Facilitating Sustainable Development: Is Our Approach Correct?

Civil engineering allows and sustains development in a way that no other profession does. To work effectively on successfully engineered projects in developing nations, engineers must be trained adequately in environmental problems and be capable of understanding the environmental consequences of development. They must be able to resolve the conflict between development pressures and the world's environment. Engineers must speak out on the political and social consequences of their work and they must become involved in issues beyond technology. In developing projects a better understanding of environmental concerns is required, as well as an understanding of the public's perception of the values involved. In this context an objective measure of environmental factors is required. For the developing world the adoption of Western practices of competitive procurement requires education in relationships, standards, contractual conditions, and payment methods.