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The present generation should ensure that the next generation is left with an environment that is at least as healthy, diverse and productive as the one the present generation experiences. Owing to the massive and irreversible rate of loss of species and habitats at present, we have an additional responsibility to give the highest priority to conserving the world's natural environment and species. Conservation of biodiversity and ecological integrity Conservation of biodiversity and the protection of ecological integrity should be a fundamental constraint on all economic activity. The non-evolutionary loss of species and genetic diversity needs to be halted and the future of evolutionary processes secured. Constant natural capital and 'sustainable income' Natural capital (e.g. biological diversity, healthy environments, freshwater supplies, productive soils) must be maintained or enhanced from one generation to the next. Only that income which can be sustained indefinitely, taking account of the biodiversity conservation principle, should be taken. Anticipatory and precautionary policy approach Policy decisions should err on the side of caution, placing the burden of proof on technological and industrial developments to demonstrate that they are ecologically sustainable. Social equity must be a key principle to be applied in developing economic and social policies as part of an ecologically sustainable society. Limits on natural resource use The scale and throughput of material resources will need to be limited by the capacity of the environment to both supply renewable resources and assimilate wastes. Increases in the qualitative dimension of human welfare and not the quantitative growth in resource throughput is a key objective. Pricing environmental values and natural resources Prices for natural resources should be set to recover the full social and environmental costs of their use and extraction. Many environmental values cannot be priced in monetary terms and hence pricing policies will form part of a broader framework of decision making. A global perspective is needed to ensure that Australia does not simply move its environmental problems elsewhere. Efficiency of resource use must become a major objective in economic policy. Economic policy needs to focus on developing a resilience to external economic or ecological shocks. A resource-driven economy is unlikely to be resilient. Australia's economy needs to be brought into balance. External imbalance creates pressure to deplete natural capital and could undermine the prospect for an ecologically sustainable economy. Strong community participation will be a vital pre-requisite for effecting a smooth transition to an ecologically sustainable society.
Source: W.L.Hare, ed, Ecologically Sustainable Development, Australian Conservation Foundation, 1990, pp.viii-ix. |
© 2001 Sharon Beder