Why do we need

sustainable development?

Piotr Skubała, University of Silesia,

Department of Ecology, Katowice, Poland
I. What does sustainability mean ?

II. Do we take care of the Earth?

III. How is the degradation of the Earth in

scientists’ opinion?

IV. What are basic laws in nature?

V. When did environmental problems arise

and what were our countermeasures?
 I
What does sustainability mean?
 Sustainable development

“Sustainable development is development

that meets the needs and aspirations of the
current generation without compromising
the ability to meet those of future
generations”

Brundtland Commission (World Commission on

Environment and Development - WCED)
“Our common future” (1987)
 Sustainable development

Brundtland Commission 1987

Gro Harlem Brundtland, Prime Minister in Norway (1981,

1986-1989, i 1990-1996)
Society Environment

Economy
Society Environment

Sustainable
development

Economy
 Sustainable development

Limitations to sustainable development:

 Sustainable development

Limitations to sustainable development:

- technology

- social organisation and economy

- resistance of Earth’s biosphere to degradation

- moral constraints!
 Sustainable development

“Sustainable development is development

that meets the needs and aspirations of the
current generation without compromising
the ability to meet those of future
generations”

Brundtland Commission (World Commission on

Environment and Development - WCED)
“Our common future” (1987)
 Sustainable development

“Sustainable development is development

that meets the needs and aspirations of the
current generation without compromising
the ability to meet those of future
generations”

“basic needs” “wants” or “desires”

?
“Some people suggest that we are now on the
brink of the third great revolution of human
race: that following the Agricultural Revolution
and the Industrial Revolution there will now be
the Sustainability Revolution”

Mather and Chapman (1995)

 II
Do we take care of the Earth?
 Planetary ecological clock

Every second the area of 5 football

fields of rainforest disappears.
 Planetary ecological clock

Every day 25 000 people die because

of lack of water or its poisoning.
 Planetary ecological clock

Every day 550 thousand animals die

in torture in scientific laboratories,
200 millions every year.
 Planetary ecological clock

Every day more arable soil disappears

then is created during 1000 days.
 Planetary ecological clock

Every hour 60 new people suffer from

cancer in U.S.A.
The ozone hole is a cause.
 Planetary ecological clock

Every day 250 thousands of sulphur acid

fall down as acid rain. It kills the life in
thousands of lakes and devastated million
hectares of forests.
Mediterranean Sea

http://www.svl.dircon.co.uk/
 Mediterranean Sea

8500 species of plants and animals

are threatened by extinction.

http://demo.lutherproductions.com/bibletutor/level1/program/start/places/meditsea.htm
 Progressive drying out

http://www.grida.no/aral/aralsea/english/arsea/map2.htm
India

http://www.amitkulkarni.info/pics/goa_2002/digital_image_pages/goa_images5.shtml
India

65% territory of the country is degraded.

Bangkok

http://www.stickmanbangkok.com/Gallery2004/Stickman2004-09.jpg
 http://www.stickmanbangkok.com/Gallery2004/Stickman2004-09.jpg

Bangkok

60% of human population suffer

from diseases caused by pollution.
 Bangladesh

http://www.infoplease.com/atlas/c
ountry/bangladesh.html
Bangladesh

81% of country is degraded.

http://www.virtualbangladesh.com/bd_tour.html
Indonesia

http://www.worldonphoto.com/imagepages/2i43s.htm
Indonesia

There are the highest number of threatened

mammal species (135) in the country.

http://www.worldonphoto.com/imagepages/1i37s.htm
Pacific islands

http://geography.about.com/library/cia/blcpacific.htm
Pacific islands

Most islands are threatened by flood.

http://geography.about.com/library/cia/blcpacific.htm
Indian Ocean

http://www.aboveandbelow.net/FotoBelow/Sudan2000/Pagine/a-indiceSudan.htm
Indian Ocean

10 millions km2 (equal the territory of

USA) is covered by clouds of pollution.

http://www.aboveandbelow.net/FotoBelow/Sudan2000/Pagine/a-indiceSudan.htm
Persian Gulf

http://www.aboveandbelow.net/FotoBelow/Sudan2000/Pagine/a-indiceSudan.htm
 http://www.aboveandbelow.net/FotoBelow/Sudan2000/Pagine/cernia-coralli.htm

Persian Gulf

1.2 millions of barrels of hydrocarbons get at

Persian Gulf each year. Concentration of oil is
3 times higher than in North Sea.
Chad Lake

http://www.rook.org/earl/bwca/lakes/lakes1/chad.html
 http://www.rook.org/earl/bwca/lakes/lakes1/chad.html

Chad Lake

Since 1963 the surface of the lake is

diminished from 25 000 km2 do 9 000 km2.
(progressive drying)
Madagascar
Madagascar

27% of animal species will extinct during

the next decade.
Seychelles

http://www.sey.net/
Seychelles

85% of coral-reef was degraded

during one year (1997-1998) .

http://www.sey.net/isl_mahe.htm
Great Lakes

http://www.great-lakes.net/gis/
Great Lakes

43 threatened zones

http://www.great-lakes.net/gis/
Mexico

http://www.lumika.org/mexico/natural_scenes/2.htm
5 000 people die due to pollution each year.
Concentration of ozone is 10 times higher
than natural.

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/mexico/a011.html
Mexico Gulf
http://www.gulfofmexicofoundation.com/

Mexico Gulf

Since 1997 surface equal to the territory of

New Jersey (20 195 km2) has lacked oxygen.
Caribbean

http://www.antigua-barbuda.org/index.html
 http://www.antigua-barbuda.org/index.html
Caribbean

30% of coral-reef is threatened. The number

of endemic species diminished by 1.7% each
year.
 Brazil

http://www.josecaldas.fot.br/engl/project/muriqui/
 http://www.josecaldas.fot.br/engl/project/canastra/
Brazil

15 millions hectares of rainforest was cut

between 1988-1997.
Rio de Janeiro

http://www.copacabana.com/images/srj08.jpg
 http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~sergiok/brasil/paodeacucar.gif

Rio de Janeiro

4 millions of inhabitants live in settlements of

extreme poverty.
Argentina

http://www.lostworldarts.com/south_america/new_page_83.htm
 http://www.mountainlight.com/gallery.latin/aa0407pic.html

Argentina

62% of the country is degraded. Over 50% of

mammal and bird species are threatened.
Greenland
 http://mytrip.dk/esider/ebsider/image704.html

Greenland

37 000 km3 of the glacier melts each year

(Belgium + Luxembourg)
Antarctica

http://www.mountainlight.com/gallery.antarctic/aa0841pic.html
 http://www.mountainlight.com/gallery.antarctic/aa0828pic.html

Antarctica

In September 2000 the ozone hole

reached extreme size (28 300 000 ha).
Based on materials from United Nations. Prepared by World
Wildlife Fund.
 III
How is the degradation of the
Earth in scientists’ opinion?
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA)
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA)

Largest assessment ever undertaken

of the health of ecosystems

Prepared by 1360 experts from 95 countries

Called for by UN Secretary General in 2000

ECOSYSTEMS SERVICES
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA)

Approximately 60% (15 out of 24) of the

ecosystem services are being degraded or
used unsustainably
 ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT

Mathis Wackernagel* & William Rees

„Our Ecological Footprint. Reducing Human

Impact on the Earth” (1996)
 ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT

EF is a measure of how much biologically

productive land and water area an individual, a
city, a country, a region, or humanity uses to
produce the resources it consumes and to
absorb the waste it generates.
„Ecological footprint”
Biocapacity = 1.8 ha/person
Average ecological footprint =
2.2 ha/person
 ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT

EUROPE 2005. The Ecological Footprint

Report of European Union

GLOBAL FOOTPRINT NETWORK; WWF

2003 – humanity’s Ecological Footprint exceeded

the Earth’s biocapacity by over 20%
 ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT OF NATIONS
2005 UPDATE (March 2006)

REDEFINING PROGRESS
[Californian Institute works with a broad array of
partners to shift the economy and public policy
towards sustainabiliyty

World's Ecological Footprint Exceeds Biocapacity by

Nearly 40%
 Loss of Species Diversity

50 000 – 150 000 species / year

140 – 416 species / day

6 - 17 species / hour
 Loss of Species Diversity

The ecosystem rivet hypothesis

Paul R. i Anne H. Ehrlich (1981)

 The ecosystem rivet hypothesis

Paul R. i Anne H. Ehrlich (1981)

http://www.samoloty.ow.pl/str003l1.htm
 IV
What are basic laws in nature?
 BASIC ECOLOGICAL LAWS

Barry Commoner

(American biologist)

„The Closing Circle” (1971)

 Laws of Ecology

Barry Commoner (1971)

1. Everything is Connected to Everything Else

“...there are no separate individual
beings. All creatures are, to some
extent, connected with others and
depend on them”
Lewis Thomas [Dowd 1991]
 Laws of Ecology

Barry Commoner (1971)

1. Everything is Connected to Everything Else

2. Everything Must Go Somewhere

3. Nature Knows Best

4. There is No Such Thing as a Free Lunch

This is us, Earth. We realize it sooner or later,
but there is no getting around it. If we do not
learn to live in harmony with the food chains,
with the ecosystems, then gradually they will
come out of balance, and then they will die. It
is all a cycle and we are in it; we cannot
escape.

Robert Baden-Powell [Dowd 1991]

 V
When did environmental problems arise
and what were our countermeasures?
Emerging of environmental problems

in the 1950s
Spread and severity of environmental problems b le
is i
n v e
I ast
w

b le
isi e Global problems
V ast
w

Regional problems

Local problems

1950-s 1970-s 1990-s Time

Development of environmental problems from 1950s to today
 Diluting the waste

Dilution as solution to pollution

Environmental problems and countermeasures

 Sustainable cyclic society
Clean production
Recycling the waste
„End of pipe”solutions
Diluting the waste

Environmental problems and countermeasures

 “Each of us must accept total
responsibility for the earth’s survival. We
are the curators of life on earth, standing
at the crossroads of time”

Helen Caldicott
(Australian physician, environmental activist)

http://library.thinkquest.org/26026/People/helen_caldicott.html
WHO SAID THIS ABOUT NATURE?
 WHO SAID THIS ABOUT NATURE?

“We should require a substantially

new manner of thinking if humanity
is to survive”

a. John Paul II
b. Dalaj Lama
c. Albert Einstein
 WHO SAID THIS ABOUT NATURE?

“We should require a substantially

new manner of thinking if humanity
is to survive”

a. John Paul II
b. Dalaj Lama
c. Albert Einstein

http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grafika:Albert_Einstein_1947.jpg
 WHO SAID THIS ABOUT NATURE?

“Our fate depends not only on that,

what we do for ourselves, but also on
that, what we do for Gaia as a whole”

a. Vaclav Havel
b. Tony Blair
c. Gerhard Schroeder
 WHO SAID THIS ABOUT NATURE?

“Our fate depends not only on that,

what we do for ourselves, but also on
that, what we do for Gaia as a whole”

a. Vaclav Havel
b. Tony Blair
c. Gerhard Schroeder

http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grafika:Havel.jpg
 WHO SAID THIS ABOUT NATURE?

“The earth does not belong to man;

man belongs to the earth. This we
know. All things are connected like the
blood which unites one family. All
things are connected “

a. Chief Seattle (Suquamish chief, North America)

b. John Paul II
c. Dalaj Lama
 WHO SAID THIS ABOUT NATURE?

“The earth does not belong to man; man

belongs to the earth. This we know. All
things are connected like the blood which
unites one family. All things are connected “

a. Chief Seattle
(Suquamish chief, North
America)
b. John Paul II
c. Dalaj Lama
http://www.halcyon.com/arborhts/chiefsea.html
 WHO SAID THIS ABOUT NATURE?

“Ask the animals, and they shall teach

you; the birds of the air, and they shall
instruct you. Speak to the Earth and it
shall teach you”

a. Saint Francis
b. Bible
c. Sitting Bull (Indian Lakota)
 WHO SAID THIS ABOUT NATURE?

“Ask the animals, and they shall teach

you; the birds of the air, and they shall
instruct you. Speak to the Earth and it
shall teach you”

a. Saint Francis
b. Bible
c. Sitting Bull (Indian Lakota)

http://www.silk.net/RelEd/graph/bible.gif
 WHO SAID THIS ABOUT NATURE?

“The XXI century will be the age of

ecology or it will not be at all”

a. Al Gore (former vice-president of USA)

b. Henryk Skolimowski (Polish philosopher)
c. Paul Singer (founder of the philosophy of animal rights)
 WHO SAID THIS ABOUT NATURE?

“The XXI century will be the age of

ecology or it will not be at all”

a. Al. Gore)
b. Henryk Skolimowski
(Polish philosopher)
c. Paul Singer

http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henryk_Skolimowski
 WHO SAID THIS ABOUT NATURE?

“In our every deliberation, we must

consider the impact of our decisions
on the next seven generations”

a. Brundland Commission
b. Iroquois Indians
c. Constitution of the U.S.A.
 WHO SAID THIS ABOUT NATURE?

“In our every deliberation, we must

consider the impact of our decisions
on the next seven generations”

a. Brundland Commission
b. Iroquois Indians
c. Constitution of the
U.S.A.

http://www.crystalinks.com/iroquois.html
 WHO SAID THIS ABOUT NATURE?

“Ecology is my religion today. I live

surrounded by nature and fight with
inconsiderate consumption”

a. Tom Cruise
b. Sylvester Stallone
c. Robert Redford
 WHO SAID THIS ABOUT NATURE?

“Ecology is my religion today. I live

surrounded by nature and fight with
inconsiderate consumption”

a. Tom Cruise
b. Sylvester Stallone
c. Robert Redford

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000602/
 WHO SAID THIS ABOUT NATURE?

“Before I flew I was already aware of how small

and vulnerable our planet is; but only when I saw
it from space, in all its ineffable beauty and
fragility, did I realize that humankind’s most
urgent task is to cherish and preserve it for future
generations”

a. Sigmund Jahn (German astronaut)

b. Mirosław Hermaszewski (Polish astronaut)
c. Neil Armstrong (American astronaut)
 WHO SAID THIS ABOUT NATURE?

“Before I flew I was already aware of how small

and vulnerable our planet is; but only when I saw
it from space, in all its ineffable beauty and
fragility, did I realize that humankind’s most
urgent task is to cherish and preserve it for future
generations”

a. Sigmund Jahn (German astronaut)

b. Mirosław Hermaszewski (Polish astronaut)
c. Neil Armstrong (American astronaut)

http://www.spacefacts.de/bios/cosmonauts/english/volynov_boris.htm
Why do we need sustainable development?

THANK YOU

Piotr Skubała, University of Silesia,

Department of Ecology, Katowice, Poland