Ooops, Need of the hour(I mean 21c) - sustainable development?

Oooops, Agenda21 Chapter35 Science for Sustainable Development?

Ooooops, Decade of education for Sustainable Development :2005-2014?

Oooooops, Then Science Education for Sustainable Development!!!

The Natural Step(or simplyTNS) is an international non-profit
research, education and advisory organization that uses a science-
based, systems framework to help a variety of organisations -
municipalities, businesses, communities, individuals…. take positive
and meaningful steps toward economic, social and ecological
sustainability. It was started in Sweden by a cancer specialist,
Dr.Karl Henrik Robert(known as KHR in TNS circles) in 1988 and has
been spreading fast in many other countries over the last fifteen
years or so and helping hundreds of governmental and non-
governmental organisations at community, national and international
levels follow the path to sustainability. Many who were initially
puzzled about how it's going to be compatible with their goals of
financial gains are most pleasantly surprised to find that minding
the environment brings economic and social gains too. Its upstream
approach helps us all address problems at the source and turn them
into opportunities for innovation.
In Sweden schools have been teaching about TNS for more than 17
years and pupils have begun to do real projects in sustainable
development. A few universities in a few other countries have begun
to teach about TNS to all their students irrespective of the course
they are following. Many masters and doctorates are taken on TNS in
many universities in some countries……….
KHR has been receiving several international awards ever since he
started TNS for his innovative thinking and work. He's one of three
who were honoured by The Global Centre for Leadership and Business
Ethics inaugurated 2005 June. He's the only one(scientist) honoured
for Social Responsibility and the other two businessmen(John
Whitehead-US and Adrian Cadbury-UK) for Corporate Governance.
(…...Best Social Invention of the Year Award1990, Green Cross Award
for International Environmental Leadership 1999, Blue Planet Award
2000…..)

KHR observed that all cells have similar basic requirements for
sustaining and propagating life, but that some of these requirements
were being systematically eroded by industrial activity. He worked
with 50 scientific colleagues to find out what scientists actually
agree on. After 21 drafts, a consensus document was achieved that
described the agreed basic knowledge of how the Earth functions and
how humans interact with it. The completed document was distributed
to every household and school in Sweden. In the early 1990s, he
worked with a physicist, Dr John Holmberg, to define a set of
guiding sustainability principles, based on the laws of
thermodynamics and natural cycles. These principles of
sustainability are the foundation of The Natural Step's content and
approach.
Basic Science
Nothing Disappears(First Law of Thermodynamics)
Everything Spreads(Second Law of Thermodynamics)
There is Value in Structure
Plants Create Structure and Order by Using Energy From the Sun

Systems Thinking
One aspect of systems thinking is analysing and adhering to the
overall principles of a system. These principles ensure that
decision-makers have clear guides for assessing various options.
The Natural Step Framework
It has three main components:
1.The Funnel
The Natural Step uses the metaphor of a funnel to help us visualise
the economic, social and
environmental pressures that will inevitably impinge on society as
natural resources continue to diminish and population grows.
2.System Conditions
The Natural Step's principles of sustainability define the
conditions that must be met in order to have a sustainable society.
These four System Conditions are the core of the Natural Step's
sustainability framework. Their precise wording reflects a system-
level understanding of how the Earth functions.
The Four System Conditions
In the sustainable society, nature is not subject to systematically
increasing:
1. concentrations of substances extracted from the Earth's crust,
2. concentrations of substances produced by society,
3. degradation by physical means
and, in that society...
4. people are not subject to conditions that systematically
undermine their
capacity to meet their needs.
3.Implementation Methodology
How can the system conditions be applied to an organisation's
everyday operations? Backcasting - framing goals with regard to a
desired future outcome - and systematic step-by-step implementation,
that provides benefits in the short-term, while retaining a longer
term perspective:
A = Awareness
The first phase involves aligning your organisation around a common
understanding of sustainability and the 'whole-systems' context for
their organisation.
A presentation of The Natural Step principles of sustainability,
basic science and whole-systems approach provides a platform from
which strategies for living in balance with nature and our global
community are developed. Participants review details of the state of
the earth's systems, including the ecological, social and economic
trends that are undermining our ability to create and manage healthy
and prosperous businesses and communities.
B = Baseline Mapping
What does your organisation look like today?
C = Creating a Vision
What does your organisation look like in a sustainable society?
D = Down to Action
Supporting Effective, Step-by-Step Implementation
Companies set their priorities for improvement, based on the vision
they have created.
The approach is fundamentally based on systems thinking, setting
ambitious goals, and developing realistic strategies for moving
forward.
For details look up websites of TNSUK, TNSnz, TNScanada,
TNSaus………………..

Puni Selvaratnam