Some Issues Of Intragenerational And Intergenerational Equity And Measurement Of Sustainable Development

Abstract

The problems of solid waste should not be seen in isolation from the impacts of oilier antlrropogenic activities on the environment. Because, like earth’s biogeochemical cycling and resources which provide the life-support systems that make life on earth possible, the causes and effects of most (and possibly all) antlrropogenic activities are interrelated in complex ways that are sometimes difficult to disentangle. Thus, in any serious discussion of sustainable development in its broader context, it is less than sufficient to look at a particular antlrropogenic aspect independently of the others. In the case of solid waste, for example, the types and quantities of wastes produced in a given geo-political environment as well as the options adopted for their management are largely determined by the wider political and cultural nuances. tradition, as well as socio-economic conditions and constraints of that environment. Clearly therefore. consideration of only the mechanical issues and problems of management and disposal is not sufficient. The crucial issue here is society’s attitude to nature and how it is valued; or, to be more precise, society’s ‘mind-set’ vis-à-vis nature, the environment, and sustainable development and related issues.

With this in mind. in this paper our purpose is to discuss some of the major issues of sustainable development that are currently provoking bitter debate. In particular. those of intragenerationaI and intergenerational equity including the nature of the prevailing economic system and its implications for sustainable development. We will also describe a novel method for measuring the level of sustainable development achieved by an individual local community as a whole via the ‘bottom-up’ approach advocated by UNCED’s Local Agenda 21.