Sustainability In The Contemporary World

A set of 100 vocabulary flashcards reviewing sustainability, tourism, urban/rural development, and ecosystem case studies based on lecture notes.

Sustainability

A goal understood as a continuation of the environment, place, communities, and systems into the future, meeting needs without compromising future generations.

Sustainable Development

A pathway towards sustainability that embraces one or more pillars and involves a process of economic and social change.

Social Pillar

A dimension of sustainability focused on maintaining and improving social equality, cohesion, wellbeing, reciprocity, and relationships.

Economic Pillar

A dimension of sustainability that seeks to improve standards of living through efficient resource use and quality growth.

Environmental Pillar

A dimension focused on preserving the environment and adopting more rational use of resources to maintain biodiversity.

Cultural Pillar

A dimension involving the protection and expression of values and cultural diversity to achieve intellectual and spiritual experiences.

Triple Bottom Line

The key dimensions of sustainability, consisting of Social, Economic, and Environmental factors, all of equal importance.

UNSDGs

The $17$ goals and $169$ targets released in the UN $2030$ agenda to provide a framework for improving global population lives.

Social Protection Systems

Systems provided under the social pillar to ensure security and protection within a society.

Circular Economies

An economic model that takes into account the nature and rate of growth against potential harm to ecological systems, deemed highly desirable.

Elimination Of Poverty

A key objective within the social pillar to encourage equality and human rights.

Precautionary Principle

A principle guiding action in situations of scientific uncertainty to mitigate the risk of serious harm to an ecosystem.

Intergenerational Equity

The principle that present generations should ensure the health, diversity, and productivity of the environment for future generations.

Intragenerational Equity

The principle that all people in today's generation have a right to benefit equally from Earth's resources.

Conservation Of Biodiversity

Focuses on multi-species diversity across gene pools and ecosystems to maintain life support systems.

Ecological Integrity

The condition of an ecosystem that is whole and unaltered by human activity, allowing for greater resilience.

Global Forums

Networks of policy makers and interest groups, such as the OECD, that collaborate to solve problems requiring global solutions.

International Protocols

Agreements like the Montreal Protocol which regulates over $100$ ozone-depleting chemicals.

Rio Declaration (1992)

A political declaration of principles on the environment and development, including Agenda $21$.

IPCC

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which assesses climate science and publishes reports on mitigation and adaptation.

Non-Government Organisations (NGOs)

Independent non-profit organizations, such as WaterAid Australia, that rely on volunteers and have environmental or humanitarian focuses.

UN Global Compact Initiative

The largest corporate sustainability initiative where corporations align strategies with $10$ principles across human rights and environment.

Community Organisations

Informal, often unfunded voluntary groups at local scales that are crucial for achieving national sustainability targets.

Paddock to Plate

An initiative supporting local produce and regenerative agriculturalists to encourage individual participation in sustainability.

Stewardship

The responsibility to protect and nurture nature for future generations, often seen in Indigenous practices.

Benefit Sharing

The fair distribution of environmental, economic, and cultural benefits between communities.

Cultural Burning

Controlled low-intensity fires used by Indigenous Australians to manage Country and reduce bushfire intensity.

Peg Indicator System

A system developed in Winnipeg to monitor sustainability indicators across environmental, economic, and social themes.

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)

A mechanism used in Australia to identify the environmental consequences of development.

Sustainable Tourism

Tourism that takes into account its current and future economic, social, and environmental impacts while maintaining high visitor satisfaction.

Greenwashing

A communication strategy where businesses misrepresent their environmental friendliness, ethics, and sustainability.

MOSE Barriers

A $8$ billion project consisting of mobile gates designed to protect Venice and its lagoon from tides up to $3\,m$.

Mass Tourism

A form of tourism involving very large numbers of tourists concentrated in small areas, often highly standardized and dominated by large corporations.

International Tourism

Travel to a country other than the one of residence, bringing in foreign currency and representing a major sector of trade.

Multiplier Effect

The process by which tourism acts as an instrument for facilitating economic growth through interconnected services.

Global Supply Chains

Complex networks comprising all suppliers of goods and services required for the delivery of a tourism product.

Horizontal Integration

Expansion within a sector by removing competition to achieve economies of scale and centralized management.

Vertical Integration

The ownership by a single company of different stages of the tourism service, such as transport and accommodation.

Blended Travel

A growing trend where consumers redefine work-life balance through 'workations' or becoming 'digital nomads.'

Remote Settlement (Hamlet)

Small and isolated communities located far from major urban centres with limited access to services.

Village

A small settlement in rural areas with a population usually fewer than $1000$ people, relying on agriculture.

Town

A built-up area with a local government.

Suburb

A residential area on the outskirts of larger cities, characterized by single-family homes and schools.

Regional Centre

A focal point for surrounding smaller towns that provides essential services, education, and transport links.

City

A large, densely populated settlement that acts as an economic and political central hub.

Megacity

A city with over $10$ million inhabitants, extensive infrastructure, and high global influence.

Urbanisation

The increasing proportion of a country's population living in towns and cities.

Urban Growth

The rate at which an urban population increases in a given period relative to its starting size.

Urban Heat Island

An urban area that develops higher surface temperatures because buildings and asphalt absorb and retain heat.

Urban Sprawl

The outward growth of cities, often resulting in increased pollution, environmental damage, and infrastructure costs.

Adaptive Re-use

The process of repurposing old structures to preserve buildings and reduce the need for new construction.

Smart Growth Policies

Tools designed to encourage environmentally sustainable urban development and reduce the need for commuting.

New Urbanism

An approach to urban planning that promotes walkable, bike-friendly neighborhoods and quality urban design.

Infilling

The growth of settlements between major transport corridors, often leading to urban sprawl.

Institutional Interdependence

The mutually beneficial relationship where rural and urban areas rely on each other for resources, markets, and labor.

Yukxi Circle

A $300\,km$ radius circle in Asia containing more people inside of it than outside of it.

Alpha Cities

The most influential world cities, such as London, New York, and Tokyo.

Hinterland

The sphere of economic influence of a settlement from which it imports needs and distributes goods.

Range

The distance people are willing to travel to access a particular good or service.

Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR)

One of the densest urban areas globally, with a density of $28000$ people/$km^2$.

Dharavi

An area in Mumbai covering $2.3\,km^2$ with approximately $1$ million people, acting as both an informal settlement and an economic engine.

Navi Mumbai

A planned satellite city designed to decongest Mumbai, hosting IT parks and an international airport.

Special Economic Zones (SEZ)

Areas that offer tax incentives and fewer regulations to focus on economic exports.

Pavement Dwellers

Individuals in Mumbai who live in the open air with high exposure to disease, flooding, and traffic.

SPARC

An NGO in Mumbai that focuses on community-led housing and the construction of toilet blocks.

Chaffey Dam

The primary water supply for Tamworth, with a capacity of approximately $100\,GL$.

Tamworth Global Gateway Park

A logistics and freight hub representing an economic response to diversification in the Tamworth region.

Barangaroo South

A carbon-neutral precinct in Sydney where commercial towers achieved $6$-Star Green Star ratings.

Water-Positive

A goal achieved at Barangaroo where the precinct can recycle more water than it consumes.

Cammeraygal

The Aboriginal group after whose woman Barangaroo was named.

Photosynthesis

The process by which plants convert solar energy into chemical energy (glucose and oxygen).

Insolation

The amount of solar energy reaching the Earth's surface, which is highest in equatorial zones.

Trophic cascade

A chain reaction across an ecosystem often triggered by the addition or removal of apex predators.

Eutrophication

The death of aquatic flora and fauna caused by excess nutrients encouraging algae growth and consuming oxygen.

Dynamic Equilibrium

A state of constant change where nature attempts to restore balance so an ecosystem continues to function.

Positive Feedback Loop

A natural response that accelerates a process, such as when clearing a forest leads to nutrient loss that prevents regrowth.

Negative Feedback Loop

A natural response that decreases or diminishes a process.

Utility Value

The usefulness of an ecosystem in supporting the wider functions of Earth's natural systems and humanity.

Existence Value

The value a community is prepared to place on an ecosystem in its natural state.

Option Value

The cost of keeping an ecosystem or species in its natural state as opposed to exploiting its resources.

Environmental Imperialism

An egocentric view that focuses on satisfying human needs through exploitation for profit.

Biocapacity

The regenerative capacity of an ecosystem to replace resources used by humans and absorb pollution.

Living Planet Index (LPI)

A tool tracking the extent of decline in vertebrate species, showing a $69\%$ decrease since $1970$.

Biodiversity Intactness Index (BII)

An estimated percentage of the original number of species that remain in abundance in a region.

Shifting Baseline Syndrome

When each generation accepts declining environmental conditions as 'normal' due to a lack of historical perspective.

Tipping Point

A critical threshold where small environmental changes trigger major, often irreversible shifts in an ecosystem.

Fringing Reefs

Coral reefs that grow along the shores of islands and are highly accessible and vulnerable to humans.

Barrier Reefs

Reefs located away from the coast that run parallel to the coastline, such as those common in the GBR.

Atolls

Circular or oval reefs built up to the surface level, often associated with volcanoes.

Zooxanthallae

Algae that live within coral polyps and require light for photosynthesis to support the reef.

Crown Of Thorns Starfish

A biological disturbance that can kill off up to $90\%$ of corals in parts of the Great Barrier Reef.

Coral Bleaching

A process where stressed coral polyps release their algae and lose color, often due to high temperatures.

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA)

The Commonwealth body responsible for managing and protecting the Great Barrier Reef.

Fiordland (Shadowlands)

New Zealand's largest national park, characterized by underwater valleys carved out by glaciers.

Fiord Sills

A step or shallow area near the mouth of a fiord that blocks ocean swells and encourages fragile species.

Tree Avalanches

A chain reaction of falling trees on steep slopes in Fiordland, caused by shallow roots and wet soil.

Undaria

A large brown seaweed and invasive marine species that is a significant threat to the Fiordland environment.

1080 poison

A substance used for possum control in New Zealand that carries concerns regarding bioaccumulation in food chains.

Sinbad Project

An active conservation project in Fiordland focused on the eradication of invasive species like stoats.

Kina (Sea Urchin)

An indicator species used in Fiordland research to evaluate the effectiveness of marine reserves.