlighting that more than half of the world’s population will beliving in cities and towns by the end of the first decade of the 21st century

As the engines of national and regional economic growth, urban areasare the world’s most important consumers of resources, generators ofwaste, and, consequently, sources of environmental problems Populationand economic growth are partly responsible for creating externali-ties—more people making more things demand more resources andgenerate more waste The resulting set of environmental problems consists

of inadequate access to environmental infrastructure and services, tion from urban wastes, natural resource degradation, exposure to envi-ronmental risks, and global environmental issues

pollu-Addressing such urban environmental problems requires the interaction

of numerous public, private, not-for-profit, and household stakeholders;each group has its own interests and patterns of behavior, which lead tovaried and sometimes conflicting actions and viewpoints Thus, realizingthat one quarter to one third of all urban households in the world live

in absolute poverty, any policy geared toward the improvement of urbanenvironmental problem must not overlook the importance of reducingpoverty, which interacts with the urban environment In tackling thebroader issue of vulnerability of the urban poor, Leitman suggests a three-pronged approach: (1) a propoor orientation in the options for solvingother security problems, for example, slum upgrading and lifeline utilitypricing as alternatives for increasing access to services and infrastructure;(2) growth-with-equity strategies that create an enabling environment formore urban poor to reduce their economic vulnerability; and (3) politicalrights and participation so that the problems of poverty are articulatedand recognized in the political arena

Sustaining the urban population requires policy makers to understandwhat it takes to sustain farming operations, which supply food, a keyelement on the hierarchy of physical needs The chapter coauthored byEric Goewie, Júlio da Silva, João Pedro Zabaleta, and Rui Melo de Souzaattempts to answer the empirical question, “What is sustainable farming?”The authors echo the same problem raised by previous contributorsregarding the multitude of definitions of sustainability, reiterating thechallenge to quantify this concept since nobody knows the specific needs

of future generations Narrowing their focus on farming, the authors viewits aim as striving for minimal disturbance of production conditions insoil, crops, and animals, reminding the reader that the use of synthetic