Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand abstracts
Science and sustainable development in New Zealand
John L. Craig
School of Geography & Environmental Science, University of Auckland,
Private Bag 92 019, Auckland, New Zealand.
Email: j.craig@auckland.ac.nz
Abstract 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.
Keywords science; sustainability; The Natural Step Framework;
New Zealand; sustainable development; Resource Management Act; Triple Bottom
Line reporting
R03002; Online publication date 11 March 2004; Received 23 January 2003;
accepted 12 September 2003
© Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Volume 34, Number
1, March 2004, pp 9-22
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