Volume 8, Issue 5, May – 2023 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology

ISSN No:-2456-2165

The Role of ICTs in Sustainable Development:

Perspectives from an Emerging Economy
‘Yinka Oyerinde Charles Uchenna Odinkaru
Department of Computer Science, Department of Computer Science,
University of Jos, Jos, Nigeria University of Jos, Jos, Nigeria

Abstract:- Information and Communication Technologies Sustainable development is a concept that has gained
(ICTs) have become an essential tool for sustainable global attention in recent years. The United Nations defines
development The use of ICTs in various sectors of the sustainable development as "development that meets the
economy has brought about significant improvements in needs of the present without compromising the ability of
the quality of life, economic growth, and environmental future generations to meet their own needs." It is a complex
sustainability. This paper proposes that using ICTs to and multifaceted concept that requires a holistic approach to
drive sustainable development offers more benefits than address the economic, social, and environmental challenges
negative consequences although acknowledging that like facing societies. Information and Communication
all successful projects, proper and efficient utilization of Technologies (ICTs) have emerged as an essential tool for
methods are important to success. Therefore, when sustainable development, offering numerous benefits and
advancing sustainable development, ICTs must be opportunities to improve the quality of life for people around
regarded as a tool used appropriately to achieve desirable the world.
outcomes. This paper presents a socio-economic
perspective, subjective to developing economies realities, A fundamental concern to ICT supporting sustainable
to this discourse. The paper discusses various views and development is the recognition of the existing challenges in
conceptual frameworks put forward in the discussion of ICT itself and how well these demands can be resolved to
roles of ICTs in sustainable development. An optimistic socio-economic growth and sustainable development. The use
and a pessimistic view of ICT with regard to of ICTs in sustainable development offers numerous benefits,
sustainability, the three-pillar approach to sustainable including increased efficiency, improved access to
development, the three-level approach to ICT impacts, information and services, and enhanced communication and
the claim of human, social and ecological compatibility of collaboration. However, there are also challenges associated
ICT and the plain use of ICT for development. The paper with the use of ICTs, including the seemingly increasing
shows that each of these approaches has its problems and digital divide, privacy and security concerns, and the potential
limitations and conclude with formulating the challenges for negative environmental impacts. This implies that
of finding an analytical approach which will effectively activities such as e-commerce, e-business, and e-government
support decision-makers in using ICT in the service of all support cross-national collaborative endeavors. Therefore,
sustainable development. In doing this, this paper governments and enterprises alike can gain from these
examines the role of ICTs in sustainable development, the activities and proffer solutions to their own local and/or
benefits and challenges of using ICTs, and the policy national challenges. Although socio-cultural idiosyncrasies
implications for developing countries. may pose issues, sustainable initiatives need international
cooperation, coordination, and standardization. International
Keywords:- ICTs; Sustainable Development; Emerging organizations, development partners and multinationals hold
Economies; many answers in this regard in how to proceed. Another
concern in achieving sustainable development through ICT is
I. INTRODUCTION the natural human resistance to change. People usually oppose
changing from their comfort zone to exploring new things and
Realistic Sustainable Development requires the ideas.
balancing of how individual human needs are satisfied and
how well nature and its resources are preserved while ICTs play a critical role in sustainable development by
satisfying these needs. This is not necessarily an easy providing access to information, promoting economic growth,
equilibrium to achieve. However, without it, sustainability and enhancing social and environmental sustainability. In the
may not be achieved. We have seen tremendous advances in economic sphere, ICTs have revolutionized the way
the role of e-government, especially regarding the creation businesses operate, enabling them to increase productivity,
and provision of public value to citizens [1]. It is not easy to reduce costs, and reach new markets. They have also provided
determine and master the complexities surrounding socio- opportunities for entrepreneurship and innovation, creating
environmental and socio-cultural challenges which are new employment opportunities and promoting economic
prevalent in emerging economies, but sustainability is growth. In the social sphere, ICTs have facilitated access to
impossible without fully understanding and addressing these education, health care, and other basic services, particularly in
challenges comprehensively. rural and remote areas. They have also enabled social

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Volume 8, Issue 5, May – 2023 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-2165
networking and collaboration, providing opportunities for understands this to be).” Consequently, using technologies
people to connect and share knowledge and information. In influences needs, values, beliefs and other social realities that
the environmental sphere, ICTs have enabled the monitoring provide the context for the further development and
and management of natural resources, helping to reduce application of technologies.
environmental degradation and promote sustainable
development. Examples of these may include the impact of From this view of technologies as being embedded in
technology on the lives of the physically disabled, community societal development, it follows that solutions to the
development, health, social security, education, and grassroots sustainability dilemma will not be technical solutions but
businesses, among the huge list of possibilities. The predominantly social and anthropological ones. As far as
physically challenged can use technology to work remotely technology is concerned, the chief of which is ICT, it can only
from home through the invention of teleworking for persons be instrumental as part of a more comprehensive approach,
with disabilities. Community development activities can be being embedded in national and societal frameworks.
enhanced and supported through ICT, such as the Society for
Research and Initiatives for Sustainable Technologies and III. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORKS FOR ICT AND
Institutions initiative in which the purpose is to encourage the SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
use of ICT to advance innovation and eco-friendly solutions
to ongoing problems. Health facilities sharing health records A conceptual framework for an analytical approach to
can respond timely to individual health concerns and make the relationship between ICT and sustainable development
more accurate decisions about health-related problems. ICT first has to change the prevailing perception of the concept of
can inform members of a community about their social sustainable development. A very common idea is the well
services available and the benefits to which each individual is known three-pillar or three-dimensional approach to
entitled. sustainable development, breaking down the concept into an
ecological, a social and an economic dimension.
Technology is revolutionizing the way persons learn.
World Corps, for example, use ICT to impart technical and Although this three-dimensional approach may serve as
business related skill-sets to disadvantaged persons by a starting point for the discourse, it does not provide a
promoting employment through sustainable and philosphical or theoretical foundation for analysis. At best it
environmentally sound enterprises, such as Internet centers can be seen to provide a methodological approach by which
whereas Community Learning Center, also in Nigeria, use analysis of sustainability for development can be discussed.
technology to enhance elementary education and computer
literacy among poor children. Grassroots businesses in Conceptual frameworks for “ICT and sustainable
Nigeria are using the Internet to sell their produce through an development” that go beyond this approach are briefly
auction system. They apply the technology in ways that discussed in the following sub-sections. None of these
provide information for crop production, cultivation practices, frameworks claims to provide a comprehensive solution.
marketing initiatives, processing standards, and pest and Rather, they may be viewed as components to be included in a
disease control. In addition, community-based initiatives more comprehensive approach that can be formulated.
include engaging the technology to advance and expand
micro-financing and micro-enterprise programs [2]. IV. THREE LEVELS OF ICT EFFECTS ON
DEVELOPMENT
II. LIMITATIONS OF TECHNOLOGY TO
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT This approach focuses on applications of ICT and
considers its resultant effect(s) on the environment. The three
The major limitation with technological advancements levels cover environmental impacts ranging from the most
and implementations is in the perceptions that technology in direct effects, physical effects of using the hardware, to the
itself is a problem solver. Development is a social and human most indirect effects such as the influence of ICT on
challenge and technology itself cannot solve this challenge, economic structures and lifestyles [4]:
but must be seen as a willing tool to be implemented in human  First-order effects: Includes all environmental impacts
development. Humans have a major role in determining the resulting from ICT hardware during the product lifecycle,
outcome of their lives and livelihood and must not be seen to covering production, use, and disposal.”
be pawns awaiting their fate to see how technology bring  “Second-order effects: The use of ICT causes effects to
them out of poverty and improve their standard of living. other processes such as traffic or industrial production and
influences their environmental impacts indirectly.”
The relationship between technological artifacts and the  “Third-order effects: Owing to the assumed widespread
society that creates and interprets them is a complex one: use of ICT in everyday life, economic structures and
Technologies interact with our perception of the world, which lifestyles can change, indirectly affecting the expression of
again influences how we use and develop technologies. In this first- and second-order effects.”
process both symbolic and structuring aspects of technologies
play a role, as in [3] describe: “…technology not only has a The three-level approach is very common in research on
socio-cultural semantic effect (influence on social life) but environmental impacts of ICT, although it could be
also an effect on the subject’s world experience (it influences generalized to the effects on social systems, including the
the perception of the world and what the individual economic system [5].

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Volume 8, Issue 5, May – 2023 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-2165
V. HUMAN, SOCIAL AND ECOLOGICAL
COMPATIBILITY OF ICT

The German Informatics Society set up a working group

named “Sustainable Information Society” to clarify the
opportunities and risks of ICT for sustainable development
over a decade ago. The group produced a detailed
memorandum that was published as a Fraunhofer IRB book in
German with an English abstract [6] and summarized in
international publications [7] [8].

The approach taken by the working group has two

essential features. Firstly, it builds upon the three-level
approach described in the previous section by redefining the
levels as follows:
 “effects of supply”: effects of the effort necessary to Fig 1 The conceptual framework created by the working
provide people with information and communications group “Sustainable Information Society” of the German
Informatics Society in 2004
services, including the production of ICT hardware and
software, supplying the energy and other resources to use
ICT, and the end-of-life treatment of the hardware. VII. ICT FOR DEVELOPMENT
 “effects of usage”: effects of services provided by ICT
This prominent approach differs from the two previously
viewed in the restricted context of the application, such as
presented approaches by its simplicity. It ignores the
substitution or optimization effects.
sustainability dilemma by putting the emphasis on intra-
 “systemic effects”: long-term effects that have to be taken generation national justice i.e., meeting the needs of the
into account, mainly because positive effects of usage may present. ICT is seen as a vehicle to empower the poor and
backfire in the economic system (rebound effects).
enable development in underdeveloped regions of the world.
The overuse of natural resources is implicitly expected to be
VI. LIMITATIONS OF TECHNOLOGY TO reduced, rather than, increased by economic growth in poor
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT countries.
The working group emphasized that steps toward a This approach presupposes that statistically, population
sustainable information society cannot be based on growth is negatively correlated with the education of young
technological measures alone, [4] stated that “This is partially women. If it is true that ICT can successfully be applied in
due to the so called rebound effect, according to which a educating the poor, ICT would then indeed contribute to
transition to more efficient technologies causes an expansion sustainable development. However, the digital gender divide
of activities given constant financial and time budgets.” This seems to put this presumption in jeopardy. Research is still on
is seen to be a major contributor to the digital divide as
going to determine if indeed bridging of the digital gender
resources, both financial and human capital, are not equitably divide statistically contributes to improvement in socio-
distributed and as such those with more resources available economic development as against focusing on improving
tend to develop at a more rapid rate than those with limited literacy rates across all demographics including adult
resources available. education.
The second feature of this approach is that it explicitly Mobile technologies and the potentials therein to
replaces the “three-pillar thinking” of weak sustainability with surmount the access to educational technologies challenges
the concept of three nested subjects of protection: the human are no doubt far reaching. Hitherto disenfranchised
individual as part of society, which is embedded in nature. communities now have access to information about literally
From these subjects of protection, the working group derived everything at their fingertips. Improvement in internet
three claims of compatibility: human, social and ecological penetration rates have also mitigated against some of the
compatibility. Combining this idea with the three levels of predominant challenges faced by emerging economies in
ICT effects yields nine fields of research and societal implementing technological initiatives.
discourse that should be considered if ICT is to support
sustainable development.
VIII. POLICY INITIATIVES

Although grasping the phenomenological

interrelationships and interconnectedness concept between
sustainability and development may be difficult, the necessity
of understanding its reality cannot be overemphasized.
Societies need collaboration and sharing of ideas, experiences
and resources to grow and thrive. Without such cooperation,
the three fundamental characteristics of sustainability:
environmental, economic, and societal responsibilities will not

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Volume 8, Issue 5, May – 2023 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-2165
materialize [9]. Organisations and governments alike must However, we must remember that ICT is in itself just a
therefore enact initiatives and policies that build societies and tool. A tool that should be used to promote equitable
communities that are “economically efficient, socially distribution of socio-economic growth. Sustainable
equitable and ecologically viable” [10]. In the absence of development through ICT initiatives is therefore a reality that
these key factors, sustainability may prove unachievable. needs only to be embraced by those who realistically demand
that societies are more equitable.
Societies constantly evolve. The digital impact on such
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