Sustainable development key to avoiding After Earth scenario
Sustainable development aims to reduce poverty without comprising the Earths environmental systems. Credit: ThinkStock
Hollywood has taken notice of research on sustainable development by Professor Dave Griggs, featuring it in promotional material for a new science fiction blockbuster.
After Earth, starring Will and Jaden Smith and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, is opening in Australian cinemas today. The movie follows two soldiers - a father and son - who crash land on Earth 1000 years after the planet was abandoned because of environmental cataclysm.
A website linked to the movie features information on the environmental challenges currently facing our planet, including climate change and biodiversity loss. It notes that the film's fictional backstory bears "a disturbing resemblance to certain current, real-world scientific findings".
Research by Professor Griggs, Director of Monash Sustainability Institute, and international colleagues, in which they put forward six Sustainable Development Goals, is featured on the Take Action section of the site.
"Sustainable Development Goals are important because they will drive the global development agenda, and all the investment that goes with that, for the next 20 years," Professor Griggs said.
Sustainable Development goals are currently being developed under United Nations auspices to replace the Millennium Development Goals, which are due to expire in 2015. The aim is to ensure that progress made in reducing poverty is not undermined by environmental degradation related to human activities.
The goals proposed by Professor Griggs and his colleagues were published in the prestigious journal Nature and also presented at a UN-sponsored meeting. The researchers advocate a new way of thinking about sustainable development, nesting economic concerns within social and environmental concerns.
"We now realise that we can't deal with development and environment separately. A healthy environment, and all the services it provides, is a prerequisite for future development," Professor Griggs said.
"Sustainable Development Goals matter for all of us because, unlike the Millennium Development Goals that only applied to developing countries, these will apply to all countries, including Australia."
Monash is one of the first universities to be selected to lead a regional UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network hub. As part of the UN role, Monash will mobilise research centres, industry and community organisations to develop practical pathways to end extreme poverty, increase social inclusion and sustain the planet.