3.3 Sustainability
Sustainability is an underlying principle in the government’s development planning. Policy makers - whether in the fields of agriculture, environment, or social wellbeing, have sought to develop a concept of sustainability and centre it at the heart of a number of policies. Yet people for generations, for centuries, have been trying to ensure a future for those that follow, and that is at the heart of the concept of sustainability.
"Sustainability" refers to something specific and critically important... our long-term cultural, economic, and environmental health and vitality. It links these issues together rather than thinking of them as separate.
Sustainable Seattle 1993:iii
The concept of sustainability when defined in relation to agriculture rests on a number of suppositions. It requires:
... the uses of practices and systems which maintain or enhance:
- the ability of people and communities to provide for their social and cultural well-being;
- the economic viability of agriculture
- the natural resource base of agriculture
- other ecosystems influenced by agricultural activities; and
- the quality and safety of food and fibre.
MAF, 1993
To achieve sustainability, coordination across social, cultural, economic, and environmental areas is required. That cooperation, coordination, recognition, is not necessarily present, nor perhaps possible, in government thinking, policy or practice. That may be identified as one of the barriers to achieving sustainability.
Sustainability model: the following is a model of sustainability that is currently used in a number of contexts. The shaded part represents sustainability.
Contact for Enquiries
Rural Affairs Coordinator
Sector Performance Policy
MAF Policy
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
PO Box 2526
Wellington
NEW ZEALAND
Phone: +64 4 894 0675
Fax: +64 4 4 894 0745
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