Thesis (DPhil (Philosophy))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Through my research I have developed an alternative conceptual approach to project-level
environmental assessment in South Africa, which begins to move beyond modernism in its
philosophical, procedural and substantive aspects. This approach draws on the ideas of certain
radical philosophers, and three innovative thinkers, namely: Bent Flyvbjerg, Amartya Sen and Paul
Cilliers.
The overall purpose of project-level environmental assessment (i.e. Environmental Impact
Assessment (EIA)) is to predict the impacts on the environment of proposed development, and to
recommend ways to mitigate its negative consequences and enhance its positive effects. However,
there are a number of recurring problems in the practice of EIA which include: achieving interdisciplinarity
in the assessment process; effectively undertaking stakeholder engagement; and
accurately predicting the impacts of proposed developments. Addressing uncertainty and
adequately considering the implications of cumulative and social impacts are also often poorly
addressed in environmental assessment procedures.
In this thesis, I describe these problems as symptomatic of the modernist roots of environmental
assessment, an argument, or similar, which has been made by others in related domains (e.g.
philosophy), as well as in the international field of environmental assessment itself. I identify the
following three main problematic assumptions of the modern worldview that are currently
constraining the effectiveness of this field:
A system can be understood by observing the behaviour of its parts;
All processes flow along linear, deterministic, predictable and orderly paths; and Technical, objective, natural science-based information and processes are separate
from, and superior to, non-technical, subjective, and value-based information and
processes.
Drawing on my investigation of the core ideas of radical ecologists and of the work of Bent
Flyvbjerg, Amartya Sen and Paul Cilliers, I challenge the modernist assumptions listed above and
propose an alternative conceptual approach to environmental assessment, which involves the
formulation of a ‘sustainability argument’. I explain the philosophical tenets (for example, humans
and nature are seen as part of an interrelated social-ecological system) and general principles on
which this approach rests (for example, the normative nature of all knowledge of social-ecological
systems should be recognised), as well as its key characteristics (for example, the team that
undertakes the study should comprise disciplinary specialists, key stakeholders and at least one
‘sustainability practitioner’ who coordinates the development of the argument). These tenets,
principles and characteristics are designed to guide the development of context-specific processes,
for the formulation of a sustainability argument that informs project-level development decisionmaking.
The ‘sustainability argument’ approach moves beyond the human-nature (or developmentenvironment)
divide inherent in current environmental assessment, in which the impact of the
former on the latter is determined. The focus is shifted to understanding how the social-ecological
system is likely to alter, under different conditions, as a result of the proposed development, which
is seen as a potential change in the system. In addition, the way in which the social-ecological
system is likely to affect the implementation of this change is described. These effects are
evaluated in relation to contextually defined sustainability values, which are identified by key
stakeholders through a participatory process, and guided by the principles proposed as part of the
sustainability argument approach. The principles include a view of humans and nature as part of
an interrelated social-ecological system in which diversity, both human and natural, is valued as a
pre-requisite to sustainability. Human needs are defined beyond the provision of basic goods and
services, to include the promotion and enhancement of the valuable functionings and capabilities
of an individual, as described by Sen (1988b). Nature is valued, not only for its role in enabling the
achievement of these functionings and capabilities, but also for the fact of its existence, as part of
the overall social-ecological system. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In my navorsing het ek alternatiewe, konseptuele benadering tot omgewingsbeoordeling op
projekvlak in Suid Afrika ontwerp, wat begin om verby die filosofiese, prosedurele en substantiewe
aspekte van die modernisme te beweeg. Hierdie benadering berus op die idees van sekere
radikale filosowe, en drie innoverende denkers, naamlik: Bent Flyvbjerg, Amartya Sen en Paul
Cilliers.
Die oorkoepelende doelstelling van omgewingsbeoordeling op projekvlak (i.e. Omgewingsimpakstudie
(OIS)) is om die impakte op die omgewing van voorgestelde ontwikkeling te voorspel, en om
voorstelle te maak om die negatiewe gevolge daarvan te beperk en die positiewe gevolge te
bevorder. Tog is daar aantal herhalende probleme in die praktyk van OIS, wat die volgende
insluit: Die bereiking van interdissiplinariteit in die proses van omgewingsbeoordeling; die
versekering van effektiewe deelname van belangegroepe; en die akkurate voorspelling van die
impakte van voorgestelde ontwikkeling. Die hantering van onsekerhede en die voldoende
oorweging van die implikasies van kumulatiewe en sosiale impakte word ook nie voldoende
aangespreek in die ontwerp van omgewingsbeoordeling nie.
In hierdie tesis beskryf ek hierdie probleme as simptome van die modernistiese grondslag van
omgewingsbeoordeling, wat soortgelyke punt maak as die argument wat nie alleen deur ander
in verwante velde (e.g. filosofie) ontwikkel is nie, maar ook in die internasionale veld van
omgewingsbeoordeling self. Ek identifiseer die volgende drie problematiese kernaannames van die
moderne wêreldbeeld, wat tans die doeltreffendheid van omgewingsbeoordeling beperk:
Sisteem kan verstaan word deur die gedrag van sy dele waar te neem;
Alle prosesse volg liniêre, deterministiese, voorspelbare en geordende patrone; en
Tegniese prosesse en objektiewe, natuurwetenskaplik-begronde inligting is apart van,
en verhewe bo, nie-tegniese prosesse en subjektiewe en waardegebaseerde
oorwegings. Op grond van my ondersoek van die kernidees van radikale ekoloë, asook die werke van Bent
Flyvbjerg, Amartya Sen en Paul Cilliers, daag ek die bogenoemde modernistiese veronderstellings
uit, en stel alternatiewe benadering tot omgewingsbeoordeling voor, wat die formulering van
‘volhoubaarheidsargument’ insluit. Ek verduidelik die filosofiese uitgangspunte (byvoorbeeld dat
die mens en die natuur, in onderlinge wisselwerking met mekaar, gesien moet word as deel van
geïntegreerde sosio-ekologiese sisteem) en algemene beginsels waarop hierdie benadering berus
(byvoorbeeld dat die normatiewe aard van alle kennis van sosio-ekologiese sisteme erken behoort
te word), asook die kenmerkende eienskappe daarvan (byvoorbeeld dat die span, wat die studie
onderneem, saamgestel moet word uit kenners vanuit verskillende dissiplines, sleutelbelanghebbendes,
en ten minste een ‘volhoubaarheidspraktisyn’ wat die ontwikkeling van die
argument koördineer). Hierdie uitgangspunte, beginsels en eienskappe is ontwerp om die
ontwikkeling van konteksspesifieke prosesse te stuur, en vir die formulering van
volhoubaarheidsargument wat besluitneming oor ontwikkeling op projekvlak informeer.
Die ‘volhoubaarheidsargument’ benadering beweeg verby die mens-natuur (of ontwikkelingomgewing)
onderskeid inherent aan die huidige praktyk van omgewingsbeoordeling, waar die
impak van die eersgenoemde op die laasgenoemde bepaal word. Die klem verskuif na begrip vir
die manier waarop die sosio-ekologiese sisteem moontlik gaan verander, onder sekere toestande,
as gevolg van die voorgestelde verandering, wat beskou word as moontlike verandering in die
sisteem. Boonop word die manier waarop die sosio-ekologiese sisteem waarskynlik die
implementering van die verandering gaan beïnvloed ook beskryf. Hierdie effekte word geëvalueer
met betrekking tot konteks-gedefinieerde volhoubaarheidswaardes, wat deur deelnameproses
geïdentifiseer word deur sleutel belanghebbendes, en gelei deur die beginsels wat voorgestel word
as deel van die volhoubaarheidsargument benadering. Die beginsels sluit beskouing van mense
en die natuur as deel van interverwante sosio-ekologiese sisteem waarin diversiteit, beide
menslik en natuurlik, gewaardeer word as voorwaarde vir volhoubaarheid in. Menslike behoeftes
is gedefinieer as meer as net die voorsiening van basiese goedere en dienste om die bevordering
en verbetering van die waardevolle funksioneringe en vermoëns van individu, soos beskryf deur
Sen (1988b), in te sluit. Die natuur word gewaardeer, nie slegs vir die rol wat dit speel om die
verwesenliking van hierdie funksioneringe en vermoëns moontlik te maak nie, maar ook vir die feit
van die natuur se bestaan, as deel van die algehele sosio-ekologiese sisteem.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:sun/oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/1324 |
| Date | 12 1900 |
| Creators | Audouin, Michelle |
| Contributors | Hattingh, Johan, Weaver, Alex, University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Philosophy. |
| Publisher | Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | Unknown |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | University of Stellenbosch |
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