Call for sustainable development

by Nisansala R. Aryachandra

With another year gone and a new year dawning, we have much to look forward to, and even much more to learn from the past. Being a developing country as we are, the development of this country may be the important element that we strive on, to achieve in all aspects that concerns us.

With every passing year, we have had major challenges set on us. As timely adaptations and applications is called for in more than occasional instances, we tend to concentrate on short term benefits in order to meet our present needs as a society.

At a time when there are many unprecedented natural disasters occurring around the world - the difference and choice we make between 'short term' and 'long term' goals could be the key to our survival.

Environmental problems such as global warming that recently brought on major concerns and other such problems like soil erosion, acid rain, ozone destruction, radiation, etc. may all be results of choosing that 'short term' approach at the expense of our environment.

With the Industrial Revolution, earth's natural resources have been undermined and completely disregarded and as a result dramatically changing the face of the earth.

This situation cannot be taken in isolation as an issue that only concerns us. As the saying goes "No man is an island", the earth can be viewed as a whole where all things are connected to everything else. It may be a small tremor on our end that could be the signal to prevent an enormous earthquake at the other corner of the earth. The tsunami is an ideal example. It may be safe to say that each one of us plays an important role and any adverse effect means the disruption of the proper functioning of the whole system.

The only solution presented to us is not one that can be achieved overnight, a year from now or even ten years from now, however if we ignore environmental degradation and concentrate on a short term financial benefit, which may be all important to us for that much awaited 'push' to our stagnant economies and to generate more foreign exchange and accelerate low growth that will make us feel now we are well on our way towards the helm of development, but actually the choices we make now may be the cause of our end in the near future. It is then, time to talk about a concept that will bring about a change, that may be gradual, but of utmost importance to ensure the very survival of almost all living things on earth.

In order for us to sustain life as we know it in a rapidly declining environment we have only 'Sustainable Development' (SD) to strive on.

Sustainable development

According to The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development (1992) "In order to achieve sustainable development, environmental protection should constitute an integral part of the development process and cannot be in isolation from it."

Other definitions describe SD as "development which takes account of environmental consequences."

The best description of SD may be The Brundtland Commission's definition which states: Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.

SD is all the more important to us as a developing country as we depend more on our environment to meet our basic needs (food, water, fuel, etc.) In addition, we exploit natural resources for other commercial purposes such as logging, farming, cattle farming and also for other reasons like widespread poverty and even Government resettlement programmes that we are familiar with, in our case as a result of war and tsunami which calls for upland migration which could be detrimental to our environment.

This is not to say that developed countries exploit their surrounding any less, it is merely a comparison based on the different 'approach' of destruction, for instance industrial waste is a major threat to environment that many developed countries exploit on.

Empowerment

So in order to commit ourselves towards SD, is to empower ourselves first. This is only achievable by way of environmental education. A sound awareness of environmental issues such as local and global environmental problems will give us an idea on how best to proceed towards healthy development, coupled with sound knowledge about the natural and physical environment and the connection of all the cycles - water, carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, etc. will help us see that even by inhaling and exhaling we become a part of the environment and the environment a part of us.

As the world awakened to environmental disasters, a set of principles came about among which the Earth Summit (Rio Declaration) Conference is known to be the largest gathering of world leaders in history to agree on a common set of principles (treaties and other agreements) to ensure the protection of non-renewable resources and working towards SD, of which Sri Lanka is an active member.

In it, Agenda 21 is known to be the blueprint that outlines these principles as a set of global strategies to make development economically, socially and environmentally sustainable. It may be worthy to read the 300 page document that may equip us as the basis on which how we can achieve sustainable development, and move towards a safer environment with a greater concern and assurance for better years to come.

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