Whats your understanding of U.N Agenda 21/Sustainable Development?

[AGENDA21]

Im sure most of you have heard of U.N Agenda 21,just like to know your opinion of it...thanks

You can google to see its progress in your town/county/state..

your-town + Sustainable Development

your-county + Sustainable Development

your-state + Sustainable Development

Agenda 21 - Table of Contents

http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/english/agenda21toc.htm

[FloridaPat]

1. Leave no foot prints. Put back as much as you take,

[AGENDA21]

3. This is a quote by Maurice Strong

He told the opening session of the Rio Conference (Earth Summit II) in 1992, that industrialized countries have:

"developed and benefited from the unsustainable patterns of production and consumption which have produced our present dilemma. It is clear that current lifestyles and consumption patterns of the affluent middle class -- involving high meat intake, consumption of large amounts of frozen and convenience foods, use of fossil fuels, appliances, home and work-place air-conditioning, and suburban housing -- are not sustainable. A shift is necessary toward lifestyles less geared to environmentally damaging consumption patterns."

Whats your opinion on this quote?

[FloridaPat]

5. Pretty much agree with her. Some of those things could be OK

with small changes. Like meat production: more towards the organic and not grain fed. Free range. Price then would probably take it from the steak phase to the cut up with veggie phase like Chinese cooking. Suburban housing could be sustainable with people growing some of their own food and adding solar or wind electricity.

[mike_c]

2. in general, I approve of it, but with an important caveat....

First, I must say that I haven't read most of it, and it is one of those documents that manages to be both quite detailed and sweepingly vague at the same time, so my impression must be acknowledged to be just that-- a lay impression. Second, I'm an ecologist by profession, so while I agree with the objectives of Agenda 21 in principle, I'm quite pessimistic about the prospects for ever achieving them.

But my biggest caveat has to do with the context in which Agenda 21 exists. Arguably, no nation on the Security Council or among the general membership has any expectation of there being any sovereign benefit of sustainable development. Sustainable development's benefit is collective, not individual, and that's a context that is ripe to reward cheaters. It only takes one cheater to undermine the benefit everyone else enjoys, and no one really wants to "go first" because they obtain no benefit at all-- they simply lose access to resources that others are still using up at unsustainable rates. Furthermore, the underlying rationale is that unrestrained "development" can be sustainable if it follows certain paths-- perhaps true in many instances, but it's equally true that resource conservation might be better served by ceasing certain forms of development altogether, e.g. population growth, certain extraction industries, and a great deal of the amorphous development that constitutes "economic growth," but that paradigm is not even recognized by the U.N. or by its constituent states.

Personally (and as an ecologist, this is my professional opinion as well), I think human nature leans more in the direction of The Tragedy of the Commons than the United Nations Division for Sustainable Development's Agenda 21. That's a grim assessment, but there it is.

[oblivious]

4. I'm never sure what different groups mean by 'sustainable' development.

Definitions of Sustainable development on the Web:

1. Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It contains within it two key concepts: the concept of "needs", in particular the essential needs of the world's poor, to which overriding priority should be given; and the idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the environment's ability to meet present and the future needs. (Brundtland Commission, 1987). ...
www.unisdr.org/eng/library/lib-terminology-eng%20home.htm

2. Development that meets the needs and aspirations of the current generation without compromising the ability to meet those of future generations.
www.gdrc.org/uem/eco-tour/ecotour-terms.html

3. balancing the need for development and growth against the need to protect the natural and built environment whilst meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the needs and aspirations of future generations.
www.iwight.com/living_here/environment/estuaries/estuary_management/glossary.asp

4. Development that ensures that the use of resources and the environment today does not damage prospects for use by future generations.
www.climatechangecentral.com/default.asp

5. preservation and protection of diverse ecosystems-the soil, plants, animals, insects and fungi while maintaining the forest's productivity.
www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/glossary/S.htm

6. planning new development such that it makes maximum use of brownfield sites, encourages the use of public transport, discourages the use of the private car, and minimises the impact on air quality and the local environment. ...
www.eastherts.gov.uk/pp/PlanningDictionary.htm

7. "Improving the quality of human life while living within the carrying capacity of supporting ecosystems" (Caring for the Earth, IUCN/WWF/UNEP, 1991)
www.interenvironment.org/wd1intro/glossary.htm

8. The term refers to achieving economic and social development in ways that do not exhaust a country's natural resources. See, also, Ashford (1995) and The World Commission on Environment and Development (1987). In the Commission's words: "... sustainable development is ... ...
www.census.gov/ipc/www/wp96glos.html

9. Human activities that do not do permanent damage to the environment or rob resources from future generations.
www.ecohealth101.org/glossary.html

10. achieving economic and social goals in ways that can be supported for the long term by conserving resources, protecting the environment, and ensuring human health and welfare.
tpc-ptc.ic.gc.ca/epic/internet/intpc-ptc.nsf/en/hb00422e.html

11. Economic development that is achieved without undermining the incomes, resources, or environment of future generations.
www-personal.umich.edu/~alandear/glossary/s.html

12. Use of resources in a manner that allows the resources to be replenished by natural systems, as well avoidance of pollution that damages biological systems. Use of resources in such a manner that they will never be exhausted.
web-savvy.com/river/Schuylkill/glossary.html

13. Managing the use, development and protection of natural and physical resources in a way, or at a rate, which enables people and communities to provide for their social, economic and cultural wellbeing and for their health and safety while
www.tasmaniatogether.tas.gov.au/tastog_original/tt_glossary.html

14. Use of an area within its capacity to sustain its cultural or natural significance, and ensure that the benefits of the use to present generations do not diminish the potential to meet the needs and aspirations of future generations. ...
www.deh.gov.au/soe/2001/heritage/glossary.html

15. A philosophy of resource use and management intended to meet society's present needs without compromising the resource for future generations.
www.opb.org/programs/oregonstory/land_trusts/glossary/

16. Forms of development that do not deplete the land or its people. Sustainable practices are ecologically sound, economically viable, socially just and culturally appropriate.
www.web.net/rain/glossary.htm

17. Progress measured in social or economic terms (or both) that has been or will be accomplished without irreversible environmental degradation or social disruption. The benefits should not only outweigh the social and ecological costs but should also be founded on a rational use of resources (human and natural) that can be maintained indefinitely or perpetuated based on future conditions that can be reasonably anticipated.
www.compass-malawi.com/cglossary.htm

18. A concept that became widely used in the 1990s. It refers to the wise use of resources within a framework in which environmental, economic and social factors are integrated. It is about maintaining and improving the quality of life while safeguarding the quality of life of generations to come. It involves a number of aspects of change such as social, eg housing quality, crime, economic, eg jobs, income, and environmental, eg air quality, resource conservation.
www.ncaction.org.uk/subjects/geog/glossary.htm

19. a term which implies continuous production; a balance between present use and future ability to use.
www.unbf.ca/forestry/centers/cwru/soe/gloss.htm

20. Within a country or region, gradual change characterized by economic growth, increased social equity, constructive modification of ecosystems, and maintenance of the natural resource base.
www.oas.org/usde/publications/Unit/oea03e/ch13.htm

21. Sustainable Development deals with issues relating to the environment, for example: energy, pollution, global warming, and water. For more information visit the World Watch website: www.worldwatch.org.
icony.op.org/Glossary.htm

22. A process in which basic needs are met immediately whilst at the same time increasing the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
www.polity.org.za/html/govdocs/white_papers/social97gloss.html

23. "There are many dimensions to sustainability. First it requires the elimination of poverty and deprivation. Second, it requires the conservation and enhancement of the resource base which alone can ensure that the elimination of poverty is permanent. Third, it requires a broadening of the concept of development so that it covers not only economic growth but also social and cultural development. ...
www.oceansatlas.com/unatlas/uses/uneptextsph/infoph/gsglossary.html

24. The use of components of biological diversity in a way that does not interfere with the natural functioning of ecological process and life-support systems. For example, crops that are managed in an ecologically sound way, including supporting and preserving genetic diversity for the future.
www.thegreenguide.org/definitions.php

25. Developing polices and programs that contribute to the sustainability of a company.
genencordev.zoomedia.com/wt/gcor/glossary

26. Sustainable development is 'development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs', according to Our Common Future, a 1987 report from the UN. One of the factors which sustainable development must overcome is environmental degradation.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_development

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&oi=defmore&defl=en&q=define:Sustainable+development

[AGENDA21]

6. It would be a good idea

to find some quotes from the individuals responsible for Agenda 21,then we'll have a better idea of where this is going.