SEMINAR: Sustainable Development in Western Australia

Sustainable development (sustainability) can be defined as meeting needs of today in a way that allows future generations and the environment to meet there own needs. Over the past 30 years or so there has been an increase in the income gap between rich and poor, and it is hypothesised that measuring sustainable development from the perspective of the rich provides different results to that from the perspective of the poor. The presentation describes sustainability in Western Australia from the perspective of the rich and poor as measured by the Index of Sustainable Functionality. The first section focuses on the WA economy, the second measures the impact of deforestation on rainfall and surface water resources, and the third section uses the case of energy consumption to show how inequality leads to unsustainable development.

It is found that not only is sustainable development from the perspective of households with different levels of income very different, but that in the case of household energy use, high inequality prevents sustainable development from occurring. Correcting three major imbalances regarding the economy, the environment, and energy use would lead to greater resilience and sustainability however this requires the rich to make changes that benefit others and the environment, but that make little difference to their own lives from their perspective. Hence the unsustainable status quo remains.