Equity implies a need for fairness in the distribution of gains and losses, and the entitlement of everyone to an acceptable quality and standard of living.
Equity is not the same as equality, for there may be good reasons for people to have different rewards and burdens or to be treated differently. Equity requires, however, that these reasons be morally relevant, that is, that they be just, fair and impartial.
Impartiality means that factors such as race, religion, colour, gender or nationality are not relevant. Justice is about how rewards and burdens are distributed.Equity can have three aspects:
• People have certain rights that must be respected.
• People get what they deserve - fairness.
• People's needs should be met and their contribution to meeting such needs is based on their ability to do so (Low & Gleeson 1998: 49).
This means that the distribution of rewards and burdens may be deserved on the basis of a person's efforts, choices and abilities, but those rewards and burdens should not be out of proportion to the actions or qualities of that person. It also means that there should be limits to the burdens that individuals are subject to and that their basic needs should be met no matter what their abilities. Each person has a right to life, health and the basic conditions of subsistence, as well as certain political and social rights (which are covered in chapter 5).
Jim Falk and his colleagues (1993: 2) describe equity this way:
Equity derives from a concept of social justice. It represents a belief that there are some things which people should have, that there are basic needs that should be fulfilled, that burdens and rewards should not be spread too divergently across the community, and that policy should be directed with impartiality, fairness and justice towards these ends.
In its narrowest terms, equity means that there should be a minimum level of income and environmental quality below which nobody falls. Within a community it usually also means that everyone should have equal access to community resources and opportunities, and that no individuals or groups of people should be asked to carry a greater environmental burden than the rest of the community as a result of government or business actions.
Equity as a concept is fundamental to sustainable development. The Brundtland Commission's definition of sustainable development is based on intergenerational equity: 'development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs' (WCED 1990: 87). Equity can be applied across communities and nations, and across generations. The Commission insisted not only on intergenerational equity but also on equity within existing generations. It argued:
Poverty is not only an evil in itself, but sustainable development requires meeting the basic needs of all and extending to all the opportunity to fulfil their aspirations for a better life... Meeting essential needs requires not only a new era of economic growth for nations in which the majority are poor, but an assurance that those poor get their fair share of the resources required to sustain that growth (WCED 1990: 8).