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Sustainable Development Principles and Evaluation
Teodora-Alexandra Palarie

• 2nd of September 2008
• Iashington International Conference

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Main Issues

• Why do we need (to understand) Sustainable
  Development?
• What is SD?
• How do we evaluate the implementation of SD?

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What is SD?

• The classical definition of the Brundtland
  Commission (1987)
• meeting the needs of the present without
  compromising the ability of future generations to
  meet their needs (Our Common Future. The Report
  of the World Commission on Environment and
  Development 1987)

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What is SD?

• What is this definition about?
• Resource use, consumption and needs
  satisfaction
• Intergenerational equity
• Linking natural and socio-economic system
  Attempts to combine concerns with the
  environment and socio-economic issues (Hopwood
  et al. Sustainable development Mapping
  different approaches, Sustainable Development
  13, 3852 (2005))

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What is SD?

• Maintaining long term functioning, efficiency
  and accessibility of resources, services,
  infrastructures, income generation, and community
  cohesiveness

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What is SD?
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What is SD Sustainable Societies?

• Comes down to the selection of lifestyle
• Depends on communities priorities
• Individual choices and values vs.
  common/planetary choices and values

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What is SD?

• The concept of sustainable development links
  people with the surrounding world (Hardi, P.,
  Zdan, T.,1997, Assessing Sustainable Development
  Principles in Practice)
• Sustainability effectiveness of institutional
  development (the WB) planning, implementation,
  monitoring and evaluation processes
• Sustainability an aspect (outcome) of
  development programs or projects USAID, UNDP
• Sustainability applied to 'clusters' of
  national programs or similar initiatives in a
  number of countries (e.g. OECD)

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What is SD?

• Strong and weak sustainability
• Interpreting natural resources and life support
  systems
• Substitutability in a closed system
• Strong sustainability
• No substitution is permitted
• Rate of resource consumption cannot accede rate
  of regeneration
• Weak sustainability
• Technology can (fully or partially) replace
  nature
• - Both the life-style and thermodynamic
  interpretations are macro-level (global)
  approaches
• Both are value-based and value-dependent

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What is SD?

• Inter-generational equity
• Intra-generational equity
• Social justice and development
• Natural rights and utilitarianism
• Good governance and
• democratic rights
• Inter-species equity
• Human happiness/wellbeing

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SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PRINCIPLES during the
preparation of NSSD

• 1. Principle of support of human resource
  development
• 2. Ecological principle
• 3. Principle of auto-regulatory and
  self-supporting development
• 4. Effectiveness principle
• 5. Principle of reasonable sufficiency
• 6. Precautionary principle
• 7. Principle of respecting needs and rights of
  future generations
• 8. Principle of intra-generational,
  inter-generational and global equality in rights
  of the Earth inhabitants

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SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PRINCIPLES during the
preparation of NSSD

9. Principle of cultural and social
integrity 10. Principle of non-violence 11.
Emancipation and participation principle 12.
Solidarity principle 13. Subsidiarity
principle 14. Principle of acceptable
mistakes 15. Optimisation principle 16. Principle
of socially, ethically and environmentally sound
economy, decision-making, management and
behaviour
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How can we evaluate the sustainability of
projects?
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Problem statement

• The evaluation of sustainability depends on how
  we interpret sustainability
• There are several hundred different definitions
  and interpretations of sustainability and
  sustainable development
• No scientific or standard definition
• We need a working definition for our own
  project for consistency and efficiency
• We have to understand the strategic as well as
  ethical implications of the selected concept as
  our guiding principle

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Principles of SD Evaluation

• Principle 1 Guiding Vision and Goals
• whole system which can co-evolve successfully
  in a changing environment
• development of the capacity to anticipate and
  prevent

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Principles of SD Evaluation

• Principle 2 Holistic Perspective
• Consider the life cycle of the project
• Review of equity and disparity
• Consider both positive and negative consequences
  of human activity, in a way that reflects the
  full costs and benefits for human and ecological
  systems, in monetary and non-monetary terms

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Principles of SD Evaluation

• Principle 3 Essential Elements
• Time spam
• - Spatial dimension

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Principles of SD Evaluation

• Principle 4 Adequate Scope
• development of an assessment that is beyond the
  possibility of implementation
• stimulate the capacity to learn from the past
• interdisciplinary approach and an integrated
  perspective

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Principles of SD Evaluation

• Principle 5 Practical Focus
• identifying problems and designing and
  implementing related solutions
• the need to recognize the diverse and changing
  nature of values held across society
• bring as many disciplinary perspectives to bear
  as possible
• effectively linking to the needs of
  decision-makers
• maximize learning opportunities

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Principles of SD Evaluation

• Principle 6 Openness
• make the methods and data that are used
  accessible to all
• make explicit all judgments, assumptions, and
  uncertainties in data and interpretations

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Principles of SD Evaluation

• Principle 7 Effective Communication
• designed to address the needs of the audience and
  set of users
• draw from indicators and other tools that are
  stimulating and serve to engage decision-makers
• aim for simplicity of structure and use of clear
  and plain language

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Principles of SD Evaluation

• Principle 8. Broad Participation
• obtain broad representation of key grass-roots,
  professional, technical, and social groups,
  including youth, women, and indigenous people
  to ensure recognition of diverse and changing
  values
• ensure the participation of decision-makers to
  secure a firm link to adopted policies and
  resulting action

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Principles of SD Evaluation

• Principle 9 Ongoing Assessment
• - develop a capacity for repeated measurement to
  determine trends
• be iterative, adaptive, and responsive to change
  and uncertainty because systems are complex and
  change frequently
• adjust goals, frameworks, and indicators as new
  insights are gained
• promote development of collective learning and
  feedback to d e c i s i o n-makers

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Principles of SD Evaluation

• Principle 10 Institutional Capacity
• clearly assigning responsibility and providing
  ongoing support in the decision-making process
• providing institutional capacity for data
  collection, maintenance, and documentation
• supporting development of local assessment
  capacity

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What questions do we need to answer with our
projects in order to evaluate its sustainability?

• What does sustainability means for our project?
  (Vision and Goals)
• Who is paying and who is benefiting from our
  project for the whole life cycle? (Holistic
  Approach)
• Which are the spatial and temporal dimensions of
  our project? (Essential Elements)
• What is our project approach? (Adequate Scope)

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What questions do we need to answer with our
projects in order to evaluate its sustainability?

• What is the problem we are addressing? (Practical
  Focus)
• Which are the solutions we are looking for? How
  am I going to help decision-making? (Practical
  Focus)
• Is the message clear? (Openness)
• When, Where, How and What do I communicate?
  (Effective Communication)

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What questions do we need to answer with our
projects in order to evaluate its sustainability?

• Who are the stakeholders and how can we involve
  them? (Broad Participation)
• How will I assess my goal, objectives, results?
  How do I adapt at the new needs of the project?
  (Ongoing Assessment)
• What are my institutional capacities and how can
  I influence positively other institutions
  capacities? (Institutional Capacity)

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Thank you!