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Recognized worldwide for his work in sustainable development, Professor Mohan Munasinghe is the Founding Chairman of the Munasinghe Institute for Development (MIND), a nonprofit organization centered around facilitating research on sustainable development issues in Sri Lanka and abroad, with special focus on achieving these ends without sacrificing "economic, environmental and socio-cultural integrity."
Sustainomics, the term Munasinghe applied to his original framework for approaching SD issues, has become a familiar phrase since first presented at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. As outlined at the MIND website,
Sustainomics is defined as "a transdisciplinary, integrative, comprehensive, balanced, heuristic and practical framework for making development more sustainable." Unlike other traditional disciplines, it focuses exclusively on sustainable development. Thus, the main principle of the framework seeks to make ongoing and future development efforts more sustainable in a practical way, as a first step towards the ultimate goal of sustainable development. Other key principles stress: (a) balanced and consistent consideration of the three dimensions of the sustainable development triangle (social, economic and environmental); (b) better integration by transcending conventional boundaries imposed by discipline, space, time, stakeholder viewpoints, and operational needs; and (c) practical application of innovative methods and tools throughout the full cycle from data gathering to policy implementation and feedback. In brief, Sustainomics is an innovative transdisciplinary framework (or transdiscipline), based on a holistic set of key principles, theories and methods. It facilitates sound research and decision making, drawing on many other scientific approaches and techniques involving the natural and social sciences, engineering and humanities — because no single traditional discipline can cover the vast scope and complexity of SD issues.
Born in Sri Lanka, Munasinghe followed his scientific inclinations into the world of engineering and physics, which he combined with studies in economics, earning postgraduate degrees at Cambridge University, UK; Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA; and McGill and Concordia Universities in Canada. With more than 35 years' experience in international development, Prof. Munasinghe's experience and expertise in the practical and theoretical aspects of such wide-ranging environmental topics as energy, electricity, water, transport, urban infrastructure, and telecommunications have brought him well-earned recognition.
Currently Vice Chair of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Honorary Senior Advisor to the Government of Sri Lanka, from 1982-87 Prof. Munasinghe acted as the Senior Energy Advisor to the President of Sri Lanka, later serving as Advisor to the US President's Council on Environmental Quality (1990-1992). Throughout this period, he continued his work as Senior Manager and Advisor on Sustainable Development to the World Bank, which continued through 2002. A Visiting Professor at Yale University and the United Nations University in Tokyo, Munasinghe has taught in major universities around the world and has penned 90 books and about 300 papers on sustainable development, economics, environment, energy, winning numerous international awards and honors. In addition to editorial activities with more than a dozen international journals, Munasinghe is a Fellow of the Third World Academy of Sciences, Italy; the National Academy of Sciences of Sri Lanka; the British Royal Society for Arts; the Norwegian International Water Academy; the Beijer Institute of Ecological Economics — Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences; the Institution of Electrical Engineers, UK; and the Sri Lankan Institute of Engineers.
In recognition of his longstanding commitment to understanding and encouraging truly sustainable development, EcoRes is proud to welcome Professor Mohan Munasinghe to our Panel of Experts for the April 2007 e-conference.
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