Using critical systems thinking to foster an integrated approach to sustainability: a proposal for development practitioners |
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Authors: | Tanzi Smith |
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Institution: | (1) Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology, Broadway, PO Box 123, Sydney, NSW, 2007, Australia |
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Abstract: | Throughout the development sector, there is increasing recognition of links between the environment and aspects of development
such as poverty alleviation, health, income generation, and agriculture. While furnished with a diverse range of perspectives
and approaches, development practice is in need of ways to better conceptualize the interactions between the social, environmental,
and economic dimensions of sustainability so that opportunities for simultaneous improvement in human and ecological well-being
can be identified more readily. Critical systems thinking is proposed as a way for development practitioners to conceptualize
and act toward the integration of these economic, social, and environmental dimensions and, in so doing, support communities
to nurture both human and ecosystem well-being. Four desirable attributes of a critical systems thinking approach to development
are identified based on development literature, critical systems literature, and the author’s research into sustainability
in semi-rural communities in Vietnam. The four attributes are ‘a systems thinking approach;’ ‘an ethical base to action and
choices;’ ‘critical reflection permeates processes;’ and ‘appreciation of diverse views and application of diverse approaches.’
These attributes are described and then offered as the basis for further discussion of the ways in which simultaneous improvement
of human well-being and ecosystem health can become an integral part of development practice. |
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