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6.9. Sharman

Keynote Presentations from the 4th ALTER-Net Summer School, Peyresq 5 - 17 September 2009

 

Speaker: Martin Sharman

martin.sharman -at- ec.europa.eu

Policy Officer - Biodiversity and Ecosystems, Unit DI-4 Management of Natural Resources, CDMA 3/165, Directorate General for Research, European Commission, Street address (not for mail): Rue du Champ de Mars 21, B-1049 Brussels, Belgium

 

Title of the talk: Towards a sustainable society: the role of research (pdf: 800KB)

 

Abstract

Towards a sustainable society: the role of research

I start from 2 premises; first, that biodiversity is nothing less than “life on Earth.” Second, sustainability is like riding a bicycle. You are either riding, or you are not; it is all, or nothing. Being "more" sustainable is the same thing as being unsustainable. A single society can be sustainable, but in this age of global connectedness, we should be trying to ensure that all societies on the planet are globally sustainable.

Any society whose existence depends on the loss of biodiversity can only be sustained while it has access to surplus biodiversity. Since the discovery of agriculture, short term human well-being has depended on reducing biodiversity. The continued loss of biodiversity is entirely anthropogenic in origin, and is a key feature of our global society. It worked well in the past, but can work no longer – we have run out of planet.

Long-term human well-being is only possible in a sustainable society, which is to say, one that does not cause the loss of biodiversity. Paradoxically, perhaps, despite the concern over the loss of biodiversity, life on Earth is not under threat. Human survival may be; and long-term human well-being is without doubt gravely endangered.

The human condition has taken on new meaning. Like Faust, by dominating the planet, we have become accountable for it and for our own future. By learning to manipulate life, death, and reproduction, the normal and the pathological, we have become responsible for them – whether we like it or not. We have abrogated a planet to ourselves, and now that we have it, we must decide about every thing, including the physical and thermodynamic future, Darwinian evolution, life, the Earth and time.

We can not simply assume that our species will enjoy a secure and comfortable continued stay on Earth. We can be completely certain that achieving the sustainable use of natural resources will not just happen; rather, it will require unprecedented and determined effort, in a land in which much of the map is blank or only vaguely sketched out.

If we are to discover what it is to be sustainable, the nature of research needed is an important and interesting question. Linear, reductionist thinking is part of the problem, and obstructs solutions. Furthermore, if biodiversity means “life on Earth,” then there is no boundary between ‘natural’ and ‘social’.

How do we develop a new, sustainable, relationship between humans and the non-human part of biodiversity (i.e. most of the living world)? How can we reduce our demands on nature to below the rate at which nature can replenish itself? How can we re-think our economies and societies to become an eco-social, rather than a market economy, in a world in which “growth” refers to ethics, not material wealth brought about by ever-increasing consumption? In the past, technological advances have set aside environmental resistance and allowed human populations to grow beyond “natural” limits. The unintended effect has been increased environmental impact. How do we invent a new technology and a new zero-impact ethic to go with it? Sustainability will not be achieved if we go on pursuing domination through technological advances, but if we set about to deal with the consequences of our domination.

Sustainability isn't a problem. It's the solution.

The problem is, how do we reach that solution?

 

Recommended background literature on this presentation:

Four of these are books, not papers. I selected them because they are intelligent, well written, and interesting, and show how biodiversity and evolution, human history and development are linked. The 5th, a blog, contains some interesting ideas on how sustainability might be defined. The 6th is a short report from an influential economist, well-worth reading to glimpse a world-view in which biodiversity seems not to figure at all, and in which human populations can grow forever. You don't need to read any of them for my presentation, but each of them is in one way or another thought-provoking.

 

Disclaimer required under the terms and conditions of use of the internet and electronic mail from Commission equipment:

The views expressed are purely those of the writer and may not in any circumstances be regarded as stating an official position of the European Commission.
erstellt von Sabine Lütkemeier — zuletzt verändert: Nov 17, 2009 02:33 PM
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