Science and Technology for Sustainable Development: |
AbstractScience and technology (S&T) for sustainable development revolves around a different set of assumptions than for high-technology business development. In the developed countries, S&T policy often focuses on application of the newest scientific knowledge and latest technological developments. However, if discussion is extended to the global scale, the idea becomes more complicated. Both new and conventional science and technology are important, not only for economic advantage and prosperity but also for securing basic human needs and improved public health and safety within developing countries. Policy may also include agreements between two or multiple nations that are involved in addressing trans-boundary, regional or global issues. Our essay is not meant to be exhaustive in this subject area, but our goal is to introduce the essential foundations. First, we review the concept of sustainable development. Then, we examine possible roles of S&T policy for such development that have been discussed in the past, mainly through the 1990s. We then review possible roles of “new” and “mundane” sciences. Finally, we consider how science and technology played their roles at the recent World Summit on Sustainable Development, a United Nations summit held in Johannesburg, South Africa, in August 2002. Background:This essay was written in November 2002 for a Science and Technology Policy course for the Management of Technology program at the University of Minnesota. Earlier this year, the World Summit on Sustainable Development was held in Johannesburg. After a decade from the Earth Summit of 1992 in Rio, a global focus continued to shift from environment to development. The term sustainability has become a popular and symbolic term, though with a qualitative definition, to balance the goals of healthy environment andbetter living conditions in decveloping countries. |
© 2002 Hitoshi Sakamoto |