SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Vision and reality about Earth’s future
The sustainable development is defined as a development aiming to meet the present aspirations without compromising the possibility to meet those of the future. Despite the fact that Macedonia is far from what is called sustainable planning of the overall development, under the international community’s pressure and the principles for stabilization and association determined by the European Union, we are making the initial steps for strategic development planning according to this concept …
Marijana Ivanova
When the developed world mentions the word development, they undoubtedly mean sustainable development. The sustainable development concept dates from several decades ago (according to some theoreticians it is even older). However, it was introduced in the late 70’ of the 20th century and it was strongly emphasized in the World Conservation Strategy prepared by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) in cooperation with UNEP (United Nations Environmental Programme) and the WWF (World Wildlife Fund). Thus, it can be said that the sustainable development concept is internationally recognized by the big NGOs (IUCN and WWF).
In the publication “Our Mutual Future” from 1983 by the well-known Brundland Commission – International Commission for Environment and Development, the sustainable development is defined as a “development aiming to meet the present aspirations without compromising the possibility to meet those of the future.”
The sustainable development and we
Despite the fact that Macedonia is far from what is called sustainable planning of the overall development, under the international community’s pressure and the principles for stabilization and association determined by the European Union, we are making the initial steps for strategic development planning according to this concept.
Two years ago at the Ministry of Environment an initiative was raised for preparation of a National Sustainable Development Strategy. The Institute for Social and Political-Legal Questions from Skopje was then involved in the preparation of the Conceptual Approach in the creation and implementation of that strategy. The Conceptual Approach was made by PhD. Pande Lazarevski and PhD. Ilija Todorovski and it was evaluated at scientists, experts and NGOs’ meeting in 2000. They suggested ideas for its improvement and building up. At the moment, the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning is working on this significant document. As Mrs. Kaja Sukova from the Ministry says, the next step after the preparation of the Concept will be the development of Methodology for the preparation of a National Sustainable Development Strategy. The Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning coordinates the activities on behalf of the Government. Nevertheless, the preparation of a National Strategy must have an interdisciplinary approach, including all sectors: the economy, social, law, education, as well as all other factors in this society: the business sector, NGOs, scientific and expert institutions, local self-government, etc.
Preparations for Rio + 10
At the Ministry, they also make preparations for Macedonian participation and presentation at the World Summit on Sustainable Development that will take place in August this year in Johannesburg, South Africa, organized by the UN. The so-called Rio+10 Summit reflects upon the decade after the World Summit on the Environment that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and especially after the implementation of the Agenda 21, which contains the sustainable development principles.
- Since the Summit in Rio, Macedonia has not managed to make a sustainable development strategy. It has been ten years since, and we still has not learned that this principle has to be implemented in the planning of all activities in the country – the economic, social, etc. We fall behind other countries, but it is most important that we are going to make mistakes in the development planning that will have repercussions – conflict situations will rise in the field of industry, agriculture, forestry, waters management, etc. We already come to such situations-for example, concerning the future of Rasce water management, says Mr. Tanevski.
As far as the National Report on Sustainable Development is concerned, Mr. Tanevski says that it contains several chapters on the degree of application of this concept in our country: what things should be changed in the development planning, integration and participation in the decision-making processes, key questions on national level concerning the power engineering, quality of air and social questions, reduction of poverty, education, public awareness and others.
According to the Ministry of Environment, the priorities for Macedonia in terms of sustainable development planning are the economy and social policy.
Definition
Exploiting the renewable resources
In the specialized dictionary of ecology (Oxford University Press, 1994), the definition of sustainable development is given as follows: “A sustainable development is an economic development which takes into consideration the consequences from economic activities’ on the environment and is based upon exploiting the resources that can be replaced or renewed, that is, that will not be depleted”.
World Summit on Sustainable Development
To celebrate Johannesburg
From 26 August to 4 September, a World Summit on Sustainable Development organized by the UN will take place in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Meeting this great global event, Mr. Kofi Anan, UN Secretary General talked to the world public about the sustainable development: “10 years after the World Summit on Planet Earth in Rio de Janeiro, the Governments gave their word that they will make such transformation and will implement the Agenda 21 as a key actions’ plan to each there. However, some single efforts showed insufficient results. We have not integrated completely the economic, the social and the ecological aspect of the development, nor we have done enough to break them with practical solutions that would lead towards accomplishing the goal”.
The Summit in Johannesburg, says the Secretary General is a possibility for the countries in the world to build a strategy for better mutual future.
Other experiences
Macedonia can impose itself in the region
The Scandinavian countries have gone furthest in the sustainable development planning. In the Balkans, says Mr. Tanevski there are not enough experiences regarding the sustainable development that Macedonia could from. Even in Greece, which is a EU member, the sustainable development is only discussed on academic level. Therefore, Macedonia is in a position to impose itself as a country with high ecological qualities with a real basis to apply this concept on development. However, if the commercial development and the transition in Macedonia lack ecological solutions, it will soon lose its ecological attributes.
Between the trade and the sustainable development
Unsustainable Doha principles
In November last year, the ministers of trade from 140 countries in the world met in Doha, Cattar. The meeting resulted with a very sustainable agenda despite the declarative efforts for sustainable development planning of their countries.
The ICTSD (International Center for Trade and Sustainable development) magazine “Bridges” in the latest edition’s (March/April 2002) heading by Victor Menotti comments on the results of that meeting as follows:
“..The ministers of trade from 140 countries have given the WTO (World Trade Organization) a historical mandate that can intensify the burning down of fossil fuels, the cutting of rain forests, depletion of fish fund, the use of toxic chemicals and genetically modified organisms release. Despite the international public opinion, the WTO has received even more power than before, declaring itself an institution that will answer unilaterally all fundamental questions concerning the future of natural systems on Earth and several billion poor people depending on them.
Apart from the declarative rhetoric for reduction of poverty and the sustainable development, the official WTO (known as Doha Declaration) offers WTO new ways to stop people use their governments to control the behavior of global corporations. Declaring itself an arbiter of natural planetary resource crises and a forum for solving the conflicts between international trade agreements and the environment, the Doha Agenda is a real challenge for the preparations of the UN World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002 in Johannesburg, Africa.
The Doha Agenda enables the WTO to:
• Intensify the export-oriented agriculture, forestry, fishing, burning the fossil fuels, mining and other kinds of natural resources exploitation.
• Eliminate most policies of conservation and development of communities as unfair “barriers” for the trade and investments
• Determine who will occupy the last remains of the world collapsing natural resources, starting from reduced fish funds
• Subordinate the multilateral agreements on environment to the rights of corporations
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