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

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The following actions are suggested under this guideline:
(a)
Assign values to both wealth and heritage assets, including countries’ natural and cultural
heritage
Measurements that could be adopted include the green net domestic product (which is calculated
in Mexico based on an adjustment of GDP) or the more general United Nations System of Integrated
Environmental and Economic Accounting (SEEA) (see chapter III).
A change in this respect would make the consequences of the various forms of <strong>development</strong>
visible. This would prevent undervaluation of different types of national asset, put a stop to the transfer of
costs and losses to future generations and alleviate the burden that they place on today’s generations and
especially on the disadvantaged.
(b)
Improve the knowledge and analytical capacities of decision makers in the executive, legislative
and judicial authorities regarding the economic and social importance of the environment as
part of a country’s heritage
The following actions are recommended:
(i) Carry out training on the concept of <strong>sustainable</strong> <strong>development</strong>, the challenges in each
administrative area and the use of analysis and evaluation tools.
(ii) Develop and expand the use of analysis methodologies that show the multisectoral impacts
of decisions, in order to support comprehensive <strong>development</strong> planning that encompasses the
economic, social and environmental dimensions of <strong>sustainable</strong> <strong>development</strong>. Examples
include system dynamics models (see chapter III), multicriteria analysis, econometric
projections, computable general equilibrium models and action impact matrices.
(iii) Quantify the costs of environmental damage and prepare reports evaluating the links
between health and the environment. An economic analysis of climate change in Latin
America is essential not only to identify the main channels of transmission, the magnitude of
the effects of climate change and the best ways of adapting to new weather conditions, but
also to devise a long-term <strong>sustainable</strong> <strong>development</strong> strategy based on low emissions,
resilience to climate change and social inclusion. 2
(iv) Adopt other tools and indicators to assess resource use efficiency, such as the ecological
footprint and a decoupling analysis. 3 In the region, the sectors contributing most to the
ecological footprint are the agricultural sector (food production) and transportation. Exports
2
3
ECLAC is conducting regional studies on the economics of climate change in various countries in the region in
order to analyse the socioeconomic consequences of climate change and propose mitigation and adaptation
policies. See [online] www.cepal.org/dmaah.
The ecological footprint is a tool used to analyse the use of resources and is designed to provide a simple
measure of sustainability. It measures the amount of land and water required by a population to produce what it
needs for its consumption and to absorb the waste generated using current technologies (Wackernagel and others,
1996, in UNEP/MERCOSUR Network, <strong>20</strong>11). A decoupling analysis assesses sustainability by analysing
whether there is a trend towards “dematerialization” or decoupling of environmental pressures from economic
growth. The term “decoupling” refers to breaking the link between “environmental bads” (emissions) and
“economic goods” (economic growth or <strong>development</strong>) (UNEP/MERCOSUR Network, <strong>20</strong>11: p. 52).