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The partners and participating organisations in
the NRRS are committed to the application of sustainability
principles in guiding future planning decisions
and work programs in the Northern Rivers. The principles
of the NRRS provide a platform to guide many other
planning and management decisions and activities
occurring in our region. These principles are consistent
with both State planning legislation and the NSW
Local Government Amendment (Ecologically Sustainable
Development) Act 1997.
The sustainability principles which have been endorsed
by government and environmental organisations, nationally
and internationally include:
- inter-generational and intra-generational
equity - involves accepting that the current
generation should not leave a degraded environment
for the next generation, and recognition
that equity within the present generation
is a legitimate and necessary goal
- integration of the economy and the environment
- acknowledging the linkages between the
health of both the economy and the natural
environment
- dealing cautiously, yet anticipatory
with risk, uncertainty and irreversibility
- adoption of the precautionary principle
with respect to potential impacts
- conservation of biological diversity
- maintaining the variety of life forms
and ecological integrity
- recognition of the global dimension -
accepting that the impacts of national,
state and local policies and activities
are not spatially or temporally confined
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The following sustainability principles for the
Northern Rivers have been endorsed by State and
Local Government, and peak groups representing the
private sector and environmental interests in the
region. These principles must be considered both
individually and collectively when making decisions
and include:
Precautionary Principle
If there are threats
of serious or irreversible environmental damage,
lack of full scientific certainty should not
be used as a reason for postponing measures
to prevent environmental degradation (or prevent
immediate mitigation action). In the application
of the precautionary principle, public and
private decisions should be guided by:
(i) careful evaluation to avoid, where practicable,
serious or irreversible damage to the environment;
and
(ii) an assessment of the risk-weighted consequences
of various options.
Implications for the Northern Rivers Region
We do not always know what the effect will
be of the things we do. Just because we are
not sure of the extent of impacts does not
mean that we should not put environmental
safeguards in place. Policy decisions should
err on the side of caution, placing the burden
of proof on the proponent to demonstrate that
they are ecologically sustainable. If we choose
to do things which could damage the environment
we must take responsibility for ensuring that
impacts are minimised and dealing with those
impacts.
- We must think before we act and
take responsibility for what we do.
- We must take steps to ensure the
prevention of serious or irreparable
damage to the environment even in
circumstances where we have no firm
knowledge that significant damage
will not be done.
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Inter-generational Equity
The present generation should ensure that the health,
diversity and productivity of the environment is
maintained or enhanced for the benefit of future
generations.
Implications for the Northern Rivers Region
Everybody in our region's communities is entitled
to “quality of life”. Equally, future
generations of people in our region should not be
prevented from having a high quality of life because
of what we do now.
- Decisions should be made which benefit
the whole community, not just particular
groups or sectors.
- We must ensure that our children's children
are at least able to enjoy what we have
– socially, economically and environmentally.
- All people have the right to an environment
that supports and improves their health
and wellbeing
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Conservation
of Biodiversity and Ecological Integrity
Conservation of biodiversity and protection of
ecological integrity should be a fundamental consideration.
The non-evolutionary loss of species and genetic
diversity needs to be halted and the future of evolutionary
processes secured.
Implications for the Northern Rivers Region
The natural environment provides society with a
wide range of useful goods and services which we
use to engage in economic activity. It also provides
us with a range of intrinsic values which do not
directly support human activities (such as genetic
and species diversity in natural systems and habitat
values). If we do not have healthy water, soils
and air we will not be able to maintain our sugar
cane, macadamia, cattle, fishing and oyster industries
which are the mainstay of our regional economy.
- A healthy environment means a healthy
economy.
- Biodiversity and the web of life is worth
protecting and conserving in its own right.
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Improved Valuation,
Pricing and Incentive Mechanisms
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Environmental factors
should be included in the valuation of assets
and services, such as:
(i) polluter pays – that is, those who
generate pollution and waste should bear the
cost of containment, avoidance or abatement;
(ii) the users of goods and services should
pay prices based on the full life cycle of costs
of providing goods and services, including the
use of natural resources and assets and the
ultimate disposal of any waste;
(iii) environmental goals, having been established
should be pursued in the most cost effective
way, by establishing incentive structures including
market mechanisms, that enable those best placed
to maximise benefits or minimise costs to develop
their own solutions and responses to environmental
problems. |
Implications for the Northern Rivers Region
The social and environmental impacts of goods and
services are paid for separately, such as the charges
for garbage services to carry away the packaging
our food and other goods come in. Many environmental
values cannot be priced in monetary terms. If social
and environmental costs were included in the prices
of goods and services, the balance of supply and
demand would become much more realistic.
- We should identify and acknowledge the
real costs of what we do, including the
costs of production, use, management and
disposal.
- Our decisions need to recognise the full
range of values, even if these cannot always
be quantified.
- The community needs to be made aware
of the full costs of developments and activities.
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Global Perspective
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A global
perspective is needed to ensure that Australia
does not simply move its environmental problems
elsewhere. This requires recognition and consideration
of the ecological footprint of our activities
and developments. We must share the global responsibility
for action on greenhouse gases, ozone depleting
substances, biodiversity and habitat protection
and pollution reduction. |
Implications for the Northern Rivers Region
Some of the effects of what we do in the Northern
Rivers are felt outside our region. For example,
the non-renewable fossil fuels we use to drive our
cars come from outside our region. Similarly, the
air pollution we create by driving cars is dispersed
beyond the boundaries of our region.
The impacts of many individual developments or
activities may not be noticeable on their own, however,
the cumulative effects may be quite the opposite.
- We should look beyond our own backyard;
think globally, act locally.
- Our region is not an economic island
(or an environmental one).
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Qualitative
Development
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Qualitative
development requires an increase in the qualitative
dimension of human welfare and not the quantitative
growth in resource throughput as a key objective.
Conservation of resources needs to be an integral
component of the planning and implementation
of development and activities. However, investment
is needed to replenish and expand the capital
base, and the human, technological and natural
productive base should not be depleted. |
Implications for the Northern Rivers Region
Traditionally, we measure our progress in terms
of economic growth, which is simply a measure of
how many resources we use. Our wealth as a region
also includes quality of life and our cultural diversity.
A measure of regional development which includes
quality of life factors will provide a much clearer
overall picture of the prosperity and progress of
our region. Sustainable economic development is
defined as “an activity that improves the
prosperity of our region, or at least maintains
it, without prejudicing the capacity for future
generations to enjoy the environment.”
- Development means more than just economic
growth.
- Development should enhance our quality
of life, (recognising that this means different
things to different people) without compromising
our environment.
- Conservation of resources needs to be
an integral consideration in the planning
and implementation of development and activities.
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Limits on Natural
Resource Use
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The
scale and throughput of material resources
need to be limited by the capacity of the
environment to both supply renewable resources
and to assimilate wastes. Harvesting rates
of renewable resources should not exceed their
rate of regeneration.
Implications for the Northern Rivers Region
Some resources, such as quarry resources and
fossil fuels, are finite. Other "renewable
resources", including agricultural land
and forestry products, start to degrade or
become less productive if they are overused.
If we overuse our resources there will be
none left for our children's children. |
We should care for our region's natural and human
resources:
- We must use them efficiently –
aim for the optimum sustainable yield, manage
resources to their highest use and look
for alternatives;
- We must recognise our region's limited
resources and its limited ability to assimilate
waste.
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Constant Natural
Capital and Sustainable Income
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Our
stock of capital – natural environment,
technology and knowledge – is required
to sustain our lifestyles and activities. The
natural capital (eg, biological diversity, healthy
environments, fresh water supplies, productive
soils) must be maintained or enhanced from one
generation to the next. Only that income which
can be sustained indefinitely, taking account
of the biodiversity conservation principle,
should be taken.
Implications for the Northern Rivers Region
Some elements of our natural capital, such as
life support systems (eg, biogeochemical cycling)
are essential to our survival and cannot be
substituted for by man-made capital. Other aspects
include the ecosystems of our region (biological
wealth) and the amenity or "non-use"
values of our natural environment, such as landscapes
and climate. Our lifestyle and wellbeing are
part of the income we derive from this natural
capital. |
- Our natural capital is part of our region's
greatest assets.
- Development and activities in our region
should not exceed the carrying capacity
of our remaining natural capital.
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Efficiency and
Resilience
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Efficiency of
resource use must become a major objective
in economic policy. Economic policy needs
to focus on developing a resilience to withstand
economic or ecological shocks. A resource-driven
economy is unlikely to be resilient. We should
aim to establish a range of inputs and outputs
in economic activities.
To maximise efficiency, projects undertaken
and processes used in production should be
those which are efficient; that is, they yield
the greatest output per unit input.
Implications for the Northern Rivers Region
Our region's economy and social environment
are complex networks of contact and exchange.
Their resilience lies in the diversity of
activities and the strength of the links between
them.
- Social, economic and ecological
diversity and efficiency encourage
resilience.
- Maximising our use of our resources
will increase our efficiency –
aim for the greatest output per unit
input.
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Community Participation
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Strong community participation
will be a vital pre-requisite for effecting
a smooth transition to an ecologically sustainable
society.
Implications for the Northern Rivers Region
Informed community involvement is vital to
ensure that what we do in our region benefits
the whole community rather than individuals
or particular sectors. We need to develop
mechanisms to ensure that we have representative
levels of involvement and that participatory
planning exercises are not dominated by minority
interests.
- The community has a vital role
to play in decision making.
- Education and access to information
will ensure effective community involvement
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