Australia has the benefit of a `National Strategy for Ecologically Sustainable Development' (National ESD Strategy). 1 This was developed through a wide-ranging and lengthy consultation process. It puts forward the idea that the outcomes of development will be better for all Australians in the long term if decision-makers consider, in an integrated way, social, economic and environmental issues at the time of taking development decisions. It interprets ESD in a practical manner by setting a goal, three core objectives and seven guiding principles.
The goal of the National ESD Strategy is:
Development that improves the total quality of life, both now and in the future, in a way that maintains the ecological processes on which life depends.2
The core objectives are:
a) to enhance individual and community well-being and welfare by following a path of economic development that safeguards the welfare of future generations;
b) to provide for equity within and between generations; and
c) to protect biological diversity and maintain essential ecological processes and life-support systems.3
Another fundamental element of the National ESD Strategy is a series of `guiding principles'. These are:
a) decision-making processes should effectively integrate both long- and short-term economic, environmental, social and equity considerations;
b) where there are threats of serious or irreversible environmental damage, lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason for postponing measures to prevent environmental degradation;
c) the global dimension of environmental impacts of actions and policies should be recognised and considered;
d) the need to develop a strong, growing and diversified economy which can enhance the capacity for environmental protection should be recognised;
e) the need to maintain and enhance international competitiveness in an environmentally sound manner should be recognised;
f) cost-effective and flexible policy instruments should be adopted, such as improved valuation, pricing and incentive mechanisms; and
g) decisions and actions should provide for broad community involvement on issues which affect them.4
The Strategy envisages that these core objectives and guiding principles are part of a package; "no objective or principle should predominate over the others".5
The Strategy goes on to set out an approach to ESD that involves the development of strategic directions, policy and action plans, integrated decision-making and community involvement.6 The Strategy, and consequently its approach to ESD, have been agreed to by all Australian governments.7
The Council of Australian Governments also approved an Inter-governmental Agreement on the Environment in 1992. The Agreement commits all parties to the principles of ESD, to pursue "the effective integration of economic and environmental considerations in decision-making processes, in order to improve community well-being and to benefit future generations".8
Although adopted and agreed to in 1992, the National ESD Strategy continues to be the Commonwealth's principal policy statement on ESD and is the basis of new Commonwealth environmental legislation - the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.9
Applying the National ESD Strategy
As described in the preceding chapter, ESD is defined in the National ESD Strategy as: "development which aims to meet the needs of Australians today, while conserving our ecosystems for the benefit of future generations".10
Applying such definitions to on-ground situations is difficult because they address extremely broad issues and they leave plenty of room for argument and debate.
The National ESD Strategy contains 76 specific objectives relating to the activities of particular industry sectors (for example agriculture), inter-sector issues (such as biodiversity) and conflict management, education and monitoring. For each objective a series of actions is defined. Implementation is envisaged to be by governments, business, community organisations and individuals, although the defined actions are restricted to government undertakings.
Implementation of the Strategy largely relies on existing analytical tools, such as impact assessment and benefit/cost analyses. Some areas of ESD are, however, difficult to handle using these existing tools - especially equity, long-term considerations and the full integration of objectives.
Moreover, the National ESD Strategy is not a definitive statement covering all needs for all time and all circumstances and it is not an instruction manual. Nor is it a panacea for the maintenance of biodiversity.
An indication of the difficulty in implementing ESD is provided by a recent Inquiry undertaken by the federal Productivity Commission: Implementation of Ecologically Sustainable Development by Commonwealth Departments and Agencies.11 The Commission assessed the level of application of ESD principles in policy formulation, through legislation and within programs by an array of federal government departments. Its assessment, as described in its draft report,12 concluded that implementation by departments and agencies varied widely and that it was uncommon for ESD objectives and principles to be taken fully into account from the initial policy development stages right through to the monitoring and review.13
While the Productivity Commission found that the achievement of ESD was inherently complex, it also found that in some cases ESD implementation had been limited by a failure even to attempt existing good practice processes for policy design and implementation. 14 Lack of long-term policy focus, shortage of required data (and a lack of commitment to obtain required data) and a lack of clarity concerning what constitutes an ESD-related policy were other factors identified as limiting the extent and quality of ESD implementation. Implementation was highest in agencies where natural resource management is a core business, and consequently ancillary to legislative responsibilities (where natural resource management is not a core business there was less progress).
The Productivity Commission made a series of draft recommendations aimed at overcoming the observed impediments to ESD implementation. They involve:
h) improving practices of policy making;
i) improving coordination between Commonwealth agencies, and between Commonwealth agencies and other stakeholders;
j) requiring regular monitoring and review of policy initiatives;
k) enhancing the focus on long-term planning; and
l) developing a longer-term commitment to monitoring the state of the environment (as currently occurs for economic and social trends).15
One of the more specific proposals floated by the Productivity Commission to advance ESD implementation was the creation of a statutory `duty of care' in relevant legislation.16
ESD and the Utilisation of Native Flora and Fauna
The National ESD Strategy includes some specific statements on the utilisation of native plants and animals (the improvement of kangaroo management at the national level as an objective of the agriculture sector program17 and a series of statements on fisheries ecosystem management18). Furthermore, its core objectives are central to issues arising from the utilisation of native Victorian plants and animals.
The National ESD Strategy is not, however, about the use of native flora and fauna per se. It does not, for example, provide advice as to what is the best way to protect habitat or whether a native species should or should not be exploited. No specific statements or guidance are provided about the wide array of existing sectors, let alone potential activity.
Perhaps the most useful role of the National ESD Strategy, in the context of utilising natural resources such as native flora and fauna, is to provide a means to assess any existing or proposed development. It envisages that development will be assessed in terms of the Strategy's three core objectives and reflect the seven guiding principles.
The Committee has taken the view that uses of native flora and fauna that conform to `ecologically sustainable development' will be able to demonstrate that their long-term outcome reflects the three core objectives of the National ESD Strategy. That is utilisation will:
m) enhance individual and community well-being and welfare;
n) provide for equity within and between generations; and
o) protect biological diversity and maintain essential ecological processes and life-support systems.19
Taking heed of the advice of the National ESD Strategy itself, the Committee agrees that:
No objective or principle should predominate over the others. A balanced approach is required that takes account of all these objectives and principles ... [in the pursuit of] ... the goal of ESD.20
and notes that a positive result for one or two objectives cannot compensate for a negative result for the remaining objective.
Three Illustrative Scenarios
Three fictional scenarios are given below to illustrate the relevance of an ESD approach to the utilisation of native flora and fauna.
The first scenario illustrates the importance of matching the nature and flow of values available from an ecosystem to the welfare requirements of the people gaining benefits. In the scenario, the mismatch leads to disaster, not only for the ecosystem, but also for the people who use the resource. The scenario also illustrates the importance of the precautionary principle. 21
Scenario One:
The fisheries managers are optimistic and so allow the fishers to undertake a rapid exploitation of a new fishery. After a few years the fishery is depleted (loss of consumptive value and also loss of recreational, option, bequest and existence values). The populations of marine mammals that use the ecosystem are in decline and the potential for eco-tourism is lowered. The fishers are now overcapitalised and many people have loans they cannot repay. The ongoing welfare requirements of individual people and the community have not matched the flow of income available from the fishery and its ecosystem. The lack of ecological research and lack of a local community `sinking fund' means that there is little knowledge gain (no education or research value) and the financial problems require national subsidy. Although some fishers gained good incomes for a time, the potential flow of values from using the ecosystem, of which the fishery was one part, has been cut short by over utilisation. This utilisation of native fauna did not lead to a permanent enhancement of welfare for individuals, let alone the community, and so does not meet the first objective of the National Strategy.
The second scenario illustrates the importance of using a management system that can handle complex long-term objectives and shows how concentrating on specific management objectives can lead to inflexibility and a reduction in welfare for parts of the community.
Scenario Two:
A government agency improves the roads in a park to facilitate tourism. In addition to the public, some tour operators are now able to operate in the park. The new facilities and advertising establish a pattern of usage in the park that gradually becomes fixed and irrevocable (commercial, recreation and education values are met but bequest and existence values are reduced). Increasing use and expansion of facilities change many of the ecosystems in the park. The recreation and education values are reasonably spread throughout the community but the ecosystem changes are reducing the naturalness of the park so inter-generational equity is being compromised. The government agency increases the park admission fees as the sole `demand management measure'. The increased fees reduce the participation rate of poorer people, thereby compromising intra-generational equity. Although the initial utilisation increases the value derived from the park (commercial, recreation and education values), first inter-generational equity declines and later intra-generational equity is reduced. As time advances there is less and less scope for changing the distribution of values derived from the park. The utilisation of flora and fauna does not meet the intra-generational equity objectives of the National ESD Strategy.
The third scenario shows how addressing the objectives of the National Strategy in the utilisation of native flora can lead to increased commercial value and also to general improvements in knowledge that benefit all people involved, including future generations.
Scenario Three:
The government allows registered users from the horticultural industry to collect seed and plant material from specific reserves, using a flexible annual permit system (commercial value). As part of the registration, users have to work within an approved management system. The fees and ongoing royalties are used collaboratively by the industry and government to bolster biodiversity protection. Within a few years the horticultural industry has mapped these reserves and increased the knowledge of their ecology. This information has led to a continual improvement in their management and so inter-generational equity is more assured. The industry has also funded the expansion of the reserves, an off-site research and education centre, and the education of more taxonomists (education and research values). This utilisation is moving towards achieving the welfare, equity and biodiversity objectives of the National ESD Strategy.
