School of People Environment and Planning

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End date: 2009Subject: search.filters.subject.Sustainable development

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    Biodiversity and sustainable development : research exercise 31.499 in partial fulfilment of an M.Phil (Development Studies)
    (Massey University, 1997) Cowen, Justin
    Economic development has had an increasingly detrimental effect on the environment. The current level of environmental impact by humans has been unprecedented for a single species in the history of the earth. In recent years there has been an increased realisation of the detrimental impact of our actions. Along with this realisation there has been an improvement in the understanding of the fundamental importance of the environment to the human society. The aim of this thesis is to examine the possibility of sustainable development, a concept which has arisen out of this increased awareness of the dynamic interconnectedness of the environment and development. A more environmentally destmctive development path will reduce the quality of the environment not just for today but in the future. This thesis will endeavoux to show that, if we are to achieve sustainability, we need to change our attitude towards the environment. To do this I will look at two broad perspectives of what is meant by sustainable development: technocentric and ecocentric (O'Riordan 1981: 1 ). Their primary difference is in their attitude towards the environment. This thesis will highlight the technocentric perspective as it has become the dominant development throughout the globe. It will primarily focus on critiquing technocentrism, demonstrating how this approach has resulted in widespread environmental degredation. In looking at the technocentric and ecocentric perspectives I shall attempt to show the significant role that knowledge systems can have in shaping the attitudes of a society. [From Introduction]
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    Ethnodevelopment within the Bolivian Aymara : a case study in Laja : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2003) Rapson, Brent Timothy
    The Aymaran people have lived on the Andean altiplano between the valley where today's city of La Paz sits and Lake Titicaca for over 800 years. During that time they have been conquered by the Inca Kingdom, the Spanish Crown and the mestizo governors of the Republic of Bolivia. Despite this history of submission the Aymara have maintained their unique cultural identity strong and pure. Life on the altiplano has always been a challenge and today is no exception. Harsh weather conditions and isolation from mainstream Bolivian society have limited the possibility of economic development for the thousands of Aymaran communities spread across the altiplano. One such rural community is Laja, the original location of the city of La Paz, today home to an Aymaran population of 707. For decades, authors within the discipline of development studies have been seeking sustainable solutions for rural communities like Laja. The introduction of the theories of alternative development in the 1980s helped focus development studies on the issues that would truly impact on world poverty after the weaknesses of mainstream development theories became evident. Arising from the alternative development paradigm came the theory of ethnodevelopment. [From Introduction]
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    Government, ODA and sustainable development : their linkages and the case of Vietnam : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Phylosophy [i.e. Philosophy] in Development Studies at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2002) Nguyen, Duc Minh
    Sustainable development, the role of government, and ODA are three major concerns in Development Studies. Sustainable development is an interest that has recently emerged but has become quickly and widely accepted in the field as a desirable vision for the future of humankind. It affects the rationale and redefines the responsibilities of both government and ODA. Government has two interrelated roles in development: a sovereign regulator and a powerful developmental actor. ODA is a means through which governments and external agencies interact in the development field. This present thesis articulates an integrated perspective to sustainable development and applies it to discuss major issues of government, ODA, and especially their developmental roles. The aim of this thesis is to contribute to the debate on the role of government in making ODA work for sustainable development. Its arguments and recommendations are confined to the case of Vietnam – an aid recipient country in transition. In general, it is found that the donor and recipient governments play very important roles in making ODA work for sustainable development due to three reasons. First, they are essential for sustainable development as both necessary and irreplaceable regulator and powerful developmental actors. Second, ODA is not automatically, but is potentially, helpful for sustainable development. Last but not least, the governments have decisive roles in affecting the volume, scope, scale, and effectiveness of ODA resources and activities. In the particular case of Vietnam, the role of the government in the ODA - sustainable development link is momentous because it is presently the major force that overwhelmingly influences the direction and controls significant shares of resources and activities of development (in comparison with the private sector) in the country. For ODA to work for sustainable development in Vietnam, the key recommendations are that, firstly, the government needs to improve its administrative ability, especially its ability in ODA management, and maintain its national independence in making development decisions on behalf of the people. At the same time, the government needs to put sustainable development as the goal for all of its development planning and intervention activities in order to establish the foundation for cooperating with the donor community, integrating ODA resources into the country's total resources for sustainable development and facilitating ODA to best supplement the sustainable development process of Vietnam. Last but not least, the government has to act more carefully and effectively in utilizing ODA resources to intervene into the society and the economy in order to ensure all the productive potential is released and all the latent possibilities of all components of the economy and the society are developed in a sustainable manner.
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    'Reality tours' to Chiapas, Mexico : the role of justice tourism in development : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2006) Wrelton, Elena
    This thesis investigates the role of justice tourism as a form of tourism and as a form of activism. It contains the results of research carried out in Chiapas, Mexico on a Reality Tour organised by San Francisco-based human rights organisation, Global Exchange. The research investigated the views and experiences of the three main parties involved in the tour, Global Exchange, the tour participants and the host NGOs. In acknowledging that the aims of the parties involved go beyond that of tourism development, it uses the concepts of empowerment, the role of NGOs and social movements to assess the tour's usefulness in the context of both alternative and post development. In doing so it suggests that although the practice of the Reality Tours is set within alternative development and that the tours are able to support alternative development initiatives, it also presents a way Northern NGOs can support post development processes that are occurring in Third World countries. The research was designed to firstly assess the impact of the tour as a form of tourism. Through comparison to the tourism literature it concluded that it is a form of alternative tourism with a high level of measures taken to ensure social responsibility in its operation. Unlike the majority of forms of tourism it is not intended to contribute to the development of an industry. Secondly the research was designed to assess the tours usefulness as a method of education and tool for activism. With regards to activism the research highlights the strengths and weaknesses of the Reality Tours as a method of stimulating action. It concludes that the experiences gained during the tour are particularly useful in supporting certain forms of action that are both diverse and closely aligned with the participants existing interests.
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    The role of renewable energy in the achievement of sustainable livelihoods in rural South-East Asia and the South Pacific : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2007) Cole, Peter
    Access to an affordable and reliable supply of energy is an accepted part of our day to day lives. While the increasing price of oil and environmental issues are of concern, the great majority of people in developed countries are not yet faced with the prospect of energy becoming unaffordable or unavailable. The situation in developing countries is far less comfortable where the purchase of energy can account for 25% of total household income and price increases can mean that an energy source becomes no longer affordable. Given that energy supplies underpin economic and social development, such situations can not only hold up development and the consequential move out of poverty but actually move people further away from this goal. This thesis examines the role of energy in people's livelihoods in two locations, one in South East Asia and the other in the South Pacific. The first of these comprises six farming villages in the Kerinci Valley in Sumatra while the second is Niue Island. Both these communities rely heavily on energy supplies but in very different ways, this being a function of the different economic situation that applies in each location. Both communities have renewable energy resources which are yet to be used or yet to be used effectively or sustainably. The sustainable livelihoods approach is used to analyse existing livelihoods with particular reference to the role of energy. The available renewable energy resources are identified and the impact that increased use of these could have in terms of livelihood outcomes is determined. The conclusion is that renewable energy has the potential to contribute to the achievement of sustainable livelihoods. However, while the outcomes are positive, renewable energy will not by itself achieve the transformation necessary for sustainable livelihoods. There are also barriers to the implementation of renewable energy programmes, not the least being access to funding.
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    Reasserting the local in the global : local livelihoods and sustainable development in the proposed East Rennell World Heritage site, Solomon Islands : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies, Massey University
    (Massey University, 1996) Purdie, Nicholas Simon
    This thesis assesses the relationships between the sustainable development approach to integrating environmental and developmental concerns, and that approach suggested by the concept of sustainable livelihoods. In the context of the East Rennell World Heritage Project in Solomon Islands, the nature of sustainable development as it is operationalised at the local level, and the reality of people's livelihoods within the boundaries of that project, are assessed to determine where sustainable development meets livelihoods to both support and enhance them, and the implications which a sustainable livelihoods approach has for sustainable development. Over the last fifteen years the concept of sustainable development has been promoted at the global level as a means by which environmental integrity may be maintained, and at the same time allow for the continued development of human economic and social systems to improve the welfare of poor people. Arising out of the twin concerns that development was not meeting its primary goal of alleviating poverty, and at the same time was placing environmental systems in jeopardy, the concept of sustainable development is now a central theme within global development discourse. Alternatively, the concept of sustainable livelihoods has been presented as a 'new analysis' of the reality of the lives of local people and the problems they encounter as they attempt to construct viable livelihoods for themselves, and represents an alternative strategy for integrating environmental and developmental concerns at the local level. The rationale for using such an approach to environment and development is that only by ensuring that all people have access to an adequate and secure livelihood will further goals of sustainability be able to be obtained. This thesis presents the results of research undertaken in Solomon Islands over a three month period in 1995. The research is presented as two village case studies incorporporating the results of Participatory Rural Appraisal surveys undertaken at Tevaitahe and Niupani villages in the proposed East Rennell World Heritage Site. The general conclusion reached is that although sustainable development attempts to assist local people in conserving their resources and develop income generating business based on ecotourism, the nature of this sustainable development to a certain extent precludes the achievement of sustainable livelihoods.The suggestion is given, therefore, that the sustainable livelihoods infer an alternative approach to development.
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    Steps in a long journey : community projects and sustainable development in west Kwaio and central Kwara'ae, Malaita, Solomon Islands : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2001) Roura, Ricardo
    This study attempts to evaluate whether development projects could be means to the end of sustainable development in the Solomon Islands context of a subsistence economy in transition to a cash economy. Literature on development often emphasizes theory over practice, global over local, project design and implementation over project evaluation, and failures over successes. This research intends to reverse these tendencies and determine, in the evaluation of highly participatory, highly local, small-scale community projects, whether development projects could be means to the end of sustainable development. The evaluation is based on the assumption that community projects can only be truly successful if they contribute to maintain and/or improve the condition of both people and the ecosystem. It is proposed here that sustainable development may be realized through the cumulative effect of development activities that may be individually minor—at a local or a higher level—but collectively significant. What is inherently difficult is how the collective result of many disparate local development initiatives in the present may result in a desired state of affairs in the future—not just locally, but at a national or regional level. It is concluded here that community projects may contribute to progress towards sustainable development but are not a sufficient means to this end. Projects may have a tactical role in development, but should be integrated to an overall strategy for sustainable development. Ultimately these needs may lead to a new development practice paradigm that replaces the project. A new paradigm should be inclusive of emerging initiatives at the grassroots level, but also fit in a broader strategy for sustainable development. The search for a long term development strategy, however, should not impede local action to address more immediate needs. On line with research by others in this issue, it argued here that in the Solomon Islands the notion of community is interwoven with the land through present use and history in the notion of fanua kem, "our place". The notion of fanua could provide a cultural foundation to the notion of sustainable development. It is suggested that the value of fanua results not so much a matter of awareness of superior goals but rather, it is in the quotidian quality and ubiquitous use in Solomon Islands villages that the notion of "our place" does provide a sense of identity and belonging to a place, a community, a common past, and a common future.
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    Environmental management in Fiji : a socio-political exploration of global, regional and state dynamics : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2001) Turnbull, Iéré Jane
    The techniques of environmental impact assessment, environmental planning and protected areas are manifestations of the cultural modernisation of western society with its growth of rationality, bureaucratisation and the centrality accorded to science. Environmental impact assessment and planning techniques are also part of a growing international perspective on environmentalism that is moving towards common environmental standards and policies. The concept of formally protected areas is being subsumed into this globalist perspective, part of a scientifically-based discourse that argues loss of biodiversity is a global issue requiring a global solution. Global environmentalism accounts for the way the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) promotes these modern environmental management techniques to relatively undeveloped Pacific island countries. It also accounts for the way that SPREP's discourse normalises the involvement of outsiders in Pacific island environmental management. But neither global environmentalism nor cultural modernisation account for the limited way that the state in Fiji, one the most developed Pacific island countries, has practised these techniques. Neither does the search for sustainable development, topical amongst the development assistance agencies funding environmental projects in the South Pacific. The Fijian state does not actively control adverse environmental effects from economic growth. Economic and class division amongst indigenous Fijians has shaped the state's environmental management. Fiji has a hierarchical, hereditary chiefly system promoted as the basis of collective identity and culture, and a wise, unifying and stabilising influence. The systems of land tenure and rent distribution for native land leases adopted by the colonial administration have made many chiefs wealthy, and many have participated in commerce. Many have also held political power. These chiefly élite have a vested interest in both economic development and the political, land tenure and rent distribution systems. They have been able to use these systems to manipulate public opinion within their own institutions and land-owning constituencies. The state has applied environmental management in ways that meet the basic expectations of a modern state, while at the same time ensuring its efforts do not threaten its power base among the indigenous Fijians by bringing the communal ideal into conflict with the discourse of economic development.
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    Micro-finance : sustainable development or economic band-aid? : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies, Massey University
    (Massey University, 2004) Alexander, Nicholas B
    The simple question which this thesis set out to answer is whether a Micro-Finance intervention, either in isolation or as part of a wider programme, is capable of facilitating a development process which can be truly effective in alleviating the poverty of the very poor. Essentially it seeks to clarify whether there is a place for Micro-Finance in initiating and sustaining an effective process of community development. The hypothesis has been tested through a 'Rapid Impact Assessment' carried out within two urban poor communities in Manila, Philippines. The evidence gathered is simply the actual thoughts and feelings of the 'poor' community members. I have tried to accept their responses with respect and to avoid any sort of ethnocentric second guessing as to supposed underlying cause. It is only they who can truly attest to the impact of the programmes, and it is only by accepting their spoken responses as genuine and valid that I believe that I can forge a body of analysis and discussion which may in some way genuinely add value to the community (urban poor communities surveyed) and to the academic sector of 'development'. The key lens through which the analysis of the impact of these programmes has been viewed is that of the relationship between micro-finance/ economic capital and social capital. The evidence obtained from the research, suggests that what I have termed 'higher level' indicators of social capital (generosity, self-sacrifice) can - and do - manifest when the physical, material and 'lower level' social foundations (including personal confidence, collective solidarity, household and community status) are provided by micro-finance programmes. It also appears clear from the evidence of this research that a key element of these higher level social capital indicators is the 'willingness to make sacrifices and to commit to the needs of the wider family and the wider community'. The question however still remains, however, as to whether the micro-finance programmes are in some way indirectly responsible for leading them down this path towards improved social capital. It would appear reasonable to assume from the previous discussion that certain lower level aspects of social capital (such as the focus on the values of trust and discipline) may be the glue that, to a certain extent, bonds individuals to the community, and - in turn - to higher level aspects of social capital. However, this point, given the constraints of the research, cannot be fully validated. What is clear is that the micro-finance programmes surveyed in this thesis have facilitated the economic and social platform necessary that the people are able to choose, and confidently act upon, a design for their own development.