Science and sustainable development in New Zealand

Sustainability and sustainable development are considered complex and lack commonly agreed principles of application. This has led not only to a diversity of seemingly competing tools but also puts scientists in conflict in legal actions. Science with its core commitment to testing, peer review, and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 2004-03, Vol.34 (1), p.9-22
Main Author: Craig, John L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
New Zealand
Resource Management Act
science
sustainability
sustainable development
The Natural Step Framework
Triple Bottom Line reporting
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Summary:Sustainability and sustainable development are considered complex and lack commonly agreed principles of application. This has led not only to a diversity of seemingly competing tools but also puts scientists in conflict in legal actions. Science with its core commitment to testing, peer review, and repeatability offers the option for a credible definition of sustainability that can ensure that all players are moving in the same direction and personal value judgements are limited to interpretation of detail. This paper looks at the role of science in defining limits for sustainability, as in The Natural Step Framework, and at its current usage in legal debate such as the Resource Management Act. Evaluation of current approaches and tools against an existing hierarchical model of planning in complex systems is used to offer more constructive and cooperative options for the future. Sustainability science needs an integrated and inter-disciplinary approach as well as the more common specialist disciplinary approaches.
ISSN:0303-6758
1175-8899
DOI:10.1080/03014223.2004.9517761