A Framework for Environmental Management

Abstract

Since the release of the Brundtland Commission’s report, Our Common Future, the concept of ‘sustainable development’ has captured the world’s attention and emerged as the new political ideology to be addressed. The term was defined by the Brundtland Commission as ‘development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’.¹ The definition contains two key concepts: (1) the concept of need, in particular the essential needs of the world’s poor, to which overriding priority should be given; and (2) the limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organisation on the environment’s ability to meet present and future needs. But it is not clear who — North or South — will determine the ‘needs’ of present generations, nor how we will ascertain the nature of future needs. The rich, industrialised North is likely to emphasise a global environmental policy that has some conditionality attached for poor nations. On the other hand, the South is more likely to emphasise poverty alleviation and the provision of basic needs with appropriate financial assistance, rather than insisting on quality management of the environment.