Ecologically sustainable development

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Ecologically sustainable development is the environmental component of sustainable development. It can be achieved partially through the use of the precautionary principle; if there are threats of serious or irreversible environmental damage, lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason for postponing measures to prevent environmental degradation. Also important is the principle of intergenerational equity; the present generation should ensure that the health, diversity and productivity of the environment is maintained or enhanced for the benefit of future generations. In order for this movement to flourish, environmental factors should be more heavily weighed in the valuation of assets and services to provide more incentive for the conservation of biological diversity and ecological integrity.

Contents

Biodiversity Considerations

When trying to integrate ecologically sustainable developments into a region, it is important to take biodiversity into consideration before moving forward with developments. Specifically, how a sustainable development impacts the biodiversity of its area and how they can be used to facilitate biodiversity. Recognizing and conserving biodiversity is essential for maintaining the resilience and functionality of ecosystems which humans greatly depend. [1]

Although urbanization can have negative effects on certain flora and fauna species, if urban planning is carried out in a way that does consider biodiversity, some urban areas can provide habitats and foster biodiversity which can be facilitated with the help of ecologically sustainable developments. [2] Cities provide important habitats for many types of plants and fungi and can also act as a refuge for certain animal species as well. This can be assisted even more with the use of ecologically sustainable developments which play a large role in being able to provide habitats for those species. [2] In addition to sustainable developments in cities, green areas, such as parks and open spaces, or green corridors, provide species with food and breeding habitats. [3] Specifically increasing the size of green areas and developing a network of green corridors is a successful way to maintain high levels of urban biodiversity. [3] An additional aspect that can be influenced by ecologically sustainable developments and is connected to green areas are urban forests. Urban forests have often been included in cities whether through landscapes, parks, or street trees and can affect the biodiversity of a city. [4] Depending on the type of urban forest and the way it is managed, urban forests can provide a space where native tree species are able to thrive and provide strong biodiveristy efforts for the city it is in. [4]

A feature that can be included in an ecological sustainable development is a green roof. The incorporation of a green roof on a sustainable development can facilitate urban biodiversity from different types of vegetation that can be installed on a green roof, thus increasing the overall biodiversity of an area. The installation of green roofs can also help improve biodiversity specifically for species that need extra assistance and are not as migratory as other species. [5] They can provide species a safe, natural, undisturbed habitat, depending on the setup and conditions of the green roof/space, where they can develop and grow. [5]

The density and compactness of a city can also affect the biodiversity conditions which influences the types and number of ecologically sustainable developments that should be implemented to meet the goal of increasing biodiversity. It has been studied that if high density urban areas are well managed, they can preserve large intact green spaces and create a more ecologically heterogeneous area that has the ability to support both urban-adapted and urban sensitive species. [6] However, there is a specific critical threshold that most cities have where if residential density reaches that point, all species would decline as there would not be enough vegetation to maintain them. [6]

Overall, strategic urban planning with the implementation of ecologically sustainable development and the preservation of green areas and a network of corridors between these areas should be utilized in order to have an efficient use of land. [3] This thus reduces the impact of humans on the city's biodiversity and allows for opportunities for people to interact with the local biodiversity.

Political considerations

Effective political support is necessary for ecologically sustainable development. The mobilization of governments can be translated into action plans that are crucial to sustainable development. Development efforts can be influenced by patterns of family arrangements, work attitudes, social morality—particularly interpersonal responsibilities, hierarchy of authority, quality of scientific education and implementation, and degree of domestic stability—especially, freedom from social conflict. [7] National policy and development planning requires three conditions to permit ecological sustainability: action-oriented values to which individuals are committed, political authorities that favour long-term ecological benefits over immediate economic gains, and a policy with a politically competent constituency. [8]

Canada has taken an evidence based approach to sustainability development by using Environmental Sustainability Indicators [9] as guiding tool for policy development. At the municipal level, many cities also use evidence based indicators [10] and Ecological Indexes [11] [12] as a tools for policy development.

Forums for ecologically sustainable development

The World Conservation Strategy was published in 1980, becoming one of the most encouraging developments that uses a goal-oriented programme for political change concerning ecological sustainability. [13] The publication marked a fundamental policy shift for the global conservation movement. The traditional focus became cure rather than Prevention, confirming the growing trend on the assimilation of preservation and development aims that are key to an ecologically sustainable society. Specifically, the concentration on wildlife conservation drifted into a concern for wider strains degrading the natural environment. [14] It promotes the principles of sustainable development and addresses the environmental concerns introduced by economic development decisions with a format that targets a wide audience. There are three chief conservation objectives:

  1. Maintaining essential biogeochemical cycles and life-support systems
  2. Preserving genetic diversity
  3. Establishing a sustainable use of species and ecosystems [15]

Other efforts such as the World Campaign for the Biosphere present environmental obstacles constantly before governmental and scientific authorities. Nicholas Polunin, former president of the Foundation for Environmental Conservation, believed the starting point for the World Campaign effort occurred in 1966 at an UNESCO conference in Finland. [16] The conference examined conditions that hinder ecologically sustainable development such as rapid population growth, proliferation of nuclear weapons, and depletion of natural resources. Similarly, the Global 2000 Report to the President, presents environmental prospective conditions that are likely to worsen if public policies, institutions, and rates of technologic advancement do not change. Findings of this type prompted environmentalists and the Foundation for Environmental Conservation to initiate the World Campaign project and have included the following suggestions:

  • Publication and broadcast of environmental issues
  • Use of traditional communication mediums such as posters and automobile stickers
  • Distribution of increasing basic and applied environmental research results
  • Information about family planning and the necessity to control population growth
  • Designating more area as national parks or wilderness areas, including the ocean
  • Organization of local, state, national, and international conferences to discuss environmental issues
  • Encouraging sustainable uses of our natural resources
  • Establishment of common laws for the Earth and mankind
  • Obtaining support form nongovernmental organizations and institutions for the World Campaign
  • Attaining recognition such as "Guardians of the Biosphere Awards," for persons and/or groups that demonstrate actions to preserve the environment [17]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natural capital</span> Worlds stock of natural resources

Natural capital is the world's stock of natural resources, which includes geology, soils, air, water and all living organisms. Some natural capital assets provide people with free goods and services, often called ecosystem services. All of these underpin our economy and society, and thus make human life possible.

This is an index of conservation topics. It is an alphabetical index of articles relating to conservation biology and conservation of the natural environment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Urban ecology</span> Scientific study of living organisms

Urban ecology is the scientific study of the relation of living organisms with each other and their surroundings in an urban environment. An urban environment refers to environments dominated by high-density residential and commercial buildings, paved surfaces, and other urban-related factors that create a unique landscape. The goal of urban ecology is to achieve a balance between human culture and the natural environment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Habitat conservation</span> Management practice for protecting types of environments

Habitat conservation is a management practice that seeks to conserve, protect and restore habitats and prevent species extinction, fragmentation or reduction in range. It is a priority of many groups that cannot be easily characterized in terms of any one ideology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Urban forestry</span> Land use management system in which trees or shrubs are cared or protected for well-being

Urban forestry is the care and management of single trees and tree populations in urban settings for the purpose of improving the urban environment. Urban forestry involves both planning and management, including the programming of care and maintenance operations of the urban forest. Urban forestry advocates the role of trees as a critical part of the urban infrastructure. Urban foresters plant and maintain trees, support appropriate tree and forest preservation, conduct research and promote the many benefits trees provide. Urban forestry is practiced by municipal and commercial arborists, municipal and utility foresters, environmental policymakers, city planners, consultants, educators, researchers and community activists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forestation</span>

Forestation is a vital ecological process where forests are established and grown through afforestation and reforestation efforts. Afforestation involves planting trees on previously non-forested lands, while reforestation focuses on replanting trees in areas that were once deforested. This process plays an important role in restoring degraded forests, enhancing ecosystems, promoting carbon sequestration, and biodiversity conservation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Habitat fragmentation</span> Discontinuities in an organisms environment causing population fragmentation.

Habitat fragmentation describes the emergence of discontinuities (fragmentation) in an organism's preferred environment (habitat), causing population fragmentation and ecosystem decay. Causes of habitat fragmentation include geological processes that slowly alter the layout of the physical environment, and human activity such as land conversion, which can alter the environment much faster and causes the extinction of many species. More specifically, habitat fragmentation is a process by which large and contiguous habitats get divided into smaller, isolated patches of habitats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Land development</span> Landscape alteration

Land development is the alteration of landscape in any number of ways such as:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reconciliation ecology</span> Study of maintaining biodiversity in human-dominated ecosystems

Reconciliation ecology is the branch of ecology which studies ways to encourage biodiversity in the human-dominated ecosystems of the anthropocene era. Michael Rosenzweig first articulated the concept in his book Win-Win Ecology, based on the theory that there is not enough area for all of earth's biodiversity to be saved within designated nature preserves. Therefore, humans should increase biodiversity in human-dominated landscapes. By managing for biodiversity in ways that do not decrease human utility of the system, it is a "win-win" situation for both human use and native biodiversity. The science is based in the ecological foundation of human land-use trends and species-area relationships. It has many benefits beyond protection of biodiversity, and there are numerous examples of it around the globe. Aspects of reconciliation ecology can already be found in management legislation, but there are challenges in both public acceptance and ecological success of reconciliation attempts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sustainable habitat</span>

A Sustainable habitat is an ecosystem that produces food and shelter for people and other organisms, without resource depletion and in such a way that no external waste is produced. Thus the habitat can continue into the future tie without external infusions of resources. Such a sustainable habitat may evolve naturally or be produced under the influence of man. A sustainable habitat that is created and designed by human intelligence will mimic nature, if it is to be successful. Everything within it is connected to a complex array of organisms, physical resources, and functions. Organisms from many different biomes can be brought together to fulfill various ecological niches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Urban prairie</span> Vacant urban land reverted to green space

Urban prairie is a term to describe vacant urban land that has reverted to green space. The definition of an urban prairie, also known as an urban grassland, can vary across countries and disciplines, but at its broadest encompasses meadows, lawns, and gardens, as well as public and private parks, vacant land, remnants of rural landscapes, and areas along transportation corridors.If previously developed, structures occupying the urban lots have been demolished, leaving patchy areas of green space that are usually untended and unmanaged, forming an involuntary park. Spaces can also be intentionally created to facilitate amenities, such as green belts, community gardens and wildlife reserve habitats.Urban brownfields are contaminated grasslands that also fall under the urban grassland umbrella. Urban greenspaces are a larger category that include urban grasslands in addition to other spaces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conservation development</span> Controlled-growth land use development

Conservation development, also known as conservation design, is a controlled-growth land use development that adopts the principle for allowing limited sustainable development while protecting the area's natural environmental features in perpetuity, including preserving open space landscape and vista, protecting farmland or natural habitats for wildlife, and maintaining the character of rural communities. A conservation development is usually defined as a project that dedicates a minimum of 50 percent of the total development parcel as open space. The management and ownership of the land are often formed by the partnership between private land owners, land-use conservation organizations and local government. It is a growing trend in many parts of the country, particularly in the Western United States. In the Eastern United States, conservation design has been promoted by some state and local governments as a technique to help preserve water quality.

Forest management is a branch of forestry concerned with overall administrative, legal, economic, and social aspects, as well as scientific and technical aspects, such as silviculture, protection, and forest regulation. This includes management for timber, aesthetics, recreation, urban values, water, wildlife, inland and nearshore fisheries, wood products, plant genetic resources, and other forest resource values. Management objectives can be for conservation, utilisation, or a mixture of the two. Techniques include timber extraction, planting and replanting of different species, building and maintenance of roads and pathways through forests, and preventing fire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forest protection</span> Branch of forestry

Forest protection is a branch of forestry which is concerned with the preservation or improvement of a forest and prevention and control of damage to forest by natural or man made causes like forest fires, plant pests, and adverse climatic conditions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green infrastructure</span> Sustainable and resilient infrastructure

Green infrastructure or blue-green infrastructure refers to a network that provides the “ingredients” for solving urban and climatic challenges by building with nature. The main components of this approach include stormwater management, climate adaptation, the reduction of heat stress, increasing biodiversity, food production, better air quality, sustainable energy production, clean water, and healthy soils, as well as more anthropocentric functions, such as increased quality of life through recreation and the provision of shade and shelter in and around towns and cities. Green infrastructure also serves to provide an ecological framework for social, economic, and environmental health of the surroundings. More recently scholars and activists have also called for green infrastructure that promotes social inclusion and equity rather than reinforcing pre-existing structures of unequal access to nature-based services.

The natural environment, commonly referred to simply as the environment, includes all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ecosystem management</span> Natural resource management

Ecosystem management is an approach to natural resource management that aims to ensure the long-term sustainability and persistence of an ecosystem's function and services while meeting socioeconomic, political, and cultural needs. Although indigenous communities have employed sustainable ecosystem management approaches implicitly for millennia, ecosystem management emerged explicitly as a formal concept in the 1990s from a growing appreciation of the complexity of ecosystems and of humans' reliance and influence on natural systems.

Akure Forest Reserve is a protected area in southwest Nigeria, covering 66 km2 (25 sq mi). The Akure Forest Reserve, established in 1948 and spanning approximately 32 hectares. It was created with the primary aim of safeguarding the genetic diversity of the forest ecosystem. About 11.73% is estimated to be cleared for cocoa farming and other food crops. Aponmu and Owena Yoruba speaking communities owned the forest, though, there are also minor settlements surrounding the forest. They include Ipogun, Kajola/ Aponmu, Kajola, Ago Petesi, Akika Camp, Owena Town, Ibutitan/Ilaro Camp, Elemo Igbara Oke Camp and Owena Water new Dam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nature-based solutions</span> Sustainable management and use of nature for tackling socio-environmental challenges

Nature-based solutions is the sustainable management and use of natural features and processes to tackle socio-environmental issues. These issues include for example climate change, water security, food security, preservation of biodiversity, and disaster risk reduction. Through the use of NBS healthy, resilient, and diverse ecosystems can provide solutions for the benefit of both societies and overall biodiversity. The 2019 UN Climate Action Summit highlighted nature-based solutions as an effective method to combat climate change. For example, NBS in the context of climate action can include natural flood management, restoring natural coastal defences, providing local cooling, restoring natural fire regimes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarah Bekessy</span> Australian conservation scientist

Sarah Bekessy is an Australian interdisciplinary conservation scientist with a background in conservation biology and experience in social sciences, planning, and design. Her research interests focus on the intersection between science, policy, and the design of environmental management. She is currently a professor and ARC Future Fellow at RMIT University in the School of Global, Urban and Social Studies. She leads the Interdisciplinary Conservation Science Research Group.

References

  1. ↑ Aronson, Myla FJ; Lepczyk, Christopher A; Evans, Karl L; Goddard, Mark A; Lerman, Susannah B; MacIvor, J Scott; Nilon, Charles H; Vargo, Timothy (May 2017). "Biodiversity in the city: key challenges for urban green space management". Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. 15 (4): 189–196. doi:10.1002/fee.1480. ISSN   1540-9295.
  2. 1 2 Lopez, C. X. Garzon; Savickytė, Gabija (2023-07-01). "Biodiversity in cities: the impact of biodiversity data across spatial scales on diversity estimates". Folia Oecologica. 50 (2): 134–146. doi:10.2478/foecol-2023-0012.
  3. 1 2 3 Beninde, Joscha; Veith, Michael; Hochkirch, Axel (June 2015). Haddad, Nick (ed.). "Biodiversity in cities needs space: a meta‐analysis of factors determining intra‐urban biodiversity variation". Ecology Letters. 18 (6): 581–592. doi:10.1111/ele.12427. ISSN   1461-023X.
  4. 1 2 Pregitzer, Clara C.; Charlop‐Powers, Sarah; Bibbo, Silvia; Forgione, Helen M.; Gunther, Bram; Hallett, Richard A.; Bradford, Mark A. (January 2019). "A city‐scale assessment reveals that native forest types and overstory species dominate New York City forests". Ecological Applications. 29 (1). doi:10.1002/eap.1819. ISSN   1051-0761.
  5. 1 2 Sushinsky, Jessica R.; Rhodes, Jonathan R.; Possingham, Hugh P.; Gill, Tony K.; Fuller, Richard A. (February 2013). "How should we grow cities to minimize their biodiversity impacts?". Global Change Biology. 19 (2): 401–410. doi:10.1111/gcb.12055. ISSN   1354-1013.
  6. 1 2 Sushinsky, Jessica R.; Rhodes, Jonathan R.; Possingham, Hugh P.; Gill, Tony K.; Fuller, Richard A. (February 2013). "How should we grow cities to minimize their biodiversity impacts?". Global Change Biology. 19 (2): 401–410. doi:10.1111/gcb.12055. ISSN   1354-1013.
  7. ↑ Bakari, Mohamed El-Kamel. "Globalization and Sustainable Development: False Twins?." New Global Studies 7.3: 23-56. ISSN (Online) 1940-0004, ISSN (Print) 2194-6566, DOI: 10.1515/ngs-2013-021, November 2013
  8. ↑ Caldwell, Lynton K. (1984). "Political Aspects of Ecologically Sustainable Development". Environmental Conservation. 11 (4): 299–308. doi:10.1017/S037689290001465X. S2CID   85770572.
  9. ↑ Government of Canada. "Environmental Sustainability Indicators" . Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  10. ↑ City of Surrey. "Sustainability Charter" . Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  11. ↑ "Economic Update, 20 January 2016" (PDF). City of St. Johns. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  12. ↑ "Study of 50 Canadian Municipalities". GreenScore Canada. Archived from the original on 4 September 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  13. ↑ Allen, Robert P. (1980). How to Save the World: Strategy for World Conservation . Barnes and Noble Books. ISBN   978-0-389-20011-6.
  14. ↑ McCormick, John (1986). "The Origins of the World Conservation Strategy". Environmental Review. 10 (3): 177–187. doi:10.2307/3984544. JSTOR   3984544. S2CID   156040310.
  15. ↑ Smith, Susan L. (1995). "Ecologically Sustainable Development: Integrating Economics, Ecology, and Law". Willamette Law Review. 31 (2): 261–306. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
  16. ↑ Polunin, Nicholas (1982). "Our Global Environment and the World Campaign for the Biosphere" (PDF). Environmental Conservation. 9 (2): 115–121. doi:10.1017/S0376892900020002. S2CID   84262473.
  17. ↑ Barman, Charles R. (1984). "The World Campaign for the Biosphere". The American Biology Teacher. 46 (5): 269–271. doi:10.2307/4447840. JSTOR   4447840.
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