The Future of Sustainability: Have Your Say!

Background Document - “The Future of Sustainability: Rethinking Environment and Development in the Twenty-First century”
Comment / Comentario / Commentaire

Klaus Bosselmann, Univesrity of Auckland, New Zealand

Moderating team: Klaus Bosselmann refers to some important recent steps that IUCN has already taken in advancing sustainability in new ways that seem to be omitted from Professor William Adams report: the adoption of the 2005-2008 IUCN Programme at the 3rd IUCN World Conservation Congress in 2004; the adoption of Resolution WCC 3.022 or the Earth Charter as an ethical guide for IUCN policy; as well as new forms of networking and capacity-building. Klaus believes that IUCN needs to partner with other “moral” rather than “business” partners and become the central moral agency of sustainability.

Klaus Bosselmann cita algunos de los recientes avances de UICN en la discusión sobre la sostenibilidad que, según su opinión, fueron omitidos en el reporte del Profesor Adams. Estos son: la adopción del Programa 2005-2008 de UICN, la adopción de la resolución WCC3.022 para la construcción de una guía ética de la política de UICN y otras formas de trabajo en red y construcción de capacidades. Kalus opina que la UICN necesita aliarse con otras organizaciones que cuentan con un prestigio “moral” más que económico para constituirse en el centro moral de la sostenibilidad.

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In his report, Bill Adams rightly makes the point that the “present concepts of sustainability and sustainable development are clearly inadequate to drive the transitions necessary to adapt human relations with the rest of the biosphere for the future. Something new is needed”. What could this “something new” be? The report mentions the critical role of IUCN in this regard, however, it fails to acknowledge important steps that have already been taken.

A first important step was the adoption of IUCN’s 2005-2008 Policy Programme at the 2004 World Conservation Congress. “The Programme recognises that sustainable development will ultimately depend on the condition of the natural environment and it challenges whether current approaches to sustainable development actually achieve sustainability.” (IUCN Programme 2005-2008. Many Voices, One Earth, at p.5). In search for the appropriate sustainability model, the Programme states that “sustainability dictates that human activities must not exceed the capacity of the biosphere” and that “ecological thinking needs to be integrated in economic and social development”. Further, “recognition of the dependence of the social and economic pillars on environmental health will be the key to achieving sustainable development” (at p.10). All this calls for strong, not weak sustainability and that is “something new”!

The second important step was the adoption of Resolution WCC 3.022 at the same Congress. Through it IUCN “regards the Earth Charter as an ethical guide for IUCN policy and will endeavor to implement its principles through the IUCN Programme”. The guidance of the Earth Charter’s values and principles would give IUCN an authentic moral voice. Again, this is “something new”. Throughout its history IUCN has made many contributions to the ethics of nature conservation. But only now it is in the unique position to become a moral voice with the ability to speak on behalf of the Earth community, a voice with the ability to be precise on what needs to be done and where the priorities are.

The Adams report acknowledges that “sustainability and sustainable development are effectively ethical concepts” (2.3), but does not mention the Earth Charter. The report contemplates “that IUCN should take a lead in developing new thinking about sustainability” (5.3), but does not mention Resolution WCC 3.022. Nowhere is the new thinking about sustainability better expressed than in the Earth Charter. “All” we have to do now is to implement Resolution WCC 3.022 - admittedly, no easy task. The IUCN may not be ready for unequivocal advocacy of sustainability and ecological integrity. That is why we need agencies and actors both inside and outside the IUCN. We need partnerships between IUCN commissions, regional and national committees and we need programmatic leadership of the IUCN Council and Secretariat. Externally, IUCN actors need to partner with other moral voices, they do not need “business partners”, but “moral partners”, not corporate power, but ethical power. A world-wide network of authentic moral voices would make the difference. The cumulative strong voice of sustainability could no longer be overheard by those in economic power.

Networking and capacity-building is the third step towards “something new”. Again, this step has already been taken although only just. The IUCN Commission of Environmental Law (CEL) with its Ethics Specialist Group (ESG) have partnered with other IUCN commissions and outside agencies such as the Center of Humans and Nature in New York to implement the Earth Charter Resolution. Work is underway for an international Code of Ethics for Biodiversity Conservation. Such a Code has been called for by Resolution WCC 3.020 adopted by the 2004 World Congress. The Code is to be presented to the 2008 World Conservation Congress and could be drafted in the form of a foundational “code of codes” (Ron Engel). It would be a code that reflects the Earth Charter and the core concern of IUCN, i.e. the concern for preserving the Earth’s ecological integrity. IUCN is probably in a stronger position than ever before to become the central moral agency of sustainability.