Download TRANSITION TOWARDS SUSTAINED LOCAL ECONOMY

Thematic Paper: Sustainability
No 1
TRANSITION TOWARDS SUSTAINED LOCAL ECONOMY - CHALLENGES
AND WAY FORWARD
Nazmul Huq1
The world is experiencing lots of negative inevitable phenomena and its consequences. The
paper aims to explore the pathways how a movement can secure the self-sustained society
from all perspectives especially to sustainable local economy and environment, sweeping
away the glo-cal crisis happening across the world. Needless to say, the big challenge lies to
transfer the society from fossil fuel addiction and how smoothly the transition can be
happened. Transitional movement is the light of hope at the end of the tunnel to move the
society from present tattering situation to a sustainable condition.
Keywords: Glo-cal crisis, Local economy, Transition Movement
1. Background
Globalization policies, politics and practices characterize the economy in such a production and
consumption pattern demanding high carbon technologies since the time when globalization and
industrialization got its institutional shape. Results for the short term are high economic national
growth, unequal distribution of resources and widening the social gap. The long-term consequences
were projected to be severe that the world is experiencing now; shutting down the local economy,
tattering national economy, enormous degradation of environment including the coming
catastrophe ‘climate change’ and above all un-sustainable development. The basic premise of this
paper is to indicate how transitional movement can secure the sustained society from all
perspectives especially to sustainable local eco-economy, confronting with the backdrops stated
above. Transitional movement, in a very simplistic form can be viewed a human induced action to
develop glo-cal communities with high resilience capacity against environmental disaster, self
sustained low carbon economy and low level of oil consumption. Needless to say, the big challenge
lies to transfer the society from oil dependency and how smoothly the transition can be happened.
Now it is an urgent call to promote smooth transition of the society for steering towards a sustained
eco-local community as far as human well-being is concerned.
1
Nazmul Huq is an activist on ecological issues can be reached at [email protected]
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It was politics and economics that derived “the big push towards globalization”. Both from political
and social aspects “big push” is a dramatic change results shift of political power, economy and
environment away from sustainable resource consumption regime. The de-regulation of financial
markets, the massive introduction and sub-ordination of unsustainable resource consumption and
extraction manner to financial imperatives, is probably the most silent element is the underlying
cause of persisting global environmental and economic meltdown. The paper tries to depict some of
the pioneering glo-cal problems and seeks answer to overcome by using the approach of
transitional movement with a vision to see a future clean technology as well as mode of production.
The realities of life on our planet speak that continued economic development as we know it cannot
be sustained. In 20th century the world experienced two leapfrogging; introduction of global
capitalist legacy and introduction of post-modern era with the notion into account to consume
more. The silent world has seen the unleashed hegemony of crude capitalism that developed the
ideology and practice to new fashion of “neo-liberal” market which forcefully handed over local
economic sustainability to the market and not surprisingly, neo-liberal market is always tattering.
The short-term economic gain in last century in industrialized country simultaneously offers
catastrophic trickle down affect to local economy. The rise of big multinational companies that
belongs to world economy that always runs for profit where both short and long term economic
sustainability is merely or even not considered. At the very later stage, world economy is no longer
for public well-being rather an instrument for creating short-term profit. It keeps away the local
ownership on economy, public commons and environment and results the market failure in very
theoretical aspects and interestingly the world has been going thought the biggest market failure
after second world war in real ground.
2. Facts that surfaced the reality
Present-day forms of economic activity are rapidly under-mining two other development processes
that are essential for human life and civilization: the process of ecological development and the
process of community development. Ecological development reproduces the biological wealth and
climatic conditions necessary for life on our planet. Community development reproduces
communities, families, educated and responsible citizens, and civilization itself. The compromising
of these processes by current economic activities is destroying both the viability of human
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communities in a growing number of areas of the planet and the quality of human life in many other
communities and neighborhoods throughout the world. The two toughest challenges facing
humankind at the start of this 21st century are Climate Change and Peak Oil (Transition Initiatives
Primer, 2008). Climate change is now acknowledged as the greatest threat of the world history
which is underpins by the peak oil and fossil fuel based production system.

During the late summer of 2007, the news of accelerating ice melting arrived at a frenetic
pace. In early September, the Guardian in London reported, “The Arctic ice cap has collapsed
at an unprecedented rate this summer, and levels of sea ice in the region now stand at a
record low.” Experts were “stunned” by the loss of ice, as an area almost twice the size of
Britain disappeared in a single week (Plan B 3.0, 2008).

According to International Institute of Environment and Development (IIED), more than 600
million of people would likely to be refugees from rising seas. More people than currently
live in the United States and Western Europe combined would be forced to migrate inland to
escape the rising waters (IIED, 2007)

According to Stern report in late 2006 on the future costs of climate change, talked about a
massive market failure. He was referring to the failure of the market to incorporate the
climate change costs of burning fossil fuels. The costs, he said, would be measured in the
trillions of dollars. The difference between the market prices for fossil fuels and the prices
that also incorporate their environmental costs to society are huge (Stern, 2006)

Since 1750, the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide has increased by 32% (from
about 280 to 367 parts per million in 2003), primarily due to combustion of fossil fuels and
land use changes. Approximately 60% of that increase has taken place since 1959
(Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005)

Based on a study by the International Center for Technology Assessment, these costs now
total nearly $12 per gallon of gasoline burned in the United States. If these were added to the
$3 cost of the gasoline itself, motorists would pay $15 a gallon for gas at the pump. In reality,
burning gasoline is very costly, but the market tells us it is cheap, thus grossly distorting the
structure of the economy

States fail when national governments lose control of part or all of their territory and can no
longer ensure the personal security of their people. When governments lose their monopoly
on power, law and order begin to disintegrate. When they can no longer provide basic
services such as education, health care, and food security, they lose their legitimacy. A
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government in this position may no longer be able to collect enough revenue to finance
effective governance. Societies can become so fragmented that they lack the cohesion to
make decisions
Above are some key challenges out of uncountable challenges that the present generation has to
settle. Those problems and challenges is not a result of overnight activities rather it is a result of
wrong direction of economy and environment for the centuries but we have to fix the problems to
some extent within very short period of time as world is now on the edge of some irreversible
tipping points. It is now an urgent call to regain environmental sustainability, re-emerging local
economic stability has to be emerged from the spirit of fundamental definition of sustainability.
Sustainability, therefore, is a program of action for local and global economic reform--a program
that has yet to be fully defined. The challenge of this new program is to develop, test, and
disseminate ways to change the process of economic development so that it does not destroy the
ecosystems and community systems (e.g., cities, villages, neighborhoods, and families) that make life
possible and worthwhile. No one fully understands how, or even if, sustainable development can be
achieved; however, there is a growing consensus that it must be accomplished at the local level if it
is ever to be achieved on a global basis (The Local Agenda 21 Planning Guide, 1996).
3. Global challenges-local solutions: A transition initiative
Recent movement namely “transition movement” is an initiative to regain control over local
economy that serves for better localism and seeks the escape route from climate change,
environment and economic disaster to a stable locally owned system where pluralistic approach
will steer the society to such an economic practice considering the basic ideology of local ownership
on local goods; both public and private. This transition initiative aims to harness the flaws of ongoing multidimensional crisis by a smooth social transition using its inheriting tools and it dreams
for a society which will develop a low or zero carbon society, free from peak oil regime and
sustained greening around the spatial dimension of society.
3.1 Transition
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In this connection, transition can be simply defined the by the term “paradigm shifting”. The shift of
cultures, practices and activities related to economy and environmental development to a “front
gear” from the “reverse gear”. This shifting contains some criteria that accelerate the society we are
dreaming for and in fact, this is the demand of present time. Moreover, present generation is
indebted to generation to come; therefore it is necessary to do this shift in such a manner where
sustainable development notion can meet its criteria.
3.1.1 Important facts related to transition

The term “localism” refers social movement that aims to increase the role of locally owned,
independent businesses and other organizations that primarily serve the geographical
communities in which they are located. To some degree the strengthening of the locally
owned, independent sector of regional economies has environmental benefits (Hess, 2008).

The emergence of localism as a social movement is deeply implicated in the politics of
globalization. Theorists of globalization have recognized that the local and global are
mutually constitutive and that there are various ways in which the local and global interact
each other (Robertson 2005; Sassen 2000).

The localist movement in the USA is concerned primarily with reversing the negative effects
of corporate consolidation of the economy, especially the loss of economic sovereignty by
place-based communities over local economies (Hess, 2008).

A distinguishing characteristic of the localist movement is that its social address is primarily
in the small business sector, and localism advocates tend to utilize consumption and local
economic policies as the primary avenues for social change (Hess, 2008).

The localist movement of the early 2000s in the USA has an historical precedent in the antichain-store movement of the 1930s and achieved significant success than the earlier one
(Hess, 2008).

Sustainable Development, expressed either as an influence within immanent development
or as a specific target of intentional development, is seen by post-developmentalists at best
as simply yet another example of Western hegemony (Nustad, 2001) and at worst as a cruel
deception: nice sounding words and ideals, but in fact nothing more than business as usual
given that ‘progress’ equates to consumerism, industrialization and inevitable pollution
(Escobar, 1996; Rahnema and Bawtree, 1997; Banerjee, 2003).
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The question in this [SD] discourse is what new manipulations we can invent to make the
most out of nature and ‘resources’. But who is this ‘we’ who knows what is best for the
world as a whole? (Morse, 2008).

SD requires a longer term vision, which is not restricted by five year election cycles, and the
environmental damage wrought by not doing something can be irreversible (Morse, 2008).

Research on local economic governance and the ‘new institutionalism’ frequently ignores
the local environmental consequences of growth altogether (Gibbs et. el., 2008).

Local environmental governance is therefore not just reactive to extra local processes, but
also influences and shapes their scalar organization, such that no one scale is privileged
(Gibbs et. el., 2008).

Studies of sustainable urban development often fail to examine the regulatory pressures on
local governments, and how local political practices influence the ways in which
environmental issues are incorporated into local development and planning strategies
(Gibbs et. el., 2008).
The facts and narratives clearly indicate that the era of orthodox consumption practice in all level
should be avoided and it is the time to develop new thinking and activities to promote sovereign
local economy for economic and environmental sustainability.
4. Transition- The steps to follow
At the local level, transitional shift requires that local economic development supports community
life and power, using the talents and resources of local residents. It further challenges us to
distribute the benefits of development equitably, and to sustain these benefits for all social groups
over the long term. This can only be achieved by preventing the waste of ecological wealth and the
degradation of ecosystems by economic activities.
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Source: The Local Agenda 21 Planning Guide
There are always three distinct transition processes for under-way at the local level-economic
development transition, community development transition, and ecological development transition.
Each of these processes has its own distinct imperatives.
The present imperatives of the current economic system favor market expansion, externalization of
costs, and sustained private profit. The transition imperatives of community development are to
meet basic human needs, increase economic and social equity, and create community self-reliance.
The imperatives of ecological development are established in the natural order. Humans can
support ecological development by limiting the consumption of natural resources to a rate that
allows nature to regenerate resources and by reducing the production of wastes to levels that can be
absorbed by natural processes.
Sustainable development is a process of bringing these three development processes into balance
with each other. The implementation of a sustainable development strategy therefore involves
negotiation among the primary interest groups (local communities) involved in these three
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development processes. Once an Action Plan for balancing these development processes is
established, these communities must take responsibility and leadership to implement the transition
journey.
4.1 Incorporating local governments
Local governments are powerful actors in their local economies. They build and maintain
infrastructure that is essential for economic activity. They set standards, regulations, taxes, and fees
that determine the parameters for economic development. Local governments procure large
numbers of services and products and can influence markets for goods and services. And like
private enterprises, local governments serve as public enterprises to produce "products" that are
sold on the market. These products include environmental services (e.g., water, waste management,
and land use control), economic services (e.g., transportation infrastructure), and social services
(e.g., health and education).
Just as sustainable development requires private sector corporations to reform their production
and management approaches, sustainable development requires that local governments change the
ways that their municipal corporations are organized and operated. This reform must ensure that
municipal services can be sustained and equitably distributed for future generations. Achieving this
objective requires a strategic planning approach that equally factors long-term community and
ecological and economic concerns into the development and provision of today's municipal services.
4.2 Awareness raising
This stage will identify your key allies, build crucial networks and prepare the community in general
for the launch of your Transition initiative. For an effective Energy Descent Action plan to evolve, its
participants have to understand the potential effects of both Peak Oil and Climate Change – the
former demanding a drive to increase community resilience, the later a reduction in carbon
footprint.
4.3 Lay the foundations
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This stage is about networking with existing groups and activists, making clear to them that the
Transition Initiative is designed to incorporate their previous efforts and future inputs by looking at
the future in a new way. Acknowledging and honoring the work community does, and stress that
they have a vital role to play. Providing a concise and accessible overview of Peak Oil, what it means,
how it relates to Climate Change, how it might affect the community in question, and the key
challenges it presents. Setting out the thinking about how a Transition Initiative might be able to act
as a catalyst for getting the community to explore solutions and to begin thinking about grassroots
mitigation strategies.
4.4 Sustained food communities – Introduction of Premaculture in each communities
Permaculture has evolved into a system for the conscious design of sustainable productive systems
which integrate housing, people, plants, energy and water with sustainable financial and political
structures. It offers an excellent approach to the design of the sustainable urban neighborhood (The
food producing neighborhood, unknown). The growing of food in cities is clearly an appropriate
response to a wide range of challenges. Sustainable urban food production is a vital component of
any sustainable neighborhood. In order for such urban food growing projects to become truly
effective and sustainable, they should observe the range of principles outlined below:

Promote local wealth

Be environmentally sustainable

Use and build upon existing community networks

Promote and conserve biodiversity

Be affordable to all

Integrate water, waste, employment, recreation, housing, energy generation, and wildlife
and so on into a whole system

Nurture ethnic and cultural diversity

Contribute to an overall move towards sustainable development in the community
5. Looking Future – An Ideal way forward
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The world’s cities are facing unprecedented problems. In Mexico City, Tehran, Kolkata, Bangkok,
Shanghai, and hundreds of other cities, the air is no longer safe to breathe. In some cities, the air is
so polluted that breathing is equivalent to smoking two packs of cigarettes per day. Respiratory
illnesses are rampant. In the United States, the number of hours commuters spend sitting in trafficcongested streets and highways climbs higher each year, raising frustration levels (Plan B 3.0,
2008).
In response to these conditions, we are seeing the emergence of a new urbanism, a planning
philosophy that environmentalist Francesca Lyman says “seeks to revive the traditional city
planning of an era when cities were designed around human beings instead of automobiles” (Plan B
3.0, 2008).
The above story (from challenges to step out) is giving us calls immensely to redesign the total
planning approach from its philosophy to implementation. As part of redesign, we have to develop
new vision on economy, energy and environment management. The first and foremost issue is the
kick habit carbon consumption and oil dependency that lead us to peak oil era. At present the total
economy stands on fossil fuel and it is not governed by the ideology of “localism”. The successful
transformation of the society from current practice to a society by practicing
“Transition
Movement” can results following which may help to avoid the evil conjuncture that is suspected to
arisen

Less use of carbon or fossil fuel for energy generation

The neighborhood is generating renewable energy for their own consumption

There is no existence of mega-superstores; rather the community is producing their food by
themselves using the principle of premaculture

Massive re-structuring of urban transport sector that implies peoples are using non
polluting public vehicles or by-cycles instead of using the capitalism induced one man-one
car

Urban greening that will provide enough breathing space for the community

Developing the idea of “Compact Township” taking into consideration of using eco-friendly
idea

Secured food store and not genetically modified
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Strong social bondage among inter and intra community so that the community is able to
cope with any likely natural stress

Residential buildings should be energy efficient in design
6. Conclusion
We need to understand the relationship between the economy and its environmental support
systems. We need thinking of economists as well as ecologists. Unfortunately it is not developed but
imperative to develop for better future. In conclusion the statement of Ray Anderson, founder and
chairman of Atlanta-based Interface: “We continue to teach economics students to trust the
‘invisible hand’ of the market, when the invisible hand is clearly blind to the externalities and treats
massive subsidies, such as a war to protect oil for the oil companies, as if the subsidies were
deserved. Can we really trust a blind invisible hand to allocate resources rationally?” (Plan B 3.0,
2008)
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