GEOLOGY ACROSS BORDERS: GUIDELINES FOR SUSTAINABLE GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT

Sustainable development and international cooperation are not new. What is new is the realization that we must transcend political and cultural differences and work together on a grand scale to become sustainable. Because geologists are in the forefront of directing development, presented here are 20 guidelines for how to assess the sustainability of any development proposal or activity. These can apply to any economic activity, but are designed to address mineral and metal producers.

Fundamental to this approach is that all benefits and costs must be measured using full-cost accounting. Regional and global impacts from development must be counted in the same way that local impacts are counted, and additional costs incurred must be an accepted cost of doing business. With respect to surface disturbance and habitat loss, water usage, and energy usage, projects should be designed to have a net-positive impact. Built into each project should be programs of conservation and restoration that result in positive gains in water quality, habitat quality and quantity, and renewable energy availability following completion of the project. All chemicals used shall be controlled and all wastes neutralized or permanently isolated. With respect to climate impacts, projects should be designed to be net-positive. With respect to social impacts, development activities must meet the standards of the UN’s SDGs, advancing health, well-being, and gender equality with working conditions and benefits that ensure long-term support for families and the community. Sustainability also requires ownership and acceptance by society over multiple generations, and support for education of all citizens is paramount. Governments must set policies that address sustainability by holding all of us to a higher standard. In the absence of government leadership, corporations, institutions, and individuals should demand progress toward a fully sustainable future to ensure the success of future generations.

It is clear that making all of our current activities impact-positive will require levels of cooperation never before achieved. The unifying factor is our dependence on natural resources. By setting a goal of each restoring some of what we have lost, we will not just stop the decline of the natural world, we will reverse it.