The ecologically sustainable development process in Australia

This chapter discusses the ecologically sustainable development (ESD) process in Australia as a case study whose achievements and limitations can illuminate both the theory and future experiments. The establishment of the working groups was seen by some as an important attempt to break through the entrenched hostility and mistrust that has marked the environment debate in Australia for a number of years. Although economic growth was not mentioned explicitly in the ESD principles, the ESD goal of welfare and well-being was interpreted by most business and government representatives as the promotion of economic growth. The creation of the working groups based on industry sectors meant that intersectoral issues apart from greenhouse were either treated superficially or farmed out to bodies outside the ESD working group process. Several participants in ESD working groups and several recommendations at the public meetings suggested that it would have been better to have ESD working groups with a broader focus than specific industries.