Sustainable Intervention
Methods
Lecture 1: Introduction to the Course - Ary Samsura,
Linda Carton & Jennifer Telesca – 29 January 2024
Practicalities of the course
Grade:
Assignment for system dynamic modelling pass/fail
Closed book written individual examen 50%
Group project assignment 50%
Introduction to Sustainable Development
What is anthropology?
The study of people.
What is a sustainable intervention?
Different views. In Europe in the light of markets.
What does sustainability mean? Is it neutral?
Wikipedia is not always right, but useful, because it gives a view on how most people see something.
Wikipedia: three dimensions: environmental, social, economic.
History of the concept of sustainability
1983: UN Commission on Environment and Development convened the Brundtland
Commission
1987: the commission released the Brundtland Report (aka Our Common Future)
o Report mainstreamed sustainability in policy discussions
o Offered a definition of sustainable development, which is till with us today:
“meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs”.
But this is only one definition of many.
On the multiple meanings of sustainability:
Some questions to consider:
Is finding that sweet spot between environmental, social and economic sustainability the
aim?
What’s missing or overstated in this tripartite approach?
To what degree are approaches in sustainability human-centric? (doesn’t take into account
the non-human, not all-compassing)
What, exactly, are we sustaining? (capital system?, colonial system?, etc,)
Sustainability for whom?
Who decides? (local community, disconnected bureaucrat, the so-called expert?)
What does intervention mean? To what degree is intervention a cross-cultural practice and/or
method? In other words, do all people aspire to intervene?
“Climate Change: No Eden, No Apocalypse” (Hulme, 2009)
Critical questions:
Who is this guy?
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, o Climate scientist turned human geographer now based at the University of
Cambridge
o Received a personal certificate from the Nobel Peace Prize committee in recognition
of ‘significant contribution to the work in the United Nations IPCCC’
When was the piece written? Who cares?
What is his thesis?
o “I argue that just as we need to understand the physical changes that are sweeping
the planet, we also need to understand climate change as a cultural and
psychological phenomenon.”
What discourses about climate change inform different meanings and ‘courses of action’ (read:
interventions)?
Myths not as falsehoods but as stories people tell to make sense of the world around them.
Are these four myths mutually exclusive?
o Edenic
Return to a simpler, innocent era
The fragile world of nature must be protected
o Apocalyptic
Doom and gloom, fear and disaster, which reveals the extent to which people
worry about the future
Call for action (only? What else might this discourse provoke? Only this myth
leads to call for action?)
o Promethean
Nature must be mastered and controlled
But ‘we lack the wisdom and humility’
o Themisian
Based in the language of justice and equity
Right wrongs in society
Which myth(s) undergird the sustainable intervention methods discussed?
Book: Cradle to Cradle
Is being less bad still no good?
“Blindly adopting superficial environmental approaches without fully understanding their effects be
no better – and perhaps even worse – than doing nothing” (McDonough and Braungart, 2002)
“To be less bad is to accept things as they are, to believe that poorly designed, dishonorable,
destructive systems are the best humans can do. This is the ultimate failure of the ‘be less bad’
approach: a failure of the imagination’ (McDonough and Braungart, 2002)
Video on Brightspace, provocative. ‘When reducing is not enough: the problem with
efficiency’ by William McDonough: Efficiency is a tool. Must be used for the good purpose.
Introduction to System Analysis and Multi-actor Policy Decision-making
1. Kader: onze theoretische lens op beleidsvorming en besluitvorming:
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,Verschillende analyses (MKBA en MCA). Hebben ook kanttekeningen. Je mag kritisch zijn. Worden
veel gebruikt vandaag de dag.
Klimaatbaten zijn pas ver in de toekomst, worden als lage baten beschouwd in MKBA.
Kosten van CO2 worden bijv. niet meegenomen.
Geeft scheve resultaten. Geeft verschillend perspectief. Welke waarde geef je aan iets?
Je moet de methoden kennen om er ook goed kritiek op te kunnen geven.
Interveniëren: wanneer is er een ‘probleem’? (misschien meer politiek, dan inhoudelijk)
Ontevredenheid met bestaande of onvoorziene toestand, met ‘erfenis uit verleden’, of met
een zorg om een ongewenste toekomst
‘gat’ of kloof tussen gewenste en reële toestand
Verschillende maatregelen die toestand kunnen veranderen
Omgevingsfactoren die effecten van keuze kunnen beïnvloeden
Twijfel over te maken keuze
Waar ligt de macht/ongelijkheid om iets te veranderen of een ingreep (maatregel) tegen te
houden? Wie zijn relevant?
Waar ligt de verantwoordelijkheid, wie is/zijn de probeemeigenaar(en)
Interveniëren in een ‘systeem’ om direct en indirect in te grijpen in een probleem
Systeemanalyse:
Benoem het ‘systeem’
Doel: ‘gat’ of kloof tussen gewenste en reële toestand verkleinen
o Op korte en lange termijn
o Directe en indirecte effecten op lange termijn
Effecten inschatten door scenario’s en modellen op te stellen en ‘door te redeneren’
Inclusief wensen om het ‘systeem’ als geheel te veranderen (van binnenuit)
o Bijv. het ‘institutioneel systeem’ of ‘culturele praktijk’ of het ‘economische speelveld’.
Probleemanalyse:
Definieer het ‘systeem’ waarin het veronderstelde ‘probleem’ zich voordoet
Het ‘systeem’ en ‘systeemgrens’ formuleer en bepaal je zelf, als onderdeel van je analyse.
Model (belangrijke termen!) :
1. Omgevingsinvloeden: ‘driving forces’
2. Sturingsinstrumenten: vier typen sturing (belangrijk!! Leer uit je hoofd!)
1) Juridisch
2) Economisch
3) Faciliteren/communiceren
4) Zelf doen
3. Prestatiecriteria: KPI (= ‘Key Performance Indicators’)
4. Intern een causaal model
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, Fasenmodel: theoretische lens op besluitvorming
Methoden voor ‘prescriptief onderzoek’: advies opstellen in vier fasen.
Fasen:
1. Probleemformulering
2. Ontwerp alternatieven
3. Impact assessment
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