Finding the Ability in Sustainability

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Finding the Ability in Sustainability

• Ruth T. McWilliams
• National Sustainable Development Coordinator
• USDA Forest Service
• Washington, D.C.
• Conservation Education Conference
• Kids Outside Nurturing a Land Ethic
• Madison, Wisconsin
• April 10, 2007

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Confronted with Big Issues and Local Challenges

• Big Issues
• Water quality quantity
• Invasive plants insects
• Wildland fire risk
• Atmospheric condition
• Alternative energy
• Ecosystem human health
• Climate change and adaptations
• And more...

• Local Challenges
• Flooding and runoff
• Sprawl and growth
• management
• Loss of working farms and
• forests
• Impaired watersheds
• Poor air quality
• Increased costs of services
• Loss of local revenues
• And more

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Alarming Statistics

• Energy US, with 5 of worlds population,
  accounts for 24 of worlds energy consumption
• Paper Average US citizen consumes 660 lbs/yr
  when it is estimated that it takes 66-88 lbs/yr
  to meet basic literacy and communication needs
• Biologically productive acres On average each
  person in US requires 24 biologically productive
  acres of land to support own consumption
  worldwide there are 4.5 acres per person
• Land use Every day an estimated nine square
  miles of rural land is lost to development
• Childrens health 2 out of 10 children in the
  US are clinically obese number of children
  diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
  Disorder (ADHD) increased by 33 from 1997 to
  2002

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Disconcerting Observations
Gus Speth Red Sky at NightAmerica and the Crisis
of the Global Environment (2004) Twentieth-centur
y expansion has pushed the human enterprise and
its effects to the planetary scale...this is the
globalization of environmental impacts as well as
economic activity.
Richard Louv Last Child in the WoodsSaving Our
Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder
(2005) Today kids are aware of the global
threats to the environmentbut their physical
contact, their intimacy with nature, is fading.
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The Way ForwardSustainable Development

• Starts with a commitment to land and water
• Links people and natural resources
• Addresses all sectors and functions of society
• Embraces civic involvement
• Creates opportunities and preserves choices

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SustainabilityThe Long-Term Goal

• Fundamental Underlying Concepts
• Intergenerationalis present and future oriented
• Triple bottom lineintegrates environmental,
  social, and economic concerns
• Place-basedconnects actions within and across
  geographical and political levels or scales

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Intergenerational

• the capacity to meet the needs of the present
  without compromising the ability of future
  generations to meet their own needs
• (Brundtland Commission, 1987)

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Triple Bottom Line

Interconnected and Interdependent Benefits
Economy
Environment
Economy
Society
Environment
Society
Strong Sustainability
Weak Sustainability
Source Maureen HartSustainable Measures
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Place-BasedDefined Geographically
Community Capitals
Financial
Built
Natural
Outcomes Healthy ecosystems Vibrant regional
economies Social equity empowerment
Political
Cultural
Social
Human
Source North Central Regional Center for Rural
Development
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Context Land Types in the U.S.
Other 26
Cropland20
Rangeland 26
Forestland 28
(USDA Forest Service RPA Assessment, 2000)
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Stakeholders in the U.S.

• Government agencies...federal, tribal, state, and
  local units
• Private landowners and homeowners
• Business and industry...including developers
• Schools, colleges, and universities
• Conservation and environmental groups
• Regional and community organizations
• Other members of civil society

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Public Private Sector Investments in the U.S.
Conservation Practices
Community Planning
Sustainability
Development Tools
Landowner Planning
Public Education
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Looking Back to Look Ahead

• 1987 World Commission on Environment and
  Development releases Our Common Future
• Popularized term defined sustainable
  development
• 1992 Earth Summit results in Rio Declaration on
  Environment and Development
• Set forth Agenda 21 as blueprint for action,
  including Forest Principles
• 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development
• Focused on implementation, poverty eradication
  integrated solutions Commitment to voluntary
  and practical partnerships

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United Nations Commission on Sustainable
Development

• 2-year cycles of thematic clusters following
  WSSD
• 2004/5 Water
• 2006/7 Energy
• 2008/9 Agriculture, land, rural development,
  drought
• 2010/11 Sustainable consumption production
• Resolutions
• 2002 Decade of Education for Sustainable
  Development
• (2005-2014)

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Sustainability Vision of the U.S. and Others

• Sustainable Development
• Begins at Home

World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD)
Johannesburg, South Africa 2002
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Forest Service Mission and Sustainability
Mission Sustain the health, diversity, and
productivity of the nations forests and
grasslands to meet the needs of present and
future generations Sustainability Resource Use
?? Resource Management Consumption Ethic ??
Land Ethic
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New Century of Service

• Forest Service
• Four Threats
• Loss of open space
• Fire and fuels
• Invasive species
• Unmanaged outdoor recreation

• United Nations
• Global Imperatives
• (WEHAB)
• Water
• Energy
• Health
• Agriculture
• Biodiversity

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Broadening Deepening OurCommitment to
Sustainability
Strategic Sustainability Priorities Nov. 2004

• Criteria Indicators / Sustainability
  Reporting and
• Resource Assessment
• Forest Certification / Public Private Lands
• Environmental Services / Carbon, Biomass,
  Water,
• and More
• Multi-Stakeholder Roundtable Processes /
  Forests,
• Rangelands, Minerals, Water
• Sustainable Consumption Operations /
  Environmental
• Footprint
• Use Management of Private Forests

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A More Sustainable Future?

• Are we improving conditions?
• Are we moving towards a more sustainable future?
• How do we collectively know?

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Telling the Story
Measuring, Monitoring, and Reporting
Change What gets measured gets done What
matters gets measured Recognizing Not
everything that counts can be counted and not
everything that can be counted counts. (attribute
d to Albert Einstein)
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Information Pyramid
Public Discourse
More Integration and Distillation
Key Indicators
Policy, Planning and Management Indicators
Less Integration and Distillation
Monitoring Data
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Tensions

• Triple Bottom Line Individual Parts
• Credible Thorough Practical Realistic
• Scientific Tool Policy Instrument
• Measure Progress Create Change

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Leadership Opportunities

• Address big issues that are broad in scope with
  local challenges
• Work at multiple scales and across boundaries
• Mobilize and align strengths of partners,
  stakeholders, and resources
• Achieve meaningful and measurable outcomes
• More rapidly seize opportunities for change

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Personal Organizational Leadership Challenges
Create Value
Build Legitimacy Support
Increase Capacity
Source Harvard Kennedy School of Government
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Connections in the 21st Century

• Three Great Eras of Power
• 1492-1800 Countries and governments drive
  global integration
• 1800-2000 Multinational companies are key
  agents of change
• 2000 Individuals collaborate and compete
  globally
• Source The World is FlatA Brief History
  of the Twenty-First Century
• (Thomas Friedman)

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Collaboration

• Community of Place
• Community of Interests / Relationships
• Community of Value ? Practice

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Power of Individuals

Multiple Roles

• Employees
• Educators
• Conservationists
• Community leaders
• Voters
• And more

• Family members
• Consumers
• Association members
• Investors
• Business owners
• Landowners

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Personal Fulfillment...and the Human Spirit

• Start where you are
• Do what you can
• Use the gifts you have

Source Creative WorkThe Constructive Role of
Business in a Transforming Society (Willis
Harman and John Horman)
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Leadership Habits and Credibility

• Build trust
• Generate and share ideas
• Align behavior and intentions
• Stop and reflect
• Look at yourself first
• Put stake in the ground
• Clarify and reinforce
• Ask for feedback
• Coach others to succeed

Leadership Habits
Source Growth Dynamics, Inc.