Sustainable Development : Characteristics and Interpretations

Abstract. This paper characterizes the main elements of «sustainable development» (SD) based on the current literature. On the premise of population growth and human environmental impact as central problems of development policy the multisectoral and multidimensional approach to sustainable development is discussed. According to this, –Environmental protection has to be an integral part of the development process –Technology will play a major role in the implementa¬ tion of SD –SD may be compatible with the free market economy –SD seeks «inter-» and «intra-» generational equit –SD requires changes in awareness and ethic –Achieving SD means the involvement of private and public sectors at all levels. It is shown that these characteristics currently are subject to interpretations that go beyond the scope of SD.

North» and «the South», there will be little change in the established order.Concomittantly, there will be ne- glect of many different local situations.
One of the consequences of this is that certain aspects of sustainable development are only achieved when sever- al parties are the beneficiaries.These are «win-win» sit¬ uations like eco-technologies which also generate sav-  ings.In other cases, a «win-win» Situation may be suboptimal when «sustainable development» is more or less «relabeling» and reduced to retaining just an ade- quate facet of it.
1 Policy for a new millennium The notion of sustainable development is inseparable from its function of organising and legitimizing action.As Pearce (1993: 183-184) stated: «The phrase 'sus¬ tainable development' has staying power because most people want to believe in it.It survives because it appears to build bridges between the demands of environmentalists and developers.It sounds comforting -hu¬ man well-being and economic security forever -not brought to heel by ecological collapse or social distress.
It is an article of faith, and in that sense almost a religious idea, similar to justice, equality and freedom.»Sustainable development has other connotations that tend to make it appealing.A long-term project, for ex¬ ample, is appropriate at the advent of the millennium because it will shape the future.At a time of accelerat- ing changes, when products and fashions are ephemeral, when markets are volatile and traditional references disappearing, the very idea of duration seems like an antithesis.In developed countries where people may be afraid of losing the Standard of living, sustainable devel¬ opment comes across as capable of preserving the best of this development in a lasting way, adding to it quali¬ tative and environmental values.«Development that meets the needs ofthe present with¬ out compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs» was the concise definition of sus¬ tainable development contained in the Brundtland Report (WCED 1987: 43) that opened the way to the Rio Conference in 1992.It is when this is put into practice, of course, that conflicts resurface.What this notion gains by taking into account different objectives risks being lost by the imprecise definition of priorities (or different «needs»).This leaves the parties with the task of reaching an agreement, and the merk of «bringing everyone around the same table» with a series of sensi¬ tive issues on the agenda.But if there is little change in the balance of power between the parties, such as «the 2 For or against sustainable development?Despite these pitfalls (see Sachs 1993; Rist 1996;   CETRI 1995; Worster 1993) the notion of sustainable development is of great theoretical and practical interest.In addition to being applicable to our time sustaina¬ ble development is part of the institution-building process the environmentalist movement has been propagating.In this, the movement itself lost some of its rad- icalness (Pallemaerts 1995) but became more widely accepted and supported.As a result, public authorities had to make commitments for which they can be held accountable and initiatives are under way to stem the adverse effects of industry.Local authorities have be- gun implementing «local Agendas 21» (LA 21).A multitude of initiatives has appeared whith a specific Inter¬ pretation of sustainable development that serves to overcome traditional divisions.This will be shown by a series of interpretations regarding the implementation of sustainable development (see Table 1).For this, programmes developed by public authorities such as the UN as one of the leaders in this field, and LA 21 programmes (ICLEI 1997) are exam- ined.The view of the business world will be illustrated by the position of the World Business Council for Sus¬ tainable Development (WBCSD 1992; 1997).Furthermore, the view of a recent branch of economics («eco¬ logical economics», see Harribey 1998; Godard 1994)   will be analyzed.The position of environmental NGOs is represented by the work of Friends of the Earth (FoE) (Carley & Spapens 1998).Finally, a series of authors critical of development will be called upon to inject a dose of skepticism.Of course, these choices are in part arbitrary.For other papers highlighting the basic com- ponents of sustainable development, see, for example, Lele (1991), Godard (1994), Nath, Hens & Leveuyst  (1996), Faber and al. (1995), Harribey (1998)  Characteristic 1: Environmental problems as a major cause of the current development crisis The impact of development on the environment is at the heart of the debate on sustainable development (see What is new about the idea that (economic) development can härm the environment is primarly the emphasis: the magnitude of environmental damage suffered can itself cause major härm to development.
This assertion appears quite clearly in the Brundtland Report (WCED 1987) and in the Friends of the Earth campaign (Carley & Spapens 1998).
But working on this premise, to what extent should de¬ velopment be restructured?Is it enough to change the management of the environment?This is the approach of the European Union whose sustainable development Programme is a programme managed by the Environ¬ ment Division (Union Europeenne 1992).Or should there be more in-depth modifications?In keeping with the environmentalist programmes, Friends of the Earth leans in this direction.«Ecological Economists» too, hold the notion that the environmental crisis challenges the basic functioning of the economy.Critics of the classic development approach diagnose a development crisis already prior to and regardless of any environ¬ mental problems.As a result, the paradigm of develop¬ ment (as economic growth) is rejected and the concomittant unsuitable or undemocratic Solutions and growing inequalities.
«Limits to growth» remains the paradigm of this vision (Club ofRome 1972).
The view of nature as a resource led economists to introduce the notions of weak and strong sustainability (Pearce 1993; Daly 1973; Costanza 1991), referring to the possibility and practice of Substitution of natural resources with other resources.The extent to which nat¬ ural elements can be replaced defines «weak» sustaina¬ bility.By contrast, the more natural elements, a prestigious natural site, for example, are preserved without allowing Substitution the stronger is sustainability.
The global concem with defining «limits» is justified in several ways: a series of movable resources (e.g.raw materials) can actually be evaluated in the form of a world stock although this is a function of technology large paus of the environment (atmosphere, ozone layer etc.) are common to the planet as a whole or to vast areas of it (e.g.oceans) elements of the environment whose destruction is ir¬ reversible (for example, the city of Venice, the tiger as a natural species) can be considered «mankind's heritage» other forms of globalisation regarding the economy, transport, or multiculturalism raise awareness of glo¬ bal conceptions.
It is important, however, to understand the differences between these limits in a very general way and their specific regional or local effects: if resources are movable, they cannot be moved at zero cost.World food resources are a case in point.
There is enough food today to feed the world's peop¬ le, but glaring shortages nonetheless exist at regional levels; even if an environmental asset is considered part of the world's heritage, locally it is part of economic or political Systems that act and interact under constraints.The government of a country does not neces- sarily recognise the same limits on its harvesting of national forests as international programmes do; damage to a common environment like the increased greenhouse effect in the atmosphere may have differ¬ ent consequences from one region to another.
3.2 Characteristic 2: «Limits» of the planet facing growing population and human impact Whereas the first characteristic addresses our multifacetted relationship with nature in general terms the second characteristic is more targeted.In the definition given by the WCED and the Rio Conference, nature is seen as a world resource base.The Brundtland Re¬ port very significantly begins with the view of our plan¬ et earth as finite space.The 1972 Club of Rome report Therefore, «limits» can be properly evaluated only if the interaction between global and local dimensions is understood.Neither the global nor the local perspective alone can adequatly show the influence one place can have on another one.The notion that resources have limits, and the idea that the environment is economic capital, is nevertheless widely accepted in sustainable development approach¬ es, and the monetary value attached to the environment by some is quite impressive: «For the entire biosphere, the value (most of which is outside the market) is estimated to be in the ränge of US$ 16-54 trillion per year Global gross national product total is around US$ 18 trillion per year» (Costanza [et al.] 1997).The problem of the world's limits is clearly underlined by the UN.Of the groups examined here, FoE is probably the one most cautious about global (or sometimes re¬ gional) limitations by defending that this notion implies that each country be guaranteed equitable «environ¬ mental space».In the context of «weak sustainability» the WBCSD (1992; 1997) expects technology to give an orientation to tomorrow's markets, and transnational corporations, in particular.Given rapidly growing con¬ sumption, the limits could then be internalized.Only the Local Agendas 21, as local programmes, are to a small¬ er degree concerned with the limits issue and tend to view the environment as a living System that just needs to be managed properly.
The «development critics» have reservations towards these approaches.Le Bras (1994) for example sees in them misinterpretations of demographic developments in the South and suspects the North of adopting an antidemographic view that mask the real problems: maldistribution of resources and overconsumption by few countries.Many authors, then, reject the way in which this impediment to development in the South is legitimised with constraints that the North did not have to take into account when it developed (Sachs 1993; Chatterjee & Finger 1994; CETRI 1995).  1992.Nonetheless, an examination of other basic Unit¬ ed Nations texts on development, for example the De¬ velopment Agenda (Ghali 1995) or a number of older texts (see, for example, Rist 1996), reveals similar ap¬ proaches to social problems.From a social point of view, then, sustainable development reaffirms the previous appraoch.Its originality stems from its elaborating links between social and economic problems and envi¬ ronmental management: On the one hand, social priorities have to be recognised in environmental manage¬ ment.On the other hand, there has to be Community involvement for more effective results of environmental management (Lele 1991).The term «sustainable», even if it is applied to the social dimension, is still usually used in an ecological sense.This does not mean that propagators of sustainable de¬ velopment are not activley seeking to incorporate the social dimension as recent efforts by local authorities in some LA 21 programmes indicate.Carley & Spapens (1998) explicitly address equity, although the focus is still on «environmental space».At the European level, however, there appears to be little interaction between social policy and sustainable development.This is also true for most conceptualizations by ecological econo¬ mists.Current work on challenges to the economy (Beaud 1997; Englehard 1997; Ayres 1998) incor- porates ecological aspects but does not apply the con¬ cept of «sustainability» to the entire socio-economic spectrum.
The global local dialectic, too, is subject to various interpretations.According to some «development crit¬ ics», development programmes promoted on a global scale tend to originate in Western economies and do not take into account the different local situations and needs of different countries (Chatterjee & Finger 1994;   Sachs 1993; Rist 1998).Advocates of the UN ap¬ proach may claim that global approaches are necessary and that these programmes do make allowance for dif¬ ferent local situations.Yet, the fact that «partnership» and «aid» are not seriously implemented is probably the 1.Environmental problems as a major cause of the current development crisis 2. «Limits» ofthe planet facing growing population and human impact 3. Multisectoral (environmental, economic, social) and multidimensional approaches (global, local) 4. Environmental protection as integral part ofthe development process 5. Technology as a major medium for the implementation of sustainable development 6.Compatibility with a free market economy that would integrate the environment in its economic regulation 7. Equitable pursuit of developmental and environmental needs of present and future generations 8. Changes in awareness (values, education) and ethics (in the relationship to nature in particular) as prerequisites for sustainable development 9. Involvement of the private and public sectors at all levels Tab.2: Main characteristics of sustainable development at the UN level Caracteristiques principales du developpement durable dans Tapproche de TONU Kennzeichen der «Nachhaltigen Entwicklung» auf der Ebene der UNO most important factor that disqualifies global programs in the eyes of a number of developing countries.At the local level, the interaction between local and glo¬ bal (the well-known UN motto in Rio «Think globally, act locally», a notion also found in the strategy of trans¬ national corporations) is an attempt to come up with specific forms of environmental management or re- sponsible consumption (Zaccai 1999a, b).This, how¬ ever, is far from easy, given the extraordinary interpenetration of effects and relations.
3.4 Characteristic 4: Environmental protection as integral part of the development process For the European Union, this Integration is the core of sustainable development compared to previous environ¬ mental policies.But the attempt at integrating environ¬ mental protection should not conceal the real difficulties that arise when there are additional constraints in political decision-making processes.Even when envi¬ ronmental protection is integrated there is, of course, the problem of measuring its effectiveness.This raises the question of adequate indicators.Although there has been a proliferation of environmental indicators over the past few years (Moldan & Billharz 1997; OECD 1997) there is still the problem of (time series) data.
And again, even with indisputable data, there has to be a genuine political will to take this data into account and make difficult choices.Based on a set of assumptions (equitable «environmental space») Carley & Spapens (1998) describe the profound changes that would result from such an Integration.
In the UN approach to sustainable development, the in¬ struments integrating the environment in the policies are the following (UNCED 1992): legal instruments: compensation of victims; no trans- fer of pollution and Information obligations between states; transfer of knowledge; participation technology management instruments: impact studies; adaptation of Standards; precautionary measures; technology transfer economic instruments: open international trade Sys¬ tem, internalisation of costs.
3.5 Characteristic 5: Technology as a major medium for the implementation of sustainable development Here the notion of «eco-efficiency» -the environmental impact per unit of consumption -is relevant.It provides a convenient common denominator to designate the improvements expected from technologies.The efficiency of technology is in fact one of the factors that may serve to reduce the pressure of human activity on the global environment: Using the equation by Paul and Anne Ehrlich (1990) as reported in Ekins (1993) one can see the scale of the technological challenge if both sus¬ tainability and GNP growth are to be achieved.This equation relates «environmental impact (I) to the pro-duct of three variables, population (P), consumption per capita (C) and the environmental intensity of consump¬ tion (T).The last variable captures all the changes in technology, factor inputs and the composition of GNP.
Thus I=PCT».As applied by Ehrlich «the environ¬ mental impact of each unit of consumption would need to fall by 93% over the next 50 years to meet sus¬ tainability».(Ekins 1993: 92-93).These factors have been used with different variations.The Club of Rome (1992: 102), for example, uses «Impact -Population x Affluence x Technology».The results invariably show that eco-efficiency must increase drastically.The «Rio+5» Programme (ONU 1997) adopted the idea of an improvement by a factor of 4, then 10, of eco-efficiency in the medium and longterm, respectively.It remains to be determined whether or not an accompanying increase in consumption will absorb the gains thus derived, as feared by Ekins (1993), Carley & Spapens (1998) or the Club of Rome(1992).
It also remains to be seen whether or not the technolo¬ gies relate better to local needs and conditions.Sustain¬ able development actually introduces new constraints and undesirable effects regarding environmental and possibly social externalities.Application of the precau¬ tionary principle leads to changes in the relationship between science, technology and policy in a more comprehensive and complex sense (Godard 1996).Even with these adaptations.it remains to be determined what impetus and procedures are needed for a consequent transfer of technologies under conditions advantageous for the South.
3.6 Characteristic 6: Compatibility with a free market economy that would integrate integrates the environment in its economic regulation Quoting the 1992 World Bank definition, «Sustainable development is development that lasts» (Sachs 1995: 10), development critics accuse sustainable develop¬ ment of pursuing classic development planning and growth objectives without any clear change of policy, and even giving old style planning renewed legitimacy (Rist 1996).Most of the proponents of sustainable development do not challenge the growth objective but argue for more or less profound changes regarding its content, quality and its application depending on the country.The WCED (1987: 44), for example, explains: «Meeting essential needs depends in part on achieving füll growth potential and sustainable development clearly requires economic growth in places where such needs are not being met.
Elsewhere it can be consistent with economic growth, provided that the content of growth reflects the broad principles of sustainability and non-exploitation of others.But growth by itself is not enough.»Compatibility with growth has done much to make sus¬ tainable development acceptable in institutional and business circles.In its implementation, however, one sometimes tends to forget that profound changes within this type of growth are also required.The debate cannot be reduced to a question of «for or against growth».Just as development which gradually consumes finite re¬ sources cannot last forever (it is in fact an «Oxy¬ moron»), the growth of certain parameters can be beneficial socially without causing extreme härm to nature.
There is, however, a clear gap between the objective of sustainable development and its operationalization.What appears to be useful here is a comprehensive reevaluation of the predominant economic thinking (Beaud 1997; Ayres 1998; Englehard 1997).The re¬ form of indicators and the inclusion of externalities are part of achieving environmental responsibility and the objective of equity, as does the opening of borders or removal of trade barriers.It is worth noting that this, too, would not be enough to favour the goal of equity if one is to belie,ve E. Todd who stated that the-called Hecksher-Ohlin theorem «associates an international opening with an internal unequalization is actually one of the few genuine achievements of economics» (Todd 1998: 15).able development adopts objectives of faimess, with particular emphasis on the elimination of poverty, based on Principle 3 ofthe Rio Declaration of 1992.This di¬ mension is fundamental for broad acceptance by social¬ ly active groups beyond the scope of nature conservation.It may be actively pursued as the UN does, or considered as a reference regulating environmental management programmes (European Union, businesses).«Intergenerational» equity appears as a novel and original characteristic although there is nothing radically new about policy decisions taking into account future generations.The perpetuation of peoples, the objective of steady or growing prosperity are part of all the an- cient and modern traditions (including religious ones).«Intergenerational equity» has been influenced by the magnitude and fast pace ofthe changes that humankind has experienced and produced.It has been further af¬ fected by the real discrepancy between progress and de¬ velopment which led to a greater concern with present political and legal questions of development.
Regarding rights of future generations, environmental questions receive greater attention in the definition of sustainable development.Of course, there are still theo¬ retical and practical problems in defending rights for beneficiaries who do not exist at the moment.Moreover, taking into account «future generations» in an ap- parently unified form should not conceal the considera¬ ble environmental and social differences that exist between human groups at the local and regional levels.
3.8 Characteristic 8: Changes in awareness (values, education) and ethics (in the relationship to nature in particular) as prerequisites for and parts of sustainable development Repeatedly there has been a call for «changes in mentality» towards the environment in the texts that promote sustainable development: «Unless we are able to translate our words into a language that can reach the minds and hearts of people young and old, we shall not be able to undertake the extensive social changes needed to correct the course of development» (Introduction by G. H. Brundtland, WCED 1987: XIV).This is also sup- ported by texts with a strong ethical component (Club of Rome 1972Rome , 1992; Union of Concerned Scien- tists 1992) and in education and awareness pro¬ grammes (UNCED 1992).This characteristic could be interpreted in several ways.
On the one hand, the adaptations are necessary in all spheres of society, which explains the implementation of awareness programmes, by contrast, for example, to a legislative change in a field that concerns a specialised profession.Furthermore, in these different spheres, the principles of sustainable development must be implemented in a way that is specific to the sectors and situa¬ tions.There are, however, more principles recommended than actually implemented.Moreover, the «prescriptions» and methodologies are defined differently at spe¬ cialised levels.The new ethic that is called for can also be read in sever¬ al ways.It is sometimes a matter of encouraging behaviours that seem antinomic with strict personal usefulness (e.g.«it is good to sort one's waste, even if takes time»).For this, the common good is evoked against the individual interest.This common good can refer to the living environment that we share, the well-being of present or future generations, or the welfare of «humanity».If the attempts to reform the economy to «integrate» the environment were successful (but this is an ideal Situation), the references to ethics might become less important, since it would be economically advanta- geous to act ecologically.
3.9 Characteristic 9: Involvement of the private and public sectors at all levels «Environmental issues are best handled with the participation of all concerned Citizens, at the relevant level» (Rio Declaration, Principle 10).«Critical to the effective implementation of the objectives, policies and mechanisms agreed to by Governements in all Pro¬ gramme areas of Agenda 21 will be the commitment and genuine involvement of all social groups» (Agenda 21, para.23.1, UNCED 1992).Quotations like these can be found in all the integrated programmes of sustainable development.At the European level, the Vth Pro¬ gramme (1992) indicates precisely that a change in strategy is occurring in relation to earlier environmental policies, especially because of the involvement of all these actors in policy making.As for the LA 21s, the international campaign that Supports them (ICLEI   1997) only recognises this title if explicit Provision is made for participation.
How can this be interpreted?Reasons to go beyond en¬ vironmental protection are the weakening role of the public sector compared to the rise of economic actors, NGOs and even «Citizens».Public authorities are organising these different forces as a mediator more than as an overriding force.The complexity of the situations, their specialisation, the consumer's increased need and capacity to negotiate are making it possible for arrangements to be established outside traditional regulation.Therefore, there is a proliferation of «voluntary instru¬ ments», initiatives and charters.All of this generates a climate favouring more peaceful social relations and partnerships.With respect to the environment, the tradition of public inquiries has generated increasingly de¬ veloped forms of consultation, analyses and evaluations of regional or town plans, new business sites, public works etc.The professionalisation of environmental NGOs has also contributed to this.This call for active involvement nonetheless requires clarifications on the possible and necessary role of each protagonist and in what forum they relate to each other.In the last few years, for example, a number of Councils devoted to sustainable development have been estab¬ lished worldwide (Earth Council 1997), but they rep- resent only forum for official interactions which are in reality multifacetted and decentralised. 4

Conclusions
Sustainable development is a broad topic whith many different dimensions and conceptual approaches, per- sisting difficulties of operationalising, measuring and evaluating «sustainability».Sustainable development is not only an «object», it is an organising argument, a prism of analysis.The same event, for example support for an economic enterprise that recycles waste, may be considered part of a sustainable development Pro¬ gramme, or an achievement of environmental policy, or a matter relating to the social economy.Despite the par¬ ticular view taken, the pursuit of sustainable develop¬ ment has specific effects.It may generate or recompose (Godard 1997) knowledge, balances of power, and leads to decisions that may or may not be counterproductive with the stated objectives of equity and environ¬ mental responsibility.
It is not impossible that environmental problems may be exaggerated in relalion to other more vital challenges in some countries.But, be it in the North or the South, the environment has for too long been low on the list of priorities, to make the concern with sustainable develop¬ ment not justified.Sustainable development, however, cannot be achieved according to a single global model.
The participatory dimension of sustainable develop¬ ment has to be emphasised more strongly before projects tailored to specific situations can be successful.Similarly, the social dimension in sustainable develop¬ ment programmes should be elaborated more clearly as a guideline for regulations in the free market economy.This is of course easier said than done, but on the ground progress can only be made through the work of different forces and initiatives.sponsable».-Bruxelles: CRIOC: 101-110.Zaccai, E. (1999b): Ecological oriented consumption: a pluriactoral approach.-In: International Journal of Sustainable Development, 3 (ä paraitre).
The author wishes to thank the Belgian Federal Office of Scientific Technical and Cultural Affairs and Dominique Defrise.
Summary: Sustainable Development:

Characteristics and Interpretations
This paper characterizes the main elements of «sustain¬ able development» (SD) based on the current literature.On the premise of population growth and human envi¬ ronmental impact as central problems of development policy the multisectoral and multidimensional approach to sustainable development is discussed.According to this, Environmental protection has to be an integral part of the development process Technology will play a major role in the implementa¬ tion of SD SD may be compatible with the free market economy SD seeks «inter-» and «intra-» generational equit SD requires changes in awareness and ethic Achieving SD means the involvement of private and public sectors at all levels.
It is shown that these characteristics currently are sub- ject to interpretations that go beyond the scope of SD.
II faut donc que : la protection de l'environnement fasse partie integrante des processus de developpement la technologie joue un röle ajeur dans la mise en ceuvre du DD le DD soit compatible avec und economie liberale le DD recherche une equite «inter-» et «intra-» ge- nerationnnelle des changements dans la prise de conscience et l'ethique soient accomplis la realisation du DD implique la participation de tous les secteurs (et non seulement des pouvoirs publics).
These dimensions serve as a partial justification for new avenues to development with the aim to correct differences in living Standards.They are explicit parts of programmes like Agenda 21 (UNCED social dimensions.