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Re: Sustainability definitions



Ed Fredrickson wrote:
> 
> I would like to compile a list of published definitions for
> "sustainability." Examples of sytems said to be sustainable also would be
> helpful. If you are aware of any definitions for for the
> term sustainability please post the definition and the complete citation.
> I will compile the list and later post the compiled list in this newsgroup
> when completed. You can also send definitions to my email address.

Sorry, Netscape doesn't seem to allow me to mail and post at the same 
time..  I hope I haven't posted this twice.

An excellent survey and critique of definitions has already been 
published in Human Ecology 23:291-334, 1996, by Abe Goldman, "Threats to 
sustainability in African agriculture: Seqrching for approp. paradigms". 
He summarizes and classifies more definitions than I thought could exist, 
while making the point that the main concerns of US/Eur sustainable types 
are unimportant in Africa (overuse of fertilizers and pesticides).  He 
also harps on the theme of: sustained what? and points out that a lot of 
the present conditions are not what we want to continue, we want to 
change them.  Sustainability comes out as a general fuzzy value reminding 
people that they shouldn't go for solutions that are unlikely to continue 
working a few years down the line.



References: