sustainable development 20 years on from the ... - José Eli da Veiga

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B. GUIDELINES FOR THE INTEGRATION OF THE THREE PILLARS
OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
The guidelines proposed below are designed to bring together the environmental, social and economic
dimensions of <strong>development</strong> by means of institutional, legal and economic instruments, information and
capacity-building. They do not follow the traditional sector-based approach. Instead they seek to close
persistent gaps in the implementation of <strong>sustainable</strong> <strong>development</strong> by means of cross-cutting proposals that
have an impact in more than one sector. Moreover, although the heterogeneity of the region precludes a
blanket approach, these cross-cutting guidelines concern characteristics generally seen throughout the region.
Certain basic principles underlie the guidelines, including respect for human rights and priority
consideration of the interests of groups who are at a potential disadvantage, including women, indigenous
peoples, Afro-descendants, older persons, children and persons with disabilities in relation to
discrimination, poverty, health and socioeconomic inequality (see introductory chapter).
Guideline 1
Create synergies among inclusion, social protection, human security, empowerment
of people, disaster risk reduction and environmental protection
Investment can have a very positive impact on both well-being and social inclusion, as well as on
the environment. In this context, unmet social demands, such as expanding the coverage of basic services,
generating markets for care services (the care economy) and investment in infrastructure, quality public
transport and services relating to disaster risk reduction can create new sources of economic growth,
encourage the creation of decent work with a very low —or even positive— environmental impact and
promote broad social inclusion.
The poor are most likely to bear the costs of environmental degradation. This creates a vicious
circle as poverty is perpetuated, often over generations. The cycle can only be broken by means of
complementary systemic policies tackling: (i) social protection (in a broad sense, including policies on
minimum wage, pensions, access to health care, education and other basic services) and environmental
protection; and (ii) the empowerment of people to increase their resilience and enable them to develop
their potential and participate fully in decision-making.
The human security approach provides a strong policy framework which combines protection and
empowerment and is based on five principles: it is people-centred, multi-dimensional, comprehensive,
context-specific and prevention-oriented. 1
The following actions are suggested under this guideline:
1
See OCHA (<strong>20</strong>09), quoted in UNCRD (<strong>20</strong>10).