SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT:

CHALLENGES

M. A. Kamal, Ph.D
Director General
National Academy for Planning and Development
 Mother Earth -- Our Home
It has water, oxygen and a hospitable climate
 Out Line
1. Introduction
2. Inequalities and Access to Resources:
1. Inequalities of access to educational resources
2. Inequalities of access to Health Facilities
3. Inequalities of access to Food
4. Inequalities of access to Clean Water
3. Key Challenges of Sustainable Development
8. Policy Challenges towards SD
9. Human Resource Challenges
10. Sustainable Developments Thoughts
11. Challenges to Global Trend
12. The Human cost of Contemporary Development
13. Conclusion
14. Farewell Calls
1. Introduction
1. Several challenges threaten progress towards
sustainable development. The price hike in food
and energy prices in 2008 led to a severe food
crisis.
2. The subsequent fall of energy prices has eased
some of the pressure on energy importing
countries. Yet, food prices remain high.
3. The global financial and economic crisis in 2009
exacerbated the situation: Growth rates are
falling, unemployment is rising, poverty in
deepening, hunger and malnutrition are on the
increase again
4. The main challenge is to gradually change our
current unsustainable consumption and
production patterns and the non-integrated
approach to policy-making.”
 Contd...

2. Inequalities and Access to Resources:

2.1 Inequalities of access to educational

resources: Social and ethnic inequality in
educational achievement constitute a
troublesome and enduring aspect of schooling.
Large proficiency gaps between students of
high and low socio-economic status exhits all
over the world.
 2.2 Inequalities of access to Health Facilities:

1. Prior to the 1970s, the main movement of health

workers was from the developed to the
developing world. The new pattern runs in the
opposite direction and weakens already fragile
health systems, especially in sub-Saharan Africa
(Social Science & Medicine, Nov. 2007).
2. Increased flows of labour and goods in a global
health market, combined with decreased
regulation, leads to increased inequality (both
between and within countries) in health status
and access to health care.
3. Declining public investment in the health sector
has worsened conditions in both source and
destination countries.
4. Health has become a commodity in a global market. This
new economy involves the cross-border flow of
technologies, particularly, pharmaceutical products, and
health-related human resources.
5. The patterns of technological diffusion, finance and
governance are complex and diverse. Inequalities in access
to resources and variations in knowledge, training and
cultural constructions of health combine with growing
demand for health care produce global problems.

6. There are clear differences in the incidence of ill-health by

social class. People in lower social classes, including
children, are more likely to suffer from infective and
parasitic diseases, pneumonia, poisonings or violence.
Adults in lower social classes are more likely, in addition,
to suffer from cancer, heart disease dialectics and
respiratory disease.
2.2.4 Insufficient data and knowledge about the
inequalities generated by the new health-
related global flows of labour and medical
technologies is a services problem (Lancet, Feb.
2008).
2.2.8 Global health campaigns, such as the World
Health Organization's "Train, Retain and
Sustain" initiative, and the G8/UN campaign
for universal access to AIDS medicines may fail
to achieve their objectives. It is because of
limited understanding of the problems
involved. These problems have important socio-
cultural, economic and biomedical implications.
2.3 Inequalities of access to Food:

1. Access to healthy food is one of those issues that

anyone - no matter their racial, ethnic, geographic or
political stripes - can agree upon, simply because
everyone has to eat. When most Americans think of
food insecurity, they will immediately think of famine
in some nameless countries in the developing world.
But rarely do Americans think of the food injustices
happening in their own backyard.
2. Intra-country inequality of access to food is due
mainly to differences in income or purchasing power
among households. The share of food in household
expenditure declines with rising income. In addition,
there are upper and lower limits to food consumption
(expressed in kcal). This means that actual changes in
access to food, as opposed to income is not always
from.
 Food production
needs to be doubled
to meet the demand
for an additional 3
billion people in the
next 30 years

Climate change is projected

to decrease agricultural
productivity in the tropics
and sub-tropics for almost
any amount of warming
2.4 Inequalities of access to Clean Water:
1. Water is a fundamental environmental resource.
Access to water is a basic necessity for human
survival, for agricultural production and industrial
development.
2. The management of water resources can present a
major challenge even for rich technologically
advanced societies in temperate climates. Analysis of
disputes over water resources touching on issues on
politics, power, justice and law – all central concepts
are within the considerations of environmental
justice.
3. Inequalities in access to water resources and
exposure to and effects of flooding are apparent at
global, national and local levels. The 5 challenge for
sustainable development and social justice in both the
3rd developed and developing worlds are there.
 Water Services Climate
change is
projected
to decrease
water
availability
in many
arid- and
semi-arid
regions

Population facing
One third of the world’s water scarcity will be
population is now subject to more than double over
water scarcity the next 30 years
 3. Key Challenges of Sustainable Development:

1. Climate change and clean energy

2. Sustainable transport system.
3. Sustainable consumption and production Patterns.
4. Conservation and management of natural resources
5. Public health system.
6. Social inclusion, demography and migration issues
7. Global poverty and sustainable development
challenges
3.1 Climate change & clean energy

i) Global temperature rise be limited to 2°C

Ii) Renewables: Ensure 12% energy consumption by 2010 (15% by
2015); 21% electricity consumption
iii) Biofuels: Ensure 5.75% transport by 2010 (8% by 2015)
iv) Energy efficiency: Ensure overall saving of 9% by 2017
v) Greenhouse gases: Ensure reduction of 15-30% by 2020
Vi) Make sure Average car CO2 emissions 140 g/km by 2008/09, 120
g/km by 2012
 3.2 Sustainable transport:
i) Sustainable transport (or green transport) refers to any means
of transport with low impact on the environment, and includes
walking and cycling, transit oriented development, green
vehicles, Car Sharing, and building or protecting urban
transport systems that are fuel-efficient, space-saving and
promote healthy lifestyles.
ii) Sustainable transport systems make a positive contribution to
the environmental, social and economic sustainability of the
communities they serve. Transport systems exist to provide
social and economic connections, and people quickly take up
the opportunities offered by increased mobility
iii) Transport systems have significant impacts on the
environment, accounting for between 20% and 25% of world
energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.
Greenhouse gas emissions from transport are increasing at a
faster rate than any other energy using sector. Road transport is
also a major contributor to local air pollution and smog
iv) Decouple economic growth and transport demand
v) Reduced transport energy and GHG emissions
vi) Reduce health-related pollution
vii) Modal shift
viii) Reduced noise
ix) Halve road deaths in 2010 compared with 2000
x) Shift from road to rail, water and public transport
for passenger and freight
xi) Improve energy efficiency through use of cost-
effective instruments
xii) Infrastructure charging via satellite information
xiii) External costs methodology
xiv) International maritime and air traffic
xv) Road safety
3.3 Sustainable consumption & production
i) Development within ecosystems’ carrying capacity
ii) Decouple growth from environmental degradation
iii) Improving environmental and social performance
for products and processes
iv) Best practice Green Public Procurement (GPP)
v) Increase global market share in field of
environmental technologies and eco-innovations.
vi) Promote sustainable products like organic farming
3.4 Conservation & management of natural resources
i) Resource efficiency
ii) Eco-innovations
iii) Reduce global biodiversity loss by 2010
iv)Waste reduction
v) Agriculture: rural development programme, organic farming,
animal welfare, biomass action plan
vi) Fisheries: reformed Common Fisheries Policy
vii) Integrated water resource management, marine environment,
integrated coastal zone management
 Estimated 10%-15%
of the world’s species
could extinct over the
next 30 years

Biodiversity underlies all

ecological goods and services Climate change
will exacerbate
the loss of
3.5 Public health

i) Food and feed legislation, including labelling

ii) Improve Animal health and welfare
iii) Curbing lifestyle-related and chronic diseases
iv) Reduce health inequalities
v) Rules by 2020 for chemicals (including pesticides)
vi) Mental health and suicide risks
vii) Health determinants and lifestyle
viii) Food and feed legislation, including GMOs
ix) HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
x) Indoor air quality
xi) Transport, Health and Environment
3.6 Social inclusion, demography & migration
i) Social cohesion, respect for cultural diversity
ii)Adapt to demographic change
iii) Increase employment by women, older workers,
migrants, young people, disabled
iv) Develop migration policy
v) Reduce negative effects of globalization on workers
vi) Social services
vii) Modernize social protection systems
viii) Implications of demographic change for land use and
resource and energy consumption and mobility
3.7 Global poverty & global SD challenges

i) Reduce poverty risk by 2010 – especially children

ii) Advance internationally agreed goals and targets
iii) Improved international governance
iv) Promote sustainable development in WTO
v) Implement initiatives on water, energy, chemicals
vi) Debt support, untying of aid
 4. Policy Challenges towards SD:

.
1. Join-up policy goals under the SD umbrella

2. Signal SD in external partnerships / relationships

3. Effective stakeholder engagement

4. Building SD capacity among delivery partners

5. Human Resource Challenges

.
SD will need to be adequately reflected on :
1. Core vision and values
2. Training and development
3. Performance management
4. Recruitment
5. Career planning and placements
6. Internal communications
7. Volunteering / Fund raising
6. Sustainable Developments Thoughts
6.1 OLD SCHOOL THOUGHTS
“Few trends could so thoroughly undermine the very
foundations of our free society as the acceptance by
corporate officials of a social responsibility other than
to make as much money for their stockholders as
possible”
(“Capitalism and Freedom” – Milton Friedman, 1962)
6.1 Today’s New School Of Thoughts
“There is no conflict between social responsibility and the
obligation on companies to use scarce resources efficiently
and be profitable – an unprofitable business is a drain on
society. The essence of the contract between society and
business is that companies shall not pursue their
immediate profit objectives at the expense of the longer
term interests of the community.”
(“Corporate Governance and Chairmanship” – Adrian Cadbury, 2002)
7. Challenges to Global Trend

1. Mindset change

2. How to operationalize Initiatives

3. New Emerging Market Forces (China, India) want to catch

up on fruits of development using old models

4.Sustainable Development Models not fully ‘mainstream”

7.5Weak Demand Side (consumers need to be more aware and

demand more affirmative action)
Mindset Change

i) old school = rational economic men so deeply

imbedded; limited measures of success

ii) Poverty Issues is not sole responsibility of

Governments
iii) Looking at the “Poor” as market potential
(Prahalad: The Fortune at the Bottom of the
Pyramid)
8. Human Cost of Contemporary Development

1. Food Crises.
2. Health risks increases (Break out of new diseases)
3. Increases mortality rate.
8.3 Increases road accident:
The social costs of transport include road crashes,
air pollution, physical inactivity, time taken away
from the family while commuting and
vulnerability to fuel price increases. Many of
these negative impacts fall disproportionately on
those social groups who are also least likely to
own and drive cars.
 9. Conclusion :

9.1 Socio-Economic Integration and good

Governance must ensure Sustainable
Development
2. Change Mindset about the “Poor”
3. Establish SD Model and replace old school
models entirely by way of effective adoption
of global initiatives at operational levels.
4. Sustainable Development Model must be
adopted by Governments and the Corporate
Sector
1o. Farewell Call:

„Many people at many different places

doing many little things have the power
to change the image of the world.“

African Saying
For Your Patient Hearing