5 Decades of Debate on Sustainability. 5 Reasons Mobile Is the Future of Sustainable Development. Social media and technology hold a unique position when it comes to shaping sustainable solutions for the future or our planet. At the core of many of these possibilities for change are mobile phones. There are now 6.2 billion mobile phone subscriptions held by 4.2 billion mobile subscribers around the world — and that number is only increasing. By 2017, Ericsson forecasts 9 billion mobile subscriptions. As mobile continues its rapid run toward global adoption, more people will access the Internet solely through mobile devices.
Mobile phones are even replacing paper money, helping to provide a check on authority and improving rural health standards. This week, government and thought leaders are convening in Rio de Janeiro to discuss the future of sustainable development. Mashable and our partners, the United Nations Foundations and the 92Y, are leading a conversation about ways social media and technology can present solutions to the world's most challenging problems. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Brundtland Report 1987. Can we live inside the doughnut? Why the world needs planetary and social boundaries. This blog summaries a new Discussion Paper published by Oxfam. It does not represent Oxfam policy, but is intended to encourage public debate in the run-up to the UN conference on sustainable devolpment (Rio+20) in June. When crossing unknown territory, a compass can be pretty handy.
Achieving sustainable development for nine billion people has to be high on the list of humanity’s great uncharted journeys. So here’s an idea for a global-scale compass to point us in the right direction (Fig 1). Fig 1. Planetary and social boundaries: a safe and just space for humanity Source: Oxfam, inspired by Rockström et al (2009) What’s going on here? Putting excessive stress on these critical processes could lead to tipping points of abrupt and irreversible environmental change, so Rockström et al proposed a set of boundaries for avoiding those danger zones. That’s a compelling approach to environmental sustainability, but humanity is glaringly absent from the picture.
Like what, exactly? 1. 2. IBON on SDGs: We need alternative development vision after 2015 | RIGHTS FOR SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVE. Paul Quintos of IBON International speaks at a Rio+20 side event. Photo courtesy of IISD RIO DE JANEIRO, June 15, 2012 — Rights for Sustainability (R4S) delegate and IBON International program manager Paul Quintos at a Rio+20 side event put forward the case for a transformative development agenda to replace the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Quintos appeared alongside speakers from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), Global Policy Forum Europe, and the United Nations Non-Government Liaison Service (UN-NGLS) at the event, which was organized by IBON International and the UN-NGLS.
The event focused on the potential of “Sustainable Development Goals” (SDGs), an idea first tabled by Colombia and being debated at Rio+20. It is believed that SDGs could be the framework to replace MDGs when they expire in 2015. Noosphere 1922. Q&A: NGOs Must Play Key Role in Rio+20 Summit on Sustainable Development. UNITED NATIONS, Aug 26, 2011 (IPS) - As the United Nations readies for a major international conference on sustainable development next June in Brazil, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are preparing to play a key role in the run-up to the summit meeting and are preparing a plan of action to be adopted by world leaders.
The Rio+20 conference will take place 20 years after the historic Earth Summit in Brazil in June 1992. Asked about the importance of NGO contributions, Michael G. Renner, senior researcher at the Worldwatch Institute told IPS, "I think the answer is still outstanding. It will depend on how successful NGOs are in ensuring that the conference has adequate visibility in the public eye. " He said NGOs need to make sure that the conference is not seen as disconnected from people’s daily concerns. A series of NGO meetings are scheduled to take place in the coming months, including one sponsored by the U.N.’s Department of Public Information in Bonn, Germany, Sep. 3-5. Safe and Just Space for Humanity. The Road to Rio. What is Sustainable Development Definition | Sustainable Development Examples. What is Sustainable Development? What to Read – A “Rio+20” anthology. 29/05/2012 at 11:21 am The 1992 Rio summit on “Sustainable Development” was a seminal event: Inspired by the Brundtland report, world leaders recognised that – in a world of finite resources – economic development had to go hand-in-hand with social progress and protecting the environment.
It can be argued (as does this article) that in the past two decades, the idea of sustainable development has revolutionised the thinking of millions. The understanding of our shared responsibility helped lead to 189 world leaders agreeing to the millennium declaration in 2000, which paved the way to the millennium development goals. In June 2012, world leaders meet again in Rio, twenty years later, to take stock of progress made, and to set new targets for a sustainable shared future for all. Rio+20 will focus on two specific themes: 1) Developing a green economy in the context of poverty eradication and sustainable development, and 2) Establishing an institutional framework for sustainable development. World Bank on What is Sus.Dev? There are many definitions of sustainable development, including this landmark one which first appeared in 1987: "Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
" — from the World Commission on Environment and Development’s (the Brundtland Commission) report Our Common Future (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987). But what does this mean? What are the needs of the present? Take a minute and jot down five to ten needs that you have in your own life. Have you listed any needs that conflict with one another? How do we decide whose needs are met? The Long and the Short of It People concerned about sustainable development suggest that meeting the needs of the future depends on how well we balance social, economic, and environmental objectives--or needs--when making decisions today. What social, economic, or environmental needs would you add to the puzzle? Going Further.