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In-Depth Information
concern for epistemological debates surrounding the superiority of either 'objective'
or 'subjective' ways of knowing. There is an ever-more pressing need for truly flex-
ible knowledge of the world in which we live, knowledge that crosses disciplinary
boundaries and encompasses novel units of analysis and interactions between biotic
and abiotic phenomena. Such knowledge alone is not sufficient, however. Even if it
were achieved tomorrow, it would not tell us
what to do
: how should human societ-
ies act to protect and enhance ecological integrity and improve human well-being
in tandem, now and in the future?
Beyond Sustainability
RIHN research seeks knowledge that can enable transformations in the
quality
of
human-environmental interactions. Such transformations will largely depend on human
capability to develop knowledge frameworks that allow consistent action between our
observations, capabilities, norms, and our principles or values (Max-Neef
2005
). It is in
this dimension that the idea of “sustainability” is most profoundly limited. Because
sustainability is often described in terms of practical actions and policies, it requires no
explicit
inquiry into the inherent quality of human-environmental interactions. Indeed,
the goal of “sustainability” is so broad and flexible it can be endorsed by virtually any
entity (Krueger and Gibbs
2007
); no contrary position exists (e.g. “anti-sustainable”,
“50% sustainable”). As a consequence, in pursuing “sustainability”, individuals and
societies could make an endless series of pragmatic adjustments that leave unquestioned
and untouched the economic, cultural and political contexts in which the initial prob-
lems occurred, thus effectively guaranteeing their reproduction and recurrence.
Sustainability is liable to sink into conservatism, and dangerously uncritical “mainte-
nance and approbation of the status quo” (Tachimoto
2008
: 7).
In short, achieving a qualitative improvement in human capacity to address envi-
ronmental problems does not just depend on a set of tools and practices. There is
an ideational transformation that must accompany the necessary material transi-
tions, and such a values-based and values-driven transformation must be guided by
serious discussions of the conditions for collective wellbeing, quality of life, envi-
ronmental justice, and social peace. It was with the intention of engaging this kind
of dialogue that the word 'futurability' was first proposed. A translation of a
Japanese word combining the ideographs for 'future' and 'potential', it is used to
express an open intellectual attitude toward the wide range of possibility in future
development. Perhaps somewhat ambitiously, this is one contribution that a dis-
tinctly Japanese reflection on the harmonious coexistence of nature and humankind
could make to development discourse (and as proposed by Kunio Iwatsuki in his
inspiring submission to this volume).
The specific experiences described in this volume demonstrate that there are no
easy transformations. Luckily, though, islands do clearly and helpfully illustrate
some of the challenges communities face in balancing everyday needs with forces
operating at far greater scales of human activity.
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