Perspectives on the Role of Science and

Technology in Sustainable Development

September 1994

OTA-ENV-609

NTIS order #PB95-109674

GPO stock #052-003-01396-7
Recommended Citation: U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Perspectives 

on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development, OTA-ENV-609

(Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, September 1994).

I.t)l WIC h) IIw L’ S (h)ltrntmnt 1’1 ln[lng ( M IILLL

SIIPCI llllCldC~lt (II [)t)CU~)lt!lll\, fil.iIl SIop: SSOP. \\ ddllll@Ml, [)(’ ?(l~()~-912X

ISBN O-1 6-045318-6
.

Foreword

R

esource degradation and depletion, exponential population growth, widening econoimc gaps between and Within industrial and developing countries,

and resource-driven conflicts all have contributed to the growing concern

about sustainability of our societies, nations, and the Earth. Discussions

about integrating environment and developrnent now include issues of intergenerational equity, resource substitution, and irreversibility of impacts. In this setting,

sustainability has emerged as a central goal for international development. Yet,

many development models exist, each with slightly different imperatives and underlying assumptions about the meaning of the term sustainable development.

This report examines an array of sustainublc development definitions and discusses their common elements. Current agriculture, energy, and industry technologies are described as well as the strides being made in education, communication,

and information technologies that could support sustainable development. Access

to these technologies, however, remains a challenge for many in developing and

industrial countries alike. Several central issues are discussed that have clear policy

implications. First, sustainable international development involves multiple

themes that cross U.S. foreign and domestic policy boundaries (e.g., energy efficiency, sustainable agriculture, and resource conservation); thus, coordinating

these policies will be fundamental. Second, eliminating institutional, social, economic, and political barriers to sustainable development is 1 likely to be a key challenge. Finally, developing and disseminating technologies that can advance sustainability will require significant collaboration and investment on the parts of

industrial and developing countries.

The following congressional committees requested the Office of Technology

Assessment (OTA) to review its technology assessments of the past 20 years and

distill the key science and technology areas underpinning sustainable development: the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Senate Committee on Foreign

Relations, and the House Committee on Natural Resources.

OTA greatly appreciates the contributions of the working group participants and

contractors. We are especially grateful for the time and effort donated by numerous

contributors who seined as reviewers and as liaisons with the many groups and organizations involved in these issues. The information and assistance provided by

those individuals proved invaluable to the completion of this assessment. As with

all OTA studies, the content of this report is the sole responsibility of OTA.

ROGER C. HERDMAN

Director

.,,

III
Project Staff

Clyde Behney

Assistant Director. OTA

Walter E. Parham

Program Director

Food and Renewable Resources

Program

Until February 1994

Robert N. Niblock

Program Director

Environment Program

From March 1994

PATRICIA J. DURANA

Project Director

Catherine M. Torres

Research Analyst

David J. Lowe

Contractor

John G. Stovall

Contractor

Jessica Wolin

Contractor

Elise M. Billings

Intern

Susan J. Wunder

Contract Editor

ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF

N. Ellis Lewis

Office Administrator

Until February 1994

Kathleen Beil

Office Administrator

From March 1994

Nellie Hammond

Administrative Secretary

Kimberly Holmlund

Administrative Secretary

From March 1994

Sharon Knarvik

Secretary

From March 1994

Carolyn Swarm

PC Specialist

Until February 1994

iv
contents

Perspectives on the Role of Science

and Technology in Sustainable

Development 1

Introduction 1

Sustainable Development 2

Global Trends and Consumption Patterns 11

Technology and Sustainable Development 27

U.S. International Assistance Policy 39

Congressional Policy Options 44

Conclusion 57

References 57

APPENDICES

A Working Group Participants 65

B OTA Reports Related to Resource

Management and Developing

Countries 66

C List of Abbreviations 98

D Principal Reviewers 99

v
Perspectives on the

Role of Science

and Technology

in Sustainable

Development

s

ustainable development (SD) has emerged as a new goal

for international development in the wake of a host of

changing environmental, social, and economic conditions. Some of these are global environmental problems

arising from industrial development patterns, resource degradation and depletion, widening economic gaps between and within

industrial and developing countries, and resource-driven conflicts. Evolved from past foreign development paradigms that focus on economic aspects of development, SD expands on the

social, environmental, and institutional components. Yet, SD is

most notable in taking a world-view that seeks to promote equity

among and within nations and generations. The role of science

and technology in SD is viewed in a new way as well, with an emphasis on technologies for empowerment (e.g., education, information, communication) and environmental sustainability

(e.g., sustainable agriculture, renewable energy. improved resource efficiency) and a focus on whole systems.

INTRODUCTION

The end of the Cold War left U.S. foreign aid without its main rationale, and Congress and the past two Administrations have been

unable to agree on a new one. All parties seem to agree that the

foreign aid program is plagued with many conflicting purposes

but there is less agreement as to the few essential purposes on

which scarce aid dollars should focus (47,1 07).

The Clinton Administration has attempted a major effort to redefine and clarify post-Cold War development assistance policy

and strategy. The Wharton Report, representing the first initiative, articulated a rationale and purpose and objectives of foreign

assistance (123). The Administrator of the U.S. Agency for Inter- 11
2 I Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development

national Development (US AID) developed strategy papers for sustainable development and drafted

proposed foreign assistance legislation with SD as

one of its major purposes (The Peace, Prosperity,

and Democracy Act of 1994) (99). Although the

proposed initiative would go further than any previous attempt to define SD and make it the centerpiece of development assistance, key questions

remain about the meaning of SD and how programs and projects would change under this new

SD paradigm (85).

SD has been embraced by a wide spectrum of

foreign-aid interests who have traditionally been

at odds over purposes and goals of aid. This may

bean indication that there is agreement about one

of the main purposes of development assistance,

or simply that disagreements are masked by the

differing interpretations of SD. If the latter is true,

then the public policy task remains of finding a

new post-Cold War rationale for aid that the

American people will support (84,85).

This report draws from the literature and from

discussions with development experts to describe

a range of “sustainable development” definitions

and examine an array of associated issues (box 1).

Over the last two decades, the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) has conducted numerous

studies on science and technology issues with application to developing countries and the renewable resource base (see appendix B). The

technologies discussed in these reports are examined in the context of their potential contribution to sustaining the resource base in

development efforts. Although developing countries are the focus of this report, past and present

development patterns in industrial countries profoundly influence the potential for promoting SD

in foreign aid. Thus, certain domestic issues are

identified that are likely to be vital in furthering

sustainable international development (e.g., promoting energy efficiency).

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

The central idea of SD is one of the oldest in economics—that to live beyond the moment, one

must consume income rather than drain capital or

the ability to produce future income (61 ,13,67).

Equity] for existing populations and future generations also is a common theme in many definitions of SD. However, a universally accepted

definition of SD has yet to emerge (box 2).2 Some

consider SD a goal (64), others prefer to view it as

an organizing principle and a process (107). The

definition cited most often comes from the Brundtland Commission: “development that meets the

needs of the present without compromising the

ability of future generations to meet their needs”

(129). This is a concept that most people can relate

to and accept. However, it leaves many questions

unanswered. For example, ‘*development” has

several meanings 3 and the “needs of current and

future generations “ is subject to differing interpretations (84, 107). Discussions of SD, thus, encompass a large number of movements with

widely disparate reform agendas (80); a continuum of development paradigms exist under the SD

label. Foci range from economic imperatives to

nature conservation imperatives (table 1 ) (1 1).

However, two models stand out for their sharply

contrasting interpretations of sustainable development: the Conventional Economic Growth

1 The term equity is also subject to differing interpretations. In terms of sustainable development, the equity issue deals with “fairness” to: I )

future generations whose interests are not represented by standard economic analyses or by market forces that discount the future, and 2) current

populations that do not have equal access to natural resources or to social and economic goods ( 132, 74).

2 Some of the key elements of SD are the need to provide intergenerational equity, the finite nature of resources, enhancing environmental

quality, and meeting human needs. It is the specifics of these elements that give rise to disagreements (84).

3 Building productive capacity is the essence of what is traditionally meant by development(61 ). Yet, development is not necessarily synonymous with growth, where growth is defined as accretion or accumulation ( 107).
Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development 13

Improving the quality of life for poor populations in developing countries relies on availability of resources to meet basic human needs and the economic, political institutional and technical capacity to

produce and provide equitable access to these resources

●

■

■

■

■

m

●

■

●

●

●

i(CEG)

Current environmental trends are toward degradation of resource systems The “business as usual with

a treatment plant at the end” approach has mediated, but not reversed, the problems generated by a

highly consumptive Industrial engine

Technology can be a positive force for sustainable development by providing new “tools” or expanding

the use of existing tools but should be understood as involving a social process with costs and benefits

Demographic momentum means that global population will continue to grow even with successful family

plannlng programs Current projections suggest a global population of 85 billion by 2025 and nearly 90

percent of this growth IS projected to occur In developing countries

Many question the long-term capability of the Earth to support current or Increased population or the

ability of technology to Intervene and expand the Earths carrying capacity sufficiently to meet the demand over the long term

Poverty and environmental degradation are intertwined, most notably in developing countries Rapid

population growth existing inequalities in land tenure, conversion of farm land to nonagricultural purposes, unsustainable production practices used by commercial and subsistence farmers, and inequitable food distribution policies all contribute to this manifestation of poverty

The link between environment and development began to emerge clearly in the literature in the late 1960s

and the basic tenets of sustainable development were prominently discussed by the mid-l 1970s

In practice, aid allocation IS often determined by practical considerations such as foreign policy objectives and commercial needs, which may not necessarily be consistent with the principles of sustainable

development

Development IS not necessarily synonymous with growth In Industrial countries, sustainable development may mean a shift from quantative and material growth to qualitative and nonmaterial growth, in

most developing countries it will mean a coordinated measure of both types of growth

Equity, whether defined in terms of development benefits, income, consumption levels, or overall economic Indicators, IS a consistent (although not always apparent) underpinning of sustainable development

The concept of a “sustainable society” challenges many aspects of existing social reality, power relations,

economics and marketing

Appropriate measurement methods for evaluating efforts for sustainable development will need to be

broad-based and at a minimum should account for human development factors, quantity and quality of

natural capital, social satisfaction, and self -reliance factors

model and the Environmentally Sustain- many development professionals would describe

able Lifestyles (ESL) model .4 Advocates of each their own position as a mixture of the two (84).

of these models are not clearly differentiated and
4 I Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development

Many definitions of sustainable development have been offered, some general and some more precise, The following definitions Illustrate the variety of foci evident in discussions of SD

■

■

■

■

●

●

■

●

●

,, is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the abiIlty of future generations to meet their own needs “ The World Commission on Environment and Development, Our Common

Future (New York: Oxford University Press, 1987), p. 4,

"(! requires meeting the basic needs of all people and extending opportunities for economic and social

advancement Finally, the term also implies the capacity of development projects to endure organizationally and financially A development initiative IS considered sustainable if, in addition to protecting the environment and creating opportunity, it is able to carry out activities and generate its own financial resources

after donor contributions have run out “ Bread for the World, Background Paper A/o. 129, Washington,

DC, March 1993,

“[Improves] the quality of human life while living within the carrying capacity of supporting ecosystems “ International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (lUCN), World Conservation Union, United NatIons Environment Programme (UNEP), and World Wide Fund for Nature

(WWF), Caring for the Earth (Gland, Switzerland IUCN, UNEP, WWF, 1991), p 10,

“[uses] natural renewable resources ln a manner that does not eliminate or degrade them otherwise

diminish their renewable usefulness for future generations while maintaining effectively constant or nondeclining stocks of natural resources such as soil, groundwater, and biomass “ World Resources Institute, “Dimensions of Sustainable Development, ” World Resources 1992-93. A Guide to the Global Environment (New York Oxford University Press, 1992), p. 2

‘([maximizes] ., the net benefits of economic development, subject to maintaining the services and

quality of natural resources “ R Goodland and G Ledec, “Neoclassical Economics and Principles of

Sustainable Development, ” Ecological Modeling 38:36, 1987

“[IS based on the premise that] current decisions should not impair the prospects for maintaining or

improving future living standards This Implies that our economic systems should be managed so

that we live off the dividend of our resources, maintaining and improving the asset base “ R Repetto,

World Enough and Tine (New Haven, CT Yale University Press, 1986), pp. 15-16,

,, is taken to mean a positive rate of change in the quality of life of people, based on a system that permits this positive rate of change to be maintained Indefinitely. ” L,M Eisgruber, “Sustainable Development, Ethics, and the Endangered Species Act, ” Choices, Third Quarter 1993, pp. 4-8,

{( is development without growth-a physically steady-state economy that may continue to develop

greater capacity to satisfy human wants by Increasing the efficiency of resource use, but not by increasing resource throughput “ H E Daly, “Steady State Economics Concepts, Questions, and Policies, ” EcoIog\cal Economics 6333-338, 1992

(,

IS the search and the carrying out of rational strategies that allow society to manage, in equilibrium

and perpetuity, its Interaction with the natural system (biotic/abiotic) such that society, as a whole, benefits and the natural system keeps a level that permits its recuperation “ E. Gutierrez-Espeleta, “lndicadores de Sostenibilidad: Instruments Para La Evaluacion de Ias Politicas Nacionales, ” unpublished paper presented at 50th Anniversary Conference of the Economic Sciences Faculty sponsored by the

University of Costa Rica, San Jose, Costa Rica, Nov. 19, 1993
Human nature

relationship

Dominant threats

Main themes

Paradigm dimension Frontier economic

—— —— .

Dominant imperative “Progress” as Infinite

economic growth and

prosperity

Very strong

anthropocentnic

Hunger, poverty,

disease, and natural

disasters

Open access/free

goods, explotation of

infinite natural

resources

Prevalent property Prlvatlzation

regimes (neoclassical) or

nationalization

(Marxist) of all

property

Who Pays? Property owners

individuals or state

Responsibility for Property owners

development and individuals or state

management

Environmental

protection

“Tradeoffs” as in

ecology versus

economic growth

Strong anthropocentnc

Health impacts of

pollution, endangered

species

Remedial/defenswe,

“legalize” ecology as

economic externality

Privatlzation dominant

some public parks set

Taxpayers (public

large)

Fragmentation

development

decentralized,

management

centralized

— —

at

—

Resource

management

“Sustalnablllty” as

necessary constraint

for “green growth”

Modified

anthropocentnc

Resource degradation,

poverty, population

growth

Global efficiency,

economize ecology,

interdependence

Global commons law for

conservation of

oceans, atmosphere,

climate, biodiverslty

Polluter pays

(producers and

consumers) poor

Toward integratlon

across multiple levels

of government

—

Eco-development

Codeveloping humans

and nature, redefine

“security”

Ecocentric

Ecological uncertainty,

global change

Generative

restructuring,

“ecologlze social

systems, ”

sophisticated

symbiosis

Global commons law

and local common

and private property

regimes for intergeneratlona l

equity and

stewardship

Pollution prevention

pays. lncome-index

environmental taxes

Private/public

Institutional

Innovations and

redefiniton of roles

Deep ecology

— .

“Eco-topla “ anti-gro~~,

constrained harmony

with nature

Biocentric

Ecosystem collapse,

“unnatural” disasters

Back to nature,

biospecles equality,

simple synbiosis

Private plus common

property set aside for

preservation

Avoid costs by

foregoing

development

Largely decentralized

but Integrated in

design and

management

(continued) —.. .—

- .

3

—

u l
Paradigm dimension

Environmental

management

technologies and

strategies

Analytic, modeling, and

planning

methodologies

Fundamental flaws

Frontier economic

Industrial agriculture

high inputs of energy,

bioclde, and water;

monoculture,

mechanized

production; fossil

energy; pollution

dispersal: unregulated

waste disposal; high

population growth;

free markets

Neoclassical or Marxist

closed economic

systems; reversible

equilibria, production

limited by

humanmade factors,

natural factors not

accounted for; net

present value

maxlmlzatlon;

cost-benefit analysis

of tangible goods and

services

Creative but

mechanistic, no

awareness of rellance

on ecological balance

Environmental

protection

End-of-the-pipe

cleanup, command

and control market

regulation: some

prohibition or limits,

repair and set asides;

focus on protection of

human health, “land

doctoring”

environmental impact

statements

Neoclassical plus:

environmental impact

assessment after

design; optimum

pollution levels

equation of willingness

to pay and

compensation

principles

Defined by frontier

economics in reaction

to deep ecology, lacks

vision of abundance

Resource

management

Impact assessment and

risk management,

pollution reduction,

energy efficiency,

renewable resource

conservation

strategies, restoration

ecology, population

stabilization and

technology-enhanced

carrying capacity,

some structural

adjustment

Neoclassical plus:

include natural capital;

true (Hicksian) income

maximization in UN

system of national

accounts; increased

freer trade ecosystem

and social health

monitoring, linkages

between population,

poverty, and

environment

Downplays social

factors, subtly

mechanistic, doesn’t

handle uncertainty

Eco-development

Uncertainty (resilience)

management,

Industrial ecology/

ecotechnologles

(renewable energy,

waste recycling, scale

reduction,

agroforestry, low-input

agriculture, extractive

forest reserves),

population

stabilization and

enhanced carrying

capacity

Ecological economics.

biophysical-economic

open systems

dynamics;

sociotechnical and

ecosystem process

design; integration of

social, economic, and

ecological criteria for

technology; trade and

capital flow regulation

based on community

goals and

management; land

tenure and income

redistribution

May generate false

security magnitude of

changes require new

consciousness

Deep ecology

Stability management,

reduced scale of

market economy

(including trade); low

technology; simple

material needs;

nondominating

science; indigenous

technology systems;

“intrinsic values;”

population reduction

Grassroots bioregional

planning; multiple

cultural systems;

conservation of

cultural and biological

diversity; autonomy

Defined in reaction to

frontier economics,

organic but not

creative how to

reduce populatlon

o

g

-.m

zCD

-.

3

SOURCE M E Colby, “Environmental Management and Development, ” World Bank Discussion papers, February 1990
Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development 17

1 Conventional Economic Growth Model

The CEG model resembles the traditional model

of economic growth but places additional emphases on the costs of environmentally degrading

activities, and on the allocation of natural resources among generations. It also considers a

longer time horizon. Under this model, SD represents an opportunist y to integrate development approaches to achieve sustained growth to meet

human needs, improve living standards, and providc the basis for environmental protection.

The CEG model seeks a higher standard of living for industrial as well as developing countries

by making the economic pie larger through: technological innovations to improve productivity of

resources. reduced barriers to international trade,

and increased investments in human capacity. Efficiently functioning markets are the key to resource allocation. The government is needed to

create the proper environment for markets, provide institutions to support a market economy, and

make investments in infrastructure and human capacity building. Education, information about

family planning and informed personal choice

about family size arc seen as keys to stabilizing

world population at levels consistent with an improved standard of living. The CEG model assumes no 1imits to physical or capital growth (84).

I Environmentally Sustainable

Lifestyles Model

The starting point for the ESL model is the finite

nature of global resources and the necessity of

adopting less resource-intensive lifestyles. Advocates of this model attribute much of the environmental degradation in poor countries to industrial

country exports of ecological deficits through

trade and investment as well as to inappropriate

bilateral and multilateral aid. Industrial countries

arc called upon to curb resource consumption and

population growth, adjust international trade rules

to give equity to poor countries. provide access to

information and technology, and require industry

to internalize the full costs of production (i.e.,

environmental costs of consuming scarce natural

resources or polluting the environment).

T’ “ ‘-’

)

1

Renewable energy sources, such as wind offer an alternate

to traditional fuels and reduce the Impact of energy use on the

environment Opportunities to enhance the productlvity of

these types of energy resources could Improve their

dlsseminatlon and use in development.

Stabilizing or reducing world population is

viewed as critical to social and ecological well-being

, and family planning efforts would be a key

component of aid programs under the ESL model.

Other components of an ESL development strategy focus on meeting basic human needs, expanding opportunities for the poor. protecting the

environment, and promoting participation at the

local or grass-roots level.

The ESL model of development has roots in the

international environmental movement and is

consistent with most of the recommendations

coming out of the United Nations Conference on

Environment and Development (UNCED). To

many ESL advocates, SD as a development strategy is synonymous with environmental sustainability. For example, the Rio Declaration on

Environment and Development (at UNCED) proclaimed that environmental protection shall

constitute an integral part of the development

process and cannot be considered in isolation

from it(91 ). This concept of SD is expected to influence the scientific and public policy debate

about development (84).

Similarities exist between the CEG and ESL

development models. In common with almost all

definitions of SD, both models embrace the notion

of maintaining, enhancing. or preserving the environment and natural resource base for future gen -
8 I Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development

erations. In addition, SD is viewed as heavily

dependent on industrial country policies and

goals; in fact, many feel that achieving SD rests on

industrial world commitment (107).

The models diverge with respect to the social

and economic dimensions of SD. ESL proponents

point out that most benefits of past economic

growth have gone to the wealthy with little improvement in quality of life for the vast majority

of people. CEG model proponents cite the benefits made possible by technological advancement

fueled by resource use and the potential for similar

advances in the future. Nevertheless, the concept

of a sustainable society challenges many aspects

of existing social reality, power relations, economics and marketing (17,82).

~ Challenges in Sustainable Development

Conceptual problems may pose serious barriers to

the adoption of SD. The Brundtland concept contains elements that are open to debate. Lack of

consensus over the meaning of “intergenerational

equity, “ ● ’substitution of resources, ” and “irreversibility of actions” could impede efforts to operationalize SD (84).

Intergenerational Equity

Inherent in most definitions of SD is an obligation

of the present generation to preserve the stock of

natural resources for future generations. This implies the need for some measure of equity among

generations. Operationally and analytically, however, intergenerational equity can present a dilemma in determining appropriate use of resources

(80). What level of resource use, particularly nonrenewable resource use, constitutes equity for

present and future generations? According to economic theory, market forces will allocate the best

use of a resource over time and over generations.

The critical policy issue is the extent to which

market forces should guide use of natural resources and the extent to which resource use and

consumption should be regulated (84).

Substitution of Resources

A simple but powerful concept in economics is input substitution in the production of goods or services and product substitution in satisfying

consumer wants. Firms change the mix of inputs

along a ‘*production possibility curve” in response

to shifts in prices or changes in technology. A classic case of input substitution occurred in agriculture where the substitution of capital inputs for

labor and land over a period of several decades resulted in dramatic structural adjustments.

The theory of wide substitution is the subject of

considerable debate, however. Neoclassical economics espouses that as each generation uses up

some of the total capital,s it should add to the social capital in equivalent measure. According to

this school of thought, “A sustainable path for the

economy . . . is not necessarily y one that conserves

every single thing or any single thing. It is one that

replaces whatever it takes from its inherited... endowment” (83). Arriving at a true valuation of resources is crucial to this approach. Possible

mechanisms for valuation of natural resources

have been identified, but not yet developed adequately (83).

Environmentalists argue that the substitutability concept can promote exploitation of finite resources by present generations. However, because

renewable and humanmade resources can substitute in some degree for finite natural resources,

some economists argue that SD criteria are met if

the productivity of the system as a whole is preserved for future generations. For example, in

North America much of the land that was formerly

forested has been cleared and is now used for food

crops. Although the forest resource has not been

sustained, the overall capacity of’ the system to

feed and shelter people has been increased (80).

The broader environmental impact of this sub5 tofal capital is the combination of all the various forms of capital. including natural capital (renewable and nonrenewable resources),

human capital. cultural capital, institutional capital, and physical capita] (67, 83,6 l).
Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development 19

stitution, however, is not commonly incorporated

in traditional economic analyses (84).

Proponents of the ESL model are skeptical

about the ability to create substitutes for the finite

global stock of natural capital. “Sustainable development is development without growth—a

physically steady-state economy that may continue to develop greater capacity to satisfy human

wants by increasing the efficiency of resource use

but not by increasing resource throughput,” according to Daly (18). Goodland echoes this

theme: “the imperative is to maintain the size of

the global economy to within the capacity of the

ecosystem and to sustain it” (figure 1) (31). This

view of sustainable development considers the

economic system a subset of the larger global ecosystem (19,3 1,61 ) and calls for equitable access to

the benefits generated by careful stewardship of

these resources (box 3).

Knowledge about the range of substitution is

incomplete at present, making confident projections about future substitution impossible. Nevertheless, science and technology will have an

important role to play in broadening the potential

for substitution among natural resources, and between natural and human-made resources. Much

of the progress that has been made in improving

the standard of living in industrial as well as developing countries is a result of new discoveries

and new technologies that can extend this potential.

Uncertainty and Irreversibility

Closely related to the substitution issue is the concern about the irreversibility of certain alterations

to the Earth’s ecology and imperfect understanding of the complex links among ecosystem components. The ultimate impact of biodiversity loss,

for example, is an unknown.

Graham-Tomasi distinguishes between "technical optimists” and “technical pessimists” (33).

Much traditional economic development theory

rests on “technological optimism, ” while more

extreme sustainability critiques might be characterized as “technological pessimism” (84). Definitions of SD based solely on maintaining an

“Empty World”

Sun—

Economy

“Full World”

/’ L

Recycle -

M— - —. M

M = Matter

E = Energy

O = Natural capital

U = Humanmade capital

The scale of the human economic subsystem relative to the

global ecosystem has increased over time from a near/y

“Empty World” to a “Full World “In the “Full World” figure, the

activities of the economic subsystem are at such a sea/e that

they can interfere with the complex /Irks and interactions of

the global ecosystem

SOURCE R Goodland, The Only True Definition of Environmental Sustainability!’ paper presented at The Environmental and Natural Resources Policy and Training Project discussion Sept. 15 1993, EPAT/

MUCIA, U S Agency for International Development Environmental Forum, Rosslyn, VA
10 I Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development

“In a very real sense the land does not lie; it bears a record of what men write on it. In a larger

sense a nation writes its record on the land, and a civilization writes its record on the land-a

record that is easy to read by those who understand the simple language of the land. ”

—Dr. W.C, Lowdermilk 1953, former Assistant Chief, U S Soil Conservation Service

The world’s population, which reached 25 billion in 1950 by the time Lowdermilk wrote these words,

is 55 billion today and is projected to reach about 11 billion by 2050 Currently, world population increases by nearly 250,000 each day, with the majority of this growth occurring in the poor countries in

the tropics.

The continuous demands of expanding populations and unsustainable land-use practices have a

severe adverse impact on the land’s Natural Capital: destroying vegetation, making surface water supplies undependable; and causing watertables to fall, wildlife habitats to disappear, and soil losses to

Increase Eventually, agriculture fails and land is abandoned. Damaged, degraded and abandoned

lands have been linked to all periods of history and exist in all countries In many places, the land has

not recovered even where humans have Imposed little demand on itfor hundreds and even thousands

of years.

In view of this, many international assistance institutions are trying to assure that their efforts are

compatible with sustainable development, Many define SD as use of resources to provide for the needs

of current populations without reducing their availability for future generations (1 32),

Many of the world’s damaged, degraded, and abandoned lands could be made productive once

again by focusing science, technology, and human experience on this problem bringing degraded

lands back into productivity offers a unique opportunity for sustainable development activities Potential

benefits Include growth of the renewable resource base, growth in economic opportunities through applying sustainable land-use practices, and growth in output of goods and services from previously unusable land

economy’s natural capital, however, may obscure

judgments about the significance of the resources.

If nonrenewable inputs are essential to an economy, then inadequate technical progress and open

access to environmental resources may lead to unsustainability. Alternatively, if renewable resources are essential to an economy, then anything

that threatens their renewability threatens sustainability (e.g., population growth, unsustainable

land-use practices) (16,68,73). Most economies

depend on renewable and nonrenewable resources; thus, creating a proper policy framework

to sustain renewable resources and find alternatives to nonrenewable resources becomes key

(68)0

Theories of substitution notwithstanding, a

system that is economically and ecologically sustainable must be based on a set of sustainable consumption and production objectives (13,67). In

the final analysis, public policy officials will have

to make some decisions with less than perfect

knowledge. Policy could focus on decisions that

allow us to live within the ecosystems’ means currently as determined by the productive, regenerative, and absorptive capacities of the resource base

and by the technological means within which resources are transformed into needed goods and

services (19,87). As these boundaries are expanded through science and technology, policies may

be adjusted appropriately.

1 Mechanisms To Measure Sustainable

Development Progress

Measuring development progress often proves

difficult and is the subject of considerable discussion. Various indicators are used to measure

conditions and rates of development improve-
Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development I 11

ments in developing countries. Traditionally, economic indicators such as gross national product

(GNP) or gross domestic product (GDP) have

been the primary method for such measurements.b

This method has the advantage of being reproducible and useful for international comparisons.

However, economic indicators may be misleading

as a sole measure for development.

Alternative methods for rating development incorporate economic and noneconomic indicators.

The United Nations Development Programmers

Human Development Index (HDI) is designed to

reflect the quality of 1 life more accurately than possible by using GNP alone. Three key components

are included in the HDI: 1 ) longevity—measured

by life expectancy at birth; 2) knowledge-measured by adult literacy and mean years of schooling; and 3) income-adjusted to reflect income’s

diminishing returns for human development as

the difference increases between the median income and the poverty line. Thus, industrialized

countries do not necessarily have HDI ranks

above developing countries, although only industrialized countries are ranked at the top 19 positions and only developing countries are

represented in the lowest half of the index (92)

(table 2).

These methods for measuring development,

however, may still beg the question of sustainability. Use of an expanded array of indicators to

measure progress is likely to be more appropriate,

given the broad objectives of SD ( 107). The inextricable link among quality of life, population

pressure, and environment argue for a method that

weighs economic and noneconomic indicators

(such as the HDI), measures the quantity and quality of a country’s natural capital (e.g., forest, soil,

water), and assesses population pressure relative

to resource abundance. Key measurement indicators would need to be identified to avoid creating

too cumbersome a measurement method. At a

minimum, these indicators could capture education, longevity and health, personal wealth, per

capita resource abundance and quality, and the

extent to which national productivity reflects selfreliance 7 and avoidance of “exporting” environmental problems. Efforts are now being made to

refine sustainability indicators and improve development measurements (e.g.. the University of

Costa Rica’s Theoretical Sustainability Index

(TSI); UN refinement of the HDI) (36. 92).

GLOBAL TRENDS AND

CONSUMPTION PATTERNS8

Renewable resource concerns have increased

significantly in recent years, along with evidence

of adverse effects from pollution and resource

overexploitation, and mismanagement. Some impacts are of global proportions (e.g., climate

change, fishery depletion, biodiversity loss). Yet.

resource trends vary broadly around the globe,

with some systems showing positive signs of recovery and others showing disturbing signs of

depletion. Thus, it is extremely difficult to predict

future trends in environmental indicators or to

project accurately the consequences of those

trends on sustainable food and fiber systems and

the populations they support.

6 GNP is a measure of the total dollar value of all the goods and services produced within the nation, including foreign investments, over a

specified period of time (usually one year). GDP is a similar measure but excludes foreign investment.

7 Self-reliance as it is used in this report is defined as the ability of a nation to rely on its own capabilities, judgment. or resources. This allows

for trade or exchange of goods, ideas, or resources, but suggests that the exchange occurs among partner\, each with similar bargaining power

and none wholly dependent on another. It is important to note that many other factors operate internationallly that make true ~elf-reliance difficult, if not impossible, to achieve. Yet the concept may have merit as a target toward which developmentt efforts could be directed.

8 For expanded discussion and graphic representation of the trends discussed in this section, see the OTA charbbook on Global Trend\,

expected date of publication January 1995.
12 I Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development

C9u) -co .

(0- CO CDCN

r=mcor=u )

0000 0

x

 c

2

E

x

a)3

$1

SCvqmal m

CNmu-1c’.l-u )

C13coal(x)a) m

00000 0

C9ecocc)u) m em’mu)sc o

qmcnmu) m

00000 0

CD CWI-09C N

f=hf=f=mr =

qmcna)cnc n

00000 0

7

guuuuuu- c

o

Oy-oooo c

--c9cncf)cNa )

ecnocclwr=m c

C-9qmcvm-l- -r

000000 0

r=ocvscf)r=mJ Q

Nmmmmem( c

Y-- - T-- -

Cn=t-cnma)o b

CD--ocnmh m qqmmwl-- o

Oooooooc i
Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development 113

I Population and Environment

Sustaining natural capital 9on a global scale is fundamental to the concept of SD. Under this paradigm, resource withdrawals cannot exceed their

regenerative capacity; use of nonrenewable resources occurs in relationship to research and development efforts to identify appropriate

substitutes; and waste production cannot exceed

the environmental absorptive capacity (figure 2)

(1 8,31 .61). Developing countries are faced with

the considerable challenge of providing for basic

human needs, stabilizing populations, and alleviating poverty, as well as sustaining the natural

resource base that underlies their capacity for

long-term sustainability and development.

Population Growth

Rapid population growth is seen by many as one

of the most critical issues facing the world today

(23,34,59,78). Many developing countries are

those with the greatest growth rates and the

constraint that this puts on economic development

and quality of life improvements can be massive.

The rate of global human population growth, expressed as a percentage of the existing population,

has declined since the 1970s, but the number of

new births each year still is increasing because of

demographic momentum (21 ,22,70). The world

population nearly doubled between 1950 to 1985,

from a total population of 2.5 billion people at

mid-century to 4.85 billion in 1985. During this

recent 35- year period, more surviving human offspring were created than during the previous two

and a half centuries (21 ) (figure 3). In just the past

12 months, population growth exceeded that of

the entire first half of last century. The planet now

supports 5.5 billion people (70).

Distribution of this growth, however, is heavily

weighted toward developing countries. China, the

rest of Asia, and Europe have held the largest

GLOBAL ECOSYSTEM

Solar

energy

Materials

(

and fossil

fuels

Low-grade

energy

\

~

andc

:

ta’)

— –. l% /

\ / Heat

—

Renewable resources should not be harvested faster than

they can regenerate

Nonrenewable resources should not be consumed faster

than a renewable substitute can be developed for them

Polllution and waste should not be emitted faster than they

can be absorbed, transformed, digested, or otherwise

rendered harmless to natural systems

SOURCE D Meadows, “A Systems View o f Susta!nable Development

contractor report prepared for the Off Ice of Technology Assessment

February 1994

share of human population for centuries (figure 4)

and are the most densely inhabited lands today.

Today, Asia and Africa are the fastest growing

populations, and are of the greatest concern to

many demographers (8). In Africa, concern centers on the inability of productive systems, such as

agriculture, and of the economy to keep pace with

the rapid population growth. Increases in rates of

agricultural and economic growth often turn out to

v Natural capital means the planetary sources from which the economy takes materials and energy and the planetary skins to which the

economy emits pollution and waste. The sources include forests, nutrients in soils, groundwater, wildlife Population, and mineral and fossil

fuel deposits in the earth. Sink\ include the bacteria in streams that degrade organic waste, the capacities of landfills, the process that regulate

greenhouse gases in the atmosphere or form the ozone layer in the stratosphere (6 I ).
14 I Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development

100 ~- — ....–93.6 million

653 million/ in one year

8 yrs =

81.6 million/yr

80 2,338 million/

%a) 35 yrs =

;

66.8

3

a)

c

~ 40

In

c

o.—= 865 miiiion/

.—

2 50 yrs =

20 693 miiiion/ 17.3 mii{ion/yr

278 miliion/ 100 yrs =

100 yrs = 6.9 miiiion/yr

2.8 miiiion/yr

o

I 1

I I

 million

1700-1800 1800-1900 1900-1950 1950-1985 1985-1993 1992-1993

Despite declining fertdity rates, world population continues to grow. World population growth since

1950 exceeds all the growth of the previous 250 years by 63 percent

SOURCES Data pnor to 1990 P Demeny, in Turner, B L et al ‘“The Earth Transformed by Human Act Ion, ” Global and

Regional Changes/n the Biosphere over the Past 300 Years (Cambridge Cambridge Universitiy press with Clark University 1990), p 44 1993data Population Reference Bureau, Inc. 1993 World Popu/at/on Data Sheet (Washington, DC

1993) (1 993 data)

be declining rates when calculated on a per capita

basis.

Population size and demographic structure profoundly influence population increase. For example, 33 percent of Asia’s population is under age

15, and has not completed the childbearing years

(70). While the percentage of Asian youth is equal

to or less than the worldwide average (46 percent

of Africa’s population is under 15 years old), the

number of people in this age bracket ensures that

Asia’s population will grow substantially for

some time.

Fertility anti Family Planning

Life-extending and sustaining technologies typically are adopted more quickly than corresponding technologies for family planning. The result is

lowered mortality rates unmatched by lowered

birth rates. In most countries, lower fertility rates

do not emerge until infant mortality rates decline

to 150 per 1.000 live births or less (133). There is

also a close inverse correlation between contraceptive use and under-five mortality (figure 5).

Contraceptives have become much less controversial than they used to be, but use still lags in

developing countries, especially in Africa (figure

6). Health and fertility rates are also closely linked

to education. As adult female literacy rises, infant

mortality and fertility rates decline steadily (13 1,

132).

Fertility rates have been declining worldwide

over the past several decades, falling faster and

from higher starting points in developing regions

than in industrial countries (figure 7). Meanwhile,

life expectancy has been rising dramatically in all

developing countries (figure 8). Fertility rates of
Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development I 15

2500

I

/- ‘..

~ 2000 - ‘

 - - - -

- - -

‘ .

/ -

= . y ,.

\

/ ’

- .

0

-.= A .“

.— ,- ‘ . ‘ .

g ,500 , ‘ ‘ / ,.. “ ‘.. YNY

k

‘ =

.,-

1

1950 w

l;!

1

,:.i’ Annual rate of

,. , ! , ill natural increase, 1993

~ I (in parentheses)

~ Rest of Asia/Pacific (2.10/0)

~china (1.27. )

F Europe and USSR (O.2-O.8”1O)

Y

Africa (2.9%)

Latin America (1 .9°/0)

Asia leads in population and numbers of new births in spite of higher percentage growth rates in Africa

and comparable rates m Latin Amer/ca

SOURCES Dafa points prior to 1990 P Demeny In Turner, B L et al “The Earth Transformed by Human Act Ion, ” Global

and Regional Changes in the Biosphere Over the Past 300 Years (Cambridge Cambridge University Press with Clark

University 1990) p. 44 For7993popu/at/on data and annual rate of natural increase population Reference Bureau Inc.,

1993 World Population Data Sheet (Washington DC 1993)

Asia and Central America have declined most notably, while Africa has changed only slightly. Despite this, net population gains are greatest in

Asia, followed by Africa. and then Latin America.

Annual population growth rates, like fertility, are

highest in Africa (97,13 1,1 32,133).

Among poorer populations, children are seen,

in part, as a form of social security: a labor source

for the farmer and an income source in old age.

Very few residents of low-income and some

middle-income countries are covered by social insurance: India (5 percent covered), Dominican

Republic (6 percent). Ecuador (9 percent), Kenya

(10 percent), and Indonesia (13 percent) (1 28).

At the first-ever summit of the world’s scientific academies held in 1993 in Delhi, India, 56 institutions endorsed a call for “zero population

growth within the 1ifctime of our children. ” However, the African Academy of Sciences (AAS) refused to sign the agreement. The AAS identified

population as a key resource for developing the

continent’s natural resources (46). Development,

rather than population growth, was stated as the

most important issue now facing Africa.

Although the current U.S. budget for international family planning programs has been increased significantly ($462 million) (98), experts

suggest it may still be inadequate given the magnitude of the problem. Increased support for family

planning would clearly identify population issues

(including growth rates, health, education) as a

critical underpinning for SD (48,107).

Population Density

Areas with high population densities of-ten experience the greatest population pressures. National

population figures do not reveal the uneven distribution of settlements within a country. nor the

ability of the land to support the inhabitants. Many

densely populated nations effectively extend their

“land base” with food and natural resource supplements extracted from the sea and imported from

other nations (6).
16 I Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development

1

40

ok

o 10

n = 93 countries

rz = 0.74

❑ . country with more

than $9,000 GNP

per capita in 1989

I I I I 1

20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

Percent of parents using contraception

In nations with high levels of contraceptive use, infant survival

generally is more favorable than in nations where access to or

acceptance of contraceptives IS low.

SOURCES Analysis based on data from World Resources Institute,

World Resources 1992-93 A Guide to the Global Environment, Data

Base Diskette (Washington, DC 1992), tables 15102, 16302, and

16601

Developing countries contain 77 percent of the

human race but just over one-half of the Earth’s arable land, leaving the remaining 23 percent of the

world’s population with 47 percent of the Earth’s

arable land. People of Asia have the greatest challenge; although they make up nearly 60 percent of

the planet’s human inhabitants, Asians survive on

just over 30 percent of its arable land (1 32,1 33).

Africans make up 12 percent of the world’s

population, a small number compared with other

parts of the world, particularly if measured

relative to the continent land mass. The proportion of arable land, however, is small due to a general water deficit on the continent (box 4). This

Migration to urban areas can result in overcrowding that

overwhelms existing infrastructure, employment, housing, and

food availabililty

leaves it with a rather dense population relative to

its arable land mass. At 3.7 people per hectare of

arable land, Africa is near the world average (3.8),

and well below that of Asia (7.2) and developing

countries as a block (5.5). In contrast, industrialized nations taken all together carry an average of

1.8 people per hectare of arable land (132,133).

Many developing countries are already experiencing demographic transition as did the industrial world, 10 however, two differences will affect

the outcome. First, the reduction in mortality in

developing countries has been rapid largely because of imported public health technologies and

improved nutrition. Secondly, the pretransition

population growth rates of developing countries

were typically higher than those in industrial

countries at the beginning of transition. The demographic momentum inherent in the system

means that developing country population will

continue to grow even with family planning programs that succeed in slowing the growth rate

(22).

The links between population growth and the

environment are critical in anticipating the potential impact of projected population growth fig10 Demographic transition describes the change from high to low mortality and lower fertility. This occurred in industrial countries without

any specific policy.
Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development 117

a) C#

I

90

80 / East Asia I

I

70

60

t

50

401

3 0

20 t

10 I

Latin America

All developing nations

South Asia and Oceania

Africa

1960-65 1980-81 1983 1987 1990

Some reglor?s have responded more rap/d/y than others m adopting tarnOy-p/armmg techr?o/og/es The

L/n/ted Nat/ens estimates that contraceptwe prevalence must reach 66 percent of atl couples m Atnca

and 79 percent in East As/a by 2025 m order to produce a deswab/e dechne m fertMy

SOURCE United Nations Department of International Economic and Social Affairs, Leve/s and Trends of ConVacep

?we Use as Assessed in 1988, Population Studies No 110 (New York, NY 1989), table 5 p 26 and table 7, p 33

ures. Resource degradation and population

displacements are the most evident of these links.

Conversion of farmland to nonagricultural purposes, use of unsustainable practices by commercial and subsistence farmers, farming of marginal

lands, and inequitable food distribution policies

all have fostered displacement of rural populations (48,1 07). Results include resource loss,

widespread malnutrition and famine, and urbanization leading to overwhelmed social and physical infrastructure.

Despite the significant impact that population

growth has had on the global environment,

today’s environmental crises are also a result of

the demands created by this increase and the

technologies used to satisfy these demands. Consumption patterns, particularly in Northern countries, and dependence on certain ecologically

unsound technologies play major roles in existing

environmental problems (23,24, 107).

I Food Production

Two major issues arise in discussions of meeting

increasing demand for food: 1 ) deteriorating production factors (e.g., soil erosion and water availability), and 2) opportunities to increase

production, adjust consumption patterns, and improve distribution systems. Total global food production per capita maintained a slow but steady

increase until the mid- 1980s when it began to level off ( 133). It is not yet clear whether growth will

resume. World protein shortages seem likely as

worldwide per capita production of meat, soybeans, and fish all level out (9,1 22).

In the past, growth in food output was sustained

by agricultural expansion to new areas. Now,

cropland expansion seems to be slowing down as

the best quality farming land has already been

converted (8,1 32). Per capita cropland has declined in all regions and, based on current population projections, the world average IS expected to

decline from 0.28 to 0.17 hectares by 2025 (1 33).

The “Green Revolution” introduced technologi-
18 I Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development

&=’’——————— 9 Africa

0--- \

World average

I 1 1 > Yentra’Ame’ca

: nx

1955 1960 1965 1970

Ii

1975 1980 1985 1990

<

I

Industrial

country

average

Declining fertility rates in most regions of the world area notable development success story On a

regional basis at least, declining fertility correlates with economic development as evidenced by rapid

changes in Asia and Central America, and relative stagnation in Africa.

SOURCE World Resources Instltufe, kVor/d Resources 1992-93 A Gude (O the G/oba/ .Erwvomnenr, Data Base DIsketle (Washington, DC 1992), table 16203

cal interventions, such as genetically improved

crops, enabling agricultural intensification and

yield increases. This saved the conversion of vast

areas of natural landscape to cropland and helped

to feed growing populations (3,126). Critics now

characterize the “Green Revolution” technologies

and cropping systems as unsustainable and socially inequitable because they require costly, energyintensive, and often unobtainable agricultural

inputs. Proponents can claim success, however, in

terms of total grain output at the global, regional,

and even national levels. Some question whether

these yields can be sustained.

Agriculture accounts for two-thirds of current

global freshwater use. Regional variations in food

production reflect water distribution to a great extent. Global food security rests in part on sufficient water supplies, especially in areas that

cannot produce food without irrigation, such as

much of the Middle East, the Aral Sea basin in the

former Soviet Union, and vast grain-producing

areas of China, India, and the U.S. Great Plains

(72). On the other hand, some lands receive substantial, often disastrous, levels of precipitation

(e.g., midwest America in 1993 and Bangladesh

nearly every monsoon season) that also may complicate agricultural production.

c

(n

Over the past two decades, irrigated area has

expanded steadily around the world Shown here, a

field in Kenya dependent on irrigation for productivity
—.— —

Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development 119

80 r-– ––- -—— —

I

Industrial countries (female) I

,. —-— —–—

-–- ~.r- —-–– —+

I ~ ’

-

70 j~Industrial countries (male) — ——-

,

.+—._–--–~—–– -

al m(u Worldwide (female) c

$ 60

z Worldwide (male)

Developing countries (male)

40‘: 1

1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990

—

/reproved health care technologies and delivery systems have lengthened human survival in all regions

of the world Life expectancy is one of the components of the Human Development Index (HDI)

developed as an indicator by the United Nations Development Programme This socially positive trend

has resource management implications, however, as resulting population growth places increasing

demands on Infrastructure and resource supply systems

SOURCE World Resources Institute World Resources 1992-93 A Guide to the Global Environment Data Base Diskette (Washington DC 1992), tables 16207 and 16208

Over the past two decades, irrigated area has

expanded steadily around the world (figure 9),

however, expansion rate and existing coverage of

irrigation are greater in developing regions than in

industrial countries (table 3) (72). Rapid expansion was funded by increasing worldwide economic growth, and motivated by the promise of

new, high-yield grain varieties.

The world’s current irrigated land area (237

million hectares in 1990) covers only 16 percent

of total cropland, but produces more than onethird of the global harvest, Increasing demand for

food production is likely to increase the pressures

on available water reserves (8,71). However, increasing water-use efficiency in agriculture could

allow larger areas to be irrigated. For example, increasing efficiency by 10 percent in Pakistan

could provide water to irrigate two million additional hectares (72). Companion needs include

attention to crop water-use efficiency, more efficient water management systems, and technologies and policy structures promoting efficiency.

In general, food production increases will depend on the ability to mobilize resources to that

end, but of equal concern is whether the resource

base can support or sustain the needed increases in

the long term (15). Most agricultural production

uses environmentally unsustainable practices.

Although modest efforts toward sustainable agriculture are evident in industrial countries, population growth and poverty in developing countries

undermine efforts to introduce and expand sustainable production practices (132). Limiting capital elements in food production include:

■ Energy. Energy availability for fertilizers, irrigation, and mechanization is likely to be

constrained increasingly by supply, costs, and

environmental impacts associated with discovery, extraction, and use of certain fuel types

(e.g., fossil fuels): renewable energy sources
20 I Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development

The Gambia, a small Impoverished country on the fringe of the Sahel in West Africa, has long faced

a myriad of problems familiar to countries in sub-Saharan Africa the need to Increase food production

to feed a growing population (now at 1 million); the challenge of stimulating economic growth to inincrease per capita income (currently $235/year), and a deteriorating environment and natural resource

base, which threatens to diminish productivity and Increase the food-population gap In 1978, the Government of the Gambia, USAID, and the German Technical Assistance Agency launched a long-term

effort to reverse these trends. The resulting Gambia Soil and Water Management (SWMU) project was

aimed at halting and reversing environmental deterioration associated with some traditonal cultivation

practices, Increasing the production of food, forage, and wood, and reducing susceptibility to drought

The project Included strong Institution-building, participatory, and technology components

An evaluation team reported in 1988 that farmers who participated in conservation activities had

resounding praise for the easy applicability of the methods and their effectiveness not only in conserving soiI and water but in increasing agricultural production beyond expectations (1 00, 102) An end-ofproject review reported that a majority of the 78 villages participating in the project area doubled overall

food production, and two villages reported a four-fold increase in land under cultivation (1 01, 120) The

returns seem to provide sufficient Incentive for villages to continue or expand conservation practices

and for the government to support the SWMU. However, the project area represented no more than 2

percent of the people and land area in a very small country.

Implications for public policy from the SWMU experience include. interventions with a greater “multiplier effect” wiII have to be found if significant overall progress iS to be made in Africa; the internal rate

of return was insufficient to attract international capital, suggesting that concessional aid remains critical; and the SWMP addressed a rather narrow set of economic and environmental problems, whereas if

sustainable development iS to be achieved, many other problems will need attention simultaneously

The challenge iS always to learn from success and failure and the Gambia sOil and Water Management Project is rich in lessons for new undertakings Some useful lessons include:

● Investment in human capital offered the highest payoff in terms of agricultural productivity

gains and natural resource base preservation.

■ The payoff from investments in human capital requires time and patience There are seldom

shortcuts or quick fixes.

● The U S science and education system has much to contribute toward achieving sustainable development, especially in solving food and environmental problems in Africa

● “All development is local, ” to borrow from apolitical adage, and the village level m rural Africa

holds the key to development.

SOURCE J G Stovall, “Sustainable Development In Practice Does It Work?” contractor report for the Off Ice of Technology Assessment, Aprd 1994

—

will be critical to meeting long-term energy (capital, social, environmental), production

needs. costs (e.g., irrigation), degradation rates, or the

■ Land and water resources. About one-half of potential effects of climate change.

the estimated land area potentially suitable for ■ Genetic materials. These will be critical to suscrop production is currently under production. taining agriculture through breeding new variHowever, this estimate fails to account for is- eties able to withstand increasing pressures

sues of distribution, competition for other uses from pests, disease, and changing climatic

(e.g., forest conservation), conversion costs conditions; gene pool protection is deemed ad-
Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development 121

u

a)

760-l

L

L

— 80

Industrialized countries 1 ~–~-~~

.~+—+.–+

4 0 -

A

1 I

1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988

Irrigation can help increase crop production by extending the growing season, bringing new lands under cultivation, or boosting

yields from existing fields in areas of low precipitation Limited water resources, energy for pumping, and soil conditions may

impede the use of irrigation technologies, but high/y efficient rnicro-irrigation systems can extend the benefits of exlsting water

resources

SOURCE World Resources Institute World Resources 1992-93 A Guide to the Global Environment, Data Base Diskette (Washington, DC: 1992),

table 18203

equate, if support continues to keep it in its current state of health.

■ Knowledge. Expanding the knowledge base to

deal with the changing global food demand scenario will be fundamental; although improved

practices have accounted for a 2.5-to 3-fold increase in global agricultural production since

World War II, there is no guarantee that such a

pace will continue (15).

1 Energy in Development

Industrial country development has been made

possible largely through the use of high-quality

fuels. Quality is determined by a fuel concentration, flexibility, need for processing, and end-use

efficiency (i.e., petroleum is higher quality than

coal which is higher quality than wood). Energy,

substituting for labor, powered the large productivity increases of previous centuries (37,38).

Today, however, burgeoning world population

growth may have created the need for the reverse

substitution.

Developing countries continue to need energy

to raise productivity and improve living standards. Traditionally, industrial and developing

countries have met their energy needs by expanding the supply base without regard for use efficiency, Today the focus has clearly become

efficiency. Commercial energy consumption is

projected to triple during the next 30 years, driven

by population growth and economic development

(associated structural and social changes include

urbanization, infrastructure development, increased use of commercial fuels, and increased demand for consumer goods) (11 1). The investment

required to meet the expanding need will be

significant. Investment in capital-intensive electricity-generating stations and petroleum refineries—already a large part of all public investment

budgets in developing countries—will have to
22 I Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development

Country

China

India

Former Soviet Union

United States

Pakistan

Indonesia

Iran

Mexico

Thailand

Romania

Spain

Italy

Japan

Bangladesh

Brazil

Afghanistan

Egypt

Iraq

Turkey

Sudan

Other

World

Net

irrigated

area

45,349

45,039

21,064

20,162

16,220

7,550

5,750

5,150

4,230

3,450

3,360

3,100

2,868

2,738

2,700

2,660

2,585

2,550

21220

1,890

36,664

235,299

Share of

cropland that

is irrigated

47

25

9

11

78

36

39

21

19

33

17

26

62

29

3

33

100

47

8

15

7

16

SOURCE S Postel Last Oa.ws Facing Waler Scarcity (New

York, NY W W Norton &Co 1992)

double. Further, energy sectors in developing

countries experience a wide range of operational

problems—from crumbling infrastructure to massive training needs. Thus, even if finances were

available it is questionable as to whether supply

could be expanded rapidly.

The concerns surrounding energy needs and

use focus on the forms of energy used, the relative

supply, and associated environmental impacts.

Much of the planned expansion in developing

countries will be supplied by coal and hydropower

followed by gas, nuclear, oil, and geothermal energy resources, Gas turbines may be the most

Energy, whatever the source, IS a prerequisite for

development Here, camel power provides the energy to draw

water from a local well for use in crop Irrigation

promising for the developing world, yet gas currently is not widely used in developing countries

(1 11). Environmental problems linked to fossil

fuel use (e.g., global warming) by and large area

result of Northern industrialization patterns; however, similar problems are evident from industrialization in the South (figure 10). For example,

developing countries now account for 52 percent

of the total energy-related carbon monoxide emissions, largely as a result of increased use of fossil

fuels for transportation and energy (95,121 ). Renewable forms of energy are more likely to contribute to long-term sustainability, but they

currently seem less economically competitive

than traditional energy sources.

1 Developing Countries and

the World Economy

Economic and institutional development in assisted countries and integration of developing

country economies into the world economy have

been consistent themes of international development efforts. Trade, translational corporations,

commercial lending, and aid are the dominant

realms of current international economic relations

(55). Welfare gains generally are associated with

international trade; however, trade-induced competition may lower costs by increasing efficiency
—— —-.—.—

Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in

300 r- ‘

- ‘-

‘

-- 1 ‘ ~ Non-OECD nations

* 5 0 _ OECD nations

— ,

200

(na r -1

J

100

50

0

I II

—

1950 1960 1970 1980 1989

. —

Fossil fuel consumption has grown steadily worldwide with an

increasing share of consumption coming from the developing

world Collectively developing countries now emit more C02

(the primary effluent of fossil fuel combustion and the most

prevalent greenhouse gas) than the industrial nations

OECD - Organlsallon of Economic Cooperation and Development

SOURCES United Nallons Energy Stam[lcs Yearbook (New York

United NatIonsStatlstlcal Off Ice 1982 and 198gJ

or lowering standards (20). The former is consistent with SD as it reduces throughput. while potential for the latter is a major source of concern

for many environmentalists. Indeed, one of the issues in recent General Agreement on Tariffs and

Trade (GATT) negotiations concerned the potential for lowering of environmental standards as attempts are made to “harmonize” standards across

trading partners ( 105). Economic growth without

the proper policy framework is 1ikely to contribute

little to SD.

Trade Liberalization

The basis for liberalizing trade is to increase

wealth in industrial and developing countries by

concentrating resources in the most productive

and competitive sectors to enable countries to

maximize their comparative advantage. In 1ight of

the mobility of labor and capital in the world economy, liberalization

Sustainable Development

can favor countries with

123

low

wages and minimal social or environmental regulations (20). Nevertheless, the trend is toward liberalization, and the current challenge seems to be

to craft trade policies that can be consistent with

SD. Debate centers largely on how trade expansion should occur and what safeguards should be

in place to assure equitable access to expanded

markets (5, 124).

Many view greater market access in developing

and industrial countries as a vital component of

economic development (81,92,94). International

assistance efforts often promote export-led economic growth to integrate developing countries

into the world economy. Outward-oriented development strategies emphasize greater reliance on

market signals, reductions of import barriers, and

removal of distortions that cause internal relative

prices to deviate markedly from world prices.

Economic diversification, lowering of trade barriers, and promotion of foreign direct investment

were central to the current economic success of

Malaysia, Chile, Thailand, and Indonesia. In

1965, for example, 89 percent of Malaysian exports were primary products as compared with

only 28 percent in 1993 (69). Little access to higher-value markets in industrial countries has been

identified as one constraint to developing country

expansion beyond primary commodity exports

(81 ). For example, tariff structures imposed by the

United States and other major importing nations

tend to escalate as products move through the

processing chain, making imports less competitive (1 1 O).

Trade protectionism in industrial countries has

been estimated to cost developing countries nearly $150 billion in lost potential revenues from

agricultural and textile production ($100 billion

and $50 billion respectively) (92,94). The percentage of industrial country imports subject to

nontariff barriers has increased rather significantly since 1966-a highly debated 40 percent increase was estimated by the World Bank in 1988

(53). Policies established in some developing

countries to protect infant industries and support

domestic production also have been criticized for

isolating these industries from competition and
24 I Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development

Trade has long been an economic strategy particularly for

areas where phy.weal resources are limited, Hong Kong,

shown here, has a small per capita land area, yet IS one of the

largest trade centers in the world

innovation, making them less able to move into

the international marketplace (81 ,94). For certain

countries (e.g., Zambia, Uganda), dependence on

single commodity export places even greater

constraints on economic development and stability.

Yet, some analysis suggests that a global policy

shift toward greater outward orientation could

worsen the terms of trade for some developing

countries (5), particularly those heavily dependent on primary commodities. Since 1980, commodity prices have dropped by at least one-half in

real terms, representing an annual loss to developing countries of almost $100 billion in 1993 (69).

World trade in commodities has grown much

more slowly than trade in manufactured goods

and services; a surge in commodity production

and export could spur the decline in international

commodity prices (69). Although liberalization

could stimulate production in developing countries and benefit food exporters, food-importing

countries would likely be hurt (132). Lifting of

nontariff agricultural barriers by industrial countries could increase developing country export

earnings from fruits and vegetables by almost 25

percent. However, the impact of liberalization on

coffee, cocoa, and tea could result in lowering the

international trade value of these important tropical agricultural commodities by promoting increased production (1 32). Free-trade proponents

acknowledge that the gains from trade may be unevenly distributed among countries, implying that

there will be some winners and some losers

(55,124).

The latest round of GATT seeks to liberalize

four areas of economic activity previously the

domain of national legislation: trade in services,

intellectual-property rights, international investment flows, and agriculture. The projected beneficial effects of GATT are debated, however.

Although analysts project a gross world product

(GWP) increase in the trade sector of 4 to 5 percent

above the comparable level as a result of trade liberalization, only an estimated one-third of the income effect will benefit developing countries.11 

The agricultural component has been criticized as

inequitable to developing countries, which tend to

be agrarian-based. Although export subsidies

would be reduced, some observers believe that the

reduction is too small to halt dumping of cheap

agricultural products on developing country markets. Other problematic clauses in GATT from the

developing country perspective are the ability of

countries to limit the required 3 to 5 percent increase in agricultural market openings to certain

products, and the inability to dispute the regulaI I ch]n~ would account for at lea5t one-half of (his amount followed by the rest of Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean. Some poor

countries are likely to run net losses (27, 124).
— —— .—.——

Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development 125

Informal markets characterize much of the rural developing

world and are important in local economies Opportunities to

enhance markets could offer one avenue for local

development

tions for the next six years (10,27,124). Disagreement is by no means limited to developing

countries; in the United States, debate continues

over how to meet the projected shortfall in tariff

revenue (a projected $13 billion shortfall over five

years) (90).

Environmentalists suggest that GATT should

address the needs to eliminate trade barriers that

adversely affect the environment and development, and to allow intervention in trade to protect

primary interests (e.g., tropical forests, biodiversity, food security, climate, etc. )( 124). Opportunities for integrating environmental protection

policies and international trade also have been discussed in the context of other trade agreements

(e.g., North American Free Trade Agreement,

NAFTA). Although the economic and national

benefits of such agreements have been questioned, some analysts suggest that, at a minimum,

these agreements provide the first legal framework for enforcing environmental standards in

production. 12

Encouraging trade and investment in the developing world is likely to depend on government

stability, sound macroeconomic policy. transparent financial policy, investment in education and

training, and ability to rely on domestic savings to

finance investments (81 ). Policies that focus on

export orientation to the exclusion of other companion priorities (e.g., environmental sustainability, human development) are unlikely to fit within

a SD paradigm.

Multinational Enterprises and Development

Multinational enterprises (MNEs) control a substantial part of the global economy today, perhaps

as much as one-quarter of all economic activity in

their host countries. These economic units can

take many different forms such as resource-based,

export-oriented, regional, translational, global,

and distributed (108). Translational corporations

(TNC) may control as much as 70 percent of world

trade and can provide a source of capital for developing countries, accelerate technology transfer,

and develop human resources (94).

The large role played by TNCs evokes a wide

range of concerns from national governments, rival firms, and strategic partners. Some TNCs may

be less concerned with advancing national goals

than with pursuing organization interests—largely growth, profits, proprietary technology, strategic alliances, return on investment, and market

power. Foreign TNCs may make few national in-

} z in ~hc ~r~t ~rgani~ationa] ~eetlng of the en~lronmental ministers of NAFTA, the need for rapid implementation of the COmnliSSIOn ‘or

Environmental Cooperation (CEC) was highlighted (65). CEC is charged with ensuring that participating members adhere to their national

environmental regulations. l%e language, however, is not strong and only provides for intervention in the case of persistent failure to enforce

environmental laws (29).
26 I Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development

vestments; drive local firms from the marketplace; import complex parts for assembly; fail to

provide commensurate pay, benefits, or training

for workers; or extract subsidies from state and local resources. Corporations that operate this way

can hardly be viewed as national assets. Similarly,

firms that move abroad to take advantage of low

wages and lax environmental regulation are not

acting in a nation’s interest ( 108) nor in the interest

of SD.

Nevertheless, broad opportunities exist for

TNCs to promote development through technology transfer and direct investment. Foreign direct

investment (FDI) in developing countries grew

substantially in the 1980s, reaching $32 billion in

1990. However, the percentage of total FDI these

countries attracted declined over the same period

of time. Further, these FDI flows were not evenly

distributed. 13 Investment outflows from many of

the newly industrialized countries (NICs) grew as

well during the 1980s, reflecting efforts to penetrate new markets and access new technology or

provide for other corporation needs. In fact, in

1990, outflows exceeded inflows in the Republic

of Korea and the Taiwan Province of China (94).

The mobility of capital and labor through

TNCs could offer potential for enhancing technology transfer among developing and industrial

countries and promoting education, training, and

information exchange. Yet, the pattern of investment does not favor the least developed countries—those most in need of development aid.

Further, the potential for organizational interest to

override the national interest argue for careful examination of TNC/FDI as a mechanism for development. There are indications that German and

Japanese policies result in greater domestic social

benefits derived from multinational activities than

is evident in the United States ( 108). These policies might provide a template for developing

country governments to ensure that FDI does not

derail national efforts toward SD.

Economic Stability

Sound macroeconomic policies are a vital underpinning of SD and it has long been established that

economic and environmental goals can be complementary and mutually supportive. There are

many examples of good economic policies that

are also good for the environment and human development (e.g., removal of energy subsidies to

promote energy-use efficiency or clarification of

property rights to promote sustainable land-use

practices and provide landowners with a sense of

security and continuity). The USAID economic

strategy states that leadership on macroeconomic

reforms will be largely the purview of the World

Bank, multilateral development banks, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) (99).

The structural adjustment programs of the IMF

and the World Bank are intended to create macroeconomic stability and fiscal-monetary discipline. Structural adjustment activities typically

include economic stabilization and other measures (e.g., budget deficit reductions, devaluation

of currency, price and subsidy reforms, and privatization or reform of public enterprise). The ability

of developing country institutions to undertake

some program components may affect significantly the potential for successful transition to

macroeconomic stability. For example, the rush to

privatization may be inappropriate in a setting

where institutional and technological problems

remain major constraints and where the private

sector and financial markets are weak. Identifying

the appropriate public sector institutional development needs vis-a-vis private sector capabilities

is vital in many developing countries. Central donor questions are: 1 ) what is the desirable ratio of

Is In 1990, tie Majorl(y of inflows to &Ve]Opjn~ countries was concentrated in Asia (61 percent) and Latin America and the Caribbean (32

percent). Very little 1990 FDI went to Africa (7 percent) or the least developed countries (0.7 percent) (69, 94). High rates of domestic growth,

low production costs, and increasing consumer purchasing power are cited as the attractions for the heavy FDI in Asia and the Pacific (94).
Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development 127

public/private sector development to support sector growth, and 2) how can these sectors be supported/strengthened properly to achieve a yet

undetermined desirable size and shape (56).

Critics point out that the typical measures undertaken in structural adjustment may have a disproportionate adverse effect on middle and lower

economic brackets (66, 107) at least in the near and

middle term (box 5). Although spending cuts may

not be disproportionate across sectors, the lower

economic sectors may be less able to absorb additional burdens generated by spending cuts or monetary control measures (e.g., devaluation).

Alternatively, the argument can be made that governments willing to undertake structural adjustment tend to be in such fiscal trouble that

wide-reaching budget cuts would be likely with or

without structural adjustment measures ( 16). In

either case, the challenge to the lending institutions becomes one of addressing institutional factors that will affect the success of a structural

adjustment program and identifying appropriate

avenues for capacity building. Further, the issues

of corruption and governance, although perhaps

beyond the control of IMF or the World Bank

institutional authority, may profoundly influence

the outcome of structural adjustment activities

(75).

The interface of structural adjustment and other

institutional development programs also may

create problems in satisfying loan conditionalities. On the one hand, World Bank lending can influence public sector spending and may generate

a need for large bureaucracies to implement projects. For example, World Bank-financed projects

in Kenya accounted for at least one-half of the development expenditures of the Ministry of Agriculture during 1977 to 1982 (56). On the other

hand, structural adjustment focuses on reducing

budget deficits, government employment, and

overall size of public sector. Clearly, satisfying

both criteria would be difficult at best and depend

in large part on a well-established and capable private sector.

The IMF and the World Bank share a weakness

in creating macroeconomic strategy plans/programs in concert with national governments and

identified beneficiaries (14,66). The World Bank

notes that the commitment of borrowers to funded

operations (i.e., ownership) has received little

attention in the past, but also acknowledges that

host-country participation and commitment to operations are essential to success (66,127). The

World Bank’s new “Action Plan” identifies the

need to address the issues of participation, project

ownership, nongovernmental organization involvement, and project monitoring (127). The

challenge will be for the World Bank to create effective and appropriate conditionalities for its

loans that will reflect equally the needs of the

lender and the borrower.

TECHNOLOGY AND SUSTAINABLE

DEVELOPMENT14

Technology can affect sustainability in a positive

way by reducing throughput and waste and by increasing efficiency and finding alternatives to

scarce resources. Environmental benefits are not

the sole measure of a technology’s contribution to

SD. Appropriateness of scale, use of local resources, and equity are important considerations

as well. For example, raising efficiency in commercial energy use in developing countries could

generate large benefits for the global environment, yet may have little bearing on the poor, rural

majority (figure 11). This group perhaps would

benefit more from widespread availability of

more efficient biomass stoves and technologies to

produce fast-growing trees.

Great strides have been made in the past decade

in pollution prevention and creating cleaner

technologies for industrial production. These efforts encompass production processes as well as

1 ~ See ~ppndix B for a more detailed description of the OTA reports summarized here.
28 I Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development

By the late 1970s and early 1980s many developing countries had created significant debt loads

through a variety of external loans, including development-oriented lending programs. The ensuing

global debt crisis gave rise to the development of structural adjustment programs Structural adjustment programs include economic reforms to expand exports to earn foreign exchange with which to

repay creditors. At the same time, debtor nations become more attractive to foreign investors and thereby shift foreign borrowing into foreign equity investment. Growth has accompanied these reforms in

many cases, but observers also note that much of the basis of national economies has passed to foreign ownership and natural resource extraction for export has Increased (51).

Costa Rica has been described as the most recent of casualties in the structural adjustment arena.

Despite Costa Rica’s political stability and relatively high Iiving standard, economic distress became

evident in 1980 largely due to dependence on export agriculture and attendant price declines in coffee,

increased demand for imports, and high levels of government spending on social programs leading to

a balance of payments deficit Costa Rica undertook structural adjustment under the guidance of the

International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) with U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) funding. The program contained mechanisms to curb inflation, increase the private sector role, increase exports, and reduce government deficits.

Indications are that Costa Rica is in poorer condition currently than it was when it entered into its first

structural adjustment in 1980 Costa Rica’s trade deficit has increased, fiscal deficit and inflatlon continue at high levels, and the increased orientation toward an export economy has exacerbated rural poverty, environmental degradation, and economic instability. Further, gross domestic product has inincreased while real wages have decreased, indicating inequitable distribution of benefits. Infant mortality

rates have begun to rise as has the Incidence of disease, which many link to the declining government

budgets for health, nutrition, and sanitation under the structural adjustment program.

On the other hand, narrow commercial interests have benefited in Costa Rica. For example, export

incentive bonds are available to exporters of nontraditional agricultural products and can be used to

offset taxes or sold for cash Eighty to ninety percent of these bonds (equivalent to 43 percent of the

fiscal deficit in 1991) are held by five translational corporations Import duties have been decreased

and tax concessions and other subsidies drain resources from the government, The impact on small

producers is large prohibitive costs prevent their entrance into the nontraditional export production and

price supports, credits and protection from imports have been slashed for traditional crops (domestic

consumption). Costa Rica now imports nearly one-half of its food supply, as opposed to being nearly

self-sufficient, as it was in the early 1980s (39)

Success or failure? In the case of Costa Rica, it would seem that structural adjustment has failed

with respect to the social, environmental, and economic dimensions of sustainable development, On

the other hand, some adjusters such as Mexico, Chile, Argentina, and Indonesia appear to have been

successful (2) Careful examination of the factors contributing to success or failure of these efforts could

yield Important information for developing countries

material inputs. Some new and emerging technol- been generated primarily to reduce waste. Others

ogies such as recycling, renewable energy, and exist to reduce extraction and increase throughput

low-input agricultural production systems have efficiency. For example, designing products to be
—— ————

Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development 129

cnn – —- –-

duu 7

400

300

200

100

0

I1i

Asia

~- Rural

_ Urban

n Low potential land

~ High potential land

1

Sub-Saharan Latin America

Africa

-–——— –—–— T

i ‘--

780

I

t I 0 200 400

D Rural

_ Urban

U Low potential land

_ High potential land

—- —–—- –

600 800 1000

Of the nearly 780 million Impoverished m the developing world, the majority live m rural areas (83 percent), nearly 79 percent of

the poor of the developing world Iive m Asia

SOURCE H J Leonard, ‘ Overview, ’ Environment and the Poor Development Strategies for a Common Agenda (Washington, DC U S Government

Printing Off Ice August 1993)

durable, ’5 repairable, and recyclable could increase maintenance efficiency, and reduce system

throughput, depletion, and pollution (1 12). Designing living patterns that reduce the need for

certain commodities also can contribute to increased maintenance efficiency (18,3 1,107).

Areas in need of technology development include

food and fiber production, energy production, industrial processes, and waste management. U.S.

executive agency efforts have been moving in this

direction (e.g., the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Low Input Sustainable Agriculture Program and the U.S. Department of Energy’s

Renewable Energy Program), and legislative initiatives have been explored to speed progress

(e.g., Environmental Technology Act of 1994).

Identifying and promoting technology that is

most suitable to the socioeconomic, environmental, and political conditions of a specific development site has been one of the greatest challenges

for assistance organizations (box 6). Introducing

costly advanced technology into developing nations can create as many social and economic

problems as the technology was intended to solve.

Rather, building on traditional methods and

technologies to increase productivity or efficiency

may be more likely to fit the local site conditions.

Appropriateness of scale is a fundamental feature

of successful technology implementation. Improved or low-impact technologies might include

renewable energy technologies, small-scale light

industries, and solid-state communications for

education and/or health care (125,40, 119). Ability

to promote appropriate technology has been hampered by lack of familiarity with traditional systems, aid program designs based on donor

commercial interests (e.g., tied aid, mixed credits), and bureaucratic needs to “move money”

through the programs (62,40).

Leapfrogging describes a development approach that blends appropriate technology and

SD. The goal of leapfrogging is for developing

15 1t is impfiant t. note [hat durability can a]~o be a disadvantage, particularly if it implies continued use of poorly designed, Inefficient,

polluting technologies. In such cases, regulatory measures might become a predominant form of working toward SD.
30 I Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development

The Importance of rice in Indonesia can hardly be overstated It IS the major component of diet; it iS

the country’s principal wage good, and it provides the main source of employment for about 50 million

farmers and farm workers. Research in the early 1980s showed that Infestations of the highly destructive brown planthopper was a result of Indiscriminate insecticide applications that suppressed natural

predators of the planthopper This key finding led to the beginning of one of the most aggressive integrated pest management (1PM) programs ever undertaken

With the help of the USAID and other donors, the Government of Indonesia enlisted the Food and

Agriculture Organization (FAO) m a massive training program to educate farmers about the benefits of

1PM and how it could work at the farm level, Launched in 1986, the goal was to train 1,000 pest observers, 2,000 field extension workers, and 100,000 farmers in three years (41, 42)

Far exceeding original project goals, approximately 2,000 IPM specialists and at least 5,000 extension workers have received intensive field training in 1PM and 250,000 farmers have graduated from

season-long Farmer Field Schools The impact of this training has been great, catching the attention of

international organizations and governments of other countries where traditional rice culture depends

on massive amounts of chemical pesticides Some of the program results included: a 60 percent decrease in pesticide use from pre-lPM years, cessation of pestlclde-induced pest outbreaks in 1PM

areas, dramatic yield and economic return Increases in 1PM areas as compared to non-l PM areas, a

$120 million annual savings from declining pesticide subsidies, and reduced environmental damage

and health risks from pesticide use, and spreading grass-roots support for 1PM (42)

Clearly, the 1PM Program IS a small step in the overall context of sustainable development There are

many other threats to a sustainable environment in Indonesia and 1PM alone cannot provide the productivity Increases necessary to feed the growing Indonesian population Nevertheless, the Indonesian

Rice IPM Program Incorporates many elements essential to success in sustainable development efforts

■

■

■

■

■

SOURCE

The Indigenous people were fully involved in and “took ownership” of the problem-solving

effort

The central, regional, and local governmental bodies were committed to the program.

The program was an “Indonesian Program, ” not a donor program To USAID’s credit, support

was through a grant, Ieaving the key decisionmaking to the Indonesians.

The “Improved practices” (l PM) were economically viable and their adoption was in the economic self-interest of farmers.

The involvement of an International organization—in this case the FAO—provided experience from other countries and disseminated the lessons learned globally,

J G Stovall, “Sustainable Development m Practice Does It Work?” contractor report for the Office of Technology Assessment, April 1994

countries to bypass the environmental and social dard of living comparable to that in the industrial

ills (e.g., pollution, overconsumption) resulting

from the development pattern of the industrial

countries of the North. However, there is much

disagreement over the potential for leapfrogging.

Lack or inadequacy of environmentally sustainable technologies (e.g., renewable energy) is cited

by some critics. Others doubt that following

another development pattern would yield a stancountries. A large part of this challenge might be

met through intensive, collaborative research and

development efforts in sustainable technologies

in conjunction with widespread education and information activities to demonstrate the benefits of

a SD path in industrial and developing countries.

OTA has conducted many assessments of

technologies with potential application in devel-
Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development 131

opment efforts (see appendix B). The information

taken from OTA’s reports covers a wide range of

technologies and resource concerns, related research needs, and institutional roles in development assistance. Although many of the OTA

reports reviewed do not address the concept of

sustainable development directly, they nonetheless contain highly relevant material.

 Agricultural Technologies

The goal of agricultural research and technology

development generally has been to improve productivity and soil and water conservation, and

maintain reasonable costs of food and fiber. Other

interests include improving human nutrition, food

quality, and safety; improving the international

trade balance; and contributing to the economy as

a whole. Recent1 y, more concern has been directed

to reducing agriculture’s adverse environmental

impacts using a systems approach. Agricultural

policy issues with respect to sustainable development include: research and development priorities; regulations and programs concerning trade,

food prices, land ownership, and environmental

quality; and food security and employment. In

many developing countries these needs still are

not met, sustainably or otherwise.

OTA’s examination of the needs of industrial

and developing country agriculture spans many

significant developments: the emergence of appropriate technology and sustainability paradigms, technological advances with potential to

improve agricultural efficiency and productivity,

and the rise of commercial agricultural biotechnology. OTA has provided Congress with options for strengthening the cost-effectiveness of

U.S. participation in international agricultural research, technology development, and assistance

as well as specific considerations and options on

Terracing, a traditional agricultural technology, allows food

production on sIoping lands while reducing loss of soil and

fertility to erosion forces

technologies and policy initiatives to improve

food production in developing countries.

OTA finds that in developing countries much of

the land available to small farmers is only marginally suitable for most forms of agricultural production, and often progressively deteriorates.

Poor soils, characteristic of many moist tropical

forest regions, quickly lose their nutrient content,

and exposure to wind and rain, often on steep

slopes, leads to rapid soil erosion. In arid and

semi-arid regions, low soil productivity also prevails and is accompanied by a short growing season, low and erratic rainfall, and possibility of

drought. Production practices, such as shifting

cultivation, 16 can accelerate the degradation process as well. Given these conditions, erratic, declining yields are common, and generally

expanded cultivation or off-farm employment are

used to make up for these losses. Catastrophic

crop losses, in a climate of chronic food insecurit y, can prompt large-scale civil conflict and migra1 ~ Shi f[ing Cu]tivatlon inko]~es cutting and burning forest, pro~llcin~ crops for a couple of years, abandmin~ the lm~ for ~ “f~llo~’” Wriod,

and then, at \ome time later, repeating the c} cle. Shifting cultivation has increased in man> areas during the M few decades: many people have

migrtited from e~tablished farming areas into forest areas, often along logging roads, and they generally are using shorter fallow periods than in

earlier years ( 1 I 0. 1 I 4, 11 7).
32 I Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development

tion, as has occurred in parts of Africa over the

past two decades.

OTA has concluded in several reports that

greater U.S. contributions to domestic, bilateral,

and multilateral agricultural assistance will be

necessary to increase agricultural production

worldwide. For production increases to be sustainable, however, farmers need technologies

with potential in the following areas

(1 10,115,1 17):

improving the use of local natural resources, including indigenous plants and animals,

improving soil fertility,

improving water availability and efficiency of

use,

fostering genetic improvement in plants and

animals appropriate to local conditions,

improving integration of animal and cropping

systems,

reducing food losses, and

enabling farmers to modernize as this becomes

feasible to them.

Energy Technologies

Energy efficiencies vary in the developing world

but, on average, appear to be much lower than in

the industrialized countries. Low technical efficiencies with which energy is produced, converted, and used in developing countries could be

improved through adoption of proven technologies. On the demand side, these include efficient

lights, cookstoves and refrigerators, cars and

trucks, industrial boilers, electric motors, and a

variety of new manufacturing processes for energy-intensive industries such as steel and cement.

Moreover, numerous technologies at various

stages of development and commercialization

could enhance the efficiency of delivering energy

services.

Technologies to provide and improve energy

services for developing world populations might

include, more efficient biomass stoves to reduce

fuel use and reduce the hazardous smoke

emissions, simple motor-driven systems for

pumping water or grinding grain to reduce the burden of these physically demanding tasks on

Alternatives to fossil fuels may offer a more sustainable

source of energy for developing communities. Here a

windmill provides energy to generate electricity and pump

water from a local well.

women, and energy-efficient pumps, fertilizers,

and mechanical traction to improve agricultural

productivity. Technology also could boost efficiency, quality, and productivity of traditional

small-scale industry, which accounts for one-half

to three-quarters of manufacturing employment in

many developing countries and is an important

source of income for rural and urban poor.

New energy supply technologies have provided

benefits in several areas. Characteristics that make

some technologies more suited than others to developing country needs include:

● Modular, small scale, and short lead times.

Energy supply technologies that are small,

modular, and rapidly implemented can match
Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development 133

m

■

9

■

■

demand growth and prevent large amounts of

capital from being tied up over long periods of

time.

Reliability and performance. In developing

countries, frequent blackouts, brownouts, and

sharp power surges result in lost operating potential, lost production, and more waste for

commercial, residential, and industrial consumers. Technologies that improve operating

and maintenance procedures can improve plant

reliability and performance.

Rural access. Smaller scale technologies

(modern biomass and decentralized renewable)

can bring high-quality energy sources to rural

areas and, thus, promote rural development and

employment.

Environmental benefits. Increased emphasis

on natural gas and other alternative fuel sources

(e.g., biomass systems, renewable energy)

could reduce adverse environmental impacts

compared with conventional sources, and

avoid some of the problems of large hydroelectric and nuclear projects.

Foreign exchange savings. New technologies

that develop local energy resources can reduce

energy imports—which currently account for

at least 50 percent of export earnings in several

of the poorest developing countries.

Employment. Decentralized renewable energy

sources could stimulate employment. Even

though developing countries would, at least

initially, import much of the technology, renewable sources need installation and servicing that could create local jobs.

Widespread adoption of improved technologies could achieve substantial energy savings,

while providing the energy services needed for development. Capturing these energy savings could

help environmental quality and ease the burden of

high energy import bills. However, adoption of

new energy technologies depends on not only the

intrinsic superiority of the technology itself but

also on whether financial and institutional factors

favor adoption. The policy environment that determines patterns of incentives and disincentives

to energy efficiency is crucial to the

new technologies (11 1).

 Environmental Technologies

adoption of

OTA recently looked at environmental protection

issues in terms of the economic and industrial opportunities they may present (106, 109) Environmental awareness, liberalization of trade, and the

presence of multinational firms is leading, in

some developing countries, to more environmental technology imports. Transfer of environmental

technologies can reduce day-to-day operating inefficiencies, emissions of environmental contaminants, worker exposure to hazardous materials,

and risks of technological disasters.

For many developing countries, provision of

basic water, sewer, and refuse disposal services

are major environmental priorities. These are the

areas where spending on environmental technologies is concentrated. While such expenditures can

strain scarce fiscal resources, lack of such services

leads to disease problems. Developing countries

need more sanitary services systems serving rural

and urban areas. Opportunities exist to address

some of these community service needs with appropriate technology (11 9).

Electric power, chemical, petroleum refining,

steel, pulp and paper, food, textile, and other process industries are potential major buyers of environmental technology. Technologies that lead to

more efficient and cleaner uses of energy and materials can be applied to many industries. with

long-term economic and environmental benefits.

Technologies such as forest management and improved agricultural practices are primary environmental needs in some countries (1 10,1 17).

Pollution prevention and cleaner production

technologies are often more cost effective than

end-of-pipe waste treatment technologies. Several OTA reports have discussed the potential of industrial pollution prevention (106,1 12). As noted

in Development Assistance, Export Promotion,

and Environmental Technologies ( 1993), pollution prevention would be a logical candidate for
34 I Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development

Preventive health care has contributed significantly to infant

mortality reductions in many parts of the developing world.

more attention from bilateral and multilateral aid

agencies.

 Tropical Disease-Related

Biomedical Technologies

The broadest measurements of human health have

shown improvement in all developing regions

over the past few decades (e.g., life expectancy at

birth, mortality of children age 5 and below). Nevertheless, of total deaths in 1985, 84 percent were

in developing countries and of these nearly onehalf were caused by infectious and parasitic diseases. Of these, 37 percent were children under 5

(versus 3 percent in industrial countries). Causes

were respiratory infections, neonatal and perinatal

complications, and diarrhea (132).

Vectorborne, tropical diseases remain pervasive problems in the developing world:

1. Malaria is on an upward trend due to insecticide-resistant mosquitoes and resistance of the

2,

3.

4.

parasite to antimalarial drugs; a 7 percent increase was noted between 1985 and 1990.

Schistosomiasis is endemic in 76 countries;

200,000 people die of this each year; 200 million are infected and 600 million are at risk.

Filariasis affects 76 countries; 90 million

people are infected and 900 million are at risk.

Onchocerciasis is endemic in 26 African, two

eastern Mediterranean, and six Latin American

countries; 17.6 million to 17.8 million people

are infected and 85 million to 90 million are at

risk (132).

Two OTA documents about tropical disease

emerged in response to congressional uncertainty

over whether to continue funding the Gorgas Memorial Laboratory in the Republic of Panama:

Quality and Relevance of Research and Related

Activities at the Gorgas Memorial Laboratory

(1983) and Status of Biomedical Research and Related Technology for Tropical Diseases (1985).

U.S.-supported tropical medicine research is

carried out by several multinational programs,

government agencies, universities, and private research foundations and corporations, but OTA

identified the now-defunct Gorgas Memorial Laboratory as one of the few high-quality, broadly

relevant, tropical research institutions located in a

tropical country. OTA suggested such institutions

were needed in the Tropics to provide field information on the occurrence, natural history, and

transmission of diseases, and to test research resuits-e. g., drugs, vaccines, vector control programs—where diseases occur. It was also pointed

out that research institutions in developing countries can serve as training facilities and can help

developing countries retain health science and

other science professionals who otherwise would

likely seek positions in industrialized countries.

International health research centers along the

lines of the International Agricultural Research

Centers (IARCs) could make a large contribution

to improving the health care/maintenance systems

in developing countries. Such centers could identify and analyze the sources of health problems as

well as conduct local research on design and delivery of health maintenance systems (79). Public
Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development 135

Shistosomiasis, continues to be a problem in the developing

world, particularly as new areas are accessed for

development bringing vector and host closer together Here, a

stream IS being sprayed to kill the worms that cause the

disease

expenditure on health in developing countries

grew from 1.0 percent of GNP in 1960 to 3.7 percent in 1988 to 1990; during the same time period,

public health expenditures in industrial countries

rose to 4.2 percent of GNP (92).

Developments in basic and applied biomedical

research also hold promise for more specific disease control measures (11 6). In Status of Biomedical Research and Related Technology for Tropical

Diseases ( 1985), OTA provided an overview of

the major U.S. tropical research and development

supporters (e.g., National Institutes of Health,

Center for Disease Control, U.S. Department of

Defense, and US AID) as well as policies concerning medical technology development, research

funding, and congressional oversight. OTA also

assessed biomedical laboratory research and some

field research pertaining to selected tropical diseases.

Many developing countries are still at a stage

where increased investment in sanitation and

clean water would have tremendous benefits for

controlling tropical diseases. Small and regional

wastewater, drinking water, and municipal solid

waste systems used in U.S. rural areas, which

might be applicable in developing country settings, are discussed along with metropolitan public works in Delivering the Goods: Public Works

Technologies, Management, and Finance (1991).

Most options available for addressing public

works problems in the United States would require considerable support to be duplicated in developing countries.

 Technologies for Local Development

OTA assessed the potential for reducing the costs

of community services using appropriate technology in An Assessment of Technologies for Local

Development (1981). Case studies were conducted of community-based projects for resourceefficient residential architecture, solar greenhouses, small farm systems, farmers markets, resource recovery from municipal solid waste,

wastewater treatment, energy generation, and

health care systems. Critical to all the projects

were public interest; availability of technical information and expertise; material, capital, and financial resources; and various types of financing

(e.g., grants, cost-sharing, contracts, subsidies,

conventional financing).

Appropriate technology projects are developed

according to special conditions and available resources at the community level, thus transfer to

other settings can be problematic. This is already

an observed problem for local-level development

projects overseas, although often for other reaEnvironmental priorities in many urban settings are provision

of basic water sewer, and refuse disposal services Here, a

shanty town in Indonesia Illustrates the problems that may

arose when population exceeds infrastructure capacity.
36 I Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development

Participatory development is one avenue to promote local

“ownership” of development interventions and ensure that

interventions match the existing environmental, social,

political, and economic setting.

sons. Local development and transfer of appropriate technologies in foreign projects is facilitated

most by provision of reliable information on the

design, cost, and performance of the technologies

themselves. Provided these needs have been met,

the remaining barriers are otherwise institutional:

opposition from commercial interests, reluctance

of donors to accept innovative project designs, insensitivity to social or cultural factors, and insensitivity to regulations at various levels of

government or bilateral agreements ( 119).

| Technological Underpinnings for

Sustainable Development

Information, education, and communication

technologies are seen as fundamental to the pursuit of sustainable international development

(107). Attention to these areas will facilitate dissemination and application of previously discussed

technologies.

Expanding opportunities for developing countries to determine their own SD path will depend

in large part on the free exchange of information

among the industrial and developing nations.

Such exchange could be useful domestically as

well, as many local and regional governments

strive toward SD objectives. It may be possible to

choose demonstration sites, for example, places

within the industrial and developing world that are

already on the way to a sustainable solution to a

problem. The state of Maine and the city of Seattle

have sustainability projects, for example. Funding for information and idea exchange could help

multiply similar activities.

Information Sharing

Sharing of information and appropriate technologies has been an underpinning of foreign assistance under the rubric of technology transfer. The

question is how best to transfer information and

technology broadly for SD (box 7). The trend is

toward privatization, in the form of intellectualproperty rights, which can slow the movement of

relevant research into the public domain. However, without such protection, technology developers may be disinclined to invest in research and

development. The challenge will be to find avenues to fund the cost of producing knowledge in

a way that facilitates distribution. One opportunity might be the creation of international centers for

SD that would be cooperatively funded and focus

on collaborative research and technology development.

U.S. academic institutions could take the lead

in sharing information with sister institutions in

developing countries. Alternatively, governments

could consider subsidies to private organizations

as incentives for information exchange. Other incentives might include a change in the university

system to link personal gain and prestige with

conducting developing country research. Ten

years ago, for example, U.S. scientists were working on agricultural technologies for developing

countries, and built careers on this. Now the em-
Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development 137

1. Technology should fit the local biophysical and socioeconomic environment of the adopters and

should have proven successful elsewhere under similar conditions, at least on a pilot scale

2. Technology IS transferred most effectively by direct people-to-people actions involving individuals

with experience in applying the technology. Media presentations (e. g., pamphlets, books, radio)

may assist, but personal Interactions are necessary.

3. Technology transfer agents must be well-qualified and experienced in applying the technology and

able to communicate effectively to potential adopters. Development of expertise in local organizations IS necessary to continue technology transfer beyond the bounds of development assistance

projects and time frames.

4. Even capable adopters may need assistance from facilitators or middlemen in addition to transfer

agents to make the transition from established resource-use methods to new technologies

5. Adopters and transfer agents should be involved in choosing, planning, and Implementing technology transfer so that it wiII meet actual needs and IS appropriate to the setting in which be wiII be

Implemented

6. Interests of all parties involved in technology transfer should be identified and addressed in the

technology transfer effort, each must see how the technology wiII benefit them.

7. Early definition of participant roles is needed so that each is aware of the subsequent steps in the

transfer process and the relationship between their actions and those steps

8. Demonstrations of the technology should take place under environmental, economic, and sociocultural conditions similar to those where it wiII ultimately be Implemented.

9. Commitment of financial resources should be sufficient to carry out the technology transfer until it IS

self-supporting

10, The transfer process must Include mechanisms through which all participants can contribute effectively to Interim evaluations and adaptations.

SOURCE Derwed from a Technology Transfer Workshop held for the Off Ice of Technology Assessment sludyof Techno/og/es to Susfawi Trop/ca/ Forest Resources, OTA-F-214 (Washington, DC U S Government Prlnt!ng Off Ice March 1984)

phasis increasingly is on high-tech discoveries

that are hard to apply and transfer to developing

countries. Research institutions in many developing countries have collapsed, and few facilities exist for U.S. scientists to work there (107).

Other mechanisms for getting more knowledge

into the public domain might include creating national institutes/centers where governments could

monitor technology development and have some

rights of eminent domain to buy promising

technologies at a fair price and make them available. Collaborative Research Support Programs

(CRSPs) could provide a model for foreign cooperation in research and development, and partially

circumvent the information monopolization

trend.

Education

Education is one mechanism through which many

SD objectives might be realized. Needs range

from education at the local level for self- and quality-of-life improvements to education at the deci -

sionmaking level to foster wise planning and

policy choices. For example, access to primary

education for females has shown clear benefits in

reducing fertility, improving nutrition, and decreasing infant mortality (31,1 32).

Achieving SD will rest largely on broad understanding of the interdependence of the Earth’s social, economic, and environmental resources and

the costs and benefits of adopting sustainable

practices. Educational programs at all levels that
38 I Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development

Education has been shown to be a powerful tool for

empowering women and promoting fare@ planning. Here, a

PVO sponsors an educational film on family planning for local

women,

effectively teach the interrelationship among poverty, population growth, unsustainable production

and consumption patterns, and environmental

degradation will be needed.

Numerous educational technologies exist that

promote quick understanding of complex issues.

For example, computer simulation technologies

that present a problem and a variety of possible

solution pathways allow individuals to observe

the results of their choices and increase their

awareness of the downstream impacts of decisions (e.g., Plato, SimEarth). Such tools could be

developed to promote informed decisionmaking

on complex SD issues such as the desired ratio of

births to immigrants. Educational tools that would

allow decisionmakers to examine the myriad

components of such issues could promote wise

planning.

Communication Technology

Communication and information technologies are

playing an increasingly important role in business, trade, health, and education. If current trends

continue, the gap between industrial and developing countries in the use of communication

technologies will continue to widen. Unless

means are found to include developing countries

in the global information networks now being developed (e.g., the Internet), they may fall further

behind.

Computer-based information systems and

modem communications are high-tech, high-cost

enterprises. Large investments and considerable

technological resources are needed to support

these enterprises. Currently, well-financed, hightech, multinational corporations are actively competing to position themselves to benefit from the

need for worldwide communication. Many of the

systems being designed will be capable of delivering immense amounts of information to remote

areas worldwide. Systems such as satellite-based

personal communication systems (PCS) can link

remote areas without expensive fiber optic cables.

However, wireless technology also is extremely

costly and technically sophisticated. Domestic

providers of telecommunication services in the

United States tend to avoid low-density, widely

dispersed rural areas for information and network

services in favor of urban, high-density, businessintensive areas. Similarly, international service

providers may favor industrial over developing

countries.

Several organizations are working toward various aspects of improving communications networks and information availability. The United

Nations Sustainable Development Network

(SDN) is one example of how modem information

technology can be used to assist developing countries maintain and apply data for domestic development activities. The SDN goal is to provide

global access to data on development activities.

Similarly, USAID is improving its Management

Information System (MIS) as a programmatic

tracking mechanism. The Peace Corps is placing

computer Internet connections in its in-country

offices to promote access to a variety of international information sources. Other environmental

data sources are supported through the United Nations Environment Programme, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Consortium

for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN).

These are just a few examples of how information and communication can be linked and
Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development 139

/formation and communication are key underpinnings for

sustainable international development Here, local educators

and extension officers are being shown new techniques via

international telecommunications

deployed to assist resource professionals and decisionmakers and to promote education. The potential payoff for application of this advanced

technology is enormous, and clearly a vital need

for achieving development goals. Coordination of

these and other efforts could generate greater

benefits.

U.S. INTERNATIONAL

ASSISTANCE POLICY

The United States is experiencing changes in its

development assistance approach. In the past decade, underlying concerns centered on the need to

identify and provide solutions that were socially,

culturally, economically, and environmentally

suitable to the development site. The 1990s ushered in increased concern about the proper role

and responsibility of the industrial nations in solving developing country problems. Social, environmental, economic, and political conditions

suggest that new U.S. foreign assistance legislation will be adopted that specifically identifies

sustainable development as a goal. A number of

countries (e.g., Netherlands, Norway, Japan) already have embraced the SD concept to various

degrees (44,45), and the Administrator of the U.S.

Agency for International Development has identified SD as a fundamental goal for international development:

. . . we have an abiding interest in joining with

other industrial powers in promoting sustainable

development. This does not require—and is not

consistent with—an international welfare program; this does not require—and is not consistent with—investments in societies whose

governments do not take the steps necessary to

help themselves. Rather we recognize that SD is

most likely to take place within relatively stable

political systems and sound economic policy

structures (99).

| USAID’s Post Cold-War Rationale for

Foreign Assistance

Increasing global environmental concerns, geopolitical restructuring, and revisions in national

security interests have led to a new vision for U.S.

bilateral assistance. The new USAID Administrator has taken steps to reorganize the agency to improve its ability to address:

poverty and unsustainable patterns of economic

growth,

hunger, malnutrition, and lack of food security,

population growth and rapid urbanization,

new diseases and endemic ailments,

environmental degradation which may ultimately be manifested on a global scale, and

persistent autocracy, oppression, and human

rights abuses (99).

These threats are similar to those identified at

the creation of the U.S. bilateral assistance

agency; however, their order of magnitude has increased as population has nearly doubled during

the past 30 years. Today, US AID plans to address

these threats with four strategic elements: 1) encouraging broad-based economic growth; 2) protecting the environment; 3) stabilizing world

population growth and protecting human health;

and 4) building democracy. As this suggests, the

traditional development approach will be adjusted

to include dimensions of SD.

Foreign policy, commercial, and assistance interests all tend to affect the allocation of U.S. aid

in practice and, thus, attempts to operationalize

SD. For example, tying assistance to trade and

procurement requirements with the donor coun-
40 I Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development

Development aid can be used to encourage donor country exports. Whereas tied aid opens export

opportunities more directly, untied aid may also serve this purpose. Although the precise export promotion effect IS hard to determine, such practices are widely used by many major donors, many of which

also provide substantial non-aid-related export promotion for manufacture goods. In principle, it might

be preferable for all donors to agree to forego tying of aid and let development priorities and the market

determine where aid money IS spent. However, such an agreement is not likely to be achieved in the

near term; for the United States to forego use of such practices could mean that U.S. exports would

suffer in time.

Some contend that the use of aid for export promotion can compromise environmental and developmental goals. Increased costs for purchases restricted to bidding only among donor country firms can

Increase the cost of capital projects and reduce the amount of real aid A capital-projects orientation

could diminish direct aid for basic human needs, although some capital projects may be needed to

assure safe drinking water or treat waste. However, overemphasis on export promotion could bias projects toward overly expensive Infrastructure, with more sophisticated technology than is needed to meet

basic human needs or IS economically sustainable in the target site. Use of such technology can drain

resources from more pressing problems and create dependency on industrial countries. If projects are

paid for with soft loans, they can aggravate developing country debt burdens or balance of payments

problems. Difficulties such as these can reduce a country’s capacity to buy environmental goods or

services without aid and can encourage mismanagement of the environment.

Export promotion could create a stronger development constituency in donor countries, making continuation of aid more likely. But from a practical standpoint, the efficacy of using aid projects to promote

exports IS ultimately Iimited by aid budgets. The U.S. official development assistance budget has declined as a percentage of gross national product over time and iS now well below the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee average. Nevertheless, avenues exist to prevent or mitigate the potential

for the use of development assistance to promote exports to hinder environmental or developmental

goals, including

try-tied aid—”iS used to support donor commercial interests in concert with providing

development assistance. Yet, problems may result. For example, recipient countries may structure development to match what the commercial

sector of the donor country supplies, rather than to

meet their own social, cultural, or ecological

needs (62, 63, 81, 109). When the recipient country has a wide choice of what goods or services it

may purchase with tied aid, it often will be able to

spend the aid on items that it would have purchased from the donor anyway. This is true for

U.S. commodity aid, and may be true for some aid

offered by other donors (109) (box 8; figure 12).

| SD Issues for New Foreign

Assistance Legislation

The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 as amended

is the legislative authority for U.S. international

assistance activities. There is almost unanimous

agreement that the Foreign Assistance Act of

1961 is in need of a complete overhaul (47,85).

Numerous studies, task forces, and commissions

have called for reforms, citing dramatic changes

in the world with implications for foreign aid. Examples include the end of the Cold War era, the

breakup of the former Soviet Union, the transition

to democracy in many countries, and fundamental
Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development 141

1

2

3

4

Environmental studies to identify real needs and priorities, Donors Increasingly fund developing

country environmental studies, environmental profiles, and conservation strategies. DAC has noted

the need for coordination and use of “good practices” in these assessments, USAID has increased

the use of host country organizations to undertake these studies in its [goal] for capacity building.

Additional measures could be taken to assure opportunity for public review and input from NGOs

Use of guidelines in project reviews. Conscientious efforts by donors to ensure that appropriate

guidelines are applied could reduce the potential for transfer of inappropriate technology. Sustainable terms of reference for proposed development activities, most notably infrastructure, could be

developed to support this effort To some extent this is already done by some donors and multilateral

Institutions, yet these ongoing efforts might be broadened to Incorporate additional themes embodied

in a sustainable development paradigm.

Evaluation of technologies, Potential technologies could be evaluated for their suitability to the ldentifled need and target site in the recipient country. Evaluation teams comprised of donor- and hostcountry counterparts could contribute to building recipient country expertise in evaluating alternatives Developing countries may find in many cases that locally available technology IS more suitable

to the identified need, or that exogenous technology can be adapted to fit local conditions.

Provision for operation and maintenance, Projects could be screened to assure that adequate provision iS made for their operation and maintenance requirements once construction IS completed

Education and training IS a critical need, but is often overlooked or Inadequately addressed Similarly,

costs for spare parts or routine maintenance materials need to be reviewed for their compatibility with

the economic conditions of the Implementation site.

SOURCE U S Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Development Asslsfance, Exporf Promorlon, and Erwlronmenfa/

Technology, OTA-BP-ITE-107 (Washington, DC U S Government Prmtmg Off Ice, August 1993)

changes in the global economy. These changes Efforts are ongoing in the 103d Congress to

have called into question some of the basic assumptions and objectives of assistance to developing countries.

Despite repeated calls for reform and several attempts to rewrite the act, Congress has not rewritten the basic law guiding foreign aid since 1961,

and has not revised economic aid strategies since

1973, when the “New Directions” legislation refocused development on basic human needs (104).

However, amendments have been added to it each

year for some 30 years. A recent congressional review (“Hamilton Task Force”) concluded that

conflicts among some of the act’s 33 objectives,

unfocused policy directives, excessive earmarking, and obsolete provisions undermine effective

implementation of the program (103).

craft a revised Foreign Assistance authority and

conditions appear to be more favorable for the rewrite of the act for several reasons. First, the Clinton Administration has given priority to

redefining the purposes of foreign aid, restructuring USAID, and proposing a new foreign assistance bill. Second, with the White House and

Congress controlled by the same party, there is a

better chance that the legislative and executive

branch will work together to pass a revised act—a

missing element in past efforts at revision. Third,

with the end of the Cold War, there is a closer consensus about the basic goals and objectives of foreign aid. The major interest groups supporting

development assistance (private voluntary organizations), universities, environmental organiza-
42 I Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development

1989 1990

Us. Japan France Germany U.K. Us . Japan France Germany

—

SOURCE U S Congress, Offlceof Technology Assessment, Deve/opmentAssistance,Expori Promotion, andEnvwonmenta/ Technology (Washington, DC U S Government Printing Office, August 1993)

tions, and development professionals) seem to

agree on SD as a new overarching theme (85). 17

If Congress chooses to define, clarify, and

enunciate a new policy and strategy for SD, it will

likely need to resolve a number of related issues.

For example:

How and in what detail should sustainable development be defined?

A policy that embraces SD might best be understood and supported by the public if its meaning

evolves out of the legislative debate and is articulated in understandable language. There are numerous definitions of SD, some more precise than

others, some conflicting. Still to be resolved is

how much detail is appropriate for authorizing

legislation; how much should be spelled out in appropriation language; how much should be left to

executive branch strategy and policy documents;

and what guidance Congress should give the Administration in designing and implementing SD

programs.

Given the conflicting notions of SD, there may

be a need to spell out its meaning more carefully

than policy documents ordinarily would. The implementing agency would need to go further and

spell out in detail not only what it expects to accomplish under the rubric of SD, but also how it

is to be accomplished and what the indicators of

progress will be and how we will know when it has

been accomplished. The Clinton Administration

has made a start on defining SD but still has yet to

fully articulate answers to these questions (85).

How much should foreign assistance programs

focus on sustainable development?

There are several purposes that foreign assistance programs have served historically. Some of

these programs may fit well with SD, but others

may not. Public policy, in the form of authorizing

and appropriating legislation, could spell out what

other purposes and programs still are viable and

the resources to be devoted to each. If SD is to be

the centerpiece, how many other purposes can be

17 Agreement on SD as he over arching ~eme would only remove some of the barriers to passage of a foreign assistance act since it covers a

number of programs, including military assistance. But, agreement on SD would certainly be a significant step.
—-

Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development 143

accomplished without diluting or countermanding these efforts? The Administration legislative

proposal spells out five objectives besides SD: 1)

building democracy, 2) promoting peace, 3) providing humanitarian assistance, 4) fostering trade

and investment, and 5) advancing diplomacy. It is

not clear what the priorities are among objectives,

the level of resources required to achieve objectives and where responsibility will rest for the programs authorized under each objective—in

USAID, the Department of State, or elsewhere.

There is also ambiguity as to how those programs

with development implications will relate to SD.

These are questions that Congress will have a

chance to address in a new foreign assistance act

(85).

How much of the sustainable development program should focus on science and technology?

A number of experts have stressed the inadequacy of the knowledge base to implement SD

programs and have pointed to science and technology as the means through which the knowledge

base could be increased. Some have suggested

that since so little is known about how to meet the

needs of future generations in environmentally

sustainable ways, public policy should invest

heavily in a research agenda for SD (44,79). Investment in science and technology, then could be

the best means of ensuring that the needs for the

next generation are met. The research agenda

would seek to develop substitutes for critical natural resources and increase the productivity of all

resources. With a shrinking budget for foreign aid,

the question is how much to invest in science and

technology with a payoff in the distant future, and

how much to devote to solutions for more immediate problems.

Most development experts agree that research

is most likely to be relevant and put to use if it is

the product of collaborative efforts among scientists and institutions in industrial and developing

countries. SD is not likely to be achieved by conducting research in industrialized countries and

applying it in developing countries. Rather, it is

the actions of people who live in those countries

that will matter. If developing country scientists or

Developing countries have only 6 to 7 percent of the world's

active scientists and engineers (RSL/NAS, 1992) The

challenge is as enormous for these professionals as It IS for

bilateral and multilateral assistance organizations active in

international development

institutions need strengthening to address the

challenge of SD, then development assistance

could be used to help improve these conditions

(85).

What institutional capacity is necessary to advance sustainable development programs?

Designing and implementing SD programs is

much more difficult, many would argue, than

traditional development projects. SD involves

complex interactions between the ecosystem and

development interventions, more sophisticated

approaches, and improved monitoring and evaluation systems. Consequently different kinds of

skills and knowledge are required. Many SD advocates question whether USAID has the institutional capacity to administer such programs

successfully and whether it has the mix of staff

with the requisite skills and experiences.

Several studies and task forces have lamented

the declining technical staff capacity in US AID as

the agency has absorbed operating budget cuts and

given priority to generalists and “process managers” in staffing decisions. Although much of the

technical expertise needed for SD can be obtained

through contractual arrangements, a solid core of
44 I Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development

professionals who have advanced training and

first-hand knowledge about the ecological, human, and economic variables involved in development is needed. In defining SD public policy,

Congress may want to consider the steps USAID

has taken or will need to take to strengthen its human resource capacity to design and implement

SD programs.

Regardless of how different issues are resolved,

it is clear that SD has changed the nature of the debate about what our development assistance program should be all about. It has brought disparate

interest groups together to talk about how development can make life better for future generations

and reverse environmental degradation. The evidence suggests that SD is the development concept of the 1990s, if not for the next century (84,

85).

CONGRESSIONAL POLICY OPTIONS

Sustainable development embodies multiple,

complementary themes that cross U.S. foreign

and domestic policy boundaries. Issues such as

family planning, energy efficiency, sustainable

agriculture, and resource conservation clearly are

relevant to SD in the industrial and developing

world. Working toward SD will involve more than

simply retreading an existing foreign assistance

system. The options discussed below relate to opportunities for Congress to support or advance SD

and are presented under the following policy

themes: 1 8

■ coordinating U.S. foreign and domestic policies so that they are mutually reinforcing,

● eliminating barriers to SD, and

■ developing and disseminating technologies for

SD.

| Coordinating U.S. Foreign and

Domestic Policies

An integrated approach to creating SD policy

would involve domestic and foreign policy. In

fact, many experts agree that the United States

must adopt a SD approach domestically if it is to

succeed with the approach internationally. In

USAID Administrator’s Brian J. Atwood’s

words:

[The development agenda is] not radically

different from the agenda we face here at home.

We must empower people in South Central Los

Angeles as well as Somalia; we must create the

kind of infrastructure and training and economic

policy that will create jobs in Rhode Island as

well as Russia; we must build the kind of respect

and human understanding that brings peace to

Detroit as well as to Bosnia . . . . It is hard to

solve our problems here; it is even more difficult

to solve them abroad. But both must be addressed because they are interrelated (l).

Similar concern for applying SD domestically

exists in other countries (44). Japan, for example,

has drafted a plan to promote sustainable domestic

lifestyles, development of environment-related

technologies, and technology transfer to developing countries (45). Differences in the goals of foreign and domestic policies could contribute to an

uncoordinated approach toward SD. Numerous

organizations are examining various international

and domestic aspects of furthering SD (54, 130).

Integrating these findings and achieving complementarily between foreign and domestic policy

relevant to SD is likely to be critical for success in

both arenas.

Congressional Coordination of

Domestic anti Foreign Policy

The movement toward SD has gained momentum

in recent years and, given existing global environmental, social, and economic concerns, this effort

is likely to intensify. Numerous reports have been

and are being prepared that identify possible future scenarios and related needs for sustainability

(e.g., Global 2000 Report to the President, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, The

President’s Council on Sustainable Development

[~ Spcific ~pllons ~e]a[ed t. sector issues, such as energy or agriculture, that are discussed in appendix B CarI k found in tie referenced

OTA report.
Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development 145

(PCS D), the 2050 Project). The work ranges from

regional to global in scope (e.g., Sustainable

Seattle versus the 2050 Project) and the potential

for information overload for policy makers maybe

great. Despite uncertainties, policymakers increasingly will be called on to make decisions regarding directions for future scientific research

and development. This is already apparent in efforts catalyzed by concern over global climate

change.

Definitional and conceptual differences among

the numerous supporters of SD could mean that

efforts will be fragmented and lack common

direction. Opportunities to resolve these differences and build consensus may come from ongoing research efforts, 9 although experience tells us

that such efforts do not always result in overwhelming support. The results of ongoing studies,

such as the PCSD and the 2050 Project, may generate the needed information and suggest sensible

policy actions to achieve sustainability in the

United States. The information and policy suggestions that will arise from these efforts is likely to

be substantial. If the United States is to take an integrated approach to SD, policy decisions must be

made in a coordinated fashion. Currently, no

single congressional committee exists to deal with

all of the related aspects of SD. As the range of SD

issues and potential actions increases, policy decisions may become fragmented without a congressional coordinating mechanism. For Congress to

oversee the network of diverse activities and efforts under way in executive branch agencies dealing with SD, mechanisms to facilitate

congressional oversight are likely needed.

Option : Congress could create a special Joint

Committee on Sustainable Development charged with

jurisdiction for and oversight of U.S. SD efforts.

Creating a joint, congressional committee designed to deal specifically with the many issues

surrounding SD could expedite congressional actions on opportunities to work toward SD. U.S.

executive agencies would have a focal point

where integrated approaches to SD could be handled easily and effectively. Similarly, congressional oversight of executive agency SD programs

and activities could be facilitated, providing a

greater opportunity for a coordinated approach.

On the other hand, creating a new committee

could be costly. At a time when Congress is trying

to reduce the number of committees and subcommittees, creating anew committee could be politically untenable. Interest in deficit reductions

could override concerns for establishing a single

home for SD. Furthermore, joint committees can

be hamstrung by political polarities that might

create a bottleneck as opposed to streamlining decisionmaking. In addition, the range of issues associated with SD is so broad that it could be

difficult for a single committee to address them all

adequately.

OPTION: Congress could establish Subcommittees

for Sustainable Development in the House Foreign Affairs and Senate Foreign Relations Committees.

Sustainable development subcommittees in

these two major committees with jurisdiction over

foreign assistance could promote coordination of

the broad range of activities that will emerge under the rubric of SD in international affairs. At one

time, these committees contained Subcommittees

for Development Assistance for similar reasons

but subcommittee structure has since adopted a

primarily geographic orientation (versus strategic

or functional). Congressional oversight of development will be increasingly important to promot19 me ~e~lden[.~ Council on Sujtalnab]e Development (PCSI)J is a 25 member council charged with developing approaches ‘ntcgrate

economic, social. and cnvlronmcntal policies to put the United States on a sustainable path by the } car 2050. The final product of the PCSD will

include rccommerdations for a sustainable development strategy and needed policy changes (54). The 2050 Project expands on thi~ thcme to

provide guidance to Po]ic} mtiherj worldwide to achieve a sustainable global system ( 130).
46 I Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development

ing SD, particularly given the movement toward

more objective-driven legislative initiatives (e.g.,

the proposed Peace Prosperity and Democracy

Act) (58), and the understanding that continuous

earmarking, and so forth can fragment development efforts. However, these sustainable development subcommittees would have jurisdiction only

over the foreign assistance aspect of SD. Many

feel that the domestic SD needs are the most critical in pursuing SD.

Coordination of International

Assistance Activities

SD is a broad-based goal and the impact of one donor is likely to be small. Many bilateral and multilateral groups are adopting an SD paradigm for

their development activities. Coordination of the

numerous organizations involved in development

poses a difficult problem, yet it could yield large

benefits in achieving comprehensive SD goals.

Further, many factors other than development assistance may contribute to successful development outcomes. For example, looking at

agricultural development in Africa, one expert

noted it is “difficult to find much connection between where donor assistance went and where

growth occurred.” In this instance, donor coordination was identified as a significant need. Although the increase in donor agencies has meant

more assistance funds, it has been accompanied

by inconsistent aid policies among donors, large

administrative burdens being placed on inadequately prepared recipient institutions, lack of defined priorities and goals, and lack of a cohesive

and integrated agricultural development strategy

for Africa (56).

Lack of donor coordination can result in duplicative or counterproductive efforts. Development

funds may be spent on similar projects without incorporation of “lessons learned.” Similarly, lack

of coordination can result in lost opportunities to

concentrate resources on solving mutually identified problems. Such lost opportunities may have

high costs in terms of overall donor funding.

OPTION: Congress could appropriate funding for an

Interagency Development Coordinating Council

(IDCC) with an express goal of supporting SD,

A coordinating council was formed during the

Carter Administration to provide an avenue to improve communications among the array of U.S.

agencies and organizations involved in various aspects of development (58,85). However, this body

has been dormant since the late 1970s. Congress

could reactivate this organization to promote

coordination of all of the U.S. agencies with responsibilities in international development to ensure that activities promote SD. Although the

body would be a bilateral coordinating effort, it

could ensure uniformity among U.S.-supported

activities.

Further, an IDCC could foster the exchange of

ideas among U.S. assistance organizations. Broad

exchange of ideas on issues such as participatory

development, technology transfer, and institution-building could generate benefits for all participating agencies as they refine their sustainable

development activities. For example, the InterAmerican Foundation has developed significant

expertise in grass-roots development over the last

25 years and could offer important insights into

participatory development approaches.

On the other hand, an inadequate committee is

often worse than no committee at all, and many organizations already perceive themselves as “overcoordinated.” The additional bureaucratic

requirements could divert valuable staff time from

other action. Careful identification of the IDCC

authority and goals would be key to addressing

such potential problems. Congress could design

the IDCC mandate based on the SD goals identified in the revised foreign assistance authority. In

addition, for the council to be an effective coordinating mechanism it may be necessary to endow

it with Cabinet-level authority and the appropriate

financial resources (4). This may be difficult in the

context of current concerns about government expansion and the budget deficit.
Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development 147

| Eliminating Barriers to

Sustainable Development

A variety of barriers exist in the industrial and developing world that may hinder efforts to advance

SD. The most prominent is the lack of broadbased public awareness and a constituency for

sustainable development. Addressing the popular

perception that sustainable lifestyles will mean increased personal hardship and lower quality of life

is likely to be a key need in pursuing SD anywhere. Other barriers include slow development

of needed technologies to support SD, large developing country debt load and economic instability,

lack of developing country partnerships for development, short-term assistance cycles, and inadequate mechanisms to measure development

progress.

Creating a Constituency for

Sustainable Development

Creating and implementing SD will depend not

only on technological ability but also on international, national, regional, local, and individual

commitment (box 9). Building public support for

SD will be critical to success of policy actions designed to reduce consumption and advance sustainable living. Widely distributed information on

SD could contribute to public interest in opportunities for adopting less resource intensive lifestyles.

OPTION: Congress could create a special grant to

promote development of educational materials on sustainable Iivelihoods/lifestyles for the public and national

decisionmakers.

Educational materials that provide opportunities for the public and decisionmakers to explore

various SD options and potential consequences of

certain actions could elevate public awareness of

SD issues. Educational materials have been prepared for some years for USAID through the Futures Group, while the RAPID project has been

providing Cabinet briefings internationally since

the mid- to late- 1980s on a variety of similar issues (4). Specific focus on SD could be incorporated into these efforts.

A variety of interactive software packages have

been developed around certain policy issues. For

example, one simulation sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution demonstrated the potential

problems and opportunities for accommodating

human populations while protecting rain forest resources. Other packages have addressed issues

such as city planning, population planning, and

health care reform (e.g., Plato, SimCity, SimHealth). Similar materials could be designed to increase understanding of sustainable lifestyles for

many educational levels (e.g., primary, secondary,

advanced, adult). Other materials could be prepared to assist decisionmakers in understanding

policy choices and the impacts of decisions on advancing SD. Educational materials would be

needed that could promote systems analysis and

demystify sustainable livelihoods (e.g., Netherlands Green Plan).

However, the time lag before completion could

be lengthy and information and technology diffusion often can be slow. Nevertheless, benefits

from investing in this information could be significant. Materials could be developed cooperatively

with developing country counterparts to generate

more immediate benefits and perhaps facilitate

dissemination of the information on completion.

Further, grant costs would likely be small

compared with a full government program for information development and could encourage participation of the U.S. and international academic

community. Associated requirements for distribution and display of some types of educational materials (e.g., computer networks or workstations)

could be a problem in some instances. However,

with the increasing emphasis on international

communications and computer networking, these

difficulties may be overcome (e.g., GLOBE program, Peace Corps) by the time materials are

ready for dissemination.

Creating a constituency for development may

also be hindered by the mixing of development

and other foreign policy goals. Development is

popularly perceived as taking money from poor

people in rich countries and giving it to rich

people in poor countries. In some respects this

perception is driven by the significant level of cap-
48 I Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development

1, Fragmentation of efforts. The sheer numbers of U.S. actors and agencies involved in development

militates for a strong coordinating mechanism within the U.S. government.

2. Bureaucratic behavior and turf battles. Power structures, turf battles, and normal bureaucratic behavior within the Department of State and other governmental departments pose barriers to appropriate support for sustainable development,

3. Misconceptions about what sustainability means. The popular perception that undertaking a sustainable development path will result in revisiting problems overcome in the past hinders support for

sustainable development domestically and internationally.

4. Internationally integrated and controlled markets and economies. The role of national governments

in managing the economy is difficult because of the movement toward global markets. internationally integrated economies may be thought of as an obstacle to sustainable development or as a new

condition that carries opportunities, for example, for bilateral development programs to work with

and help national governments operate in the world economy.

5. Loss of community. Community development is fundamental to creating the commitment needed for

sustainable development. Foreign assistance has had mixed results in strengthening communities.

6. Corrupt use and misuse of development assistance funds, Inadequate attention has been directed

to the impact of corruption on how capital is organized in development assistance; in many cases,

assistance transfers not capital, but foreign exchange. Yet nonfungible capital transfers have been

criticized as well (e.g., tied aid, mixed credits).

7. Lack of a sustainable development role model. Domestic inexperience at developing and promoting

sustainable opportunities hinders U.S. ability to do the same in international assistance.

8. Failure to follow up on successes. USAID has a tendency to recognize success but do nothing to

spread the example; developing demonstration sites from successful activities could expand awareness of sustainable opportunities,

9. Privatization versus sharing of knowledge. The trend to monopolize or privatize knowledge in the

form of intellectual-property rights precludes the broad Information exchange that is needed in sustainable development.

10. State of research and development institutions. Much U.S. research is irrelevant to ’’real world” problems largely because of a failure to reward problem-oriented research,

SOURCE U.S Congress Office of Technology Assessment, Approaching Sustainable Development, working group held In Washington DC, December 7, 1993

ital transfers under military and security assist- objectives and commercial needs that can be at

ance efforts. These transfers have been subject to

widespread public scrutiny and various degrees of

dissatisfaction, leading some to distrust foreign

assistance in its totality.

OPTION: Congress could formally separate the

budget and responsibility for administrating security

and military assistance from the foreign operations account and @ace it with the Department of Defense.

Aid allocation in practice often is determined

by practical considerations such as foreign policy

odds with pursuing SD. The underlying precepts

for assistance identified by USAID and Congress

(e.g., economic growth, democracy, population

and the environment) might be able to promote

SD better if they were unfettered by other political

motivations (e.g., national security, military assistance, etc.). Separating the foreign policy and

development agendas by explicitly separating associated budgets and responsibilities might be one

opportunity to work toward this goal. Formally

separating security assistance from foreign aid
Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development 149

programs in the legislative process could help

Congress weigh the costs and benefits of each to

the United States.

Internalizing the Costs of Production

Lack of internalizing the environmental costs

(e.g., resource consumption, waste production) of

many industrial production practices has been

suggested as a major constraint to the development of more environmentally friendly industries.

However, little quantitative research has been

conducted to determine to what extent externalizing production costs may hinder development of

environmentally sound industries (28). Environmentalists and many others have been calling for

industry to internalize the total costs of production

for at least a decade. While legislation has sought

to discourage environmentally damaging industrial practices through “polluter pays” efforts,

many see the need for greater, more comprehensive actions. Taxing consumptive industries to

force internalization of externalities may slow

growth in these sectors, but could be accompanied

by growth in non-consumptive (e.g., service), recycling, and research and development (e.g., efficiency improvements) sectors.

OPTION: Congress could direct the Congressional/

Budget Office (CBO) to conduct a study of the opportunities for revising U.S. tax laws to encourage industry to

internalize the full costs of production using criteria that

are consistent with SD.

Rather than a series of specific fines and regulations for industry relative to the overall consumptive and polluting effects of production, Congress

could examine alternative opportunities to promote positive efforts. Tax law revision, for example, could reduce the tax liability of industries that

take steps to reduce their environmental/resource

base impact. Incentives could be based on cleaner

production processes, use of recycled production

materials, conservation activities, and so forth.

A CBO study could identify a range of possible

options and the potential associated environmental, social, and economic impacts. Although a

‘“polluter pays” approach collects revenue, it does

not necessarily reduce contaminating activities.

The CBO effort could identify mechanisms to

shift industry/production toward sustainable practices simultaneously with internalizing costs. The

study could include analyses of revenue needs at

the transition end and potential opportunities for

meeting these needs.

Developing Country Debt loads

Economic situations in assisted countries dramatically influence the effectiveness of development

activities. Heavy debt loads can reduce national

economic support for important development

work and can result in redirection of economic resources to repay existing loans. For example,

some countries’ bilateral debt to the United States

alone far outstrips their annual gross national

products (e.g., Bolivia, Peru). This situation can

lead to debt servicing that hinders national government investment in development activities.

The issue of developing country debt has been

highlighted since the great debt crises in the

1980s. Although efforts have been made to reduce

the debt burden through such vehicles as debt-fornature swaps, developing country indebtedness

remains a constraint to development efforts. In

fact, developing country indebtedness is considered by many to be one of the largest constraints

to promoting SD, as is the ease with which debt

can be created and recreated through lending

mechanisms (66, 107). Reduction of overwhelming foreign debt and excessive new borrowing is

seen as fundamental to fostering effective national

development strategies. Debt forgiveness may be

an essential part of this approach, but it must be

done in a framework that precludes immediately

recreating debt. Development grants could offer

an opportunity to slow debt buildup. USAID appears to have had success with its grant aid effort

in the Philippines; an endowment for resource

protection was created and is administered by

host-country professionals, who in turn work with

local organizations and communities (52).

OPTION: Congress could create a Debt-for-Development swap tailored to the participating assisted

countries’ priority development needs (as identified by
50 I Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development

an interdisciplinary council) to promote national progress.

Debt swaps created specifically to meet priority

needs of assisted countries would recognize the

heterogeneity of developing countries and be designed to promote progress on a case-by-case basis. Different “swaps” would be appropriate for

different participants. For example, if the priority

need for an assisted country was secondary school

education, the program could be created as a Debtfor-Education trust with appropriate criteria included. It was proposed at a recent United Nations

Educational, Science, and Cultural Organization

(UNESCO) conference in Nairobi, Kenya (93)

that debt swaps could be used to finance science

and education training partnerships with industries.

However, debt swaps alone will be insufficient

to promote SD without adequate investment in

supporting policies and technologies. Since these

policies and technologies remain uncharted in

many respects, it could be difficult to identify

appropriate conditions for successful swaps. Enhanced abilities on the parts of national governments to monitor and evaluate actions would be a

critical component for success.

Building Development Partnerships

The importance of participatory approaches in development has received widespread attention and

has been expressly identified in existing U.S. foreign assistance legislation. A World Bank internal

study showed strong correlation between participatory development and project success (66, 127).

For example, the success of the USAID-sponsored Indonesian Rice Integrated Pest Management Program was largely attributed to broad

participatory efforts (41 ,42,86). Nevertheless,

local participation in project development and

planning is not consistently part of assistance efforts, perhaps for reasons internal to USAID or

due to resistance on the part of the host country

government. Yet, increasing the local role in development activities could contribute to capacitybuilding in assisted countries as well as increase

the likelihood of investing in activities that are

suited to the local scale of need and the sociocultural, economic, and environment setting. The regional development foundations (RDFs) have a

good record in promoting grassroots development

and could offer an opportunity for increasing participatory development activities.

OPTION: Congress could increase the role of the

U.S. regional development foundations (e.g., Peace

Corps, InterAmerican Foundation, African Development Foundation, Appropriate Technology Intemationa/) in order to promote participatory development.

USAID is reducing the number of its missions

and simultaneously expanding its area of application with the dissolution of the former Soviet

Union. In some developing areas, other assistance

organizations may be the largest development

presence. Giving an increased role to the U.S.

RDFs could address the need for grass-roots development efforts and further catalyze policy and

institutional change in assisted countries. Responsibility for the small project functions currently

undertaken by USAID could be placed with the

appropriate RDF (figure 13). The funding needed

for foundation systems generally is small

compared to current assistance expenditures because their activities tend to be small-scale at the

grass-roots level. Foundations tend to be more

flexible in their operations, have greater success in

participatory project planning and development,

have greater ability to mobilize local human and

institutional resources, and be less susceptible to

problems associated with large-scale projects

(e.g., bribery, corruption, bureaucratic processes).

However, the existing U.S. RDFs tend to be

small in terms of personnel and budget, and rapid

expansion could be detrimental to their successful

operating structure. In addition, some assisted

countries are not covered by RDFs. A decision

would have to made on whether to create a new

RDF, leave responsibility with USAID, or expand

regional foci. Alternatively, the RDFs could take

on strategic as opposed to regional foci and restructure their operating areas. In any case, a paced

transition to expand RDF responsibilities and increase staffing and managerial capacity would be
Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development 151

needed. The transfer of responsibility y and funding

from USAID to specific RDFs could take place

over several years, perhaps based on strategic

priorities as identified in U.S. foreign assistance

legislation. This transition period could promote

information and idea exchange among the U.S. assistance organizations and foster more formal

coordination either through an IDCC or some other body.

Length of Commitment

The long-term nature of SD is likely to require a

revised approach to donor interventions, including lengthening project cycles and opportunities

for gradual discontinuance of aid. Long-term efforts will be necessary to promote development

and adoption of sustainable options as well as to

provide necessary support during transitional

stages. Nevertheless, short-term project cycles are

standard in U.S. development activities, due in

part, to financial management requirements.

In some cases, assistance is discontinued too

early in the development transition or there is failure to make a gradual but steady transition from

USAID-based to host country-based management

over the course of a project (88). Thus, when the

transition occurs it may be difficult for insufficiently prepared nationals to continue the activity

without assistance.

OPTION: Congress could expressly identify “no

year” funding status for USAID development projects to

remove the current constraints associated with fiscal

year spending and short-term project deadlines.

Risks to natural resource systems and development assistance recipients may be reduced if projects have: 1 ) an extended technical planning

phase, 2) a gradual phase-in period for adaptation

of technology to the site’s ecological and social

conditions, and 3) a sufficient time frame to

achieve results despite likely mid-term project realignment. However, internal organization impetus to keep funds moving and to achieve

measurable results quickly operate against these

approaches. Short project duration makes it diffiDU s . EE!E!!Y

Congress

< ‘r&L -1 Assistance Agency

-3 ?

0“Regional

Development

Foundations

(RDFs) <

—— v

=7Host-country

LocalityK government

>

Community

I

Formal coordination

Informal coordination

Expanding the role of regional development foundations

to undertake the small-project activities of U S

intemational assistance efforts could offer an opportunity

to increase participatory development at the local level.

Communicatlon and coordination among all of the

involved agencies would remain a critical condition for

successful activities

SOURCE Off Ice of Technology Assessment 1994

cult to introduce technologies or implement projects gradually, and presents a serious obstacle to

making mid-term corrections in response to monitoring and evaluations. Similarly. contractors and

aid organization staff are keenly aware of the urgency for each project to produce substantial,

quantifiable results by the end of its period. Production targets stated at the beginning of three- to

five-year projects often necessitate rapid implementation of technology interventions and, therefore, major project realignments may be viewed as

counterproductive. Further, managers of short

projects cannot easily accommodate major unexpected changes in their projects. Instead of today’s

common three- to five-year USAID projects, a

duration of 10 to 20 years maybe more appropri-
52 I Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development

ate, particularly in light of the long-term nature of

SD goals (40).

Congress normally requires USAID funds to be

spent within one fiscal year. However, other approaches have been tried. For example, Congress

acted to make funds “available until expended”

for the Sahel Development Program. Reportedly,

the experiment was only somewhat successful.

Some agency personnel still believe that, even

though unspent funds from the current year will

not be “lost,” the next year’s funding is likely to

be reduced by at least the unspent amount (40).

However, extending project budget cycles by

invoking “no year” project funding might promote inefficiency. Strong mechanisms for monitoring and evaluation would be necessary to

eliminate or reduce this possibility. Alternatively,

Congress could allow USAID the authority to

deobligate and recommit funds if projects are not

working (4). Much of the motivation to “move the

money” is generated by bureaucratic pressure to

expend each year’s budget as support for future

year requests.

OPTION: Congress could direct USAID to investigate opportunities to develop sustainable development demonstration sites for countries moving toward

SD,

USAID could identify opportunities to continue a certain level of support for assisted countries

demonstrating successful transitions toward sustainability. One opportunity to continue support

after initial development successes would be to

identify and support sustainable development

demonstration sites (107). Sites could be selected

from those development cases demonstrating success in efforts toward sustainable development.

Such demonstration sites could help to clarify the

benefits and costs of adopting sustainable lifestyles. Another option might be to create a category of “partnership status” with the United States

that could promote information and technology

exchange.

However, budget concerns may argue for ending support as soon as possible after certain development goals are met. Lower-cost alternative

methods of assistance could be identified in the investigative effort. For example, support might be

maintained through joint donor funding with other countries adopting a SD approach to international assistance. In addition, international

enterprises might be appropriate partners in certain cases.

Measuring Sustainable

Development Progress

Reliance on GNP as an indicator of development

progress or quality of life may mask real changes

in human welfare. The individual factors that contribute to GNP fluctuations are not easily apparent

because they are incorporated under a single indicator. Disaggregating the reporting of GNP could

make transparent what specific factors are changing and improve ability to direct efforts more appropriately. For example, a country’s GNP could

increase due to increasing costs of health care, but

this does not necessarily translate into benefits

that accrue to the population on a broad scale. The

lack of a direct correlation between GNP and improvement of the human condition argues for a

broader approach to measuring development

(107). “Green” accounting efforts are being made

by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis to devise a method of including the environmental

costs of economic growth in economic statistics

(12, 35).

OPTION: Congress could direct the Secretary of the

Treasury to disaggregate the reporting of GNP into its

constituent pieces to reflect more accurately the quality

of life in the United States.

A sharp distinction exists between standard of

living and quality of life. They may be complementary, but they are not proxies for one another.

Nations with high standards of living do not necessarily have similar ratings in terms of quality of

life or human development. Disaggregating the

reporting of GNP would assist in identifying what

factors are responsible for fluctuations in the indicator and improve ability to determine if these

fluctuations beneficially or adversely affect quality of life.
Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development 153

Similar benefits could be derived from improving assisted country reporting systems. Such reporting could also be used to identify appropriate

areas/sectors for development efforts, as well as

indicate success/failure of activities. Creating this

capacity in assisted countries would promote their

ability to choose desirable development paths as

well.

However, even disaggregated, economic indicators alone are ill-suited to measuring sustainability. Existing indicators are unable to reflect

sustainability or changes in quality of life as they

do not distinguish the difference between quality

of life and standard of living. The United Nations

Development Programme has gone a long way in

improving the process by incorporating noneconomic indicators to increase the accuracy of the

output vis a vis actual improvements in quality of

life. Nevertheless, these indicators still can be improved (as UNDP notes in its Human Development Report 1993) since some of the themes of SD

are unaccounted for.

OPTION: Congress could create a cooperative task

force composed of representatives from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Department of the

Treasury to develop a Sustainable Development Index

(SDI) designed to reflect the sustainability of the United

States more accurately than GNP or the UN Human Development Index (HDI).

In addition to the indicators incorporated in the

HDI,20 an SDI would at a minimum include:

■

■

quantity and quality of natural capital (renewable and nonrenewable resources);

internal migrations (reflecting contentment of

populations, etc.);

tensions/conflict (more sensitive than just measuring conflicts like those in Bosnia or Somalia

but also local level tensions leading to crime,

etc.; this indicator would also pick up such

things as human rights abuses); and

● self-reliance factors (measurements of imported/exported resources, use of local resources versus imported resources, etc.).

Measuring development progress implies

availability of functioning national information

systems capable of compiling and generating

needed data. Many assisted countries lack national data/information systems. Yet, information will

be critical in developing capacity for assisted

countries to identify and weigh their development

and sustainability options. Further, development

efforts that focus on providing the tools for developing countries to make their own decisions may,

themselves, be adopted and sustainable.

OPTION: Congress could direct the Secretary of the

Treasury to direct the U.S. Executive Directors of the

multilateral development banks to make national information/data system development a priorly in assisted countries.

Extending options for creating or measuring

sustainability of policy decisions will require that

heads of state be equipped with adequate information on existing conditions. The increasing focus

of development activities on information and

communication could support the development of

national accounting systems. Cooperative efforts

among assisted and donor countries to identify

critical data points could be a first step. An incremental approach that would allow for gradual

building of national information systems might

generate immediate benefits. Initial data areas

might focus on productive or human resource sectors (e.g., natural resource information, health and

education data) that could assist in national decisionmaking, and ultimately move toward broader

data sets.

zone HDI indica[~rs include: longevi(~-measured by life expectancy at birth; knowledge—measured by adult literacy and mean years of

schooling (weighted 2/3 to literacy and l/3 to mean years of school); and income—adjusted to reflect income’s diminishing returns for human

development as the disparity between median income and poverty line increases (92).
54 I Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development

New cultivars developed through crop breeding efforts over

the last decades have improved plant characteristics and

yields. Here, a Mexican farmer explains the qualities of a

maize variety to a geneticist interested in conserving crop

genetic resources for future crop Improvements.

Developing national information systems is a

long-term undertaking and would likely require

significant national and international investment

in terms of funding and personnel resources. In

some developing countries, other development

aspects would be greater priorities.

| Technologies for Sustainable

Development

Improving the United States’ ability to promote

SD will depend largely on availability of appropriate technologies and opportunities. Partnerships among industrial and developing countries

could promote mutual problem identification and

likely lead to development of acceptable and innovative solutions to problems. Guidelines that

identify sustainable solutions to development

problems could help assisted country policy makers make development choices

of improving partnerships and

A critical aspect

sustainable solutions is increasing the availability and accessibility of information. Communications development

could generate large benefits in this realm and currently is a large part of certain development approaches.

Industrial-Developing Country

Research Partnerships

Sustainable development has been clearly articulated as a global goal for industrial and developing

countries. Successful development efforts have

been highly correlated with participatory or collaborative approaches to problem solving. However, the lack of reward systems in existing U.S.

academic structure has reduced international research efforts. While ten years ago U.S. scientists

were working on agricultural technologies for developing countries, and built careers on this, today

such activity does not attract the same level of interest. The emphasis now is on high-tech discoveries that are hard to apply and transfer to

developing countries.

OPTION: Congress could provide funding to USAID

to create International Institutes for Sustainability Research (IISRs).

Partnership arrangements may be the best way

to encourage SD in assisted countries and the

United States and other industrial nations. The

U.S. could learn from Costa Rica’s successful

school systems, for example. In addition, future

work could be conducted under a partnership umbrella. The IISRs could be modeled after the International Agricultural Research Centers

(IARCs) and would represent partnerships between the industrial and developing worlds. IISRs

could have three functions: 1 ) collaborative research on sustainability problems of mutual interest to the United States, other industrial nations,

and developing-country scientists; 2) grants to

strengthen institutions; and 3) education grants

for developing country and U.S. students to study

SD issues. Such arrangements would facilitate information sharing, institution/capacity building,
Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development 155

and communications among industrial and developing nations. The strategic focus of the institutions could be to assure access to environmentally

and socially beneficial technologies, particularly

as they pertain to creation of domestic employment and meeting basic population needs. Stress

could be placed on appropriate and effective

technology transfer activities designed for permanence.

The costs for creating IISRs, however, would

be large. Opportunities may exist for enhancing

existing research centers that are strategically located to entice collaborative research efforts (e.g.,

on regional bases in areas of greatest need). Alternatively, existing international research institutions (e.g., International Agricultural Research

Centers) increasingly may adopt sustainability

agendas and these resources could support or obviate the need for IISRs. Effective incentive mechanisms to influence such organizations might spur

this kind of activity, but also would likely involve

additional expenditures.

OPTION: Congress could create an Endowment for

Sustainable Development (ESD) to promote development and dissemination of information and technologies for SD.

The ESD’S initial activity would include defining sustainability and creating an agenda for action. Information generated by the various

ongoing sustainability projects could provide a

starting point for ESD action. The ESD would be

an authoritative institution charged with raising

the fundamental paradigm issues and taking the

long-term development view. The endowment

should be independent of the Department of State,

have flexibility, and integrate disciplines. It could

provide incentives for appropriate technology development, directing monies to successful models

and ideas. Existing foreign debts could be transferred into the endowment as a funding kickoff.

Expanding opportunities for developing countries to determine their own SD path will depend

in large part on the free exchange of information

among the industrial and developing world. The

trend toward privatization or proprietary knowledge can work to the disadvantage of development

goals by slowing the movement of effective discoveries into practice and the public domain.

However, without such protection, innovators

may be disinclined to invest in research and development. The challenge will be to find alternative

avenues to fund the cost of producing knowledge

in order to facilitate distribution. One opportunity

discussed previously might be the creation of international centers for SD that would be cooperatively funded and focus on collaborative research

and technology development.

OPTION: Congress could create an Electronic

Peace Corps (EPC) designed to facilitate the flow of information to developing country institutions.

The role of the existing Peace Corps could be

expanded to incorporate an EPC or it could be initiated under a new independent agency along the

lines of the development foundations or Volunteers in Technical Assistance. The agency could

have a strategic focus of information exchange

and implanting communication technologies.

Key functions could include training in information and communication technologies. Volunteers

could be drawn from U.S. institutions, academia,

and the public and private sectors. Because telecommunications allows remote location, many

volunteers would be able to continue their regular

employment and donate after-hours time. Public

sector employees might be made available

through Participating Agency Service Agreements (PASAs) or similar exchange programs.

Field volunteers would bean essential component

as well, with expertise in communications applications, maintenance, and repair (76, 77). The

Peace Corps is currently expanding its international communications capability with the installation of Internet connections in certain field

posts. Additional funding could be made available

to speed this process if it is demonstrated to be effective. Alternatively, many networks currently

exist among academic and nongovernmental organization circles and these might be encouraged

to undertake such an information delivery role if

support were available. A coordinating mecha-
56 I Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development

nism would be a central need to assure that expansion occurred in a desired fashion and

commensurate with SD goals.

Guidelines for Planning and

Implementing SD Activities

Application of systems analysis (e.g., analysis of

an entire system, including all components and

links among components) in the planning and design phases for SD projects could increase the use

of “lessons learned.” Guidelines that assist officials and development agency personnel identify

optimal, sustainable solutions to development

needs also could reduce capital and environmental

costs. For example, officials in Bangkok, Thailand, were in the process of committing significant fiscal resources to build a dam to relieve a

shortage in the city’s water supply. In a systems review of the potential project, it was discovered

that the water shortage was a distribution rather

than a supply problem—freshwater was being lost

through leaks in the existing system. Repairing

the faulty distribution system was a far less costly

operation (one-tenth the amount of building a new

dam), and simultaneously increased water availability, reduced water loss, and eliminated the

need for a large infrastructure project. Thus, systems analysis of the project led to a more practical

and efficient answer for Bangkok (60).

OPTIONS: Congress could direct USAID to promote

development of Sustainable Terms of Reference

(STOR) for development projects.

Sustainability would be the guiding principle

for STOR development with end goals of minimizing consumption, throughput, and waste concurrent with meeting the needs to be addressed by

the activity. STOR guidelines for international

lenders and local, regional, and national officials

could improve their ability to select SD paths for

infrastructure projects. Separate sets of guidelines

could be developed for priority systems such as

agriculture, transportation, water, energy, and

waste systems (i.e., those that most often are associated with high capital and environmental costs).

These guidelines could be further combined with

one another to provide information on integrated

development of these separate systems.

STORs would: 1) identify key questions for officials to use as they investigate and select among

various technological options and 2) outline specific design aspects that would enhance system

sustainability. The final product could be prepared

as a booklet; written in terms suitable for nonexpert understanding, yet amenable to incorporation

in more formal contract or agreement language;

and made available in the users’ language. In addition to the STORs, information could be included

that would identify technical experts with qualifications in design and planning of sustainable systems. Alternatively, technical resources could be

organized into a larger information database made

available through computer networks. Once

STORs were available, all U.S.-supported international activities could incorporate these

guidelines in project planning and development.

STORs also could be distributed internationally

as a decisionmaking resource to promote sustainable infrastructure projects.

The Center for Development Information and

Evaluation (CDIE) in USAID has extensive information on lessons learned in development projects, but these reference materials are not

commonly worked into new ventures. Nevertheless, information contained in this literature could

provide a resource for STORs across a variety of

development scenarios. CDIE could work closely

with appropriate USAID agency offices to develop pragmatic STOR guidelines. Outside technical

experts could be drawn into the process as needed

and as appropriate to the specific task.

OPTION: Congress could direct the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations to support creation of a database on technical resources qualified in design and

planning of sustainable projects to be made available

through its Sustainable Development Network (SDN).

The STORs could be installed in an interpretive

database and updated as new technologies or information become available. In addition to the

guidelines, the database could contain information on technical experts who could provide assis-
Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development 157

tance/consultation to project managers, and

developing country decisionmakers on specific

aspects of identified projects. Under the UN umbrella, this information would be broadly accessible to the full range of assistance organizations

and developing country decisionmakers.

CONCLUSION

The economic profiles and development paths of

developing countries have become more varied.

Assisting developing countries that are regressing

economically, and the still poor majority in countries that have made moderate economic gains, requires a different set of motives, expectations, and

goals than assisting rapidly industrializing countries. If even a conservative interpretation of sustainable development is adopted as a U.S. foreign

policy objective, it is likely to require Congress to

think about and question U.S. interests and actions in considerably broader terms.

One step could be consistent monitoring and

analysis of the impacts of U.S. policies on developi ng countries and their potential contribution to

SD. Technology and policy issues specific to developing countries have not been consistently

analyzed in past OTA reports, however, increasingly this is changing. Nevertheless, in many

instances developing countries are viewed only in

the context of being potential markets, resource

providers. or strategic partners without sufficient

attention to the potential impact that might be delivered on their national development. Although

human resources are as vital to developing country economic progress and quality of life as

technology. OTA has not assessed human resource needs to the same extent as other areas. To

move toward sustainable development, policymakers could consider not only domestic economic concerns, but also the major scientific and

technological challenges affecting all countries.

REFERENCES

1. Atwood, B. J., “Opening Statement of Brian

J. Atwood, U.S. Agency for International

Development,” Administrator-Designate,

before the U.S. Congress, Senate, Committee on Foreign Relations, Apr. 29, 1993.

2. Baird, M., Director of Development Policy,

Office of Vice President and Chief Economist, The World Bank, Washington, DC.

personal communication. May 1994.

3. Bertram, R., IARC Advisor, U.S. Agency for

International Development. USAID/Global/Agr, Washington, DC, personal communication, December 1993.

4. Bissell, R., Visiting Fellow, Overseas Development Council, Washington, DC, personal

communication, June 1994.

5. Bleaney, M., “Liberalisation and the Terms

of Trade of Developing Countries: A Cause

for Concern?” World Economy, 16:453-466,

July 1993.

6. Bergstrom, G., Too Many; A Study of Earth’s

Biological Limitations (London: CollierMacmillan, 1969).

7. Bread for the World, Background Paper No.

129, Washington, DC, March 1993.

8. Brown. L., et al., State of the World 1994

(New York: W.W. Norton& Co., 1994).

9. Brown, L., et al., Vital Signs 1993 (Washington, DC: Worldwatch Institute, 1993).

10. “Cakes and Caviar? The Dunkel Draft and

Third World Agriculture,” The Ecologist

23(6):219-222, November-December 1993

11. Colby, M. E., “Environmental Management

in Development: The Evolution of Paradigms,” World Bank Discussion Paper No.

80 (Washington, DC: World Bank, 1990).

12. “Commerce Department Now Measures

Economy’s Impact on the Environment,”

Wall Street Journal, p. A2, May 11, 1994.

13, Common, M.. and Perrings, C.. “Towards an

Ecological Economics of Sustainability,”

Ecological Economics 6;7-34, 1992,
58 I Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development

14. Cooper, R. N., “External Adjustment: The

Proper Role for the IMF,” Challenge, MayJune 1993, pp. 53-56

15. Crosson, P., “Sustainable Agriculture: A

Global Perspective,” Choices, Second Quarter 1993, pp. 38-42.

16. Crosswell, M., Senior Economist, U.S.

Agency for International Development,

USAID/PPC/SP, Washington, DC, personal

communication, June 1994.

17. Dahle, K., “Environment, Development, and

Belief Systems,” Futures, December 1993,

pp. 1070-1074.

18. Daly, H. E., “Steady State Economics: Concepts, Questions, and Policies,” Ecological

Economics 6:333-338, 1992.

19. Daly, H. E., “Toward a New Economic Model,” Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, April

1986, pp. 42-44.

20. Daly, H. E., and Goodland, R., “An Ecological-Economic Assessment of Deregulation

of International Commerce Under GATT,”

International Journal of Sustainable Development 1(4):53-82, 1993.

21. Demeny, P., “Population,” The Earth Transformed by Human Action, Global and Regional Changes in the Biosphere Over the

Past 300 Years, B.L Turner, et al. (eds.)

(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

with Clark University 1990), pp. 41-54.

22. Donaldson, P.J., President, Population Reference Bureau, Washington, DC, personal

communication, May 1994.

23. Ehrlich, P. R., and Ehrlich, A. H., “Why Isn’t

Everyone as Scared as We Are?” Valuing the

Earth, H.E. Daly and K.N. Townsend (eds.)

(Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1993), pp.

55-67.

24. Ehrlich, P. R., Ehrlich, A. H., and Holdren,

J. P., “Availability, Entropy, and the Laws of

Thermodynamics,” Valuing the Earth, H.E.

Daly and K.N. Townsend (eds.) (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1993), pp. 69-73.

25. Eisgruber, L. M., “Sustainable Development, Ethics, and the Endangered Species

Act,” Choices, Third Quarter 1993, pp. 4-8.

26. “Empty Promises,” The Economist, May 7,

1994, p. 11.

27. Engels, B., “From Havana to Marrakesh:

Progress for the Third World?” Development

& Cooperation 2:8-11, 1994.

28. Ervin, D., Professor, Agricultural Economics, Oregon State University, Portland, OR,

personal communication, June 1994.

29. Executive Office of the President of the

United States, NAFTA Supplemental Agreements (Washington, DC: U.S. Government

Printing Office, 1993), final draft.

30. “Foreign Aid: The Kindness of Strangers,”

The Economist, May 7, 1994, pp. 19-22.

31. Goodland, R., “The Only True Definition of

Environmental Sustainability,” paper presented at The Environmental and Natural

Resources Policy and Training Project discussion, U.S. Agency for International Development, Rosslyn, VA, Sept. 15, 1993.

32. Goodland, R., and Ledec, G. “Neoclassical

Economics and Principles of Sustainable

Development,” Ecological Modeling 38:36,

1987.

33. Graham-Tomasi, T., “Sustainability: Concepts and Implications for Agricultural Research Policy,” Agricultural Research

Policy: International Quantitative Perspectives (Cambridge: Cambridge University

Press, 1991), pp. 81-102, In: Stovall, J.,

1994a.

34. Grant, L., “The Timid Crusade,” The Negative Population Growth Forum (newsletter),

p. 2, January 1994.

35. “Green Statistics,” New Scientist, Apr. 30,

1994, p. 11.

36. Gutierrez-Espeleta, E. E., “Indicadores de

Sostenibilidad: Instruments Para La Evaluation de las Politicas Nacionales,” unpublished paper presented at 50th Anniversary

Conference of the Economic Sciences Faculty, sponsored by the University of Costa

Rica, San Jose, Costa Rica, Nov. 19, 1993.

37. Hall, C. A. S., “Economic Development or

Developing Economics: What Are Our

Priorities?” M.K. Wali (cd.), Ecosystem Re-
Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development 159

habilitation, vol. 1 Policy Issues (The

Hague, Netherlands: Academic Publishing,

1992), pp. 101-126.

38. Hall, C. A. S., Cleveland, C.J., and Kaufmann. R., Energy and Resource Quality:

The Ecology of the Economic Process (Niwot, CO: University Press of Colorado,

1992).

39. Hansen-Kuhn, K., “Sapping the Economy:

Structural Adjustment Policies in Costa

Rica,” The Ecologist 23(5): 179-184, September-October 1993.

40. Hess, A. L., Ross-Sheriff, B,, and Durana, P.,

Aid to Developing Countries: The Technolo -

gy/Ecology Fit-Staff Paper, staff paper prepared by the Food and Renewable Resources

Program (Washington, DC: Office of

Technology Assessment, U.S. Congress,

June 1987).

41. The Indonesia National Program, “The Impact of 1PM Training on Farmer’s Behavior,” 1PM National Program Monitoring and

Evaluation Team, Jakarta, Indonesia, August 1993, In: Stovall, J., 1994c,

42. The Indonesia National 1PM Program,

“Farmers as Experts,” J1. Ki Mangunsarkoro no. 5, Jakarta Pusat, Indonesia, no date,

In: Stovall 1994c.

43. International Union for the Conservation of

Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN),

United Nations Environment Programme

(UNEP), and World Wide Fund for Nature

(WWF), Caring for the Earth (Gland, Switzerland: IUCN, UNEP, WWF, 1991).

44. Jansen, J. L. A., and Vergragt Ph. J., “Sustainable Development: A Challenge to Technology!” Proposal for the Interdepartmental

Research Programme on Sustainable Technological Development, Leidshendam,

Netherlands, June 10, 1992.

45. “Japan to Back ‘Green’ Living,” Wall Street

Journal, p. A19, Nov. 17, 1993.

46. Jayaraman, K. S., "Science Academies Call

for Global Goal of Zero Population

Growth,” Nature 366:3, Nov. 4, 1993.

47. Kirschten, D., “Overhaul Overdue,” National Journal 20: 1165-1168, May 15, 1993.

48. Korten, D., President, People-Centered Development Forum, New York, NY, personal

communication, December 1993.

49. Korten, D., “Environmentally Sustainable

Development,” World Policy Journal, 1992.

50. Korten, D., Getting to the 21st Century: Voluntary Action and the Global Agenda (Hartford, CT: Kumarian Press, 1990).

51. Korten, D., “Growth for Whom? Rethinking

Foreign Aid, Development, and the Meaning of Human Progress,” World Business

Academy Perspectives 7(3):7-18, 1993.

52. Korten, F., “The High Costs of Environmental Loans,” Asia Pacific Issues, No.7 (Honolulu, HI: East-West Center, September

1993).

53. Laird, S., and Yeats, A., “Trends in Nontariff

Barriers of Developed Countries: 1966 to

1986,” World Bank Working Paper No. 137,

Washington, DC, December 1988.

54. Lash, J., President, World Resources Institute, Washington, DC, personal communication, March 1994.

55. Lele, S. M., “Sustainable Development: A

Critical Review,” World Development

19(6):607-621, 1991

56. Lele, U. (cd.), Aid to African Agriculture:

Lessons from Two Decades of Donor’s Expe -

rience (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991).

57. Leonard, H.J., “Overview,” Environment

and the Poor: Development Strategies for a

Common Agenda (Washington, DC: Overseas Development Council, 1989).

58. Lester, R., Assistant General Counsel for

Legislation and Policy, U.S. Agency for International Development, USAID/PPC/GC,

Washington, DC, personal communication,

June 1994.

59. McNamara, R., “A Global Population Policy

to Advance Human Development in the 21st

Century,” United Nations, New York, Dec.

10, 1991.
60 I Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development

60. Meadows, D., Adjunct Professor, Environmental Studies, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, personal communication, June

1994.

61. Meadows, D., “A Systems View of Sustainable Development,” contractor report prepared for the Office of Technology

Assessment, February 1994.

62. Morrissey, O., “The Mixing of Aid and Trade

Policies,” World Economy 16:69-84, January 1993.

63. Muldoon, P., “The International Law of Ecodevelopment: Emerging Norms for Development Assistance Agencies,” Texas

International Law Journal 22; 1-52, winter

1987.

64. Munn, R. E., “Toward Sustainable Development,” Atmospheric Environment

26A(15): 1992, In: Stovall, J., 1994a.

65. “NAFTA Ministers Lay Groundwork for Environmental Secretariat,” World Environment Report 20(7):58-59, Mar. 30, 1994.

66. Overseas Development Institute, “Does the

IMF Really Help Developing Countries?”

ODI Briefing Paper, Overseas Development

Institute, London, April 1993.

67. Pearce, D. W., and Atkinson, G. D., “Capital

Theory and the Measurement of Sustainable

Development: An Indicator of ‘Weak’ Sustainability,” Ecological Economics

8:103-108, 1993.

68. Pezzey, J., “Sustainable Development Concepts: An Economic Analysis,” World Bank

Environment Paper No. 2 (Washington, DC:

World Bank, 1992).

69. “Poor Relations,” The Economist, Apr. 16,

1994, p. 76.

70. Population Reference Bureau, 1993 World

Population Data Sheet, Washington, DC,

April 1993.

71. Postel, S., “Carrying Capacity: Earth’s Bottom Line,” State of the World (New York:

W.W. Norton & Co., 1994) pp. 3-21.

72. Postel, S., Last Oasis: Facing Water Scarcity

(New York, NY: WW. Norton& Co., 1992).

73. Powell, M., Environmental Advisor, U.S.

Agency for International Development,

USAID/PPC/SP, Washington, DC, personal

communication, June 1994.

74. Repetto, R., World Enough and Time (New

Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1986),

pp. 15-16.

75. Rothbaum, D. L., “Development: Aiding

Growth or Abetting Exploitation?” Harvard

International Review, pp. 48-50, spring

1991.

76. Rothman, D. H., “Building an Electronic

Peace Corps,” International Health News,

p. 4, November 1987.

77. Rothman, D. H., personal communication,

April 1994 [internet address: rothman@clark.net]

78. Royal Society of London and National

Academy of Sciences, National Research

Council, Population Growth, Resource

Consumption, and a Sustainable World

(London: National Research Council,

1992).

79. Ruttan, V.W. (cd.), Agriculture, Environment, and Health (St. Paul, MN: University

of Minnesota Press, 1994).

80. Ruttan, V. W., “Sustainable Growth in Agricultural Production: Poetry, Policy and Science,” Staff Paper P91-47, Department of

Agricultural and Applies Economics, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, February 1993.

81. Schmidheiny, S., Changing Course: A Global Business Perspective on Development

and the Environment (Cambridge, MA: MIT

Press, 1992).

82. Slaughter, R. A., “Looking for the Real Megatrends,” Futures, October 1993, pp.

827-849.

83. Solow, R., “An Almost Practical Step Toward Sustainability” (lecture) (Washington,

DC: Resources for the Future, Oct. 8, 1992).

84. Stovall, J., “Sustainable Development: A

New Buzzword or a New Paradigm? Public

Policy Implications,” contractor report pre-
Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development 161

85,

86.

87.

88.

89.

90.

91.

92<

93.

94.

pared for the Office of Technology Assessment, April 1994a.

Stovall, J., “The Foreign Assistance Act and

Proposed Reforms: Sustainable Development Issues and Public Policy Implications,” contractor report prepared for the

Office of Technology Assessment, 1994b.

Stovall, J., “Sustainable Development in

Practice: Does It Work?” contractor report

prepared for the Office of Technology Assessment, April 1994c.

The Swedish Institute, “The Natural StepA Social Invention for the Environment,”

Current Sweden, No. 401, December 1993.

Thompson-Dorman, R., “CDIE’s Assessment of AID’s In-Country Presence,” AID

Evaluation News 4(4): 1-5, 1992.

Turner, B. L., et al. (eds.), The Earth Transformed by Human Action, Global and Regional Changes in the Biosphere over the

Past 300 Years (Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press with Clark University,

1 990).

“Unexpected Obstacles are Threatening to

Delay or Derail Congressional Approval of

GATT Pact,” Wall Street Journal, p. A16,

Apr. 8, 1994.

United Nations Conference on Environment

and Development, “Agenda 21: Programs of

Action for Sustainable Development,” Rio

Declarations on Environment and Development, Statement of Forest Principles. Final

Text of Agreement by Governments at the

UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), June 3-14, 1992, Rio de

Janeiro, Brazil, In: Stovall, 1994b.

United Nations Development Programme,

Human Development Report 1993 (New

York, NY: United Nations, 1993).

United Nations Educational, Scientific, and

Cultural Organization, proposal presented at

the symposium on Science and Technology

in Africa, Nairobi, Kenya, Feb. 14-15, 1994.

United Nations, World Investment Report

1992: Transnational Corporations as En95.

96.

97.

98.

99.

100.

101,

102,

103.

104.

105.

gines of Growth (New York, NY: United Nations, 1992).

United Nations, Energy Statistics Yearbook

(New York. United Nations Statistical Office, 1989).

United Nations. Energy Statistics Yearbook

(New York, United Nations Statistical Office, 1982).

United Nations, Department of International

Economic and Social Affairs, Levels and

Trends off Contraceptive Use as Assessed in

1988, Population Studies No. 110 (New

York: United Nations, 1989), pp. 26, 33.

U.S. Agency for International Development.

USAID FY 1994 Operating Year Budget,

Washington, DC, 1994.

U.S. Agency for International Development.

USAID Strategy Papers, draft, Washington.

DC, Oct. 5, 1993.

U.S. Agency for International Development,

“End of Project Evaluation. Gambia Soil

and Water Management Project,” No

635-0202. October 1991, In: Stovall, J.,

1994C.

U.S. Agency for International Development,

“Evaluation: Gambia Soil and Water Management,” Project No. 635-0202, prepared

by Winfield Collins, REDSO/WCA, January 1988, In: Stovall. J., 1994c.

U.S. Agency for International Development,

“’Self-Help Sparks Conservation in Gambia,” Front Lines, August 1988, In: Stovall,

J.. 1994c

U.S. Congress, House of Representatives,

Committee on Foreign Affairs, H.R. 3765

Discussion Draft, Washington, DC, Mar. 17,

1989, In: Stovall, J., 1994b.

U.S. Congress. Congressional Research Service, Foreign Assistance. Congressional

Initiatives to Reform U.S. Foreign Aid in

1989, 90-236-F (Washington, DC: May 10,

1990), In: Stovall, J.. 1994b.

U.S. Congress. Congressional Research Service, Trade and Environment: GATT and
62 I Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development

NAFTA, 94-165-ENR (Washington, DC:

Apr. 4, 1994).

106. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Industry, Technology, and the Environment: Competitive Challenges and

Business Opportunities, OTA-ITE-586

(Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, January 1994).

107. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, “Approaching Sustainable Development,” working group held in

Washington, DC on Dec. 7, 1993.

108. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Multinationals and the National

Interest: Playing by Different Rules, OTAITE-569 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, September 1993).

109. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Development Assistance, Export

Promotion, and Environmental Technolo -

gy-Background paper, background paper

for OTA’s project on American Industry and

the Environment, OTA-BP-ITE- 107 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, August 1993).

110. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Alternative Coca Reduction Strategies in the Andean Region, OTA-F-556

(Washington DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, July 1993).

111. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Fueling Development: Energy

Technologies for Developing Countries,

OTA-E-516 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, April 1992).

112. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Green Products by Design:

Choices for a Cleaner Environment,

OTA-E-541 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, September 1992).

113. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Delivering the Goods: Public

Works Technologies, Management, and Finance, OTA-SET-477 (Washington, DC:

U.S. Government Printing Office, April

1991).

114. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Changing by Degrees: Steps To

Reduce Greenhouse Gases, OTA-O-482

(Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, February 1991).

115. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Enhancing Agriculture in Africa:

A Role for U.S. Development Assistance,

OTA-F-356 (Washington DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, September 1988).

116. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Status of Biomedical Research

and Related Technology for Tropical Diseases, OTA-H-258 (Washington, DC: U.S.

Government Printing Office, September

1985).

117. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Technologies to Sustain Tropical

Forest Resources, OTA-F-214 (Washington,

DC: U.S. Government Printing Office,

March 1984).

118. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Quality and Relevance of Research and Related Activities at the Gorgas

Memorial Laboratory-Technical Memorandum, OTA-TM-H-18 (Washington, DC:

U.S. Government Printing Office, August

1983).

119. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, An Assessment of Technologies

for Local Development, OTA-R-129 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, January 1981).

120. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service, The Gambia Soil and Water Management Unit, Activity Review

(Washington, DC: May 1991).

121. U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, Carbon Emissions Report (Washington, DC: April 1994).

122. Weber, P., “Safeguarding Oceans,” State of

the World (New York: W.W. Norton & Co.,

1994), pp.41-60.

123. Wharton, C. , U.S. AID and Foreign Aid Reform, Statement before U.S. Congress, Senate, Subcommittee on International
Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development 163

Economic Policy, Trade, Oceans, and Environment of the Committee on Foreign Relations, Washington, DC, July 14, 1993, U.S.

Department of State Dispatch 4:526-531,

July 26, 1993.

124. Windfuhr, M., “Who Are the GATT Winners

and Losers?” Development & Cooperation

2:8-14, 1994.

125. Windle, P., et al., Science and Technology for

Development-Sta ff Paper, staff paper prepared by the Food and Renewable Resources

Program (Washington, DC: Office of

Technology Assessment, U.S. Congress,

February 1989).

126. Winkelmann, D. L., Director General, International Maize and Wheat Improvement

Center (CIMMYT), personal communication, April 1994.

127. The World Bank, “Getting Results: The

World Bank’s Agenda for Improving Development Effectiveness,” The International

Bank for Reconstruction and Development/

The World Bank, Washington, DC, September 1993.

128. The World Bank, World Development Report (Washington, DC: The World Bank,

1993).

129. The World Commission on Environment

and Development, Our Common Future

(New York: Oxford University Press, 1987).

130. World Resources Institute, Brookings Institution, and Santa Fe Institute, The 2050

Project in Brief Transition to Sustainability

1(1 ): 1-7, winter 1994.

131. World Resources Institute, World Resources

1994-1 995: A Guide to the Global Environ -

ment (New York: Oxford University Press,

1 994).

132. World Resources Institute, “Dimensions of

Sustainable Development,” World Resources 1992-93: A Guide to the Global Environment (New York: Oxford University

Press, 1992).

133. World Resources Institute, World Resources

1992-93: A Guide to the Global Environment, database diskette (Stanford, CT: DSC

Data Service, Inc., 1992).
—....—.——

Appendix A:

Working Group

Participants A

Richard Bissell

Overseas Development Council

Washington, DC

Herman Daly

University of Maryland

School of Public Affairs

College Park, MD

Paul R. Ehrlich

Department of Biological Sciences

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

David C. Korten

People Centered Development Forum

New York, NY

Donella Meadows

Dartmouth College

Plainfield, NH

Sandra Nichols

Sandra Nichols Productions, Ltd.

Oakland, CA

Bruce Ross

Chemonics, International

Washington, DC

165
Appendix B:

OTA Reports

Related to

Resource Management

B and Developing Countries

The accumulation of knowledge, the discoveries of science, the products of technology, our ideas, our

art, our social structures, all the achievements of mankind have value only to the extent that they preserve

and improve the quality of life.— Charles Lindbergh

Although discussion of sustainable development commonly evokes divergent views, one

point upon which many agree is that scientific and

technological advances could offer the means to

resolve some critical development-related natural

resource problems. Conserving natural capital

(renewable and nonrenewable resources) is fundamental to the concept of sustainable development.

Thus, renewable resource withdrawals would not

exceed regenerative capacity; use of nonrenewable resources would occur in relationship to

research and development efforts to identify appropriate substitutes; and waste production would

not exceed the environmental absorptive capacity.

Technology can support sustainability of natural

capital by: 1 ) reducing waste, 2) raising efficiency

standards, or 3) finding substitutes, hence reducing extraction or consumption of resources or use

of toxic substances and other hazardous materials.

Of the various dimensions of sustainable development (i.e., economic, political, environmental,

and technological), technology seems to be the

most eagerly explored.

The Office of Technology Assessment (OTA)

has examined issues, technologies, and policy

trends of importance to foreign assistance and environmental sustainability for Congress since

1976 (Technology Assessment Act of 1972, P.L.

92-484). Many OTA assessments from the past

two decades contain information of director indirect relevance to sustainable natural resource use

and management in developing countries. (See

table B-1 for a list of OTA reports covered in this

overview.) OTA has analyzed a wide range of

technologies and resource concerns, related research needs, and the roles of governments and

private and public sector national and international institutions in development assistance. Many

OTA reports did not address the concept of sustainable development directly but nonetheless

contained highly relevant material.

This overview of OTA’s work on developing

countries and technologies to support sustainable

development also examines:

■ factors that affect technology transfer to developing countries;

■ global environmental concerns as they relate to

developing countries; and

■ the principle areas in which scientific and technological effort can support sustainable development: agriculture, energy, industry, local

development, and human resource development.

66 |
——. —.——-

Appendix B OTA Reports Related to Resource Management and Developing Countries 167

THE TECHNOLOGY CONTEXT

The gap between the technology development options of industrial and developing countries has,

in many cases, grown considerably in the 20th

century (60). This view, also expressed in international development 1iterature, foresees the poorest

developing countries steadily losing access to the

potential benefits of technology.

At the same time, industrial and developing

countries increasingly share common problems.

The United States, like many developing countries, has a large debt burden and areas with rural

poverty. Most countries share concerns about

global Climate change, spread of infectious dis - e

eases, ocean pollution, and education of their

workforce (60). As greater recognition is given to

the global environmental costs of industrial devel -

opment, economic growth, and population

growth, the question of sustainability has been

raised with increasing frequency in domestic and

foreign policy circles.

How science and technology are used for development—which technologies are selected, how

they are applied, and for what purposes-will determine, in part, the effectiveness and sustainability of the development process. The process by

which such choices could be made by Congress

when it sets and implements a science and

technology agenda for development were explored broadly in Science and Technology for Development (1989).

The sociocultural, political, economic, and

ecological setting for development constitutes the

framework for development assistance efforts.

Each of these factors will affect the sustainability

of the development project. Regardless of the

cause of resource degradation or damage, developing countries generally cannot afford even a

temporary decline in food or foreign exchange

derived from their natural resources, and commonly they lack sufficient economic resources to

implement reclamation or restoration activities.

Thus. selection of ecologically appropriate

technologies becomes imperative (2). Aid to Developing Countries: The Technology/Ecology Fit

(1987) explored the concept of ecologically appropriate technologies and identified organizational factors that contribute to inappropriate

technology choices, as well as approaches to make

development assistance activities more ecologically sound (figure B-1 ).

Development assistance organizations arc frequently faced with difficult choices. For example,

raising the efficiency of commercial energy use in

developing countries urban areas could strongly

benefit the global environment, yet it may offer

little to the poor majority in the rural areas. On the

other hand, regional, community, and householdspecific technologies like power generators more

efficient wood stoves, or assistance to produce

fast-growing trees could benefit rural sectors. Bal -

ancing different needs in assistance does not necessarily minimize the potential for adverse

environmental impacts from development assistance projects (2). These can occur from the failure

to consider such relevant questions as:

■

■

■

■

Are the eventual practitioners likely to have

cultural aversions to the technology?

Is the technology within the means of these

practitioners?

Will governmental or other institutions provide

the necessary support to ensure continued operation of the technology in a manner appropriate to local conditions?

Identifying and promoting “appropriate technology” for different settings can be difficult.

Inappropriate choices often result from a lack

of familiarity with more suitable practices

(e.g., improving traditional systems); inadequate technical and management training for

long-term project operation and maintenance

(i.e., human resource development); aid programs that are motivated by donor commercial

interests (e.g., tied aid, mixed credits); and bureaucratic needs to “move money” through the

programs (2).

Scale and cost are significant factors in determining appropriate technology for specific sites

or development settings. Technologies designed

for implementation in industrial country settings

can be too costly for developing countries, or in-
68 I Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development

Food and Renewable Resources Program

Alternative Coca Reduction Strategies in the Andean Region, OTA-F-556 (July 1993)

A New Technological Era for American Agriculture, OTA-F-474 (August 1992)

Combined Summaries: Technologies To Sustain Tropical Forest Resources and Biological Diversity OTA-F-515 (May

1992)

New Opportunities for U.S. Universities in Development Assistance: Agriculture, Natural Resources, and

Environment—Background Paper, OTA-BP-F-71 (September 1991)

A P/ague ofLocusts—Special Report, OTA-F-450 (July 1990)

Science and Technology for Development—Staff Paper (February 1989)

Enhancing Agriculture in Africa: A Role for U.S. Development Assistance, OTA-F-356 (September 1988)

Grassroots Development: The African Development Foundation, OTA-F-378 (June 1988)

Aid to Developing Countries,’ The Technology/Ecology Fit—Staff Paper (July 1987)

Integrated Renewable Resource Management for U.S. Insular Areas, OTA-F-325 (June 1987)

Technologies To Maintain Biological Diversity OTA-F-330 (March 1987)

Continuing the Commitment: Agricultural Development in the Sahe/—Speclal Report, OTA-F-308 (August 1986)

Innovative Blological Technologles for Developing Countries—Workshop Proceedings, OTA-BP-F-29 (July 1985)

Africa Tomorrow: Issues in Technology Agriculture, and U.S. Foreign A/d—Technical Memorandum, OTA-TM-F-31

(December 1984)

Technologies To Sustain Tropical Forest Resources, OTA-F-214 (March 1984)

Plants: The Potentials for Extracting Protein, Medicines, and Other Useful Chemicals—Workshop Proceedings,

OTA-BP-F-23 (September 1983)

Water-Related Technologies for Sustainable Agriculture in Arid/Semiarid Lands: Selected Foreign

Experience—Background Paper, OTA-BP-F-20 (May 1983)

An Assessment of the U.S. Food and Agricultural Research System, OTA-F-155 (December 1981)

Pest Management Strategies in Crop Protection—Volume 1, OTA-F-98 (October 1979)

Nutrition Research Alternatives, OTA-F-74 (September 1978)

Food /formation Systems: Summary and Analysis, OTA-F-35 (August 1976)

Industry Technology and Employment Program

Industry Technology, and the Environment: Competitive Challenges and Business Opportunities, OTA-ITE-586

(January 1994)

Multinationals and the National Interest, OTA-ITE-569 (September 1993)

Development Assistance, Export Promotion, and Environmental Technology—Background Paper, OTA-BP-ITE-107

(August 1993)

U.S,-Mexico Trade: Pulling Together or Pulling Apart? OTA-ITE-545 (October 1992)

Trade and the Environment: Conflicts and Opportunities—Background Paper, OTA-BP-ITE-94 (May 1992)

Making Things Better: Competing in Manufacturing, OTA-ITE-443 (March 1990)

Energy and Materials Program

Fueling Development: Energy Technologies for Developing Countries, OTA-E-516 (April 1992)

Energy Technology Choices: Shaping Our Future, OTA-E-493 (July 1991)

Copper: Technology and Competitiveness, OTA-E-367 (1988)

Nuclear Power in the Age of Uncertainty OTA-E-216 (February 1984)

World Petroleum Availability 1980-2000-Technical Memorandum, OTA-TM-E-5 (October 1980)

Alternative Energy Futures-–Part 1, The Future of Liquid Natural Gas Imports, OTA-E-110 (March 1980)
Appendix B OTA Reports Related to Resource Management and Developing Countries 169

International Security and Commerce Program

The Future of Remote Sensing from Space Civilian Safe//de Systems and Applications, OTA-ISC-558 (July 1993)

Global Arms Trade, OTA-ISC-480 (June 1991)

Energy Technology Transfer to Ch/na—Technical Memorandum, OTA-TM-ISC-30 (September 1985)

International Cooperation and Competition in Civilian Space Activities, OTA-ISC-239 (July 1985)

Technology Transfer to the Middle East, OTA-ISC-173 (September 1984)

Remote Sensing and the Private Sector, Issues for Discussion—Technical Memorandum, OTA-TM-ISC-20 (March

1984)

Oceans and Environment Program

An Analysis of the Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer—Staff Paper (February 1988)

Changing by Degrees. Steps To Reduce Greenhouse Gases, OTA-O-482 (February 1991)

Wastes in Marine Environments, OTA-O-334 (April 1987)

Health Program

Status of Biomedical Research and Related Technology for Tropical Diseases, OTA-H-258 (September 1985)

Quality and Relevance of Research and Related Activities at the Gorgas Memorial .Laboratory-Technical

Memorandum, OTA-TM-H-18 (August 1983)

Telecommunications and Computing Technologies Program

The 1992 World Administration Radio Conference Technology and Policy Implications, OTA-TCT-549 (May 1993)

The 1992 World Administration Radio Conference: Issues for U.S. International Spectrum Policy—Background

Paper, OTA-BP-TCT-76 (November 1991)

Rural America at the Crossroads Networking for the Future, OTA-TCT-471 (April 1991)

Biological and Behavioral Sciences Program

Biotechnology in the Global Economy OTA-BA-494 (October 1991)

Commercial Biotechnology. An International Analysis, OTA-BA-218 (January 1984)

World Population and Fertility Planning Technologies: The Next Twenty Years, OTA-HR-157 (February 1982)

Science, Education, and Transportation Program

Delivering the Goods. Public Works Technologies, Management, and Finance, OTA-SET-477 (April 1991)

An Assessment of Technologies for Local Development, OTA-R-129 (January 1981 )

Exploratory Program

U S Disaster Assistance to Developing Countries: Lessons Applicable to U.S. Domestic Disaster

Programs—Background Paper, OTA-BP-X-1 (January 1980)

adequate to satisfy companion development

needs (e.g., employment). These incompatibilities can sometimes be avoided by building on indigenous methods and technologies. However,

some argue that site-appropriate technology is

“second rate” and unable to satisfy the long-term

needs and aspirations of developing countries

(2,52).

“Leapfrogging” describes a development approach that blends appropriate technology with

ging is to allow developing countries to bypass the

environmental and social ills associated with development in the industrial countries of the North.

However, there is considerable disagreement over

the potential for leapfrogging. Some think that too

few sustainable technologies exist for use in

development programs. Others question whether

leapfrogging would provide a satisfactory quality

of life in developing nations. Intensive research

and development efforts in science and technolosustainable development. The goal of leapfrog-
70 I Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development

Sustainable resource development

Development PROJECT Institution Policy

assistance INTERVENTION building assistance

r

Identification of IDENTIFICATION AND Monitoring of

Project Evaluation of

site-specific –> ASSESSMENT OF –> impacts and project --> project results

determination needs PROJECT ALTERNATIVES modification

Technology

determination

Assessment of

technology fit

I

I

L

Identification of ASSESSMENT OF Technology-– z Technology

relevant --> TECHNOLOGY –-> choice

technologies FITNESS transfer

~—

ECOLOGICAL

_J

SOURCE A L Hess, B Ross-Sheriff, and P Durana, Ad to Deve/opmg CounWes The Techno/ogy/Eco/ogy Flt—S?atf Paper, staff paper prepared

by the Food and Renewable Resources Program (Washington, DC Office of Technology Assessment, U S Congress, June 1987)

gy are needed, in conjunction with widespread

education and information activities, to demonstrate the benefits of a sustainable development

path in industrial and developing countries. The

question of how best to transfer information and

technology broadly for sustainable development

remains to be answered.

GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS

Transboundary problems like global warming,

pollution of international waters, destruction of

biologically diverse resources, and depletion of

the stratospheric ozone layer illustrate the extent

of environmental impacts from human population

growth and activity, and provide adequate reason

for concern over impacts of industrialization and

economic growth.

Most developing countries continue to experience much higher population growth rates than industrialized countries, such that the vast majority

of new people added to the world in recent years

(at least 90 percent in 1991) live in developing

countries. Developing countries currently make a

far smaller per capita contribution to global environmental problems than industrialized countries.

However, developing countries’ per capita and net

contributions to global environmental problems

could potentially experience significant increases.

OTA has analyzed each of the global environmental priorities identified by the Global Envi-
. ————

Appendix B OTA Reports Related to Resource Management and Developing Countries 171

ronmental Facility l—global warming, ozone

depletion, biodiversity loss, and international waters—as well as population growth and tropical

forest management.

| Population Growth

Population growth may be the most important and

most difficult issue confronting policy makers

today. It is a key factor limiting the ability of nations to manage their resources sustainably. World

Population and Fertility Planning Technologies:

The Next Twenty Years (1982) included analysis

of population growth projections; determinants of

fertility change: then-current reproductive research and contraceptive research and development; factors that influence the acceptance,

distribution, and use of fertility planning technologies in developing countries; and past and current U.S. funding arrangements in support of

population assistance requests from developing

countries. Significant fertility declines most often

are associated with indirect measures (e.g., government encouragement and promotion of equal

status and opportunities for women, higher age at

marriage, and more equitable distribution of

wealth and education opportunities). U.S. government options to directly assist developing country

population programs include federal support of

contraceptive research and development (R&D),

export of non-Federal Drug Administration approved drugs, improved levels of funding for international population assistance, and distribution

of population assistance funds.

| Global Warming

Documented scientific interest in the impact of atmospheric carbon dioxide on the planet’s surface

temperature dates back to the 1820s. Current public and policy interest in global warming stems

from widespread agreement that warming has resulted primarily from human activity and. thus,

could be addressed by government policy (4).

OTA’s Changing by Degrees: Steps To Reduce

Greenhouse Gases (199 1 ) examined technologies

to reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas

emissions in the United States and overseas. actors and initiatives needed to implement such reductions, and the economic cost and time frame.

OTA’s discussion of developing countries in 1991

centered on tropical deforestation and its contribution to global warming. Developing countries recently overtook industrial countries in

generating carbon emissions, however, producing

an estimated 52 percent of the global total in 1993

(59). As predicted by OTA and others, this transition occurred due to increasing combustion of fossil fuels in association with developing country

urbanization and industrialization (27,59). According to OTA, increasing the efficiency of energy-consuming technologies, changing energy-use

patterns, and shifting to fuels and energy sources

that emit less carbon dioxide (CO2

) are among the

energy-based options for reducing greenhouse gas

(GHG) emissions. OTA noted that because much

of the energy infrastructure in developing countries is yet to be built, energy-related improvements in reduction of GHG emissions may be

cheaper and relatively greater there. Such improvements would require significant technology

transfer, and technical and financial assistance for

new construction and retrofitting (1,59). Agriculture-related options for reducing greenhouse gas

emissions target methane production in ruminants

and C02 emissions from rice cultivation. Another

option for offsetting COZ emissions discussed by

OTA is tree planting to increase global carbon

storage capacity.

| Ozone Depletion

Unlike global warming, stratospheric ozone

depletion was not clearly understood nor clearly

‘ The Global Environmental Facility was established in November 1990 to help developing countries to contribute toward solving global

environmental problems. Under the supervision of the World Bank, the United Nations Environment Pro~ramme, and the United Natim\ f)cvelopment Pro~ramme, it pro~ ides grants for investment programs, technical assistance, and research aimed at protecting the global cnt ironmcnt tind tran~ferring envlronmentallj benign technologies.
72 I Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development

linked with human activity until the latter half of

this century (4). Yet, by 1987, international authors of the Montreal Protocol were prescribing a

global phaseout of production, consumption, and

trade of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and of bromine-containing compounds (halons). An Analy -

sis of the Montreal Protocol on Substances That

Deplete the Ozone Layer (OTA, 1988) examined

the conditions for the agreement’s ratification and

enforcement; different limits placed on substances; differing transition periods allowed lowCFC-consuming countries versus high-CFC

countries; and the Protocol’s projected effectiveness at reaching its stated goals under various scenarios. Developing countries, as 1ow-CFC

consumers, were permitted by the Protocol to increase CFC production and consumption, within

limits, for 10 years, after which they were to reduce production and consumption of some CFCs

and cease production and consumption of others.

Following discovery of the annual ozone hole

over Antarctica and ozone-thinning over the Arctic, the Montreal Protocol was renegotiated and

strengthened in 1990 and 1992 to speed the phaseout process and give greater technical and financial assistance to developing countries through a

Multilateral Fund (1 ,59).

| Biodiversity Loss and

Tropical Deforestation

The Earth’s biological diversity—its assortment

of ecosystems, species, and genetic material—is

being reduced significantly. This suggests, at the

very least, the l0SS of resources that might otherwise improve the quality of human life. In a worstcase scenario, disruption of the basic ecological

processes on which civilization is based could result. Maintaining biological diversity will increasingly depend on development and use of

specific conservation measures, particularly in

areas with highly diverse ecosystems and large

numbers of unique species, such as tropical rainforests. How to help foreign assistance agencies

respond to tropical forest and biodiversity losses

became a key issue in the 1980s. OTA responded

with Technologies To Sustain Tropical Forest Resources (1984) and Technologies To Maintain Biological Diversity (1987). Congressional concern

brought funding increases to the U.S. Agency for

International Development’s (USAID’s) programs in these areas. Subsequently, multilateral

institutions, other countries’ bilateral assistance

agencies, some developing countries, and many

nongovernmental organizations also became involved in efforts to preserve biologically diverse

ecosystems as well as specific species.

Conserving biological diversity can be accomplished through “onsite maintenance” of ecosystems, such as national parks and preserves, and

“offsite maintenance” facilities such as zoos, botanical gardens, and seed banks. While the latter

approach is more economical and especially efficient for preserving plant varieties for agricultural

purposes, the former, the more challenging approach, is considered the best means of maintaining a broad range of biological diversity (35). A

combination of these approaches is likely to be

needed as pressure on the planet remaining natural areas-about 3.2 percent of world land area—

increases. Sustaining tropical forests is of

particular importance because they contain the

greatest diversity of plant and animal life. Resources from tropical forests are important to agriculture, commerce, and industry in all nations.

Technologies that support and contribute to onsite

biological conservation include farming systems

that combine trees with crops or livestock (agroforestry), improved charcoal production, better

wood stoves, genetic improvement of trees, approaches to park design and management, and a

variety of forest management systems (35).

Despite conservation efforts, the social, cultural, economic, and political conditions perpetuating destruction of tropical forests and biological

diversity have, in most cases, intensified. Although there has been substantial progress in institutional commitments and policies, little progress

has been made in the realm of development and

extension of technical solutions, suggesting that

continued leadership from Congress is needed to

sustain the momentum of earlier achievements

(17). Specific areas for which OTA provided op-
— — .

Appendix B

tions for congressional

technology development,

planning (17).

OTA Reports Related to Resource Management and Developing Countries 173

action were research,

education, and resource

| Degradation of Marine Environments

The extent of marine and coastal pollution problems facing developing countries has grown,

while the institutional capacity and financial resources to address these problems have not. Although developing countries were not cited

frequently in OTA’s Wastes in Marine Environments (1987), this report suggested that, like industrial countries, developing countries need to

direct more research toward understanding their

marine environments, the specific problems they

face, and the relationships between those problems and various land-based activities (33,34).

Also needed is the capacity to translate that understanding into policies and actions to correct marine pollution problems.

Development assistance relevant to these needs

has taken two broad forms: 1 ) promotion of developing country government policies that increase

research, education, and sound management of

marine resources, and 2) programs in coastal management and data collection to improve technical

capacity in developing countries (34). Although

technologies are available to treat wastewater and

improve waste management, their use in developing countries is limited and worldwide increases

in settlement of coastal areas already outpace government planning and waste management efforts.

As a consequence, “deforestation” of estuaries

and coastal wetlands, overfishing, coral harvesting, contamination from agrochemical runoff and

erosion, and direct ocean disposal of untreated and

partially treated municipal and industrial wastes

continue in many areas (3,33,34).

| Measuring Global

Environmental Changes

Environmental monitoring continues to improve

scientists understanding of current and emerging

patterns of global environmental change. Satellite

remote sensing systems provide the vantage point

and coverage necessary to study the Earth as an integrated, interactive, physical and biological system ( 13). Data from satellite systems can assist in

predicting weather patterns and managing land resources; raise awareness of environmental problems; and improve the institutional infrastructure

of developing countries (43). For instance, U. S.-

supported regional and national centers capable of

collecting, processing. and interpreting Landsat

data and combining them with other data can be

used by developing country governments to plan

and monitor forest stands, transportation networks, agricultural production, and hydrology

(43). Some developing countries are making efforts to institutionalize management and use of

space- and telecommunications-related data and

information (table B-2: 43).

Policy discussion regarding distribution of satellite remote sensing data has led to consideration

of numerous other issues, including allocation of

spectrum resources, sale of sensed data to third

parties, commercialization, and general disparities between industrial and developing country

telecommunication resources. The 1992 World

Administration Radio Conference: Issues for U.S.

International Spectrum Policy (1992) and The

1992 World Administration Radio Conference:

Technology and Policy [replications (1993) explore the interest of the United Nation’s International Telecommunications Union in making

telecommunications development and technical

assistance to developing countries a more integral

part of its mission. Close monitoring of this effort

could help U.S. policy makers determine a national policy framework for making telecommunications a more universal resource (20).

| Agricultural Technologies and

Policies To Support Sustainability

Improving and sustaining agricultural productivity in developing countries has been a long-standing foreign assistance objective. The small-farm

agricultural sector of a developing country is often

responsible for providing food, fiber, and work to

a large part of its population. In addition to meet-
74 I Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development

Agriculture Environmental Management

Crop Inventory Water quality assessment and planning

Irrigated crop Inventory Environmental and pollution analysis

NOXIOUS weeds assessment Coastal zone management

Crop yield prediction Surface mine inventory and monitoring

Grove surveys Wetlands mapping

Assessment of flood damage Lake water quality

Disease/drought monitoring Shoreline delineation

Oil and gas lease sales

Forestry and rangeland Resource inventory

Productivity assessment Dredge and fill permits

Identification of crops timber, and range Marsh salinization

Forest habitat assessment

Wildlife range assessment Water resources

Fire potential/damage assessment Planning and management

Surface water inventory

Defense Flood control and damage assessment

Mapping, charting, and geodesy Snow/ice cover monitoring

Terrain analysis Irrigation demand estimates

Limited reconnaissance Monitor runoff and pollution

Land cover analysis Water circulation, turbidilty, and sediment

Lake eutrophication survey

Land resource management Soil salinity

Land cover Inventory Groundwater location

Comprehensive planning

Corridor analysis Geological mapping

Facility siting Lineament mapping

Flood plain delineation Mapping/identification of rock types

Lake shore management Mineral surveys

Siting/surveying for public/private facilities

Fish and wildlife Radioactive waste storage

Wildlife habitat Inventory

Wetlands Iocation, monitoring, and analysis Land use and planning

Vegetation classiflcation Growth trends and analysis

Precipitation/snow pack monitoring Land-use planning

Salt exposure Cartography

Land-capacity assessment

Solid waste management —

SOURCE U S Congress Office of Technology Assessment, The Future of Remote Sensing from Space Cndlan Sate//J/e Systems andApp/icat{ons, OTA-ISC-558(Washmgtorl DC U S Government Printing Off Ice, July 1993)

ing farm families’ subsistence needs, small-farm

production feeds urban populations and contributes to regional and sometimes international

trade. According to the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR),

meeting the food needs of the world’s projected

peak population at current per capita consumption

rates will require more than doubling of current

staple food crop yields. Yields will have to increase even further to make progress in overcoming malnutrition and poverty in Africa and

Southeast Asia (7).

In developing countries, environmental degradation from expanding cultivation seriously undermines potential for sustainable agriculture and

development generally. Moreover. staple crop
Appendix B OTA Reports Related to Resource Management and Developing Countries 175

yields already may be leveling off in areas such as

sub- Saharan Africa, and may begin to do the same

in Asia (6). Much of the land available to small

farmers in developing countries is only marginally suitable for most forms of agricultural production to begin with, and often progressively

deteriorates. Poor soils characteristic of many

moist tropical forest regions quickly lose their nutrient content, and exposure to wind and rain,

often on steep slopes, leads to rapid soil erosion.

In arid and semiarid regions, low soil productivity

also prevails, and is accompanied by a short growing season, low and erratic rainfall, and higher

possibility of drought. Shifting cultivation involves cutting and burning forest, producing

crops for a couple of years, abandoning the land

for a “fallow” period, and then, at some time later,

repeating the cycle. Shifting cultivation has increased in many areas of the world during the last

few decades, often penetrating forest areas along

logging roads; practitioners generally are using

shorter fallow periods than in earlier years (27).

Erratic and eventually declining yields are common, and generally are made up for with expanded

cultivation or off-farm employment. Catastrophic

crop losses, in a climate of chronic food insecurity, has prompted large-scale civil conflict and

migration, in parts of Africa over the past two decades.

By some estimates, the equivalent of approximately 15 million hectares of new agricultural

lands are needed each year to keep up with population growth and the flagging productivity of currently cultivated lands (6). Urban and rural-area

population sprawl competes with agriculture for

this land. Although crop production continues to

supersede ranching and forestry as a land-use

priority, it is increasingly at risk from encroaching

urban and industrial development. Pressure on remaining agricultural lands, along with increased

cultivation of marginal lands, could spawn numerous unsustainable land-use practices and intensify the fuel wood crisis (6).

Technologies to promote intensification of production on land already in use could help slow

agricultural land expansion, thereby reducing deforestation, as well as increasing food production.

Potential food production gains from mechanization and intensification of agriculture in developing countries (where most farming is still human

powered) is great, but sustainable production and

management practices are needed, along with restoration of degraded lands, proper prices for agricultural goods, and long-range landuse planning.

| Agricultural Technologies

The goal of agricultural research and technology

development generally has been to improve productivity while maintaining reasonable costs of

food and fiber. Other interests include soil and water conservation, human nutrition, food quality

and safety, and the role of agriculture in international trade and in the economy as a whole. Recently, more concern has been directed to reducing

agriculture’s adverse environmental impacts using a systems approach. Opportunities to improve

agricultural production in the developing world,

primarily Africa, have been the focus of a large

number of OTA reports.

OTA has examined the status and needs of developing country agriculture; the emergence of

appropriate technology and sustainability paradigms; technological advances with potential to

improve agricultural efficiency and productivity

in industrial countries; and the rise of commercial

agricultural biotechnology. OTA has provided

Congress with options for strengthening the costeffectiveness of U.S. participation in international

agricultural research, technology development,

and assistance. OTA’s collected works in these

areas address many specific technologies and

policy initiatives that could substantially improve

food production in developing countries (table

B-3).

OTA has concluded in several reports that

greater U.S. contributions to domestic, bilateral.

and multilateral agricultural assistance will be

necessary to increase agricultural production

worldwide. Besides monetary assistance, there is

a need for a clear plan and renewed effort to: 1)

promote U.S. expertise and participation in agricultural research for the benefit of poor populations, and 2) assist developing countries with
76 I Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development

Recognition of links between long-term agricultural

productivity and environmental quality led to proposal

and discussion of sustainability in agricultural development circles well before it gained a following elsewhere Recently, a special CGIAR Committee on Sustainable Agriculture established four key themes on

which to base sustainability research in the CGIAR

system

Main challenges to agricultural research

1

2

3

Increasing and maintaining global yields to their

technical and economic potential

Improving productivity in the less-favored areas that

have become the last frontier of agricultural expansion (e g , rainforests).

Making the production technology gains needed to

maintain soiI fertility and other vital resources on

which production depends.

Key themes on which to base sustainability

research

1 Protection of the genetic base of agriculture,

2 Preservation of the natural resource base,

3 Research in less favorable environments.

4 Sustainable agriculture and external inputs,

—

SOURCE D L Plucknett, international Agricultural Research for the

Next Century “ BloSclence 43(7) 432-440, 1993

agriculture-related institutional and technology

development. For sustainable production increases, farmers need technologies that (31 ):

●

m

m

●

m

m

8

improve the use of local natural resources, including indigenous plants and animals;

improve soil fertility;

improve water availability and efficiency of

use;

foster genetic improvement in plants and animals appropriate to local conditions;

improve integration of animal and cropping

systems;

reduce food losses; and

enable farmers to modernize as this becomes

feasible to them.

Poor farmers need technologies that are low

risk, resource conserving, small scale, adaptable

to local conditions, and economically affordable.

Technologies should also be suited to traditional

agriculture methods. Appropriate technologies

are those best able to function effectively according to the users’ special circumstances. Lack of

appropriate technologies and the failure of research systems to develop sustainable technologies that match the perceptions and resources of

small-holder African farmers are two of the reasons yields of staple crops have been static in

many sub-Saharan countries for the past 10 or

more years (6).

Congressional concern over Africa’s chronic

food problems led to a number of OTA reports on

improving agriculture and development assistance in Africa: A Plague of Locusts (1990); Enhancing Agriculture in Africa: A Role for U.S.

Development Assistance (1988); Grassroots Development: The African Development Foundation

(1988); Continuing the Commitment: Agricultural Development in the Sahel (1986); and Africa

Tomorrow: Issues in Technology, Agriculture, and

U.S. Foreign Aid (1984). Another report with a regional, but non-Africa, focus was Alternative

Coca Reduction Strategies in the Andean Region

(1993), which discussed the potential for agriculture and other renewable resource sectors to displace coca production in the Andes. These reports,

in addition to examining specific food and development problems in selected regions, addressed

issues central to the role and limits of U.S. assistance more generally.

Other OTA reports deal with generic agricultural issues and technologies. Concern about pesticide-related soil and water contamination, safety

of farmers and wildlife, and increased incidence of

resistance in target pest populations generated interest in alternative pest-management technologies such as integrated pest management (1PM)

(56). For many farmers in developing countries,

alternatives to chemical pesticides and fertilizers

are a matter of economic necessity as much as environmental awareness. Most 1PM research has

focused on U.S. farming conditions and practices.

OTA suggested that greater agricultural assistance
. ——————

Appendix B OTA Reports Related to Resource Management and Developing Countries 177

for specific developing country research needs

and challenges was critical to promoting 1PM internationally (56).2

Many factors affecting food supply, such as

productivity of soils and chemical fertilizer needs,

can be influenced by biological technologies (biotechnologies). New developments in plant and

animal genetics were analyzed in OTA’s Commercial Biotechnology: An International Analysis

(1984), Biotechnology in the Global Economy

(199 1), and A New Technological Era for American Agriculture ( 1992). In its examination of biotechnology industry research and development,

OTA has identified several areas of potential importance to developing countries, including:

■

●

■

■

genetic manipulation of plants to improve agricultural production in tropical and arid/semiarid climates (e.g., improvement of nutrient

uptake, nitrogen fixation, pest resistance,

drought resistance, etc.);

genetic manipulation of plants to improve

nutrition and health benefits (e.g., reduction of

the cyanide content in cassava; improvement of

protein content of corn);

human and livestock vaccines engineered to be

non-cold chain dependent (see also Human Resource Development); and

increased production of biomass crops for conversion at local-level factories to help solve the

problem of costly petroleum imports (see also

Energy Development).

As is the case with 1PM, however, most cuttingedge biotechnology research is conducted in industrialized countries and does not necessarily

address developing country needs. Agricultural

technologies that are more likely to be accessible

and useful to developing country farmers were

discussed in Innovative Biological Technologies

for Developing Countries (1985). These include:

 underexploited native plant and animal species;

■ multiple-cropping and intercropping systems;

■

■

■

green fertilizers;

zeolite minerals, whose benefits include extending fertilizer efficiency, maintaining soil

nitrogen levels, supplementing animal feedstocks, and decontaminating feedlot wastes;

and

beneficial microorganisms such as mycorrhizae, which significantly increase the root’s surface area and, therefore, the plant’s ability to

assimilate soil nutrients.

Information exchange among countries can be

valuable to all parties. Water-Related Technologies for Sustainable Agriculture in Arid/Semiarid

Lands: Selected Foreign Experience (1993) reported on developing country approaches to efficient use of scarce water supplies. This paper

provides a useful model for exploring developing

country technology relevant to industrial country

interests, and demonstrates the potential for more

mutually beneficial working and learning exchanges between the United States and developing countries.

Potential mutual benefit also can be gained

from U.S. cooperative research on the natural and

cultural resources of many developing countries.

At least 95 percent of U.S. crops have their origin

and centers of genetic diversity outside the United

States (56). Thus, opportunities exist for research

exchanges and partnerships. Crops, technologies,

and farming systems that are indigenous to some

developing regions and have demonstrated potential to be practiced sustainably present especially

promising areas for cooperative research. In

Plants: The Potentials for Extracting Protein,

Medicines, and other Useful Chemicals (1983),

OTA discussed of potential economic uses for indigenous plants. Special consideration was given

to the potential for developing countries to generate income, food, or other benefits from these

plants.

Some technologies to support agricultural

research and food security are found in commu-
78 I Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development

nications and data processing systems. Food Information Systems (1976) evaluated the

information systems of the U.S. Department of

Agriculture and the United Nations Food and

Agriculture Organisation. Remote Sensing and

the Private Sector (1984), International Cooperation and Competition in Civilian Space Activities

(1985), and The Future of Remote Sensing from

Space: Civilian Satellite Systems and Applications (1993), while not exclusively concerned

with agricultural uses of satellite systems, included updated discussions of these uses with respect to developing countries. Reports that give

early warning of adverse weather, pest infestations, natural disasters, and other events that may

affect crop availability and demands are a particularly important service.

Critical to the effectiveness of food information, however, is open information sharing within

and between countries (58). Inadequate dissemination; neglect of rural and small-holder populations; government resistance to revealing

politically, economically, or socially sensitive information; and the inability of many developing

countries to gather, receive, and process data pose

major constraints to the information flow.

OTA analyzed energy-related agricultural production needs in Fueling Development: Energy

Technologies for Developing Countries (1992).

Agriculture was determined to be responsible for

only about 5 to 8 percent of commercial energy

use in developing countries, but use of agricultural machinery in developing countries is expected

to increase. OTA identified several opportunities

for improving the efficiency of commercial energy services in agriculture, particularly for irrigation (e.g., improved pumps, piping, and water

delivery systems such as drip irrigation) and traction (e.g., improved nutrition and harness design

for draft animals, and more efficient motors for

tractors). Other promising energy-efficient measures and technologies can improve:

■ industrial energy use to produce farm implements, fertilizers, and chemicals;

■ application and plant use of agrichemical;

● postharvest drying and storage;

● conversion of crop residues to energy feedstocks; and

■ transport of produce to markets.

Finally, nonagricultural technologies can indirectly improve food production potential by reducing time consumed in collection of firewood

and water (e.g., higher-efficiency stoves).

| Institutional and Policy Mechanisms

The OTA reports featured in Agricultural

Technologies also examined agricultural aid policies and institutional roles; mechanisms by which

research and technology are developed and shared

with developing countries; and monetary and nonmonetary options for improving the effectiveness

of assistance at the institutional level. Agricultural

assistance issues were addressed in other reports

as well: An Assessment of the U.S. Food and Agri -

cultural Research System (1981), Grassroots Development: The African Development Foundation

(1988), New Opportunities for U.S. Universities

in Development Assistance: Agriculture, Natural

Resources, and Environment (1991), Science and

Technology for Development (1989), Aid to Developing Countries: The Technology/Ecology Fit

(1987).

These reports discussed agriculture-related

policy and institutional activity pertaining to:

● research (data collection and management) and

technology generation,

■ extension and technology transfer,

■ education and training, and

■ institution- and capacity-building (22).

| Research

By most estimates, benefits that accrue from

agricultural research greatly out weigh the costs to

society, and returns are high relative to many other

social investments (16). Research, technology,

and extension activities, and appropriate institutional development are major factors contributing

to production increases at home and abroad. Research on problems relevant to small-farm pro-
Appendix B OTA Reports Related to Resource Management and Developing Countries 179

ducers can help identify opportunities for and

constraints to developing country agricultural

production.

Information and research activities that could

contribute to planning and implementing developing country agricultural strategies include:

country- or region-specific, geological, biological, and agroecological surveys;

participatory identification of social, economic, and political opportunities and constraints

that could affect project outcomes and identification of project-level and national expectations and goals; and

survey of local infrastructure and human

resources (e.g., institutional support, roads,

water, agricultural experience, and labor demographics ) and information on local crops and

farming systems.

Extension and Technology Transfer

Two important conditions for successful transfer

of technology, or extension, identified by OTA

are:

1.

2.

to

Personal contact, e.g., direct instruction in a

technology from the extension agent to the

farmer and involvement of parties in technology choice, planning, and implementation; and

Adaptation of the technology to the user’s local

biophysical and socioeconomic conditions.

This requires a two-way information transfer

such that farmers can inform agents of their

needs, problems, and the technologies they use

(41 .44).

OTA has suggested lengthening project cycles

allow more time for technology introduction,

project monitoring, and mid-project adjustments

to deal with problems (2). Such steps could help

foster technology adoption and diffusion, and ensure that technologies are ecologically sustainable

in specific settings.

| Education and Training

Developing countries agricultural research capacity could be improved if U.S. development institutions were to:

1.

2.

3.

4.

operate graduate training programs for scientists in their home countries or comparable

locations, rather than the United States, to ensure that scientists learned to do research in

realistic settings, were able to help solve local

problems, and could continue their research after completion of their degrees;

provide practical short-term training, by local

and foreign experts, for agriculturalists who

worked directly with farmers in an advisory capacity;

provide literature or grants for preparation and

publication of books and bulletins by local scientists to improve access to up-to-date information in countries with inadequate libraries

and information resources (22); and

sponsor demonstration projects.

The goal of such efforts is to promote the scientific, technical, and management expertise developing countries need to carry on work beyond the

life span of individual aid projects, and to ensure

that research at the local level can be cooperative,

accessible, and relevant. Structures for funding

and facilitating coordination and involvement by

donors, universities, developing country institutions, and producers in international agricultural

work was given extensive analysis in New Opportunities for U.S. Universities in Development Assistance: Agriculture, Natural Resources, and

Environment (199 1).

| Energy Technologies and Policies

To Support Sustainable Development

Rapid population growth and structural changes

inherent in the development process (e.g., urbanization; building of the commercial, industrial,

and transportation infrastructure: substitution of

commercial for traditional fuels; and the rise in the

demand for consumer goods) are projected to

triple developing country commercial energy consumption over the next 30 years (19). Significant

financial, operational, and environmental constraints will thwart efforts to increase energy supplies on this scale.

The environmental impacts of rapid expansion

of energy supply could be substantial. Production
80 I Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development

and use of commercial and traditional fuels contribute to the accelerating rates of environmental

degradation within many developing countries.

Energy trends in developing countries are also of

global environmental concern. Although their per

capita energy use is far below that of industrialized countries, developing countries are increasingly important contributors to greenhouse gas

emissions from fossil fuels use. They now account

for slightly more than one-half of annual global

energy-sector carbon dioxide emissions, produce

a growing amount of other greenhouse gases, such

as methane and nitrogen oxides, and continue to

reduce the Earth’s carbon storage capacity

through deforestation.

While energy production, conversion, and use

generally contribute to environmental degradation, energy wisely used can potentially provide

several important environmental benefits in developing countries (e.g., higher fuel efficiency,

less energy-related air pollution, less need for

fuelwood). OTA recently concluded that energy

efficiency improvements in developing countries

could promote economic development with minimal environmental impact (19).

OTA energy-related studies commonly include

information about developing countries, but the

reasons for this vary. 3 In both World Petroleum

Availability 1980-2000 (1980) and Alternative

Energy Futures (1980), OTA looked at the energy

resources and supplies of developing countries as

potential fuel sources for the United States. The

reports recognized, however, that any increase in

developing country energy supplies would likely

be offset by growth in local demand and, thus,

projected continuing U.S. dependence on the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

OTA determined, however, that changes in U.S.

industrial productivity, improved, integrated utility management schemes, and energy efficiency

could lower domestic energy use growth rates.

Energy-related technology transfer to developing countries was highlighted in Technology

Transfer to the Middle East (1984) and Energy

Technology Transfer to China (1985). In the

Middle East report, OTA concluded that the availability of hydrocarbons for power production and

the small size of electricity grids limited prospects

for transfer of nuclear power technologies in the

region. In the China memorandum, OTA also

gave special emphasis to nuclear energy technologies because of an impending nuclear cooperation

agreement between the two countries that was expected to yield export opportunities for the U.S.

nuclear industry. In both studies, OTA observed

that U.S. and foreign expectations and interests regarding technology transfers sometimes diverge,

with obvious strategic and commercial implications. In the case of nuclear energy in particular,

commercial and international security interests

have come into conflict. The potential role of nuclear power in nuclear weapons proliferation has

been a main point of concern. Nuclear Power in

the Age of Uncertainty (1984) assessed ways to

improve the outlook of the nuclear power industry

in the United States, and examined demand

growth, costs, regulations, and public acceptance

overseas. Human and environmental safety concerns in nuclear powerplants and questions of how

to dispose of and prevent accidental release of toxic and radioactive nuclear materials permanently,

received attention in Energy Technology Choices:

Shaping Our Future (1991 ), and Fueling Development: Energy Technologies for Developing

Countries (1 992).

Energy efficiencies vary in the developing

world but, on average, appear to be much lower

than in the industrialized countries. In reasonably

standardized operations, such as cooking, steelmaking, and electricity generation, dramatic improvements in technical efficiencies are possible.

However, the policy environment that determines

3 OTA recent]y produced an Ovewiew of past energy reports, and present and future congressional technology and POI icy interests regarding domestic energy policy, entitled Energj Technology Choice.$; Shaping Our Future ( 1991 ).
Appendix B OTA Reports Related to Resource Management and Developing Countries 181

patterns of incentives and disincentives to energy

efficiency is crucial to the adoption of new

technologies. In Fueling Development, O TA

looked” at:

■ ways to provide energy services for development through improvements in efficiency;

 established technologies that save energy, diminish adverse environmental impacts, reduce

product Iifc-cycle costs to consumers, and lower systemwide capital costs; and

■ the institutional and policy mechanisms that determine their rate of adoption.

| Energy Technologies

Low technical efficiencies with respect to energy

production. conversion, and use in developing

countries could be improved through adoption of

proven technologies. On the demand side, these

include efficient 1ights, stoves, refrigerators, cars

and trucks, industrial boilers, electric motors, and

a variety of new manufacturing processes for ener-

*U)’- intensive industries such as steel and cement.

Energy-efficient pumps, fertilizers, and mechanical traction can improve agricultural productivity.

Technology also could boost efficiency, quality,

and productivity of traditional small-scale industry. which accounts for one-half to three-quarters

of manufacturing employment in many developing countries and is an important source of income

for rural and urban poor. Numerous technologies

at various stages of development and commercialization also could enhance the efficiency of delivering energy services ( 1 9).

Widespread adoption of improved energy use

and delivery technologies could save substantial

energy in the course of development. Capturing

energy savings could benefit the environment and

ease the import burden for many developing countries.

Various opportunities and constraints exist

with regard to improving the efficiency of developing coal, oil, gas, and biomass resources. Alternative, non-combustion-based energy supply

projects, such as hydro, solar, nuclear, and wind

also carry a number of financial, technical, and environmental 1imitations (table B-4). However, important benefits have been provided by new

energy supply technologies in several areas. Characteristics identified by OTA that made these

technologies suitable to developing country needs

included:

Modular, small scale, and short lead times.

Energy supply technologies that are small and

modular can match demand growth more close -

ly than conventional ones. Shorter lead times

and small projects lower costs and reduce risk.

Reliability and performance. Technologies

that improve plant reliability and performance

reduce problems related to blackouts. brownouts, and sharp power surges, which often

plague developing country systems. Many consumers are obliged to invest in back-up equipment in order to minimize the impact of

disrupted supplies.

Rural Access. Most populations of dc~’eloping

countries live in rural areas, the great majority

in poverty and without access to the services

that could improve their standard of 1iving.

Smaller scale technologies (modern biomass

energy and decentralized renewable) that can

bring high-quality energy sources to rural areas

help promote rural development and employ -

ment.

Environmental benefits. OTA’s analysis suggested that among fossil fueled systems. natural gas generally has the fewest adverse

environmental impacts. Increased emphasis on

natural gas could reduce the negative impacts

and human health hazards associated with coal,

and avoid some of the problems of’ large hydroand nuclear power. Modern biomass systems

also would reduce environmental impacts compared with coal or other conventional fuels. Finally, decentralized renewable resources were

found to generate less air pollution and other

environmental problems associated with largescale energy projects.

Foreign exchange savings. New technologies

that develop local energy resources can reduce

energy imports—which currently account for

at least 50 percent of export earnings in several

of the poorest countries.
Energy

resource Advantages Disadvantages

Biomass Used widely—in Africa IS two-thirds of total, in Asia one-third, and Latin

America one-fourth Some developing countries are wholly dependent on it.

Current use IS Important to traditional rural economies and employment

for poor

Potential resource base is extensive, Countries with sufficient land resources could save foreign exchange dollars for reinvestment.

Produced Indigenously, could reduce energy import dependence and

stimulate rural development.

If produced sustainably, would not add to net greenhouse gas (GHG)

emss.ions, if substituted for fossil fuels, could actually decrease GHG

emissions, also could improve local environments by reducing sulfur

dioxide and nitrogen oxides (acid rain precursors) emissions

Of different sources

Agricultural and industrial (e.g., forest products industry) residues Could

be used more extensively and efficiently than they are presently (e.g.,

dung could be processed in a biogas digester); densified residues

have high energy content per volume, reducing transport costs,

Natural forest-derived wood and charcoal, Used widely—meet 90 percent of energy needs in Ethiopia, Nepal, and Bangladesh—m households and businesses Careful management and use could provide

additional energy supplies, many subsistence populations depend on

them for their livelihood, are integral to ecosystem maintenance and

global environmental quality, e g , for carbon storage, numerous techniques exist to minimize damage from wood collection but are undermined by agricultural expansion, immigratlon, and Iivestock rather

than by fuelwood gatherers Efficiency of charcoal kilns and fuelwood

stoves continues to improve and technologies continue to be made

more widely available, as do tree-planting programs (Field, 1993)

High-yleld field crops Research and development have greatly improved

feasibility

Woody biomass Able to be bred for fast growth, high density (heat value

per unit of volume), robustness, nitrogen fixing, and coppicing potential

Requires significant amounts of land, and significant amounts of energy

for planning, harvesting, drying, and-if done-conversion.

Not Iikely to be supplied at competitive price on a sustainable basis

Requires well-developed transportation Infrastructure to be relied on

regionally,

In many developing countries, energy plantations might compete with

food crops,

Any diversion of land could adversely affect the poor, by denying access

to food and previously “free” fuel, fodder, fiber, and fertilizer,

Long-term environmental Impacts of sylvan monoculture and high-yield

crops are unknown, but could involve risks to soil and water quality

and availability,

Most current research and development does not reflect developing

country needs and conditions,

Of different sources:

Agricultural and industrial residues: Raises issue of “determining when a

waste IS really a waste, ” e.g., current biomass IS already heavily used

and may have Important uses other than fuel, e g , livestock feed,

fiber, and fertilizer, is also plowed under to fertilize fields, needs careful management so as not to result in soil degradation and erosion

Natural forest-derived firewood and charcoal High demand and subsequent high prices Iikely would leave fuelwood needs of many unmet,

aggravating shortages (Field, 1993) Techniques to minimize damage

from wood collection are undermined by agriculture expansion, immigration, and livestock (Hosier, 1993)

High-yield field crops. Species very site-speclflc—not a suitable characteristic for developing countries, require long-term sustained efforts,

I.e. , could not occur independent of larger development context.

Woody biomass Forest management notoriously difficult Monoculture

short rotation forests are susceptible to devastating effects from poor

soil, harsh microclimates, pests, fires, weeds, and diseases

(continued)

g

-.CD

sCD
Energy

resource Advantage s

coal Largest single source of fossil fuels in developing countries

veloped and used mostly in China and India

Cheaper per unit of heat value than 011 and, usually, gas

Is a Iong-established technology

Mining capital costs are low

Geothermal Uses Indigenous resources

Low land requirement

Depending on the technology used (binary vs. direct steam

or dual-flash) can have a short construction lead time

Disadvantages

though de- Difficult to handle and transport

Less versatile than 011

Frequently of poor quality

Underground mining Involves hazardous work conditions

Disturbs surface lands and waters

May contaminate underground or surface waters if excavated material IS

not properly managed

Surface mining causes significant land loss

Dust and emissions from mining and preparation can contribute to local

air polIution, e g adds suIfur dioxide (S02

) suspended particuIates,

carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOX

), and carbon dioxide

(C02

) emissions Ieading to acid rain, urban smog, respiratory infections and, potentially, global warming

Has highest per unit energy C02 content –25 kilograms of carbon per

Gigajoule (GJ, or 204 million Btu)

Produces large amounts of solid waste

Resources can only be quantified using expensive drilling (e g , by one

estimate, geothermal drilling costs in Kenya are roughly $250,’ foot)

single-flash Resource extraction requires technical expertise and can be costly

Depending on the technology used (see Advantages), can cause emisSite-speclf!c environmental problems (see Disadvantages) can be con- sions of C02 and hydrogen sulfide and can require large amounts of

trolled water Small binary plants however, can use air-cooled condensers

Site-specific environmental problems Include subsidence of land overlying wells contamination of water supplies by saline (and sometimes

toxic) geothermal fluids and reinjected water and the generation of

surplus high-temperature Iiquid effluent containing metals and dissolved solids

(continued)

m
g

—

Natural gas Many (i.e. , at least 52) developing countries—including several poor,

sub-Saharan African countries— have significant reserves, and more

are being discovered.

Releases fewer GHGs and produces less localized pollution than other

fossil fuels.

Has lowest per unit energy C02 content—produces 13.6 kilograms of

carbon per gigajoule (compare with coal and 011, under Disadvantages)

High quality, “modern” Iiquid and gas fuels offer many benefits—reduced

time, labor, and reduced air pollution (compared with crude biomass

fuels) in provision of residential and commercial energy services

(e g , cooking, water heating)

Mainstay of most developing country commercial energy supplies (twothirds of total)

Easy to transport

Easily used m all sectors at all scales of operation.

Developing countries with reserves could potentially attract small field

development, though Investment incentives traditionally are biased in

favor of large, low-cost rather than small, higher-cost fields among

major (foreign) 011 companies, to this end, multilateral development

banks are now assisting countries with investment challenges.

Is most common substitute for wood-based fuels (firewood and charcoal)

(Field, 1993)

Oil

There iS Iittle exploration for gas—reserves discoveries often are a byproduct of oil exploration

Markets are not developed and local (developing country) markets wiII

not generate adequate foreign exchange to repatriate profits to foreign Investors

Production and transport can lead to land disturbance and water contamination

Combustion contributes to air pollution, e g , adds S02

, suspended particulates, CO, NOX

, and C02 emissions, Ieading to acid rain, urban

smog, respiratory infections, and, potentially, global warming, though

less so than coal or oil.

Not found in large amounts or under good production conditions in most

developing countries-current reserves in most developing countries

wiII exhaust sooner than worldwide reserves/production ratio

Domestic 011 resource development in developing countries projected to

stabilize or decline and import dependence is expected to increase

Imports already consume a significant part of developing country foreign

exchange budgets.

Production and transport can lead to land disturbance and water contamination

Combustion contributes to air pollution, e g , adds S02

, suspended particulates, CO, NOX

, and C02 emissions Ieading to acid rain, urban

smog, respiratory infections, and, potentially, global warming Has 19

kilograms of carbon per gigajoule.

At user -level, kerosene iS more expensive and supply IS often unreliable

(continued)

sCD

o
Large-scale Uses Indigenous resources

hydro Proponents say most environmental costs can be prevented, particularly

as adverse environmental Impacts become a more routine consideration in project designs (Goodland, et al , 1992)

Small-scale Less likely than larger projects to flood large tracts of land, uproot

hydro people, cause significant loss of forests and wildlife habitat, disrupt

the natural flow of rivers, or contribute to the Increased incidence of

debilitating diseases such as schistosomiasis

Less likely than larger projects to emit significant amounts of GHGs

(Rudd, et. al , 1993)

If matched to and operated according to local community needs, and

constructed using local materials and labor, can achieve considerable savings over designs based on large projects. However, centralized organization still Iikely to be needed to provide effective maintenance and repair services (Foley, 1992)

Water turbines. Have been successfully substituted for traditional water

mills for milling gram also have been equipped with generators to

provide lighting (Foley, 1992)

Nuclear Releases Iittle air pollution

Proponents say small, modular, safer units under development could

offer high performance and safety at reasonable costs However, data

on costs and performance are not yet available, and risk averse potential nuclear power users with Iimited capital may choose to wait

until these are operated commercially and have demonstrated these

claims

Has become increasingly controversial as concern about its adverse

social and environmental impacts has come to the fore

Very capital-lntenswe and construction time can be long, consulting a

major drain on developing country economies

Can flood large tracts of land, uprooting people and leading to loss of

forests and wildlife habitat, can disrupt the natural flow of rivers and

contribute to the increased incidence of debilitating diseases such as

schistosomiasis

Depending on the extent of flooding, type of landscape flooded (e.g. ,

physical, chemical, and biological features), and mode of power generation, can emit significant amounts of GHGs (Rudd, et al , 1993)

Study in India found small hydro to be nine times more expensive, per

kilowatt hour than larger projects

Small projects based on large project designs tend to suffer from diseconomy of scale large overhead for construction, access roads, and

site establishment.

Hydro projects generally face significant technical, financial, and managerial problems (e.g , lack of water, site instability) (Foley, 1992).

Has potential to release toxic and radioactive materials wastes require

careful handling and long-term disposal strategies

High capital costs are Iikely to Iimit potential for development in developing countries, historically nuclear power systems have cost more and

operated at lower capacity factors than anticipated

Nuclear technology requires technically skilled personnel Developing

countries, at least Initially, would be dependent on other countries for

equipment and operation of powerplants

Poses problems of weapons proliferation

(cent/nuedj

—. —
—

Energy

resource Advantages Disadvantages

Solar Small photovoltaics kits. Used to power water pumps suitable for drinking

supplies, and electricity generation for solar refrigerators, Iighting,

and small electronic equipment (e.g., radios, cassette players, small

TVs). Useful for decentralized applications, as in remote areas (Foley,

1992)

Flat-plate solar collectors: Sold commercially in the United States. Main

potential in developing countries IS in urban areas (Foley, 1992).

Wind Has proven competitive with traditional electricity generation technologies in some applications in the United States.

A 1987 World Bank report identified 16 developing countries that would

be appropriate for grid-connected wind turbines (i.e., exhibiting a

sufficient wind resource within 50 kilometers of an existing electricity

grid),

Small photovoltaics kits, Historically plagued by failures of solar cells and

ancillary equipment in harsh developing country operating conditions, shortage of spare parts and suitably skilled technicians has

constrained life span in some countries. Appears to require considerable subsidizing—voluntary or spontaneous adoption and dissemination has been negligible. Power output is not suitable for operation of

many domestic appliances (e. g., irons, sewing machines, hot plates,

much less commercial enterprises), thus potential for expanded electricity use IS hindered (Foley, 1992).

Centralized power stations: Extremely unreliable and expensive to maintain-dependent upon services of expert technicians from manufacturing companies in donor countries for repairs (Foley, 1992).

F/at-p/are solar collectors: Cost and technical complexity preclude use in

remote areas (Foley, 1992).

Solar dryers and solar cookers, Have proved expensive, awkward, and

generally impractical (Foley, 1992).

Major constraints to wind turbines are wind resource limits and backup

requirements.

Land requirements for wind turbines can be large, however, crop production and cattle raising can still be done on this land.

Design and manufacture of wind turbines is somewhat complex and may

not be readily done in many developing countries, although some

manufacturing and most assembly of components can be done within

the user country,

SOURCES U S Congress, Ofhce of Technology Assessment, Fueling Development Energy Technologlesfor Developing Countries, OTA-E-516 (Washington, DC U S Government Prlntlng

Off Ice, April 1992), unless otherwse mdlcated Also T Field, “Wood -Starved and Footsore, ” American Forests, 99(July-August) 49-52, 1993, G Foley, “Renewable Energy m Third World

DevelopmentAsslstance Learning from Experience” Energy Pollcy20(Apnl) 355-364,1992, R Goodland, A Juras, and R Pachaun, “Can Hydroreservolrs mTroptcal Moist Forests Be Made

Environmentally Acceptable~” Energy Pollcy20(June) 507-515, 1992, R H Hosler, “Charcoal ProductIon and Enwronmental Degradation. Environmental History Selechve Harveshng, and

Post-Harvest Management, ” Energy Policy 21 (May) 491-509, 1993, J W M Rudd, et al , “Are Hydroelectric Reservoirs Slgniftcant Sources of Greenhouse Gases?” AMBI022(4) 246-248,

1993

o

-.

3
Appendix B OTA Reports Related to Resource Management and Developing Countries 187

 Employment. Decentralized renewable need

installation and servicing that could create local jobs. Production of biomass energy can also

create rural employment.

However, adoption of new energy technologies

depends on not only the intrinsic superiority of the

technology itself but also on whether financial and

institutional factors favor adoption. Finally, little

experience with large-scale use of decentralized

technologies exists to serve as a basis for firm decisionmaking ( 19).

| Institutional and Policy Mechanisms

Institutional and procedural impediments exist to

energy efficiency in developing countries. Examples from the energy supply sector include: official interference in day-to-day management of

utilities, overstaffing, inadequately trained staff

and management, poor system integration and

planning, poor maintenance, deficient financial

monitoring, lack of standardization of equipment,

distorted pricing structures, corruption, shortages

of foreign exchange to buy spare parts, and regulatory frameworks that discourage competition.

These problems raise questions about the potential for energy supplies to expand rapidly even if

financial resources were available.

OTA found that when all costs are accounted

for, energy-efficient equipment usually can provide energy services at a lower installed capital

cost than less efficient equipment. In the electric

sector, for example, capital could be saved because higher initial costs of efficient end-use

equipment usually are outweighed by savings

realized from building fewer powerplants. Opportunities to install energy-efficient equipment are

particularly important in developing countries because of the rapid growth in stocks of energy-using equipment and the high share of total

investment budgets devoted to increasing energy

supplies.

To achieve substantial capital savings through

energy efficiency, institutional changes are

needed to enable decisionmaking on a systemwide basis, and to focus financial resources on

adoption of efficient end-use equipment. A powerful tool for achieving such a systems approach

is Integrated Resource Planning, in which energyefficiency investments are explicitly included as

an alternative to capacity expansion (box B-1).

Utilities in developing countries also must

build up and maintain competent technical staffs.

This will require a long-term institutional commitment to training in support of environmental

planning and regulatory functions (19).

Technical transfer policies that could help overcome constraints to adoption of energy -efficient

technologies include:

■

■

a

m

■

●

increased attention to technology adaptation;

increased training in energy-efficient end use or

improved supply technologies;

energy pricing policies that reflect the full costs

of supplying energy:

taxation of consumers;

financial incentives (e.g., tax relief or low-cost

loans) to encourage production or purchase of

energy efficient equipment: and

efficiency standards.

Developing countries seeking alternative ways

to meet the demand for energy are giving increased attention to politically sensitive questions

such as energy price reform, improved management, and operations’ efficiency in state-owned

energy supply industries. Several developing

countries have taken steps to encourage private investment, and many countries have developed capable resource and policy institutions. Progress

also has been made in energy-related environmental protection.

Bilateral and multilateral donor institutions

also are beginning to incorporate environmental

planning and energy conservation into their projects and to encourage a larger role for the private

sector. Congress has directed USAID to encourage energy pricing reform, end-use energy efficiency, integrated resource planning (termed least

cost planning), and renewable energy; and to increase the number and expertise of personnel devoted to these areas. USAID has also been

directed to include global warming considerations

in its energy assistance activities. In particular,

Congress requested USAID to identify those de-
88 I Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development

Conceptually, Integrated resource planning2 (IRP) is straightforward. Planners rank by cost all the

different energy supply and energy end-use technologies that might be used to provide an energy service, and implement them beginning with the lowest cost opportunities. Thus, various electricity supply

technologies such as conventional coal plants, steam-injected gas turbines, and combined-cycle

plants are compared with each other and with end-use technologies such as compact fluorescent

Iights, adjustable--speed electronic drives for motors, and increased insulation in buildings to reduce

air-conditioning loads. Of all the different possibilities, the lowest cost options are chosen for investment

The manner in which energy institutions are organized, however, has not encouraged the implementation of Integrated resource planning Under the traditional regulatory framework found in most

countries, utilities are in the business of selling energy supplies, not energy services Each kilowatthour sold by an electric utility increases gross earnings, no matter how much it costs to generate; conversely, each kilowatt-hour saved by using an energy-efficient technology decreases earnings, no matter how little it costs to Implement 3 Similarly, displacing utility-generated power with purchases of power from nonutility sources such as industrial cogeneration usually reduces utility earnings These considerations often hold even where electricity costs are heavily subsidized—the state simply replenishes

utility funds while utility managers and workers are rewarded in terms of job security, increased salaries

or staffs, and so forth for the amount of electricity generated, irrespective of its cost and usefulness.

in contrast, Integrated Resource Planning changes the regulatory framework in order to encourage

utilities and other to Implement the least-cost demand and supply options. Among other changes, regulators allow utilities to earn income based on the net benefits from investments m energy-efficiency

Improvements This focuses the financial, managerial, and technical skills of the utility on some of the

market failures on the demand side and helps realize some of the most important policy responses,

especially the capital cost-related ones

Factors that should be considered in IRP programs include: providing appropriate financial rewards

for utilities to support efficiency Improvements as well as supply-decoupling utility profits from the

number of kilowatt-hours sold—m order to minimize the overall cost of supplying energy services, ensuring that the startup costs of the IRP program and the administrative complexity and overheads are

kept to a minimum, developing adequate methods for “measuring” savings (also known as scorekeeping), and avoiding the “free-rider” problem.

‘ Sources and further reading David Moskowtz, ‘ Profits and Progress Through Least-Cost Planning, ” National Assoclatton of

Regulatory Utlllty Commissioners, Washington, DC, November, 1989, Jonathan Koomey, Arthur H Rosenfeld, and Ashok Gadgll,

“Conservation Screening Curves To Compare Efficiency Investments to Power Plants, ” Energy Po/icy, October 1990, pp 774-782,

Thomas B Johansson, Blrglt Bodlund, and Robert H Williams, E/ecWcity Efficient End-Use and New Generation Techno/oglesand

Thefr P/annmg hnphcations (Lund, Sweden Lund Unwersity Press, 1989), Howard S Geller, Effrclent Hectrlcty Use A Deve/opmen?

Strategy for flrazd, contractor report for the Off Ice of Technology Assessment (Washington, DC American Council for an Energy EffIclent Economy, 1991), Proceedings 5(PI Natlorra/ Demand -Sfde Management Conference, Electric Power Research Inshtute, Palo

Alto, CA, report CU-7394, 1991, P Herman, et al , “End-UseTechnlcalAssessment Guide, volume4 Fundamentals and Methods, ”

Electric Power Research Institute, EPRI CU-7222, VOI 4, April 1991, Palo Alto, CA; Linda Berry and Er{c Hlrst, “The U.S DOE LeastCost Uhltty Planning Program, ” Energy 15(12) 1107-1117, 1990, Glenn Zorpette, “UtMles Get Serious About Efficiency, ” /EEESpectrum, May 1991, pp 42-43

2 Other names associated with integrated resource planning include/east costp/annmg and demand sfde management Least

Cost Planmng has sometimes been taken to mean only comparisons of energy supply options, with no comparisons with end use

options, with no comparisons with energy supply options

3 Adapted from David Moskowtz, Op Clt , footnote 1

●
—.-

Appendix B OTA Reports Related to Resource Management and Developing Countries 189

veloping countries where changes in energy and

forestry policies might significant y reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Given the relatively small scale of U.S. bilateral assistance for energy development,4 aid attention should focus on:

promoting technical assistance and institution

building for technology transfer and diffusion;

introducing energy efficiency and related environmental considerations into broader international policy discussions where the U.S. voice

carries considerable weight;

bringing influence to bear on the activities of

the multilateral development banks whose expenditures represent a major force in developing country energy decisionmaking; and

developing cooperative approaches with other

bilateral donors and lending agencies, and the

private sectors in the United States and developing countries.

Regulatory and Trade Policies

To Support Sustainable Development

Discussions of developing country industrialization needs have become more common as issues

such as international trade agreements, multinational enterprises, “aid for trade,” and “greener”

production have entered the domestic and international policy dialog. Helping developing countries reduce the adverse environmental impacts of

urbanization and industrial growth can, in some

instances, help U.S. producers of environmental

technologies.

However, U.S. manufacturers have long expressed concern about the cost of complying with

U.S. environmental regulations. In most developing countries, compliance costs are lower and, in

some cases, negligible. OTA generally has found

that environmental regulation has little overall effect on U.S. trade performance. Market access,

wages, and labor standards are much more important to siting facilities differences. Environmental

regulation and enforcement have greater impact in

U.S. sectors with higher compliance costs and

regulatory burdens than their foreign competitors

(29). Various domestic and foreign policy responses to unequal levels of environmental regulation are possible, such as negotiations with other

countries for higher standards, changes in the U.S.

regulatory system, and incentives to U.S. industries to adopt pollution prevention and other innovative, more cost-effective environmental

approaches. Environmental agreements with other countries could be combined with U.S. technical assistance to help countries develop and

implement appropriate environmental standards.

U.S. policy efforts aimed at making business elsewhere adhere to industrialized country standards

would be controversial, but could yield long-term

benefits for the environment and for public receptiveness to trade liberalization in the United

States. However, developing country officials

may fear losing multinational investments if their

environmental standards are raised above those of

neighboring countries.

The issue of unequal environmental standards

was addressed in Copper: Technology and Competitiveness ( 1988). U.S. copper producers

claimed that extensive environmental regulations

significantly added to the costs of domestic production and adversely affected their competitiveness. In developing countries, environmental

regulations on copper producers had considerably

less impact. OTA suggested that the United States

could apply pressure for environmental control

through its participation in international financing

of foreign copper projects (World Bank), or

through taxes on imported copper. Pressure on

Mexico and Canada, in particular, could be tied to

treaties related to border issues. In the end, however, the U.S. copper industry’s concerns about

environmental regulations, labor costs, and ore

quality were offset by their advantages with re4 According to OTA c$timate~ of 1991 aid, total U.S. bilateral assi~tance for environmental technologies. including energy, is second only

to Japan (OTA, 1993).
90 I Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development

spect to transportation costs, technology, supporting infrastructure, and workforce capabilities.

OTA described potential conflicts between environmental protection and trade in Trade and Environment: Conflicts and Opportunities (1992).

Options for addressing these conflicts in for the

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)

and North American Free Trade Agreement

(NAFTA) negotiations were offered in Industry,

Technology, and the Environment: Competitive

Challenges and Business Opportunities (1994).

In U.S. -Mexico Trade: Pulling Together or

Pulling Apart? (1992), OTA evaluated the effects

of one trade agreement, the NAFTA with Mexico,

on U.S. jobs and economic opportunities. Although analysis centered on U.S. industries (automobiles and parts, electronics, apparel, and

agriculture), discussion of potential repercussions

on both sides of the border was offered. F o r

instance, open trade could increase prosperity and

raise standards of living in both countries, or it

could drive down wages and living standards in

the United States without accelerating development in Mexico. Mexico’s environmental laws,

though comprehensive, do not appear to be well

enforced and funding for pollution control, cleanup, and inspection is scarce. In OTA’s estimation,

the agreement Integrated Plan for the MexicanU.S. Border Area was only a small step toward

improving the border environment. It was feared

that the plan lacked concrete goals and financial

commitments, and called for more information

exchanges and studies than actions. Nevertheless,

programs are now underway to improve Mexico’s

economic opportunities and workplace health and

safety standards, and to institute social and environmental improvements, including:

●

●

●

product standards, e.g., environmental health

and safety standards for exported goods;

sanitary and phytosanitary measures, e.g., specific pesticide residue limits for agricultural

and food products;

restrictions on trade, e.g., prohibition of products containing or generating CFCs;

dispute settlement, e.g., opening up the process

to public involvement, in contrast to GATT’s

“closed forum” process; and

establishment of the North American Development Bank.

Environmental and Industrial

Technologies To Support Sustainability

In accordance with growing environmental

awareness worldwide, OTA recently looked at environmental protection issues in terms of the economic and industrial opportunities they may

present (9, 11). Environmental awareness, liberalization of trade, and the presence of multinational

firms is leading to more environmental technology imports in some developing countries.

Developing countries are not equally advanced

in their economic and regulatory capacities or environmental equipment needs. For most developing countries, provision of basic water, sewer, and

refuse disposal services are major environmental

priorities and the areas where most spending on

environmental technologies occurs. Technologies

such as improved cookstoves, forest management, and agricultural practices are the primary

needs in some countries. Potential buyers of environmental equipment in developing countries are

the electric power, chemical, petroleum refining,

steel, pulp and paper, food, textile, and other process industries.

Provision of even basic environmental public

works involves heavy capital expenditures, long

lead times in planning and construction, and high

fixed costs. Developing countries will need more

systems suited to rural areas, as well as systems

that reach the urban poor. A few of the environmental public works technologies discussed in

Delivering the Goods: Public Works Technologies, Management, and Finance (1991) are appropriate for rural and low-income users (52).

Multilateral institutions and bilateral donors

will play the principal role in building environmental infrastructure in developing countries.

Thus, environmental product and service provid-
Appendix B OTA Reports Related to Resource Management and Developing Countries 191

ers look to foreign aid and private and public investment as major clients. Linking development

assistance with promotion of environmental exports may benefit business as well as bring needed

environmental technology to developing countries. Some fear this could result in transfer of

technologies that do not meet the recipient’s developmental or environmental needs. Potential

for transfer of inappropriate technologies could be

reduced through safeguards to keep export promotion efforts consistent with developmental and environmental objectives (9).

The industrial sector consumes 40 to 60 percent

of total commercial fossil energy used in developing countries and also uses biomass fuels heavily.

Lack of efficient conversion technologies and reliable supplies contributes to the overall inefficiency of energy use and promotes adverse economic

and environmental impacts. Certain technologies

that lead to more efficient use of energy and materials can be applied to many industries. In rapidly

industrializing countries where very large investments in new production systems are occurring,

the application of cleaner production and energyefficient technologies can provide long-term environmental and economic benefits.

Approaches to industrial development that prevent pollution often are more cost-effective than

end-of-pipe water treatment technologies, Several

OTA reports, beginning with Serious Reduction of

Hazardous Waste and culminating most recently

in Industry, Technology, and the Environment

(1994), have discussed the potential for industrial

pollution prevention. As noted in Development

Assistance, Export Promotion, and Environmen -

tal Technologies ( 1993), pollution prevention

would be a logical candidate for more attention

from bilateral and multilateral aid agencies.

Primary barriers to improve industrial efficiency in developing countries are: typical small scale

needed (i.e., inability to take advantage of economy of scale), inadequate infrastructure. use of

low quality or obsolete technology, and the high

initial costs for installing improved technologies

or constructing new facilities with improved

technologies (52).

OTA suggested the following options with potential direct benefits to developing countries and

the United States:

■

m

■

m

■

provide developing countries with information

and technical advice on environmental products. approaches, and available technologies;

make cleaner production and pollution prevention priorities in multilateral aid;

fund USAID-Department of Energy programs

for transfer of innovative energy and environmental technologies to developing countries;

increase the U.S. Trade and Development

Agency’s funding for capital project feasibility

studies; and

encourage U.S. firms to emphasize training in

equipment and service contracts in their international activities.

The role of U.S. development assistance in

strengthening developing country economies remains controversial. On the one hand, U.S. assistance programs are to promote sound economic

development and policy choices, and improve developing countries’ conditions for private investment and foreign exchange earnings. On the other

hand, these activities are not to create competition

for U.S. industry nor export U.S. jobs. A discussion of the pros and cons of using development assistance to promote trade and U.S. economic

growth is provided in OTA’s Development Assistance, Export Promotion and the Environment

(1993).

| Human Resources To Support

Sustainability

Aid for development at the project level often

aims to meet a given need within a host population, and to improve that population’s potential to

identify and address its own institutional and technical needs after direct assistance has ended. The

latter requires attention to human capital and institutional support. Within many developing countries, the institutions needed for sustainable

development are not broadly available outside of

major urban areas, or to the poor in general.
92 I Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development

Several OTA reports focus on issues of human

resource development in recipient nations and domestic communities, including assessments of international telecommunications policy, tropical

disease research, and local development.

| Communications and

Information Technologies

Facilitating communication among industrial and

developing countries will be fundamental to many

aspects of sustainable development. The expansion of personal computer networks and associated communication applications (e.g., Internet,

Telnet) seems to portend a communication explosion. However, widespread investment will be

needed to increase availability and accessibility of

even the most basic communications technologies

in developing countries. First, the basic telecommunications infrastructure must be expanded and

upgraded. Secondary objectives are:

■ Improve availability and accessibility to cellular radio technology. Remote areas in developing countries have been particularly

marginalized in terms of access to information.

Cellular technology, although expensive, could

be appropriate in these areas where environmental constraints mitigate against traditional

communications infrastructure.

■ Promote availability and use of computerized

applications. Increasing access to a wide variety of electronic information could assist professionals and decisionmakers to address a

variety of problems from diagnosing diseases,

determining what crops to plant based on international markets, or identifying potential

technical experts for specific sustainable development projects. Making such information easily available in developing countries where

many facilities are constrained by small budgets could significantly improve their operability.

● Improve and expand international communications. A variety of electronic technologies

(e.g., Internet, electronic mail, and facsimile)

have revolutionized information exchange.

The expansion of electronic mail and facsimile

has been dramatic and allows easy communication around much of the world, irrespective of

time-zone differences that can make telephone

access problematic. One- to two-day turnarounds on information is possible. Although

costs vary, they seem to be decreasing, making

international electronic communication more

accessible. For example, many nongovernmental organizations in developing countries

use computer-based communication systems

to gather and disseminate information internationally.

Several organizations are working toward improved global communications. The United Nations Sustainable Development Network is

assisting less developed countries develop and

maintain data on domestic development activities

with an ultimate goal of compiling a global network. Similarly, US AID is improving its Management Information System as a programmatic

tracking mechanism. Both of these sources could

contain valuable information for developing

country professionals and decisionmakers. Coordination of information suppliers could generate

greater benefits.

Unfortunately, developing countries are significantly disadvantaged in international telecommunications. Most developing countries lack

even basic infrastructure such as sound (audio)

satellite and TV broadcasting and cellular data.

Sound satellite services, capable of delivering

educational, health information, disaster warning,

news, and entertainment services, currently reach

only 30 percent of Africa’s territories (5). Ninety

percent of the allocated radio spectrum already is

utilized by industrial countries, and many of the

services sought by developing countries use parts

of the spectrum desired or already occupied by industrialized countries. Furthermore, the developing country representatives responsible for

choosing and lobbying for services and technologies often must do so without adequate resources

or understanding of technical issues, and at tremendous economic risk. Developing countries

have, therefore, had little choice but to attempt to

pool their resources and develop a unified position
Appendix B OTA Reports Related to Resource Management and Developing Countries 193

in international negotiations. Identification of

common, regional interests and problems regarding spectrum access and use can overcome some

financial and human resource constraints, but industrial country cooperation is necessary.

Agreement and support from the United States

is necessary if spectrum resource inequities are to

be reduced. Technical and financial assistance and

cooperation from the United States could help developing countries make informed technology

choices in support of development (5).

| Tropical Disease-Related

Biomedical Technologies

In broadest measurements, human health has improved in all developing regions over the past few

decades (e.g., life expectancy at birth, mortality of

children age 5 and below). Nevertheless, of total

deaths in 1985 in developing countries, nearly

one-half were caused by infectious and parasitic

diseases. Of these, 37 percent were children under

5 (versus 3 percent in developed countries) (61).

Vectorborne, tropical diseases remain pervasive problems in the developing world:

1.

2.

3.

4.

Malaria is on an upward trend due to insecticide-resistant mosquitoes and resistance of the

parasite to antimalarial drugs; a 7-percent increase was noted between 1985 and 1990.

Schistosomiasis is endemic in 76 countries;

200,000 people die of this each year; 200 million are infected and 600 million are at risk.

Filariasis affects 76 countries; 90 million

people are infected and 900 million are at risk.

Onchocerciasis is endemic in 26 African, two

eastern Mediterranean, and six Latin American

countries: 17.6 million to 17.8 million people

are infected and 85 million to 90 million are at

risk (61 ).

U.S.-supported tropical medicine research is

carried out by several multinational programs,

government agencies, universities, and private research foundations and corporations, Two OTA

documents about tropical disease emerged in response to congressional uncertainty over whether

to continue funding the Gorgas Memorial Laboratory in the Republic of Panama: Quality and Relevance of Research and Related Activities at the

Gorgas Memorial Laboratory (1983) and Status

of Biomedical Research and Related Technology

for Tropical Diseases (1985). OTA identified the

now-defunct Gorgas Memorial Laboratory as one

of the few high-quality, broadly relevant, tropical

research institutions located in a tropical country.

OTA suggested such institutions were needed in

the Tropics to: 1 ) provide field information on the

occurrence, natural history, and transmission of

diseases; and 2) test research results+. g., drugs,

vaccines, vector control programs—where diseases occur. It was also pointed out that research

institutions in developing countries can serve as

training facilities and can help developing countries retain professionals who otherwise would

likely seek positions in industrialized countries.

International health research centers along the

lines of the international agricultural research centers could make a large contribution to improving

the health care/maintenance systems in developing countries. Such centers could identify and analyze the sources of health problems as well as

conduct local research on design and delivery of

health maintenance systems. Developments in basic and applied biomedical research hold promise

for more specific disease control measures (38).

Status of Biomedical Research and Related

Technology for Tropical Diseases {1985), included an overview of the major U.S. tropical

R&D supporters (e.g., National Institutes of

Health, Center for Disease Control, U.S. Department of Defense, and U.S. Agency for International Development); policies concerning

medical technology development, research funding, and congressional oversight; and assessment

of biomedical laboratory research. Some field research pertaining to selected tropical diseases also

was discussed.

| Local Development

Many developing countries are still at a stage

where increased investment in sanitation and

clean water would bring tremendous benefits.

Small and regional wastewater, drinking water,
94 I Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development

and municipal solid waste systems used in U.S.

rural areas, which might have uses in developing

countries, were discussed along with metropolitan public works in Delivering the Goods: Public

Works Technologies, Management, and Finance

(1991).

Construction, operation, and maintenance of

public service facilities (e.g., environmental public works and transportation) in developing countries, particularly their rural areas, impose high

costs. Without these services, however, neglected

populations in rural and urban areas suffer higher

incidence of infectious diseases, and may be

forced to invest considerable time and energy in

securing water; furthermore, rural economic development options are severely limited.

An Assessment of Technologies for Local Development (198 1 ) assessed the potential for reducing the costs of community services using

appropriate technology. Case studies were conducted of community-based projects for: resource-efficient residential architecture, solar

greenhouses, small farm systems, farmers markets, resource recovery from municipal solid

waste, wastewater treatment, energy generation,

and health- care- systems. Critical to all the projects was public interest; availability of technical

information and expertise; material, capital, and

financial resources; and various types of financing

(e.g., grants, cost-sharing, contracts, subsidies,

conventional financing).

Appropriate technology may not be readily

transferable. Because appropriate technology is

tailored to special conditions and available resources at the community level, a similar outcome

is not guaranteed elsewhere. Transfer of appropriate technologies in overseas projects depends on

reliable information on the design, cost, and performance of the technologies themselves; and on

removal of institutional barriers (e.g., opposition

from commercial interests and reluctance of donors to accept innovative project designs).

Improved human capital is a precondition to

transfer of technical and productive knowledge,

and eventual production of new knowledge. Practicing sustainable development will depend on

broad understanding of the interdependence of the

Earth’s social, economic, and environmental resources and the costs and benefits of adopting sustainable practices.

APPENDIX B REFERENCES

1. Bierbaum, R., Sundt, N., and Friedman, R.,

An Analysis of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer--Staff

Paper, staff paper prepared by the Oceans and

Environment Program (Washington, DC: Office of Technology Assessment, U.S. Congress, February 1988).

2. Hess, A. L., Ross-Sheriff, B., and Durana, P.,

Aid to Developing Countries: The Technolo -

gy/Ecology Fit-Staff Paper, staff paper prepared by the Food and Renewable Resources

Program (Washington, DC: Office of

Technology Assessment, U.S. Congress,

June 1987).

3. Hinrichsen, D., “Coasts Under Pressure,”

People and the Planet 3(1): 19-21, 1994.

4. Kowalok, M. E., “Common Threads: Research Lessons from Acid Rain, Ozone

Depletion, and Global Warming,” Environment 35(6): 13-38, 1993.

5. Norguera, F., "WARC ’92: Implications and

Stakes for Developing Countries,” Caribbean Affairs 5(June):96-101, 1992.

6. Norse, D., “A New Strategy for Feeding a

Crowded Planet,” Environment 34(5):6-11,

32-39, 1992.

7. Plucknett, D. L., “International Agricultural

Research for the Next Century,” Bioscience

43(7): 432-440, 1993.

8. Technology Assessment Act of 1972, Public

Law 92-484 (86 Stat. 797), 92d Congress,

H.R. 10243, Oct. 13, 1972.

9. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Industry, Technology, and the Environment: Competitive Challenges and Business

Opportunities, OTA-ITE-586 (Washington,

DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, January 1 994).

10. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Multinationals and the National Interest, OTA-ITE-569 (Washington, DC: U.S.
Appendix B OTA Reports Related to Resource Management and Developing Countries 195

Government Printing Office, September

1993).

11. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Development Assistance, Export

Promotion, and Environmental TechnologyBackground Paper, OTA-BP-ITE- 107

(Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing

Office, August 1993).

12. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Alternative Coca Reduction Strategies

in the Andean Region, OTA-F-556 (Washington DC: U.S. Government Printing Office,

July 1993).

13. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, The Future of Remote Sensing from

Space: Civilian Satellite Systems and Applications, OTA-ISC-558 (Washington, DC:

U.S. Government Printing Office, July 1993).

14. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, The 1992 World Administration Radio

Conference: Technology and Policy Implications, OTA-TCT-549 (Washington, DC: U.S.

Government Printing Office, May 1993).

15. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, U.S.-Mexico Trade: Pulling Together

or Pulling Apart? OTA-ITE-545 (Washington. DC: U.S. Government Printing Office,

October 1992).

16. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, A New Technological Era for American

Agriculture, OTA-F-474 (Washington, DC:

U.S. Government Printing Office, August

1992).

17. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Combined Summaries: Technologies

To Sustain Tropical Forest Resources and Biological Diversity, OTA-F-515 (Washington,

DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, May

1992).

18. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment. Trade and the Environment: Conflicts

and Opportunities-Background Paper,

OTA-BP-ITE-94 (Washington, DC: U.S.

Government Printing Office, May 1992).

19. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Fueling Development: Energy Technologies for Developing Countries, OTA-E-516

(Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing

Office, April 1992).

20. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, The 1992 World Administration Radio

Conference: Issues for U.S. International

Spectrum Policy-Background Paper, OTA -

BP-TCT-76 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, November 1991 ).

21. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Biotechnology in the Global Economy,

OTA-BA-494 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, October 199 1).

22. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, New Opportunities for U.S. Universities in Development Assistance: Agriculture,

Natural Resources, and Environment—Background Paper, OTA-BP-F-71 (Washington,

DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, September 199 1).

23. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Energy Technology Choices: Shaping

Our Future, OTA-E-493 (Washington, DC:

U.S. Government Printing Office, July 1991 ).

24. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Global Arms Trade, OTA-ISC-480

(Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing

Office, June 1991).

25. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Delivering the Goods: Public Works

Technologies, Management, and Finance,

OTA-SET-477 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, April 199 1).

26. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Rural America at the Crossroads: Networking for the Future, OTA-TCT-471

(Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing

Office, April, 1991 ).

27. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Changing by Degrees: Steps To Reduce

Greenhouse Gases, OTA-O-482 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office,

February 1991).

28. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, A Plague of Locusts-Special Report,

OTA-F-450 (Washington DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, July 1990).
96 I Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development

29. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Making Things Better: Competing in

Manufacturing, OTA-ITE-443 (Washington,

DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, March

1990).

30. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Copper: Technology and Competitiveness, OTA-E-367 (Washington, DC: U.S.

Government Printing Office, September

1988).

31. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Enhancing Agriculture in Africa: A

Role for U.S. Development Assistance,

OTA-F-356 (Washington DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, September 1988).

32. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Grassroots Development: The African

Development Foundation, OTA-F-378

(Washington DC: U.S. Government Printing

Office, June 1988).

33. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Integrated Renewable Resource Management for U.S. Insular Areas, OTA-F-325

(Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing

Office, June 1987).

34. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Wastes in Marine Environments,

OTA-O-334 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, April 1987).

35. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Technologies To Maintain Biological

Diversity, OTA-F-330 (Washington, DC:

U.S. Government Printing Office, March

1987).

36. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Continuing the Commitment: Agricultural Development in the Sahel-Special

Report, OTA-F-308 (Washington, DC: U.S.

Government Printing Office, August 1986).

37. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Energy Technology Transfer to China-Technical Memorandum, OTA-TMISC-30 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government

Printing Office, September, 1985).

38. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Status of Biomedical Research and Related Technology for Tropical Diseases,

OTA-H-258 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, September 1985).

39. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Innovative Biological Technologies for

Developing Countries—Workshop Proceedings, OTA-BP-F-29 (Washington, DC: U.S.

Government Printing Office, July 1985).

40. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, International Cooperation and Competition in Civilian Space Activities,

OTA-ISC-239 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, July 1985).

41. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Africa Tomorrow: Issues in Technology, Agriculture, and U.S. Foreign AidTechnical Memorandum, OTA-TM-F-31

(Washington DC: U.S. Government Printing

Office, December 1984).

42. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Technology Transfer to the Middle

East, OTA-ISC-173 (Washington, DC: U.S.

Government Printing Office, September

1984).

43. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Remote Sensing and the Private Sector,

Issues for Discussion-Technical Memorandum, OTA-TM-ISC-20 (Washington, DC:

U.S. Government Printing Office, March

1984).

44. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Technologies To Sustain Tropical Forest Resources, OTA-F-214 (Washington, DC:

U.S. Government Printing Office, March

1984).

45. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Nuclear Power in the Age of Uncertainty, OTA-E-216 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, February 1984).

46. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Commercial Biotechnology: An

International Analysis, OTA-BA-218 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, January 1984).

47. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Plants: The Potentials for Extracting

Protein, Medicines, and other Useful Chemicals-Workshop Proceedings, OTA-BP-F-23
Appendix B OTA Reports Related to Resource Management and Developing Countries 197

(Washington, DC: U.S. Government printing

Office, September 1983).

48. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment. Quality and Relevance of Research and

Related Activities at the Gorgas Memorial

Laboratory-Technical Memorandum, OTA -

TM-H-18 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, August 1983).

49. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Water-Related Technologies for Sustainable Agriculture in Arid/Semiarid Lands:

Selected Foreign Experience—Background

Paper, OTA-BP-F-20 (Washington, DC: U.S.

Government Printing Office, May 1983).

50. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment. World Population and Fertility Planning Technologies, the Next Twenty Years,

OTA-HR-157 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, February 1982).

51. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment. An Assessment of the U.S. Food and

Agricultural Research System, OTA-F-155

(Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing

Office, December 1981 ).

52. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment. An Assessment of Technologies for Local Development, OTA-R-129 (Washington,

DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, January 198 1).

53. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment. World Petroleum Availability 1980-

2000-Technical Memorandum, OTATM-E-5 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government

Printing Office, October 1980).

54. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Alternative Energy Futures-Part 1,

The Future of Liquid Natural Gas Imports,

OTA-E-110 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, March 1980).

55. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, U.S. Disaster Assistance to Developing

Countries: Lessons Applicable to U.S. Domestic Disaster Programs—Background Pa -

per, OTA-BP-X-1 (Washington DC: U.S.

Government Printing Office, January 1980).

56. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Pest Management Strategies in Crop

Protection-Volume 1, OTA-F-98 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office,

October 1979).

57. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Nutrition Research Alternatives,

OTA-F-74 (Washington. DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, September 1978).

58. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Food Information Systems, Summary

and Analysis, OTA-F-35 (Washington. DC:

U.S. Government Printing Office, August

1976).

59. U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, Carbon Emissions Report (Washington, DC: April 1994).

60. Windle, P., et al., Science and Technology for

Development-Staff Paper, staff paper prepared by the Food and Renewable Resources

Program (Washington. DC: Office of Technology Assessment, U.S. Congress, February

1989).

61. World Resources Institute, “Dimensions of

Sustainable Development,” World Resources

1992-93: A Guide to the Global Environment

(New York, NY: Oxford University Press,

1992).
List

of

c Abbreviations

ADF

ATI

CDIE

CGIAR

DAC

DFA

EDF

EU

FAO

GEF

IAF

IARC

IDB

IIED

IMF

NGO

NIC

ODA

ODA

ODI

98 |

African Development Foundation

Appropriate Technology, International

Center for Development Information

and Evaluation (USAID)

Consultative Group on International

Agricultural Research

Development Assistance Committee

(OECD)

Development Fund for Africa, U.S.

Agency for International Development

European Development Fund (EU)

European Union

Food and Agricultural Organization of

the United Nations

Global Environment Fund (World

Bank)

InterAmerican Foundation

International Agricultural Research

Centre

InterAmerican Development Bank

International Institute for Environment

and Development

International Monetary Fund

Nongovernmental organization

Newly Industrialized Country

Overseas Development Administration

(Great Britain)

official development assistance

Overseas Development Institute

(London. UK)

OECD

PL-480

PVO

SD

SDI

SDN

STOR

UN

UNCTAD

UNDP

UNEP

UNESCO

UNIDO

USAID

WB

WCS

Organisation for Economic

Cooperation and Development

Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1954

as Amended, ● ’Food aid”

Private voluntary organization

Sustainable Development

sustainable development index

Sustainable Development Network.

UNDP

sustainable terms of reference

United Nations

United Nations Conference on Trade

and Development

United Nations Development

Programme

United Nations Environment

Programme

United Nations Educational, Scientific,

and Cultural Organization

United Nations Organization for

Industrial Development

U.S. Agency for International

Development

World Bank (the International Bank for

Reconstruction and Development, the

International Development Agency,

and the International Finance

Corporation comprise the World Bank)

World Conservation Strategy
James Adriance

InterAmerican Foundation

Arlington, VA

Nancy Alexander

Bread for the World

Silver Spring, MD

Mark Baird

World Bank

Washington, DC

David Bathrick

Chemonics, International

Washington, DC

Joseph D. Ben-Dak

Technology Group

United Nations Development Programme

New York, NY

Richard Bissell

Overseas Development Council

Washington, DC

Appendix D:

Principal

Reviewers D

Vary Coates

Office of Technology Assessment

Telecommunications and Computing Technologies

Program

Robert Coppock

The 2050 Project

Washington, DC

Kathy Cox

Office of Technology Assessment

Environment Program

Mike Crosswell

U.S. Agency for International Development

Washington, DC

Diana Crowley

Environment and Natural Resources Policy and

Training Project

Arlington, VA

Peter Donaldson

Population Reference Bureau

Washington, DC

I 99
100 I Perspectives on the Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development

Kevin Dopart

Office of Technology Assessment

Energy, Transportation, and Infrastructure Program

Joy Dunkerly

Office of Technology Assessment

Energy, Transportation, and Infrastructure Program

Laura Effros

U.S. Agency for International Development

Washington, DC

Frank Fender

U.S. Department of Agriculture

Office of International Cooperation and

Development

Washington, DC

Donald Ferguson

U.S. Department of Agriculture

Office of International Cooperation and

Development

Washington, DC

Wendell Fletcher

Office of Technology Assessment

Industry, Trade, and Employment Program

Linda Garcia

Office of Technology Assessment

Telecommunications and Computing Technologies

Program

Hellen Gelband

Office of Technology Assessment

Health Program

Robert Goodland

World Bank

Washington, DC

Julie Gorte

Office of Technology Assessment

Industry, Trade, and Employment Program

Hans Gregerson

University of Minnesota

College of Natural Resources

St. Paul, MN

Charles Hall

State University of New York

College of Environmental Science and Forestry

Syracuse, NY

Jim Hester

U.S. Agency for International Development

Washington, DC

John E. lkerd

University of Missouri

Center for Sustainable Agriculture Systems

Columbia, MO

Gary Jahn

Office of Technology Assessment

Environment Program

David Jensen

Office of Technology Assessment

Energy, Transportation, and Infrastructure Program

Inge Kaul

Human Development Report Office

United Nations Development Programme

New York, NY

David C. Korten

PCDForum

New York, NY

Robert Lester

US. Agency for International Development

Washington, DC
Appendix D: Principal Reviewers 1101

David Lewis

Cornell University

City and Regional Planning Department

Ithaca, NY

Arnold Lowenstein

Charles River & Associates

Boston, MA

George Mahaffey

Environment Programs

U.S. Peace Corps

Washington, DC

Sandra Nichols

Nichols Productions, Inc.

Oakland, CA

Walter Parham

China Tropical Lands Project

Vienna. VA

Ross Pomfrey

U.S. Agency for International Development

Washington, DC

Mark Powell

U.S. Agency for International Development

Washington, DC

Vernon Ruttan

Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics

University of Minnesota

St. Paul. MN

Rodney Sobin

Office of Technology Assessment

Industry, Trade, and Employment Program

William Stewart

Global Environment Program

Pacific Institute

Oakland, CA

John Stovall

Hubert Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs

University of Minnesota

Alexandria, VA

Ann Thrupp

World Resources Institute

Center for International Development and

Environment

Washington, DC

Phyllis Windle

Office of Technology Assessment

Environment Program