Dimensions of Development – PA21 considers 7 dimensions or aspects of development: human, social, cultural, political, economic, ecological and spiritual.

Ecological Capital – the ‘assets’ and ‘wealth’ of Nature when viewed as part of the development process. This capital can either be depleted, replenished or enhanced by human activity.

Ecology – the study of the living community and the non-living environment in a specific area functioning together as an integral whole.

Economic Development – qualitative improvement of the economic subsystem of society that is concerned with the production, consumption and distribution of goods and services to meet human needs.

Economic Growth – quantitative measure of the change in size/volume of economic activity, usually calculated in terms of gross national product (GNP).

Entry Points – Entry points are initiatives that can start in any one of these dimensions and then advance gradually to include all dimensions. They build on local best practices as a starting point. Poverty eradication, for example, can start with the economic dimension, creating sustainable livelihoods for the poor. From this economic base, it can gradually move towards ecological, cultural, social, human, spiritual, and political concerns.

Gender Sensitivity – appreciation, understanding and respect for the qualities and contributions of both men and women in the development process.

Globalization – accelerating trend that is creating greater access and exposure to opportunities, values, and products while also bringing threats such as increasing worldwide social and environmental destruction. More

Holistic – refers to the art and science of seeing wholes rather than just parts including the relationship of the parts to the whole. Its opposite is reductionism. See also systems approach.

Human Capital – the collective ‘assets’ and ‘wealth’ in terms of talents and capacities of a group of individual human beings when viewed as part of the development process.

Indigenous Culture – local or native community with a cohesive system of beliefs, practices, and values developed over a relatively long period of time.

Institutional Capital – the collective ‘assets’ and ‘wealth’ for society in terms of competencies and capabilities of societal organizations or institutions when viewed as part of the development process.

Institutional Viability – ability of an institution to sustain itself and achieve its objectives in the face of challenges now and in the foreseeable future.

Integrative Science – rational method of study that seeks to synthesize and pull together various complexly interacting phenomena.

Inter- And Intra- Generational Equity – ensuring justice and fairness for the various age-groups of society both now and into the future.

Liberalization – refers to the removal of barriers to the free flow of trade, financial capital and technology.

National Sovereignty – self-determination as the national level. The ability of a country to control its destiny in all matters of human, social (including cultural, economic and political) and ecological development.

Participatory Democracy – form of governance where the principles of equality and inclusiveness guarantee that sovereign power resides in the people as a whole regardless of social rank, status or heredity in order to promote subsidiarity, transparency, accountability and fairness among others.

Peace, Order, and National Unity – state of society where all sectors harmoniously strive for a common vision.

Philippine Agenda 21 (PA21) – Long-term development plan finalized in 1996 to fulfill the Philippine commitments to the 1992 Earth Summit. Endorsed as the country’s blueprint for sustainable development, the Principles of Unity of PA21 is also considered one of the most widely consulted documents ever produced in the Philippines. more

Philippine Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD) – National council created in 1992 to fulfill the Philippine commitments to the 1992 Earth Summit. The Philippines was the first country to establish its national council for sustainable development (NCSD) to expand, concretize and operationalize sustainable development at the national level. PCSD currently has representation from government, business/labor and civil society.

Principles of Unity – Consensus portion of Philippine Agenda 21 that presents a holistic assessment of the Philippine development condition, and provides a responsive framework for Sustainable Development in the Philippine context, including fifteen principles and numerous multi-dimensional parameters and strategies for achieving sustainable development. More

Reductionism – The dominant approach to the scientific method, which reduces the complexity of causative factors in the real world to one or at most a few factors which are then hoisted up as the explanatory substance of that reality. Reduces organisms, and life itself, to their mechanistic parts and disregards the interconnections and dynamism between genes, physiological systems, organisms and their environments. Opposite is systems approach.

Safety Net – refers to a collection of programs or activity designed to support vulnerable groups in the face of anticipated negative impacts arising from specific policies.

Self-Determination – ability of an individual or an organization to make decisions concerning issues that affect it.

Social Capital – the collective ‘assets’ and ‘wealth’ in terms of community cohesiveness when viewed as part of the development process. Social capital refers to the institutions, relationships, and norms that shape the quality and quantity of a society’s social interactions.

Social Justice – right of all sectors of society to equity, fairness and equality.

Spatial Equity – justice and fairness in the spatial aspects of development planning including the distribution and allocation of resources, projects, plans and programs across area-based management units. Related to the concept of biogeographical equity.

Subsidiarity – empowering the smallest unit of an organization to achieve its own objectives.

Sustainable Consumption – demand-side strategy for changing the use of environmental resources and economic services so that needs are met and quality of life is improved for all, while regenerating natural capital for future generations. It is ultimately driven by ethical values and activating a sense of extended responsibility for consumption choices.

Sustainable Development – The problems facing countries today are varied, complex, and interrelated. Comprehensive sustainable development addresses these complex challenges by advancing seven dimensions of development and entry points to realize these seven dimensions. Thus, it is development that can continue indefinitely into the future by properly addressing the human, social, cultural, political, economic, ecological and spiritual dimensions of development. In the Philippine context, it is defined as Philippine Agenda 21. More

Sustainable Growth – an assumption in macroeconomic theory which ignores human, social and ecological carrying capacities and assumes that the economy can grow forever.

Sustainable Integrated Area Development (SIAD) – Operational Framework of Philippine Agenda 21 that implements sustainable development and poverty eradication at the local level. more

Sustainable Population – refers to a population level, structure and distribution that can be supported by the human, social and ecological carrying capacity of an area, region or country. Systems approach that takes cognizance of the limited carrying capacity of nature and the interweaving forces of population, culture, resources, environment and development.

Systems Approach – a holistic methodology for complex, multi-issue planning, implementation and assessment. Looks at living organisms and living systems as interconnected and co-dependent entities, rather than as isolated, self-contained units. Related to holistic. Opposite is reductionism.

Threefold Image of Society – or threefolding is the recognition of the functional differentiation (not division) of modern society into three realms, interacting with but independent from each other—culture, polity and economy. The key actors in these three realms are civil society, government and business respectively.