The Sustainability of Rural Communities - Assignment Example

URBAN PLANNING MAJOR: RURAL RESOURCE PLANNING SEMINAR DISCUSSIONS PAPER Rural Resource Planning 311 May 11, Seminar Four The Sustainability of Rural Communities Introduction Sustainability is mostly defined as a lifestyle under which the human being and the environment interacts productively and live in harmony thus fostering social, economic and socio-economic activities for both today’s and future generations. The aim of sustainability is ensuring continued provision of natural resources such as water, raw materials and resources that promote the health of the people in a given region. There is an increased awareness on how the human activities affect the environment and studies regarding the subject are geared towards reducing the impact that the human being has on the environment through technology and industrialization to achieve sustainability. Interests on the harmonious living between nature and the human race has led to the formation of organizations such as the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) which focuses on the unplanned social, economic and environmental impact and consequences due to an ever increasing population growth index, economic development and the use or consumption of naturally available resources. The Western Australia region is no exception to the ongoing scrutiny of what is considerably best for both the human race and nature. Although rural Australia is mostly dominated of specialized settlements, the activities that are considered being the hub of the regions are of great concern to the environmental agencies. Changes in the use of resources in the regions come about due to an increase in population and a deteriorating economy. This is driven by the need to maximize production to sustain the increasing demand for resources. Sustainability and the policies that govern its execution can be discussed under the economic, environmental and social forces, causes and consequences. Economic Forces Since sustainability is rather ambiguous, the term often encompasses progression towards a desired future that may often be marked by indicators, such as an increase in the income in terms of per capita income or GDP, among other economic measures. Under the economic branch, the availability of resources, which is referred to as capital affects the sustainability in a region. Resources (capitals) are considered as being natural, human or social. Natural capital is divided into natural resources, ecosystems or aesthetics (nature’s beauty)1. Natural resources are considered as products that can be harvested naturally such as water, flora and fauna, and used in the unprocessed form or produced via processes for easier usage. Ecosystems are regarded as processes, akin to nature that are responsible for supporting life in a given region, such as the containing of floodwaters by the wetlands. The aesthetics are what nature offers that the human race regards as beautiful scenery. In the community setting, the skills and knowledge of the individual members of that community consist of human capital. The impact of individual skill and capabilities in sustainability may be undermined but, … The capacity of individuals to contribute through production, decision-making, social interaction, innovation, and in other ways to a community. The ability to use technology (but not technology itself) is also included in human capital, as technology extends the abilities of people in many directions. Likewise, the ability to discover, develop or use new knowledge and skills is a vital aspect of human capital2. Social capital in sustainability is the impact of the society in general regarding various actions by which they affect the economy, society and resources. Under the same bracket, institutional capital is the impact that is created by structures and mechanisms existing in a community. All these concepts of capital are necessary in ascertaining the required amount of capital needed for sustainability in a given community. In the context of economic forces, the capital (as discussed above) is a component in the sustainability system that greatly affects the outcomes. The concept can be explained in the various activities that run the settlements in western and rural Australia. Agriculture, fishing and mining being the major economic activities in the regions are greatly affected by the amount of capital available in the regions. Sustainability in this concept is greatly affected by urbanization as the human capital migrates to the regions leaving the rural settlements lacking in resources. As a result, the economic forces that seek to fuel sustainability are hindered by the lack of human capital, which ultimately affects institutional capital. The low resources associated to human beings in the rural activities means lowered outputs. Since elements such as capability of using technology is ruled out of the equation, the lack of institutional capital means that new knowledge is hardly integrated in the economic activities of the rural areas, such as farming and fishing, thus lowered output as well as economic growth. The aesthetics capitals in rural Australia are an economical force that draws the tourism industry in the rural area. However, as it is noted with other regions, this natural resource cannot sustain economical community requirements. The relation between human capital and natural capital in the region is highly affected by the low human resource, which ultimately is needed for the sustenance of the natural resource in its utilization in the economic aspect. The absence of skill in management and development means that the natural resources in the area are highly unexploited and rarely contributes towards sustainability in the rural areas. There are many instances where there is little balance between the capitals in the region, which have led to low sustainability indexes. Environmental Nature, Causes and Consequences Under the environmental aspect in sustainability, the ecological dimension is explored. The sustainability involved in this case has to do with the conservation of the ecological cycle that supports all life in a given ecosystem. There are a number of principles that are to be adhered to in the case of ecological sustenance, often suggested by scholars, emphasized on by EPA related organizations and the government and undertaken by the society. Some of the examples associated with ecological sustenance include preservation of ecosystem integrity, biodiversity maintenance, balancing the use and regeneration rates of renewable resources, balancing the waste and pollution emissions and assimilation rates by the environment3. Under the environmental sustainability, the largest player in rural Australia is the government. Several programs as well as policies have been suggested to help in the sustainability of ecosystems. The environmental concerns are criticized by both local and international organizations. The government has policies that help in preservation of the environment under different departments. Firstly, the government defines the areas of interest under air and weather, climate change, ecosystem and energy. There are schemes that have been established by the implementation of environment grants, health, impact, management and protection. The schemes that are initiated by the government are based on ideologies involving reclamation and conservation of resources to ensure continued sustenance. Sustenance of the ecological dimension is based on several facilities, which include infrastructure, the move towards sustainable transport where considerations of fuel consumption and green house gas emissions. The aim of such policies set by the government is the reduction of degradation brought about by activities conducted by human beings regarding various socio-environmental aspects. Although most of the rural areas in Australia are not easily accessible, the utilization of ecological dimension features is not optimal. The uncontrolled use of resources could be associated to a variety of factors such as the lack of knowhow, which hinder the development of the region as well as the popularity of technologies that could be used to salvage the environment. The farmers as well as anglers lack technological and educational resources that could be used for sustainability purposes, though mainly due financial constraints which the government tries to eradicate by offering grants. As much as relations between the environment and the human being are scrutinized, the social aspect of human life affects the ecological system as it is with other living beings. Since the purpose of ecological systems is supporting life, it is in the best interest of the man to ensure sustenance of these systems to cement his survival. Under this bracket, technology and studies have been specialized towards recovery of environmentally degraded areas and systems and studies are conducted that have reduced effect on the current nature of the ecological dimension. Agriculture, fishing and mining industries affect the ecology of Australia by interference of the ecological systems, via their disruption or use of resources associated with the activities. The use of technology and some practices in the fields could be hazardous whereas others advantageous to the process and it is the obligation of the government and the society to make use of the sustainable techniques for continued support4. Social causes and Consequences Under the social aspect, sustainability is centralized around the maintenance of social values, identities, relationships and institutions in the future5. Under the social conventions, the concerns associated with sustainability of the Australian rural areas include the widely accepted norms and values, such as adherence to the law. Diversity in the individual and cultural measures, adaptation of social institutions to changes in environmental conditions, economic as well as technological growth and the capability of the institutions towards meeting the needs of the community are also essential. The social setting in the rural settlement based on norms and values of the society is based on historical inferences as well as practices of the people. Farmers in the region follow tradition and the implements and techniques used in the activities are as a result of traditions passed down from one generation to another. Society regards certain practices as norms and others vices and either promote or prohibit certain activities. Decisions on the norms and practices are affected by numerous social setting factors such as the availability of resources as well as the ease of acquisition. Knowhow and education regarding conservation of the environment for sustainability may be passed on from generation to generation, but the traditional methods have proved to lack efficiency in a generation where the needs of the community are on the increase due to growth in population6. In the social setting, population growth has to be the largest challenge the sustainability campaign has to encounter. In sustainability, the resources, inputs and demand have to be considered to realize any form of growth. Improvements in technology and health have led to reduced mortality and fatalities, thus population growth. Although population growth could be seen as an increase in human capital, the ecological system has to provide support for the huge population such that in most cases the resources seem far outstretched. These resources and their use is the main concern when sustainability is involved. For the population to secure its survival, more resources have to be consumed and thus the bottom-line when it comes to sustainability is that the same human capital must come up with a means by which more resources are to be produced, while securing the future which means reducing the wastes involved in the process7. Sadly, with the increased population growth, the rural areas face a challenge that threatens sustainability in the regions. With the rural settlements in Australia being specific to certain economic activities, but the social trends and behaviors, explain the low turnovers and strategies implementation towards sustainability. Urbanization is the main culprit when it comes to the low numbers of human capital in the rural settlements. Rural to urban migration constitutes the largest hindrance towards rural area sustainability. The tendency of moving into urban settlements leaves the rural areas with a population that is handicapped towards sustainability. The youth and young portion of the community is the largest number that moves to the urban centers for promises of a better life, thereby leaving the rural areas to the elderly thus an ever-increasing decline in rural area productivity. The decentralization and disbursement of resources to the rural areas include some of the efforts that are being made to discourage rural to urban movement. By these actions, the aim of the campaigns is to ease the strain in the urban areas and promote growth in the rural areas which mean that more resources in terms of institutions shall be sourced to the region thus create a favorable society for sustainability8. The society is also affected by the political conduct of a given region. By introducing governance in the human race, politics and governance affects most of the activities that the human being gets involved in. there are numerous instances where political impact either supports or fails sustainability. Some practices such as prohibiting fishing of younglings in the fishing dominated regions are advantageous to the sustainability campaigns, since it involves preservation of resources. In political sustainability causes, the main undertakings of the society involve ensuring that resources are used optimally, rehabilitation of resources is done and the resources associated with the sustainability campaign are distributed accordingly, which could have an alternate meaning from one area to another. Conclusion From the discussion above, the economic, environmental and social forces in sustainability are intertwined and correlate to each other. Sustainability in any concept has to involve all the three concepts since the resources and the expected outcome are all linked to the environment. The behaviors of the society, though based on the human being are affected by the presence or absence of capital as well as environment. In the case of agriculture, it is practiced in the fertile areas, whereas fishing is practiced in the regions close to water bodies, a case where the human being makes use of resources to obtain a given goal, which is a case of ‘fish to water’. From the analysis, then sustainability as a process must incorporate all the three concepts of economic, environmental and social impacts. Notes Cocklin, C. and Alston, A. (Eds.) Community Sustainability in Rural Australian Communities: A Question of Capital. (Wagga Wagga: Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia, 2003), 38. 2 Willard, B. The Sustainability Advantage: Seven Business Case Benefits of a Triple Bottom Line (Conscientious Commerce). (New York: New Society Publishers, 2002), 293. 3 William, M. A. Green Development: Environment and Sustainability in the Third World (The Natural Environment: Problems and Management). (London: Routledge, 2001), 192. 4 Northern Australia Land and Water Taskforce. Sustainable Development of Northern Australia. (Canberra, 2009), 49. 5 Hawken, P. The Ecology of Commerce Revised Edition: A Declaration of Sustainability. (New York: HarperBusiness, 2010), 93. 6 Cocklin, C. and Dibden, J. (ed) Sustainability and Change in Rural Australia. (Sydney: UNSW Press, 2005), 39. 7 Marginson, S. “Global position and position taking: The case of Australia”. Journal of Studies in International Education, 11, no.1 (2007): 25 8 Braungart, M. Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things. (Boston: North Point Press, 2002), 382. Bibliography Braungart, M. Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things. Boston: North Point Press, 2002. Cocklin, C. and Alston, A. (Eds.) Community Sustainability in Rural Australian Communities: A Question of Capital. Wagga Wagga: Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia, 2003. Cocklin, C. and Dibden, J. (ed) Sustainability and Change in Rural Australia. Sydney: UNSW Press, 2005. Hawken, P. The Ecology of Commerce Revised Edition: A Declaration of Sustainability. New York: HarperBusiness, 2010. Marginson, S. “Global position and position taking: The case of Australia”. Journal of Studies in International Education, 11, no.1 (2007): 5-32 Northern Australia Land and Water Taskforce (2009), Sustainable Development of Northern Australia, Canberra. Willard, B. The Sustainability Advantage: Seven Business Case Benefits of a Triple Bottom Line (Conscientious Commerce). New York: New Society Publishers, 2002. William, M. A. Green Development: Environment and Sustainability in the Third World (The Natural Environment: Problems and Management). London: Routledge, 2001. Read More