The Concept of Sustainability:
Origins, Extensions, and Usefulness for Policy

Dixon, J.A and Fallon, L.A. (1989): The Concept of Sustainability: Origins, Extensions, and Usefulness for Policy, in Society and Natural Resources Vol.2, pp.73-84.

The concept of sustainability and sustainable development are part of the current political rhetoric. Governments, groups and individuals use these concepts to justify their proposed (and sometimes conflicting) actions. A number of definitions have been offered. This paper examines the concept of sustainability and its application in a variety of contexts including single biological resources (such as a fishery), multi-resource ecosystems, and in more complex social-economic-physical settings. A series of questions are raised concerning the concept: intergenerational implications of patterns of resource use, equity concerns, time horizons, and non-negotiable alternatives, among others. Examples from the Philippines, Thailand, and Malaysia are included to illustrate these issues. In spite of divergent views on what sustainability means, the discussion leads to certain findings that have broader policy implications.