Explain the principles of ecologically sustainable development, including the precautionary principle, intergenerational and intragenerational equity, and conservation of biodiversity, and apply them to environmental decisions.

What this dot point is asking

This dot point asks you to explain the guiding principles of ecologically sustainable development and to apply them to real environmental decisions. You should be able to define each principle clearly, especially the precautionary principle and the two forms of equity, and use them to argue how a Tasmanian or Australian decision should be made. This is the conceptual core of the management criterion of the course.

What ecologically sustainable development means

Ecologically sustainable development, often shortened to ESD, is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It tries to integrate three goals that are often in tension: protecting the environment, supporting a healthy economy, and meeting social needs. Rather than treating these as competing, ESD argues that long-term prosperity depends on a healthy environment, so decisions should serve all three together. Australia has adopted ESD principles in national strategy and environmental law.

The precautionary principle

The precautionary principle addresses how to act when science is uncertain. It states that where there are threats of serious or irreversible environmental harm, a lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason to postpone measures to prevent that harm. In other words, when the stakes are high and the science is incomplete, decision-makers should err on the side of caution rather than wait for proof of damage that may by then be impossible to reverse. This principle is often applied to decisions about pollution, fisheries and the approval of new developments where outcomes are hard to predict.

Equity: between and within generations

Two ideas of fairness sit at the heart of ESD. Intergenerational equity is fairness between present and future generations: we should not consume resources or degrade ecosystems in ways that leave future people worse off. Maintaining a stock of natural capital, such as forests, fisheries, soils and a stable climate, is a way of keeping faith with people not yet born.

Intragenerational equity, sometimes called social equity, is fairness among people alive today. The benefits and costs of using the environment should be shared fairly, so that some groups are not made to bear pollution or resource loss while others enjoy the benefits. Both forms of equity push decision-makers to look beyond short-term, narrow interests.

Conserving biodiversity and ecological integrity

A further principle is the conservation of biodiversity and ecological integrity. Because biodiversity underpins the ecosystem services humans depend on, and because lost species and ecosystems cannot be recovered, maintaining the variety of life and the functioning of ecological processes is treated as a core goal of sustainable decisions, not an optional extra. This principle links ESD directly to the rest of the course, from biodiversity loss to ecosystem services.

Applying the principles to a Tasmanian decision

These principles are most powerful when applied to a real choice. Consider a proposal to expand salmon aquaculture in a sensitive Tasmanian waterway. The precautionary principle would argue for caution and strong monitoring where the effects on the seafloor and water quality are uncertain. Intergenerational equity would ask whether the waterway will still be healthy and productive for future Tasmanians. Intragenerational equity would consider how jobs, profits and environmental costs are shared among the industry, local communities and other water users. Conservation of biodiversity would weigh the risk to the species and habitats of the waterway. Weighing all of these, alongside the economic value of the industry, is what applying ESD looks like in practice.

Bringing it together

To answer this dot point well, define ecologically sustainable development as meeting present needs without compromising future generations, then define and explain the precautionary principle, intergenerational equity, intragenerational equity and biodiversity conservation. Show that you can apply them by working through a Tasmanian decision such as aquaculture expansion or forestry, weighing environmental, social and economic considerations together.