1. Intergenerational equity- Brian Paterson
Aquaculture needs a ‘think-tank.’ It’s usually told to do this or that and usually in the name of ‘ESD.’ But why?
AQUACULTURE is the FUTURE, but it is asked to act first.
Reviews of aquaculture ignore something interesting…
Prawn farming’s growth was stopped because aquatic assimilation capacity was overwhelmed by diffuse-pollution from land users.
Development of new nations is threatened because the atmosphere’s capacity to absorb carbon dioxide was overwhelmed by established nations
The equity of these situations has been questioned, and it has a name… INTERGENERATIONAL EQUITY (IE)
So how does IE apply to prawn farming? What should happen next?

2. ESD benefits future generations!
“The following principles are principles of ecologically sustainable development:
(a) decision-making processes should effectively integrate both long-term and short-term economic, environmental, social and equitable considerations;
(b) if there are threats of serious or irreversible environmental damage, lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason for postponing measures to prevent environmental degradation;
(c) the principle of inter-generational equity—that the present generation should ensure that the health, diversity and productivity of the environment is maintained or enhanced for the benefit of future generations;
(d) the conservation of biological diversity and ecological integrity should be a fundamental consideration in decision-making;
(e) improved valuation, pricing and incentive mechanisms should be promoted. “
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
The principles of ESD are set out in documents such as the EPBC Act.
but the contention that the future’s needs are “additional” to those of the present day
don’t belong in any recognised definition of ESD – on the contrary in fact…

3. IE is based on traditional riparian law...
‘Upstream’ should pass on ecosystem services to those ‘downstream’
But diffuse pollution ‘upstream’ filled aquatic assimilation capacity before the nation realized that the estuary was a finite resource needed by a new generation of farmers.
The present day knows it cannot just turn diffuse pollution ‘off’
Well, if the present day can’t deliver natural capacity it needs to deliver new technology so that the future’s enlarging space in our estuaries can be as productive as possible.
The loss of cane farm pollution from the Logan River in a 2007 nutrient study* cf previous claims makes ‘room’ for emissions from ~500 ha of new prawn ponds
*Arup (2007) Development of a water quality metric for nutrient offsets for Moreton Bay, Queensland. Final Report. Queensland Environmental Protection Agency, Brisbane, Australia. 52pp.

4. Zero carbon dioxide emissions?
A similar trade off occurred with greenhouse gases.
DEVELOPING nations are entitled to the same cheap energy (eg. QLD Coal) that powered the rise of the West
But Rich Nations cannot immediately switch to zero emission of carbon.
ECONOMIC ‘Sustainability’ is what follows.
The present day continues to consume NATURAL Capital (burn fossil fuels) but also delivers new technology…ARTIFICIAL capital… MACHINES that reduce the future’s call upon nature.
The onus is on The Present Day to invest in these machines…
The futures ‘machines’ are not always popular

5. Equity in the Future!
Intergenerational inequity occurs when the actions of past generations limit the opportunities of future generations.
The Community’s eagerness to pass more costs onto aquaculture, the future, looks rather different through the lens of intergenerational equity.
Economists say ‘individuals’ are impatient, they’d rather have money today than have money in the future.
Yet it seems, from the way the world responds to intergenerational challenges, having money IN the future is how to grow alternative energy and grow aquaculture: alternative farming.