Michael Redclift

The meaning of sustainable development

Abstract The discussion of sustainable development has frequently proved confusing. Some writers are concerned with the sustainability of the natural resource base, others with present or future levels of production and consumption. Similarly, there are marked differences of opinion over the way in which sustainable development might be achieved. We need to examine the different dimensions of sustainability separately, to consider the kinds of international policies that would be required to achieve them, and the extent to which global solutions are either possible or available. This paper addresses these issues of theory and divergent intellectual tradition, and considers the problems and possibilities of reaching agreement between the countries of the North and those of the South.

Development and the Environmental Crisis : Red or Green Alternatives

1. Political Economy and the Environment 2. Global Resource Problems 3. Environmentalism and Development 4. Rural Poverty and the Environment 5. Environmental Conflict and Development Policy in Rural Mexico 6. Technology and the Control of Resources 7. Development and the Environment: A Converging Discourse

Sustainable development and global environmental change: Implications of a changing agenda

Abstract Much of the discussion of global environmental change has ignored the potential of human agency, which is essential to sustainable development. Environmental policy has been slow to recognize that until a new sense of urgency is injected into the policy agenda the developed world is unlikely to pay serious attention to renewable sources of energy. Human behaviour affects global environmental change in a variety of ways. Social institutions, including those of the economy, mediate between the natural environment and social and economic outcomes. It follows that we need to be prepared, now, to enlist people in alternative, more sustainable development agendas and to use their knowledge. The tortuous road to greater global responsibility for environmental change will not, ultimately, be built on the uncertain predictions of natural scientists. Rather, it is likely to be built on the daily lives of human subjects, and the recognition that these lives involve choices of global proportions.

From a 'sociology of nature' to environmental sociology: Beyond social construction

This paper aims to provide some theoretical starting points for constructing a social science approach to environmental issues which goes beyond narrower forms of constructivism without dismissing the importance of interpretative sociology. An ecological understanding of society is compared with the notion of structuration and integrated into the concept of coevolution in order to shed light on the dynamic nature of socioenvironmental relations and move beyond the constructivist/realist dualism.

The environmental consequences of Latin America's agricultural development: Some thoughts on the Brundtland Commission report

Abstract This paper examines the work and recommendations of the World Commission on Environment and Development (Brundtland Commission) with specific reference to the agricultural development of Latin America. It is suggested that environmental degradation in rural areas of Latin America is closely linked to agricultural modernization, which is more advanced in Latin America than in other developing areas. Following the emphasis provided by the Brundtland Commission, it is argued that environmental problems in rural areas will not be addressed until and unless policies are undertaken to improve food security, secure the livelihoods of the rural poor and conserve rural resources. The effects of agricultural development on the rural environment of Latin America is assessed in the light of the commissions report, and suggestions are made for building on, and enlarging, the commissions approach.

Climate Change and Human Security

This spring at the Earth’s higher latitudes sees the UN Security Council about to break new ground by taking up the issue of climate change. How will changing climate patterns affect both inter-state relations and international and national security in a narrow, geo-strategic sense as well as the well-being and survival of human beings and humankind and thus human, water, health and livelihood security?

Sustainable development and the market: A framework for analysis

Abstract The environment has been confined to the margins of most research in the social sciences, particularly theoretical work on development. One consequence is that the environment has lacked an historical focus, which would allow us a broader, more comparative view of how nature is transformed under the impact of capitalist development. The object of this article is to sketch out such a framework, beginning with ‘autochtonous’ societies, in which sustainability, rather than development, is the key characteristic. The role of the market in transforming such societies is explored through a typology of social and environmental systems. In the light of the transformation of environmental goods, made necessary by market accumulation, the role of ‘environmental management’ is considered, and found to be inadequate. Sustainability, as a concept, needs to be related to the role of the market within the process of development itself.

Development and the environment: Managing the contradictions?

Abstract The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) meeting in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 illustrated the enormous rift that has appeared between North and South. Not only is the agenda of the North different from that of the South, but the language, the discourse, is different. The paper, which was conceived as a contribution to the new discourse surrounding development and the environment explores the divergence between North and South in terms of the limited Northern perspective represented by ‘environmental managerialism’. The failure to grasp the global nature of environmental issues lies at the heart of the problem for radical scholarship. It is the central question to which, as sociologists, we should direct our energies.

Sustainability and the market: Survival strategies on the Bolivian Frontier

The cumulative effect of natural resource degradation has served to raise the issue of ‘sustainable development’ in many less developed countries (LDCs). In some respects the tropical frontier of countries such as Bolivia represents an inauspicious testing‐ground for this approach since the colonisation of the Amazon region has been characterised by land accumulation and speculative short‐term investment. However, there is evidence that technical solutions exist for many of the small farmers who have colonised this frontier, especially in the design of ‘farming systems’. What is still required is a broader view of the livelihood requirements of specific social groups, and their relationship to the wider, regional context in which farming systems are located.

The International Handbook of Environmental Sociology, Second Edition

The second edition of The International Handbook of Environmental Sociology is a major interdisciplinary reference work consisting of 26 original essays. The authors are leading scholars, many of whom are intimately involved in national, regional or global environmental policy processes. Their essays mark changes and continuities in the field of environmental sociology, drawing attention to the theoretical debates and substantive concerns of today. As well as providing an assessment of the scope and content of environmental sociology, this Handbook sets out the intellectual and practical challenges posed by the urgent need for policy and action to address accelerating environmental change.