Seven Dimensions of Sustainable Development

Center For Alternative Development Initiatives
[Promoting Sustainable Development Through Threefolding Including Threefolding Partnerships]

The following discussion on sustainable development is drawn from Philippine Agenda 21, the Philippine's official framework for sustainable development. This framework has been validated and re-affirmed through numerous consultations, conferences, dialogues and workshops throughout the Philippines.

From the Philippine perspective sustainable development is a multidimensional concept, involving no less than seven dimensions. Sustainable development is viewed as the mutually beneficial interaction between the legitimate interests of business and the economy, government and the polity, and civil society and culture. However, these societal interactions do not exist in a vacuum. On the physical and material side, society is bounded by the carrying capacity of the varied ecosystems, landscape ecology, and ultimately the biosphere of the earth, of Nature. On the psychological and spiritual side, the threefold functional differentiation of society is contextualized by the caring capacity of individuals.

From this perspective, five dimensions of sustainable development are clearly visible. These are—the human being, culture, polity, economy, and Nature. However, to this five, we need to consider society as a separate dimension. Society can be understood as the integrative result of interactions of the different activities in culture, polity, and the economy. The population issue, for example, is a development issue that can only be addressed from a societal perspective, not just from culture alone, or the economy alone, or polity alone.

One must not confuse the societal dimension with the individual dimension. Ontologically, in the physical world, only individuals exist as such. Society, in effect, is an idea. Society is a cognitive construct arising from an individual’s or several individual’s perception of the differing patterns of interactions among human beings. It is within this context that the whole debate between Western and Asian values, between rights versus community and responsibility, can be understood. It is also within this context that the harmonious integration between human and social development is to be achieved.

With society, we therefore have the six dimensions of sustainable development before us. But these six are not enough. We need to add a seventh that pervades all the other dimensions. This seventh is the dimension of Spirit. Unless we see and explicitly acknowledge the spiritual in nature, human beings, and society in our framework of development, we can never do justice to the strong sense of Philippine spirituality that permeates Philippine Agenda 21.

These seven dimensions of sustainable development are the keys to understand the structure and substance of PA21. The definition, vision, principles, and parameters of the Principles of Unity as well as the Action Agenda of PA21 are all basically drawn out from the key concerns of these seven dimensions of sustainable development.

• Philippine Agenda 21 (PA21) – Long-term development plan finalized in 1996 to fulfill the Philippine commitments to the 1992 Earth Summit. Endorsed as the country’s blueprint for sustainable development, the Principles of Unity of PA21 is also considered one of the most widely consulted documents ever produced in the Philippines.
• Principles of Unity – Consensus portion of Philippine Agenda 21 that presents a holistic assessment of the Philippine development condition, and provides a responsive framework for Sustainable Development in the Philippine context, including fifteen principles and numerous multidimensional parameters and strategies for achieving sustainable development.

Philippine IT and Telecom Firms are ‘Going Green’

By Alexander Villafania [June 16, 2010]

MAKATI CITY, METRO MANILA – Thanks to the Al Gore documentary An Inconvenient Truth and environmental groups like the World Wildlife Fund and Greenpeace, government agencies and private companies have begun implementing projects aimed at protecting the environment and mitigating human impact.

High tech companies are also jumping into the fray. Some companies have started by incorporating environment-friendly materials in their next line of products, such as Apple’s lead-free devices and Samsung’s energy-efficient home appliances. In some cases, they utilize alternative energy sources for their operations.

But it doesn’t stop there. These companies are also holding their own green projects that involve their employees as well as the community they belong to. They essentially want to give back to the community and to the environment. More than this, these companies know the long-term economic impact of a damaged or weakened ecology.

Besides, “green is in”, according to Philippine Green Building Council President Christopher Cruz de la Cruz.

Here are some of the list of these companies and a few of their own green corporate projects:

• Globe Telecom Goes Green – The company started implementing environment programs in 2005 with solid waste management and used lead acid battery disposal. Part of this is the Eco-Action project where the company will be planting 250,000 trees in the next five years.  

• Smart Communications Alternative Power for Cell Sites – In 2009, Smart Communications won the “Green Mobile Award” during the GSM Association Conference in Barcelona. Smart was among the pioneers of using alternative power for their cell sites. Forty-one sites are powered by wind energy while 27 are hybrid of wind and solar.

• Sony Road to Zero – The Japanese electronics giant has a long-term global project aimed at reducing their greenhouse gas emission in their manufacturing process in the next five years.

• Nokia Recycling Project – Nokia commands the biggest mobile phone markets in the Philippines so it is just obvious to note that Nokia would produce the most number of discarded mobile devices. Nokia Philippines implemented a recycling program by putting trash bins in several malls where people can discard their used electronic devices, even non-Nokia items.

• HP My Backyard – In 2009, HP Philippines tied with the Center of Excellence Public Elementary School in Tondo, Manila for its My Backyard project, which inculcates ecology safeguards among students. They also had celebrity singer Charice Pempengco sing their jingle.

• Intel Philippines – Prior to the departure of Intel’s manufacturing plant in the Philippines, the chip giant has had various CSR projects that dealt with the environment. They are among the companies with a long list of environment-related initiatives, which they integrated into the International Science and Engineering Fair.

• IBM Smart Planet – It’s not exactly a CSR project for the environment but what IBM does is to get clients to implement their own cost-effective, energy-efficient and high capacity IT infrastructure. The result in adapting the IBM Smart Planet would be lower energy utilization, and low carbon emission.

Having a CSR project helps a company get closer to its employees and with communities that are in need of help. But it becomes even nobler when the environment is put on top of all priorities. The smallest project dedicated to the environment can go a long way.

Environment For Development

Cooperative Efforts in Environmental Management in the Philippines

In the Philippines, the Kabang Kalikasan ng Pilipinas Foundation, Inc, a non-governmental organization geared toward the protection of the country’s fishery resources, has entered into a memorandum of agreement among the different government agencies, namely the Departments of Environment and Natural Resources, Agriculture, Interior and Local Governments, National Defense, Transportation and Justice. Its purpose is to consolidate efforts in order to efficiently manage the country’s marine resources as well as effectively implement and enforce law and regulations relative thereto.

Philippine Council for Sustainable Development

The Philippine Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD) was created by Executive Order to monitor environment and sustainable initiatives in the country. It provides guidance in the form of policy reforms, programmes, and new legislation to address continuing and emergent issues. The PCSD includes government representatives as well as members of civil society. Through the Council, the Philippines undertook concrete steps toward sustainable development, for example by formulating the Philippine Agenda 21 as the State’s blueprint for sustainable development. The PCSD is mandated to oversee the implementation of the Philippine Agenda 21 by providing the coordinating and monitoring mechanisms for its implementation. It is also authorized to mobilize coordinating bodies, including regional and local councils for sustainable development, for this purpose. 

To effectively carry out its functions, the PCSD created committees and sub-committees with mandates to address specific concerns. The Director General of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) is the Chairperson of the PCSD, while the Secretary of the DENR is the Vice-Chairperson. The membership of the Council is composed of various governmental departments and civil society organizations. The four Committees created correspond to the four major areas of concern in the global Agenda 21, and they are: the Committee on the Social and Economic Dimension, the Committee on Strengthening the Role of Major Groups, the Committee on Means of Implementation, and the Committee on Conservation and Management of Resources for Development. 

For more information, contact pcsd@neda.gov.ph 

Philippine Blueprint For Sustainable Development

Agenda 21

Agenda 21, adopted at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, reflects a global consensus and political commitment at the highest level on development and environment cooperation. The Agenda deals with both the pressing problems of today and the need to prepare for the challenges of the next century.

It recognizes that sustainable development is primarily the responsibility of governments, and this will require national strategies, plans and policies. The efforts of nations need to be linked by international cooperation through such organizations as the United Nations. The broadest public participation and the active involvement of the non-governmental organizations and other groups should also be encouraged.

The objectives of Agenda 21 require substantial assistance for developing countries. They need this additional support to cover the incremental costs of actions to deal with global environmental problems, and to accelerate sustainable development. Money is also needed to allow international bodies to implement the recommendations of Agenda 21.

Philippine Agenda 21

Philippine Agenda 21 is the nation's blueprint for sustainable development. In concreting the vision, it describes a path for individuals, families, households and communities; an action plan for each ecosystem (coastal/marine, freshwater, upland, lowland, and urban); and across ecosystems in consideration of the interaction of the various life-scapes and landscapes found therein. The path is grounded on respect and active advocacy for the empowerment of the various social groupings of society to manage the economy, critical resources, society and culture, politics and governance and in the arena of foreign relations.

Philippine Agenda 21 advocates a fundamental shift in development thinking and approach. It departs from traditional conceptual frameworks that emphasize sector-based and macro concerns. Philippine Agenda 21 promotes harmony and achieves sustainability by emphasizing.  

• A scale of intervention that is primarily area-based. The national and global policy environment builds upon and supports area-based initiatives. 
• Integrated island development approaches where applicable. This recognizes the archipelagic character of the Philippines which includes many small island provinces. 
• People and integrity of nature at the center of development initiatives. This implies the strengthening of roles, relationships, and interactions between and among stakeholders in government, civil society, labor and business. Basic sectors have an important role to play in achieving equity and managing the ecosystems that sustain life.

PA 21 envisions a better quality of life for all Filipinos through the development of a just, moral and creative, spiritual, economically vibrant, caring, diverse yet cohesive society characterized by appropriate productivity, participatory and democratic processes, and living in harmony and within the limits of the carrying capacity of nature and the integrity of creation.

PA 21 was adopted on 26 September 1996, with the issuance of Memorandum Order No. 399 by then President Fidel V. Ramos which identified the roles of the Philippine Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD) and each sector in the "operationalization" of PA 21. The action agenda is based on the imperatives of the current national situation and emerging landscape for sustainable development.

PA 21 is a dynamic document that will continue to evolve as new challenges and opportunities emerge, as the level of consensus continue to deepen in the Philippine society, as the Filipinos attempt to solidify the framework, as the government continue to refine the processes, and as the Filipinos strive to widen and enrich their understanding of each other to pave the way for new modes of collaboration.

Local Agenda 21

The PA 21 emphasizes the importance of localization as a strategy for its implementation. It defines localization as a process that involves the formulation of local sustainable development action agenda, and the establishment of local SD councils to implement the said agenda. PA 21 sees that localization will ensure that SD takes root in each region, province, city, and municipality.

On the 25th day of January 1999, Memorandum Order No. 47 was issued by the Office of the President to strengthen the operation and localization of PA 21 and to monitor its implementation.

A number of regions have already formulated their own Local Agenda 21, serving as the region's guide and springboard for the formulation by the local governments, regional line agencies, and all other entities of their respective Sustainable Development Agenda.

Business Agenda 21

In 1998, the Philippine Business for Environment (PBE) was commissioned to consolidate the various medium and long-term initiatives of industry associations into an integrated plan to be called Philippine Business Agenda 21. This was under the project of the Philippine government called Private Sector Participation in Managing the Environment (PRIME).

Business Agenda 21 or BA21 was completed and released in May 2000. It reflects the business sector’s response to Philippine Agenda 21 which provides the broad vision and implementing strategies and parameters for sustainable development in the country. BA21 is a consolidated plan specifically developed by the business sector consistent with and in support of Philippine Agenda 21.

Why We Need To Go Back To Mars

Joel Levine studies the atmospheres of Earth and Mars, looking at their origin, evolution, structure and chemistry and climate change. He's the principal investigator of the proposed ARES Mars Airplane Mission.

He is a senior research scientist in the Science Mission Directorate at NASA's Langley Research Center, and the principal investigator and chief scientist of the proposed ARES Mars Airplane Mission. ARES (Aerial Regional-scale Environmental Survey) is a robotic, rocket-powered Mars airplane designed to investigate the atmosphere, surface and sub-surface of Mars.

In his research, he studies the atmospheres of Earth and Mars, tracking their development and changes: How similar are they? What can Earth learn from Mars?

At TEDxNASA, planetary scientist Joel Levine shows some intriguing -- and puzzling -- new discoveries about Mars: craters full of ice, traces of ancient oceans, and compelling hints at the presence, sometime in the past, of life. He makes the case for going back to Mars to find out more.

Video Link: Need To Going Back To Mars

Philippine Oil Palm Industry Community Impact

This video was released 2007, but the growing concern of climate change and sustainable resources continuously bring environmental discussions. Plans towards renewable and alternative energies.

Al Jazeera's Marqa Ortigas in the Southern Philippines reports on how the palm oil industry has raised fear for local food supplies and sustainable practices.

Video Link: Philippine Oil Palm Cultivation Raises Food Concerns

Philippines Environment Monitor: Water Quality

Here is an educational video that illustrates our country's water quality at the same time gives relevant information to the nurture of one of the indispensable sources of life. An advocacy to care for the environment in general and act towards sustainable community living.

Poor water quality has large economic and quality of life costs, in terms of health impacts and foregone revenues. According to the Philippine government's monitoring data, just over 36 percent of the country's river systems are classified as sources of public water supply and that up to 58 percent of groundwater sampled is contaminated with coliform and needs treatment. Approximately 31 percent of illnesses monitored for a five-year period were also caused by water-borne sources, and many areas are experiencing a shortage of water supply, during the dry season [World bank, March 19, 2008].

Video Link: Philippine Water and Environmental Management