CONTENTS

Introduction to Sustainable Development 1

David V. J. Bell, York University, Canada

Yuk-kuen Annie Cheung, University of Toronto - York University Joint Centre

for Asia Pacific Studies (JCAPS), Canada

What is Sustainable Development?

When did it Emerge?

What are its Implications for Governments?

What are its Implications for Business and Industry?

What are its Implications for Farming and Agriculture?

What are its Implications for Civil Society, NGOS, and Individuals: Education
and Awareness?

What Progress has been made?

Early Localized Issues Affecting Regional Sustainability - The Case of Ontario,

Canada’s Niagara Escarpment 55

Len Gertler, University of Waterloo, Canada

The Niagara Escarpment Study - Precursor of Sustainability

The Niagara Escarpment - A Strategic and Vulnerable Environment

A Sustainable Development Strategy for the Niagara Escarpment

Forces Leading to the Strategy for the Niagara Escarpment

The On-going Struggle for Sustainability

Malthus’ Essay on the Principle of Population 71

John Avery, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

The Education of Malthus

Debate on the Views of Godwin and Condorcet

Publication of the First Essay in 1798

The Second Essay, Published in 1803

Systems of Equality

The Poor Laws

Replies to Malthus

Ricardo's Iron Law of Wages; the Corn Laws

Acceptance of Birth Control in England

The Irish Potato Famine of 1845

The Impact of Malthus on Biology

The Importance of Malthus Today

Limits to the Carrying Capacity of the Global Environment

Conclusion

"The Tragedy of the Commons” by Garrett Hardin, 1968 98

P. Alexander Latta, York University, Canada

Introduction

The Tragedy in Review

The Population Problem

The Inexorable Logic of Tragedy

Preventing the Tragedy: Mutual Coercion, Mutually Agreed Upon

Research and Policy: Hardin’s Legacy

Proponents of Hardin’s Logic

Hardin’s Critics

Resource Systems

Property Regimes

Refuting Hardin: The Empirical Case for Common Property

Looking Back, Looking Ahead

Hardin’s Contribution

The Future of the Commons: From Local Tradition to Global Cooperation?

Beyond Brundtland: The Evolution of Sustainable Development in the 1990s

111

Robert Lauri Newman, York Centre for Applied Sustainability, Canada

Introduction

Precursors to “Our Common Future”

The Brundtland Report

Building on Our Common Future

The Ecology of Commerce

Natural Capitalism

Measuring Sustainable Development

The Ecological Footprint

The Natural Step: From Prediction to Backcasting

Future Trends in Sustainable Development

Moving Towards Sustainable Development: the Chinese Conundrum 126

Yuk-kuen Annie Cheung, University of Toronto - York University Joint Centre
for Asia Pacific Studies (JCAPS), Canada

Introduction

Symptoms of Systemic Malfunction

Towards a Greater Understanding of the Key Forces at Work -- Who is

Responsible?

Sustainable Development - Integrating Social Equity, the Economy and the

Environment

Sustainable Development as a Goal

Sustainable Development as an Objective: The Chinese Conundrum

Population growth under natural constraints

Infrastructure development to meet economic needs

Environment as a living resource for economic growth

Sustainable Development as a Process

World Conservation Strategy of the International Union for the Conservation of

Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) 146

Rodger D. Schwass, York University, Canada

Background to the World Conservation Strategy

The World Conservation Strategy

Priorities for National Action

Priorities for International Action

Case Study: The Pakistan National Conservation Strategy

The Development of Consensus

The Search For Solutions

Conservation Goals to the Year 2000

Forming A High-Level Action Group

Follow-up Conferences

Provincial Conservation Strategies

Role Of The Search Conference To Develop Consensus

Continuity

Conclusions

Case Study: Northwest Frontier Province Conservation Strategy

Caring for the Earth: the World Conservation Strategy Revisited

Conclusions

Urbanization 172

Mark L. Seasons, University of Waterloo, Canada

Introduction

Urban Centres and Urbanization

Urbanization - North and South

Macro Trends, Urban Impacts

Economic Change

Demographic Change

Technology

Political/Institutional Capacity

Consequences of Traditional Urbanization

Towards Sustainable Urbanization

Economic Sustainability

Social Sustainability

Environmental Sustainability

Governance

A Vision of the Sustainable Urban Centre

Globalization, Interdependence and Sustainability 187

Robert Paehlke, Trent University, Canada

The Roots of Globalization

Globalization and Interdependence

Economic Interdependence

Social Interdependence

Environmental Interdependence

Sustainability

Globalization and the Challenges to Sustainability

Some Potential Environmental and Sustainability Benefits of Global

Interdependence

Environmental Sustainability and the Structures of Globalization

Guiding the Global Economy: Toward More Democratic Global Governance

Natural Resource Perspectives on Sustainability 209

L. Anders Sandberg, York University, Canada Christopher Midgley, University

of British Columbia, Canada
Introduction

Renewability, Non-Renewability, and Sustainability

“Capture” and Sustained Yield in Modern Resource Management

Maximum Sustained Yield

Optimum Sustained Yield

Towards a New Paradigm

Adaptive Ecosystem Management

A Glance Back in Time

Conclusion

Sustainability, Knowledge Management and the Internet 225

Robert K. Logan, University of Toronto, Canada

Introduction

Language = Communications + Informatics

Social Class and Media

Electric and Electronic Media

The Sixth Language: The Internet

Knowledge Networking

Conclusion

The Politics of Sustainable Development

Ann Dale, Royal Roads University, Canada

The Problematique

Current Context
Barriers to a Politics

A Canadian Experiment

Round Table Process

Operating Structure

Open or Closed Process

Sphere of Influence

Retrospective

Lessons Learned

The Importance of Values

Issues of Standing

Appointment Process

Decision-making

Modus Operandi

Building on the Canadian Experience

Cultural Perspectives and Sustainability

Peter Harries-Jones, York University, Canada

Conceptual Framework for Analysis

Cultural Monism and Spiritual Balance

North American Hunter-Gatherers

Australian Aborigines

Practical Effects of Hunter-Gatherer Conservation

Sacred Sites and Conservation

Traditional Ecological Knowledge

The Collapse of the Cod Fishery

Cultural Effects of the Collapse

TEK and New Ecological Thinking

Slash and Burn Cultivation: Miombo Woodland

Traditional Forest Practices

Charcoal Burning

Cross-Scaling in Ecosystems

Structural Adjustment and Building Resilience: Effect and Counter-Effect

Institutional Development of TEK and Resilience in EVI

Conclusion: Fit and the Balance of Nature

Sustainability in International Law

Stepan Wood, York University, Canada

Introduction

Overview of the Subject

Scope of the Article

What is International Law?

What Counts as “Law”?

Who Are the “Members of the International Community”?

Origins of Sustainability in International Law

Sustainability as Optimal Exploitation of Living Resources

Introduction
Sustainability as Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY)

The MSY Era in International Law

MSY’s Rise to Prominence

Early Results and Controversies

The UN Law of the Sea Convention and the Displacement of MSY

Recent Trends

The Greening of International Fisheries Law

The Ascendancy of the "Sustainable Utilization" Paradigm

Conclusion

Sustainability as Respect for Ecological Limits

Sustainability as a General Concern with Human-Nature Interaction

Emergence of Sustainability as "Limits to Growth"

The 1972 Stockholm Conference

The 1982 World Charter for Nature

Contemporary Manifestations

Conclusion

Sustainability as Sustainable Development

Introduction

Emergence of Sustainable Development as the Dominant Vision of

Sustainability in International Law

The Brundtland Commission and the 1992 Earth Summit

The Institutionalization of Sustainable Development

Widespread Acceptance of Sustainable Development

Fleshing Out the Meaning of Sustainable Development

Basic Legal Elements

A Proliferation of Legal Principles

Conclusion

The Future of Sustainability in International Law

Law and Sustainability: The Canadian Case

D.S. McRobert, Environmental Commissioner of Ontario,Ontario, Canada Geoff

Ruby, Barrister and Solicitor, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Introduction

Law and Sustainability

The Canadian Legal System and Sustainability

Principles Underlying the Canadian Legal System

Key Actors in Achieving Sustainability in Canada

Courts and Tribunals in Canada

Private Law and the Environment in Canada

Public Nuisance

Private Actions

Private Prosecutions of Public Laws

Public Law and the Environment in Canada, 1900-1994

Public Welfare Laws

Regulation as a Mechanism to Limit Private Court Actions

Permitting: Evolution of the Public Law Regulatory System in the 1970s

Environmental Assessment

Intervenor and Participant Funding

Improving Access to Information

Environmental Class Actions

Environmental Rights Laws

Legal Mechanisms and Reforms for Promoting Sustainability, 1995-2007

Federal Law Reform

Laws to Enhance Public Participation

International Participation

Environmental Registries and Databases

Statements of Environmental Values

Sustainable Development Strategies

Establishment of Government Auditors and Watchdogs

Other Sustainability Initiatives

Efforts to Green Government

The Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development

The Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME)

Other Federal-Provincial Institutions

Indicators and Other Tools to Aid Decision-Makers in Achieving Sustainability

Royal Commissions and Other Inquiries

Roundtables
Environmental Codes and Policies

Expansions of Protected Areas

Current Sustainability Challenges Facing Canada

Implementation and Administration

Enforcement and Monitoring

Market Distortions, Subsidies and Tax Law Reform

Specific Federal Tax and Grant Incentives to Encourage Investments in Energy

Efficiency and Renewable Energy Projects

Provincial Carbon Taxes

Role of Other Innovations and Flexible Regulation

Municipal and Local Initiatives

Municipal Green Funds

Modest Progress on Climate Change

Ongoing Problems with Canada’s System of Environmental La

Sustainability on an International Level

Treaties and Agreements to Promote Globalization and Trade

The World Trade Organization

Environmental Treaties and Multilateral Environmental Agreements

Conclusion

Carrying Capacity and Sustainability: Waking Malthus’ Ghost 393

William E. Rees, University of British Columbia, Canada

Introducing Carrying Capacity

Why Do Population - and Carrying Capacity - Matter?

Defining Sustainable Development

Dueling Paradigms: The Debate Goes On

The Expansionist Paradigm

"Carrying Capacity Has No Useful Meaning"

But Are The Arguments Sound?

The Ecological Perspective

Carrying Capacity Resurrected

Carrying Capacity as ‘Maximum Human Load’

The Biological Roots of the Problem: Humans as Patch Disturbers

Why Cultures Collapse: The Revenge of Carrying Capacity

Energy: The Achilles’ Heel of Industrial Society?

A Disquieting Note on Liebig's Law

Is Carrying Capacity Relevant to Humans?

Epilogue: On Becoming Truly Human

Egalitarian Perspectives on Sustainability 423

Robert Paehlke, Trent University, Canada

Introduction

Sustainability and Equity Linkages

Social Class and Sustainability

Jobs and the Environment

A Short History of Labor-Environmentalist Cooperation

North-South: Environment and Development

Sustainability and the Poor Regions in Rich Nations

Environmental Justice

Sustainability and Gender

Toward Fair Shares of 'Environmental Space'

The Politics of Equity and Sustainability

Bioregion, Eco-polis, and Eco(nomic)-Federation: Left - Libertarian Models of

Sustainability 445

Regina Cochrane, University of Calgary, Canada

Introduction: Left-Libertarian Ecopolitics and the Issue of Ecological

Sustainability

The Anarcho-individualist Bioregionalism of Kirkpatrick Sale

The Anarchocommunist Libertarian Municipalism of Murray Bookchin

The Anarchosyndicalist Ecoregionalism of Graham Purchase

Conclusion: The Relevance of Left-Libertarian Ecopolitics in an Era of Post-

Fordist Capitalism

Feminist Perspectives on Sustainability 467

Sherilyn MacGregor, Lancaster University, UK

Introduction

Why Should Feminists Have Anything to Say About Sustainability?

Connecting Feminism and Environmentalism

Historical Background

Common Themes and Concerns

Feminist Approaches to Sustainability

Feminism and Sustainable Development Policy

Ecofeminist Ethics and Sustainability

The Caring Economy

Women, Politics, and Sustainable Communities

Toward a Non-sexist Sustainable City

Index 493

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