Mahawan Karuniasa
Milan, October 22, 2025
A substantive error occurs when Environmental Science studies are placed under the faculty or graduate school of Sustainable Development, as these two fields arise from fundamentally different ontological, epistemological, and axiological paradigms. Environmental Science is rooted in sustainability science and general systems theory, which are integrative and interdisciplinary in nature, emphasizing the interconnectedness between natural systems and human cultural systems within a unified life-supporting ecosystem. Its focus lies in understanding, maintaining, and restoring harmony between the Earth’s life-support systems and the human cultural sphere, through analytical and synthetic approaches that encompass the interaction of energy, matter, information, and the values of sustainability.
Conversely, Sustainable Development originates from development theory, which is normative and applicative in nature, oriented toward the continuity of economic and social development processes through policy, governance, and technological innovation. Its paradigm remains anthropocentric—humans as subjects managing nature—whereas Environmental Science is ecocentric, even earth-centered and systemic—humans as integral parts of the broader life system.
When Environmental Science is placed within the framework of Sustainable Development, a significant scientific reduction occurs: the systemic and scientific approach to sustainability becomes reduced merely to an instrument of development policy.
As a result, Environmental Science loses its scientific autonomy and shifts from striving to maintain the balance of life systems toward the rationality of development, which evaluates nature based on human utility and economic value. This not only contradicts the essence of sustainability science but also hinders the emergence of holistic, ecology-based scientific and policy innovations. Therefore, substantively, placing Environmental Science under the umbrella of Sustainable Development is not an integration, but rather a form of conceptual subordination that diminishes the role of Environmental Science as the scientific guardian of the Earth’s sustainability.
Salam Lestari
