DEVT 3012OL - Environment and Development

This course examines the interface between development and environment issues in a global and international context. The theoretical and material linkages between environment and development issues and processes, and the multiple dimensions of sustainability and their conflicts and contradictions, are discussed. This is done within the framework of analysing the discourse of sustainable development, which has emerged on the international political agenda as the dominant approach for reconciling the goals of economic development, environmental quality and social equity. The course focuses on the different theoretical perspectives of development and environment, and the various debates around the sustainability of development and environment. It explores how ‘nature’ is conceptualised in policy-making, whether the goals of ecological sustainability and the sustainability of economic growth can be achieved together, and how global capitalism, poverty and ecological issues are interrelated. The course investigates the various dimensions of sustainability, and covers major environmental issues, such as climate change and water security, within the context of saving the Earth from ecological collapse and bringing about sustainable futures for humanity.