Toward an Anthropological Understanding of Sustainability: A Preface

Abstract

During the last two decades of the 20th century the concepts of sustainability, sustainable development, and sustainable livelihoods have been debated, contested, adopted as development goals, and rejected as merely wishful thinking among academics and practitioners from numerous disciplines and nationalities. Some academics may feel that a concern with sustainability was a short-lived and now outdated fad. William C. Clark, cochairman of the study “Our Common Journey: The Transition Towards Sustainability,” conducted by the National Research Council (NRC), disagrees. He believes that: “One of the greatest challenges facing humanity at the dawn of the twenty-first century is learning how to better meet human needs while restoring and nurturing the planet’s life support systems” (Clark 2001:1021). Members of the NRC study believe progress made in meeting this challenge during the next two generations will shape the future for many generations to come. There is cause to be concerned. Since the Brundtland Commission (World Commission on Environment and Development) issued its famous report, “Our Common Future,” in 1987, the earth’s population has increased from five to six billion people. During the same time we have witnessed a rapid and alarming decrease in the world’s forests and biodiversity, prompting many scientists to conclude that we are now in the midst of the world’s sixth major period of extinction (American Museum of Natural History 1998). What was once considered an academic debate has now moved to the center stage of development plans, and “sustainability” was the focus of discussion at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) held in Johannesburg, South Africa, in September 2002. The goal of the WSSD was to provide a forum for examining the progress, or lack thereof, since the international community adopted Agenda 21 (a global plan of action for sustainable development) at the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. A