Sustainable development as deus ex machina

Abstract

The advocacy of sustainable development (SD) by governments, NGOs and scientists over the last three decades has failed to diminish the alarming species extinction rate fueled by overuse and habitat destruction. Attempts to satisfy worldwide demands for economic growth and development have, in fact, thwarted conservation efforts and greatly diminished the diversity and abundance of life forms, including key iconic species. Here, we argue that this crisis is one of values rooted in a discourse that justifies development and downplays the morality of human-caused extinction of life forms. The language of SD does not convey the loss—worse, it masks or rationalizes it as blameless or necessary. The language of SD represents the loss in biodiversity as fallout from the reduced capacity of ecosystems to provide services for human benefit, while providing no sense of the values necessary for conserving life for its own sake. We have never been in possession of an intelligible notion of such values; this includes the concept of the “intrinsic value” of nature. Language is at the center of our difficulties. We must consider the limits of language to express the value of life. This has theoretical and practical relevance for conservation planning and interventions.