Intergenerational and Intragenerational Equity Requirements for Sustainability by IGOR VOJNOVIC, MScPl (Toronto), 37 Appian Drive, Willowdale, Ontario M2J2P8, Canada. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT — INTRODUCTION S ince the publication of Our Common Future by the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED, 1987), discussions on the advocacy of 'sustain- able development' have received a great deal of attention — and popularity — even though current conceptions of the idea still tend to be vague, and leave unspecified many requirements of sustainability. In the above-cited 'Brundt- land Report', the WCED claimed that development over the last 150 years had resulted in unprecedented changes to our planet which have threatened our social and ecological stability, arguing that, unless at least a reasonable degree of ecologically sustainable development is achieved at a global level, 'the quality of life on earth... [and even] life it- self will be threatened (ibid. p. 343). The Commission described sustainable development as 'development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs' (WCED, 1987 p. 43). Most other conceptions of sustainability use the Com- mission's description as a benchmark, from which variants are drawn; but they rarely offer any greater degree of specificity. Therefore, what we tend to be confronted with is merely the spirit of the term, which, as William Rees contends, urges some form of 'development that promises human needs will be met indefinitely into the future' (Rees & Bailey, 1989 p. 1). In fact, the spirit of sustainability, and its benefits to society, have been recognized for centuries, but a mechanism for activating the sustainability paradigm, and the physical reality of such a condition, are issues that continue to be elusive. The objective of this paper is to show that, given only present levels of knowledge and capability, sustainable development, as currently conceived, is unlikely ever to be attained. The global community, however, can advance towards sustainability, thereby prolonging the existence of a reasonable degree of social and ecological stability, by meeting five equity requirements, of which four are intergenerational and one is intragenerational. The Spirit of Sustainability Over 2,000 years ago, the Greek philosopher Aristotle used the spirit of sustainability in defining the term oiko- nomia, the root of the current term economics, and con- trasting it with an alternative form of development, chre- matistics. Oikonomia, which, as defined by Daly & Cobb (1990 p. 138), is 'the management of a household so as to increase its value to all members of the household over the long run'. Much as in the case of sustainable development, oikonomia takes a long-run perspective, considers the welfare of the household (or community) as a whole, and recognizes the necessity of limited accumulation of supplies if the needs of everyone are to be satisfied over the long-term. Unfortunately, most of the current economic activities are far from being characterized by their oikonomia; Humankind seems to be much more fascinated by chrematistics, 'the manipulation of property and wealth so as to maximize short-term monetary exchange value to the owner' (ibid.). Certain cultures, such as that of the Mohawk Indians of North America, were even able to integrate some com- ponents of sustainability into practice. In all of their community decisions regarding possible activities, where the issues debated could potentially affect future gener- ations, someone would always be appointed as the repre- sentative of the seventh generation — 'to consider how the decisions discussed today may be viewed seven gener- ations from now' (Royal Commission on the Future of the Toronto Waterfront, 1992 p. 38). Current Generation's Obligations The obligation of the current generation to ensure the survival of future generations was also debated during the 20th century in the industrializing West. An important landmark in this debate was established in 1952, when the Paley Commission, which was organized to study the materials' resource-base in the United States, argued from a position very similar to the one proposed by the WCED. The Authors of the Report asserted that, 'on our own generation lies the responsibility for passing on to the next generation the prospects of continued well-being.' (Page, 1977 p. 1). The common theme in the above discussion on the spirit of sustainability concentrates on a condition that allows for human needs to be met 'indefinitely' into the future. However, the requirements needed to achieve this condition and, more importantly, determining whether sus- tainable development as currently conceived is even pos- sible, are issues that remain largely neglected in present- day discussions. INTERGENERATIONAL AND INTRAGENERATIONAL EQUITY REQUIREMENTS Sustainable development refers to particular types of human activities that can maintain the availability and quality of natural resources over time. For a community to move towards sustainability, a number of principles con- cerning the planning and management of natural resources must be observed. The first set of principles deals with i'wfergenerational equity, while the second set addresses /nfragenerational equity requirements. Intergenerational Equity Requirements Natural capital consists inter alia of the local eco- systems' and wider ecocomplexes 1 (cf. Polunin & Worthington, 1990) ability to convert waste discharges 223 Environmental Conservation, Vol. 22, Nr 3, Autumn 1995 — © 1995 The Foundation for Environmental Conservation — Printed in Switzerland