Golf Environment Organization

Social factors are an essential element in considering the overall sustainability of golf.  

It is recognised that harmony amongst human beings is as important as between humanity and nature, and that in order to provide future generations with the ability to meet their own needs, it follows that it is first necessary to ensure that there is equity within the current generation.

Disparities in standards of living and in opportunities to progress inevitably lead to tensions; these tensions may be accentuated as the earth's ecological limits are approached and resources become more scarce. Strategies for all forms of sustainable management and development must address the fundamental needs of human well-being in all societies and communities.

There are several dimensions to this: basic material needs such as food, clothing, shelter, clean air and clean water, must be met as a minimum, but more importantly perhaps, all social and ethnic groups must have freedom of choice and action - including the freedom to earn through employment, equal opportunities to progress economically, and the freedom to participate fully in the decisions which affect their local communities.

The proposed economic benefits of a golf development proposal must be explained with complete honesty and integrity, taking account of the real and sustained long-term impacts in terms of factors such as employment creation, skills development, and the level of services required, as well as shorter-term construction-phase impacts.

Particular social concerns which may arise locally through golf development can include loss of agricultural land and therefore the means of food production or employment; other knock-on effects on means of livelihood such as forestry or fishing; physical separation through fencing or other forms of boundary control; and effects on less tangible community characteristics such as patterns of social interaction, and the cohesion between existing social groups.

Perceptions within the local community of the possible changes that arise due to golf development may often lead to feelings of fear and concern, which, even where these are unfounded, may grow into hostility if not addressed openly and transparently.

Sustainability Assessment is an increasingly prominent and extremely useful approach to evaluating the cultural and socio-economic impacts of development.  The methodology helps to identify the integrated social, economic and environmental impacts of a given development and resolves risks and opportunities into a defined sustainability master-plan and action plan.

• Contact
• Terms of Use

Sign in / Register