مستقبلنا المشترك

by World Commission on Environment and Development, محمد كامل عارف (Translator)

تكاد مشكلة سوء استخدام الموارد الطبيعية وأثارها في البيئة واستنزاف المقومات الأساسية فيها تكون كبرى المشكلات التي يواجههاعالمنا المعاصر والتي حملت العديد من المهتمين بالشؤون البيئية جماعات وأفراد على رصد ظواهر هذه المشكلة وتقييم أبعادها وتحليل انعكاساتها على إمكانيات النمو المتصل المتوازن في ضوء ارتباط البيئة البشرية بالسياسات التي تعتمدها الدول لحماية مواردها وترشيد استخداماتها ومعالجة التدهور الذي يهدد قدرتها على التجدد والبقاء. ومن هنا جاءت الأمم المتحدة فألفت في عام 1983 لجنة عالمية للبيئة والتنمية برئاسة رئيسة وزراء النرويج آنذاك وكلفتها بإعادة دراسة مشكلات البيئة والتنمية الحادة فوق كوكبنا هذا وطلبت من اللجنة أن تصوغ اقتراحات عملية لحل هذه المشكلات ولضمان استمرار التقدم الإنساني من خلال التنمية دون تعرض موارد الأجيال القادمة للنضوب

كانت حصيلة عمل هذه اللجنة هذا الكتاب الذي ننشره مترجما إلى اللغة العربية والذي يقول: ان الوقد قد حان للمزاوجة بين القتصاد والعلاقة بين الناس والبيئة لكي تتحمل الحكومات والشعوب مسؤوليتها لا نحو الخراب البيئي فحسب وإنما أيضا نحو السياسات التي تؤدي إلى هذا الخراب وبعض هذه السياسات يهدد استمرار بقاء الجنس البشري فوق الأرض ولكن بالإمكان تغيير هذه السياسات ومن ثم فإننا جميعا مدعوون لأن نبدأ من الآن

هذه هي الدعوة التي ينادي بها هذا الكتاب الذي اعتبرة المختصون أهم وثيقة صدرت في الثمانينات حول مستقبل العالم

Genres: Sustainability, Environment, Economics, Nonfiction, Politics, Reference, Climate Change

441 pages, ebook

First published May 21, 1987

Reviews

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a seminal work when first written in 1987 and was quite revolutionary in its views and suggestions for combining economic, social and environmental factors. However some of its suggestions are now rather out-dated and have been shown to be inappropriate and unsuitable for some of the environmental problems we now face. Having said that though, without this report the situation could well be far worse with even less co-operation across the various departments and institutions tasked with addressing the issues raised. And while I don't agree with everything in this report its importance cannot be emphasized enough as it was this report that really got the attention of the politicians with regard to the real cost of ignoring our environment and the importance of real sustainability.

[Jsheehan612 · Rating 3 out of 5]

A milestone report from the UN. It explicitly makes the case for sustainable development as environmental , economic and moral. As important is it's focus on intergenerational and intragenerational justice. One of my favorite quotes in the book highlights why achieving sustainable development in a global context is so hard: "The Earth is one. The world is not." Who knows that better than the UN?

[Taru Luojola · Rating 3 out of 5]

Osuuskunnat ja kestävä kehitys -kurssia varten piti lukea tämä YK:n kestävän kehityksen raportti vuodelta 1987, ja koska tämä löytyy myös kirjaksi julkaistuna, niin kuittaan samalla perjekohdan 13. Vuonna 1980–2000 julkaistu poliittinen kirja.

Tämä on monin tavoin hyvin 80-lukulainen, niin hyvässä kuin pahassa. Mutta tiukkaa asiaa tässä on. Ja monin paikoin alkaa suorastaan masentaa, kun jo 35 vuotta sitten on sanottu, että asialle jos toiselle (mm. ilmastonmuutokselle) olisi pikkuisen niinku kiire tehdä jotain, mutta edelleen vuonna 2021 vatkataan siitä, että ruvetaankos tässä nyt sitten lopulta tekemään jotain vai ei. Väkisinkin miettii, että olisiko näille asioille jo saatu tehtyäkin jotain, ellei 1990-luvulla olisi niin voimakkaasti siirretty kansainvälistä ja kansallista päätäntävaltaa hallituksilta suuryrityksille ja oligarkeille.

Enivei, en silti suosittele tätä lukukokemuksena muille kuin todellisille asianharrastajille (ja niille, joiden kurssikirjallisuuteen tämä nyt sattuu kuulumaan), koska maailma ongelmien takana on muuttunut ja monet tiedot ovat joka tapauksessa vanhentuneita — ja koska samoista asioista löytyy varmasti paljon vetävämminkin kirjoitettua ajantasaista materiaalia.

[محمد الملوي · Rating 5 out of 5]

لماذا لا يتم إقرار هذا التقرير ودراسته بشكل منهجي في مدارس الدول العربية...

[Norah Almoajel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ahead of its time but too outdated to read in 2020

[ريمة · Rating 2 out of 5]

بصرف النظر عن ضرورة دراسة كل شيء، هناك شيء في الحياة اسمه إيمان، يدفعنا لفهم الحكمة من كل شيء خاصة التصرف الإنساني المؤذي للطبيعة والبيئة، الدراسة قديمة، ولذا لاطائل من كل هذه الدراسة بالنسبة لنا على الأقل، مالم تحل جل المعضلات، وعموما الدراسة قديمة، تحتاج تحديث .
بكل الأحوال تكمن عصارة الكتاب في الصفحة:
110:
حيث ورد:
إن السعي نحو التنمية المستديمة(وأعترض على التعبير غير الواقعي) يتطلب:
نظاما سياسيا يؤمن المشاركة الفعالة للمواطنين في صنع القرار.
نظاما اقتصادييا قادرا على إحداث فوائض، ومعرفة فنية قائمة على أسس الاعتماد الذاتي والاستدامة(نقلنا التعبير للأمانة العلمية فقط).
نظاما اجتماعيا يقدم الحلول للتوترات الناجمة عن التنمية غير المتناغمة.
نظاما إنتاجيا يخترم واجب الحفاظ على القاعدة البيئية للتنمية.
نظاما تكنولوجيا يبحث باستمرار عن حلول جديدة.
نظاما دوليا يرعى الأنماط المستديمة للتجارة زالتمويل.
نظاما إداريا مرنا يملك القدرة على التصحيح الذاتي.

[Christopher Wei · Rating 4 out of 5]

A report that proposes solutions, reveals the hidden costs and downsides to standard policies, and provokes you to think.

It’s inherently outdated because of when it was published, but still a valuable read. Honestly, im bad with absorbing these kind of books so I could have taken more out of it but something that stood out to me was the chapter about Peace and Security


“The absence of war is not peace; nor does it necessarily provide the conditions for sustainable development”
- pg. 297

Arms races redirect resources and funds that can go toward sustainable development and there’s high spending in military, even for smaller nations that would better be used for their own country’s necessary sustainable development.

[Dani · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book in 2017 because my college prof said it was still relavent. I read it in 2022 because I want to get put of my ' to be read' pile. It has a lot of good stuff but I when I closed the back cover I thought 'Glad I am done with this snooze fest."

[Gamal soliman · Rating 2 out of 5]

دراسه من اعداد اللجنة العالمية للبيئة والتنمية
تهدف وبشكل انسانى الى المشاركه فى مواجهه التحديات البيئية وان المستقبل لا يخص جانب عن اخر بل المستقبل يجب أن يكون مشتركا من كافه الجوانب دول متقدمه ودول ناميه

[nai]

just had to read the whole thing in one sitting for a sustainable processing paper and i refuse to not get credit for it.

[Ahmadreza · Rating 5 out of 5]

ok

[Atika · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative, not too boringly written. Assigned reading.

[Alexander Lawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

So far ahead of its time and revolutionary, yet it came out of the United Nations, illustrating how even cumbersome democracy can be ground breaking.

Some of the analysis is (of course) dated yet the strategic imperatives and institutional prescriptions (below) are spot on.

Two things stand out to me:

Equity.
Fundamentally sustainable development is about putting the interests of others (and the planet) first. People will not do that unless there is transparency and fairness in decision making.

Economic development.
Development is necessary to allow societies to outpace internal tensions related to distribution of benefits and allow enough improvement for all [3% is suggested as the required development rate].

Strategic Imperatives:

Reviving growth
Changing quality of growth
Meeting essential human needs
Population
Conserving and enhancing the resource base
Reorienting technology and managing risk
Merging environment and economics in decision making

Institutional requirements (aligned with sustainability):

Political system that enables citizen participation
Economic system generating surpluses
Social system addressing internal tensions
Production system preserving ecological base
Technological system searching for new solutions
International system of trade and finance
Administrative system with capability of self-correction

Additionally we need to manage the Commons and maintain Peace

[Melissa]

Read Chapter 2 of Brundtland Report, the seminal work of global environmental policy and the Alfred Hitchcock of sustainable development in that what was once revolutionary seems mundane to us reading it today. Some of it is even a bit offensive as we are now very clear that a market-based solution is not the panacea to our collective environmental problems. The Report marries economic growth and equity for the first time in global environmental policy for developing and developed countries saying "growth is necessary for the end of poverty" and "the key link between humans and nature is the reorientation of technology." The point was to reconcile economic growth with environmental limits over the long term. The standard definition of sustainable development comes from this Report: "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." Essential needs are defined as: employment ("most basic"), food, and energy. The four main goals of sustainable development were defined as: peace, freedom, improve living conditions and a healthy environment. See Vandana Shiva for critique.

[Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of Cambridge Sustainability's Top 50 Books for Sustainability, as voted for by our alumni network of over 3,000 senior leaders from around the world. To find out more, click here.

Our Common Future (also known as 'The Brundtland Report') is the report of the UN World Commission on Environment and Development, chaired by former Prime Minister of Norway, Gro Harlem Brundtland. It focuses on meeting human needs by securing global equity for current and future generations through the redistribution of resources towards poorer nations, and environmental conservation.

The report was one of the first comprehensive assessments of the social, environmental and economic problems facing the world and of policy solutions that may help to address these challenges. It introduced the now ubiquitous definition of 'sustainable development'. The UN Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio De Janeiro in 1992 (also nicknamed the 'Earth Summit') was a direct outcome of the Brundtland Report.

[Trysh Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

MY FIRST NON-FICTION BOOK!!

"Our Common Future" stands by its description as "the most important document of the decade on the future of the world." This is definitely a book that all human beings should read. I cried in the course of reading this book especially its call for action. I would even want to throw this to government officials(hehe just kidding I'm not that violent).

Sustainable Development has been the call of the commission since it was published in 1987. And it is very saddening to see the continued exploitation of our limited resources. I shall very much read the updated version of this. So please, make time to read this book of plain reality.

[Peter Timson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great report and not difficult to read. I read this not long after it was published. Comprehensive and very interesting... but what has been achieved? It is a reference that crops up in subsequent books and reports but it does seem that progress and action are slow; certainly endangered by people who like to deny that there is an issue. It's power that matters in this world still not reasoned review and discussion. Too easy to dismiss careful study.

[Kimmy Dumont · Rating 5 out of 5]

the path to sustainability

[Edu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Our Common Future is to capitalism what The Prince by Machiavelli is to political leadership