What is Green Growth?
Green Growth is a policy focus for the Asia and Pacific region that emphasizes environmentally sustainable economic progress to foster low-carbon, socially inclusive development.
Where is Green Growth?
Green Growth is a globally relevant approach to sustainable economic growth that was developed in Asia. It is impeartive that countries in the Asia and Pacific region continue their economic growth to alleive poverty and to achive social progress. However, increased environmental degradation, climate change and diminishing natural resources require an unconventional approach to support the export-driven economic activities of the region.
Why Green Growth?
The Asia and Pacific region has been at the forefront of the 21st century surge in economic growth, a situation driven primarily by exports and which has led to expanded production requirements needed to fuel an ever increasing amount of trade. This has significantly compounded the environmental carrying capacity pressures of many countries in the region. These countries are now shouldering an increasingly greater share of regional and global environmental production-related burdens. Coupled with evolving production patterns, these impacts are driving changes in consumption patterns in these countries and policies are needed to ensure that these developments will be environmentally sustainable. The past axiom of “grow first, clean up later”, can not apply in a region that has such a limited natural resource base and a rapidly growing population directly dependent on natural resources. In light of the recent fuel, food and financial crisis is is now imperative for countries in the region to reassess their development paths.
How to Achieve Green Growth?
In order to achieve Green Growth it is crucial to change development approaches from ‘grow first, clean up later’ to a more responsible long-term attitude. Governments can promote this by encouraging economic growth with an emphasis on environmental and social concerns.
Sustainable Livelihoods Approach: The Social Link to Green Growth
UNESCAP’s Green Growth Programme has evolved to emphasize the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach (SLA), a rights-based approach that recognizes the poor as a key stakeholder in the development process. Green Growth encourages the use of participatory assessments which identify the main constraints, opportunities and concerns faced by the poor and to include them into the policy planning and implementation cycle.The SLA supports vulnerable communities by providing pro-poor social services and by creating an enabling environment for sustainable development.
The concept of sustainable livelihoods is used by some as a replacement term for sustainable employment and work in the formal and informal economies with reference to a person’s capacity to maintain and enhance their capability and assets both now and in the future, while not undermining the natural resource base. Adopting this approach allows Green Growth to work towards win-win solutions: addressing the environment in ways which enhance opportunities for the poor to participate more fully in society and thus improving their quality of life. For more information on the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach please click here..
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