Chasing the wind: can the sustainability of development be monitored?

Abstract

"The 1994 Barbados conference on the sustainable development of small Island States agreed that the sustainability of the development process should be monitored and regularly reported. The job was given to the UN's regional commissions. Because the conference was driven mainly by concern forthe environment, the monitoring process will initially emphasise environmental sustainability. The drawbacks of this limitation will soon be apparent, and a wider scope attempted. This paper looks at implications of the monitoring task which arise from the destabilising nature of the development process itself. It also considers the multiplicity of interactions involved and the fact that detailed outcomes cannot be accurately forecast ... " page 1 Show more