Australia's National Approach to 'Ecologically Sustainable Development': Success in Principle, Failure in Policy, Still in Prospect

Abstract

Why did Australia’s national policies on Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD) fail? Almost thirty years after Australia first adopted ESD as the overarching goal of national environmental policy, and with little discernible evidence of policy impact on general environmental decline over this time, the thesis seeks to answer this question by examining the need for a concept such as ESD; the coherence of the concept itself as a social goal; and, through four case studies, the coherence of policies directed to advancing ESD. The case studies consider national policy on environmental information; the National Strategy on ESD (1992); National Biodiversity Strategies from 1996 to date; and environmental impact assessment under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth). The research is based on the historical analysis of official records, with particular reference to policy advice to governments and subsequent policy statements. In this regard, the researcher had access to the records of the Department of Environment as well as to publicly available records.

The thesis argues that ESD is a necessary concept in responding to the problem of General Environmental Degradation and Depletion (GEDD), because although mainstream policy approaches, especially those based on welfare economics, are capable of making major inroads to the problem, ultimately they are not well-adapted to addressing the intergenerational nature of environmental decline. Moreover, ESD is a viable concept because it is a clear, relevant and coherent response to the broader social goal of halting and reversing GEDD, and feasible of achievement. By reference to the four case studies, the thesis goes on to argue that the policy means chosen to achieve ESD were unsuccessful because they were not well-adapted to achieving it. Beyond the more obvious direct causes of policy failure such as weak institutionalisation and under-investment, the thesis identifies possible ultimate causes of failure. While these causes include the possibility of deliberate political choices to pursue ‘facade’ policies that create only the appearance of pursuing ESD, the more significant reasons are more complex and stem from an initial decision to pursue this ‘grand policy’ goal without a commensurate ‘grand policy process’. Although a grand policy process was adopted subsequently, critical decisions had already been made and the process was cut short abruptly as a result of political factors. The consequences of these failures of process include underestimation of the gravity of the problem, the implications of pursuing ESD, and the vital role of the States in environmental management under Australia’s federal system.

The thesis concludes that, properly understood and incorporated into an appropriate policy framework, ESD is a coherent and viable concept, one which remains in prospect when and if society returns the problem of general environmental decline to the top of the public policy agenda.