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Proceedings of the Symposium
Planning for a Sustainable Future
The Case of the North American Great Plains

Contents

Sponsors

Print copies of this Proceedings may be obtained from:
National Drought Information Center
Department of Agricultural Meteorology
20 L. W. Chase Hall
University of Nebraska
Lincoln, NE 68583-0728
(402) 472-6707 (402) 472-6614 [fax]

The cost of the publication is US$25 (postage included) for U.S. and Canadian orders. Foreign orders - add US$10 for postage.

Preface

In 1987, the World Commission on Environment and Development, commonly referred to as the Brundtland Commission, published Our Common Future. Much of the Commission's report focused on issues of population, food security, loss of species and genetic resources, energy, industry, and human settlements, realizing that these issues are interconnected and must be addressed as part of a global strategy. To achieve the recommendations considered necessary to preserve and restore the environment of our planet, the Commission recommended the development of a United Nations program on sustainable development. The discussions and recommendations that emanated from the Commission provided the central impetus for the organization of the United Nations' Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June 1992. At this conference, debate focused on significant world environmental and development issues such as climate change, biodiversity, desertification, and sustainability. Agenda 21 emerged from this conference as a road map for an environmentally sustainable future.

The term sustainable development originated with the Brundtland Commission report. It was defined by the Commission as "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." Although there is considerable disagreement within the scientific and policy communities on the precise meaning of sustainable development, the Brundtland Commission's definition is widely accepted because it best incorporates the objectives of economic growth and environmental protection.

In the post-UNCED period, many nations pursued sustainable development by creating national-level task forces to envision a sustainable future for different regions and sectors. For example, President Clinton created the President's Council on Sustainable Development (PCSD). In Canada, this process has unfolded as the Sustainable Development Agenda.

Since 1988, pursuant to a bilateral agreement between the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Environment Canada, these two nations have jointly sponsored a series of five symposia on the implications of climate change. These meetings have focused on regions of mutual interest such as the Great Lakes, Great Plains, and Pacific Northwest. The focus of this series was widened in May 1995 to address the broader issue of sustainable development in the context of global environmental change. This symposium, Planning for a Sustainable Future: The Case of the North American Great Plains, brought together a diverse set of participants to address the complex economic, social, and environmental issues facing this region in the decades ahead.

The North American Great Plains is a critical environmental zone where the impacts of climate change are likely to be more severe and to materialize more rapidly than in less fragile ecosystems. As we plan for a sustainable future for this region, it is imperative that stakeholders, sustainability experts, and policy makers have ample opportunity to work together on the full range of issues before us. Just as there are many visions of the future, there are also many paths to achieve those visions. We must recognize also that visioning a future for the North American Great Plains is a long-term process - the goal is to engender a future that is environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable. Once we envision a common future, the challenge is to work together to achieve that vision.

Members of the symposium planning committee hope that this meeting made a substantial contribution to defining a sustainable future for the North American Great Plains. We will continue this work well beyond the publication of this proceedings.

Acknowledgments

The International Drought Information Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln was pleased to organize the symposium Planning for a Sustainable Future: The Case of the North American Great Plains. I am indebted to the principal sponsors: Environment Canada, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Global Change Program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Special thanks also to the representatives of these agencies: Al Malinauskas, William Bolhofer, and Gary Evans, respectively, who provided invaluable insights during the nearly two years of planning that led to this symposium.

I would also like to express my deep appreciation to members of the planning committee and to my co-chair, Brian O'Donnell, Environment Canada. Members of this committee provided a steady stream of ideas on all aspects of this meeting that helped keep the planning process on target. I also acknowledge the assistance of Lynn Mortensen of USDA's Global Change Program for her ideas, patience, and intellect in facilitating the organization of the focus group sessions. Her experience and dedication were invaluable in keeping this component of the symposium on track.

Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to the participants of the symposium for their commitment to the objectives of this symposium. This report is a by-product of that commitment.

Donald A. Wilhite
December 20, 1995