Sustainable Development: A Moment Of Action
Fabliha Afia:
“We are no longer in a moment of awareness, we are in a moment of action” – Rosario Dawson. We have to be aware of the importance of environmental protection and take that awareness one step further and act.
‘When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world’ – John Muir. The fires in the Amazon are an unbearable loss. But they are a striking reminder and reflection of what is happening all around the world.
‘A wise friend of mine gave me a simple yet profound explanation of what is happening today with our planet. “Any living thing that loses one-third of its skin suffers high fever and is at great risk of dying. This is what is happening to the earth: it has lost one-third of its skin – the trees, the soil, and all the biodiversity surrounding it. Yet instead of helping to regenerate and replenish what has been stripped away, we keep on pillaging and ravaging her.” If someone is sick, we do not repeat the things that make them more sick, we help them heal! Many people take the soil, the food, the water, the air, and all the gifts that she provides us for granted. Many more believe we are entitled to just take and take from her without any thought of nourishing her back. We are not! The Earth has been giving us clear signs that we must change our ways. There needs to be a balance between how much we need for our survival and how much we need to give back. If we want to thrive, it is time to take responsibility, change our ways, and start honouring this planet that sustains all of our lives. This is our only home’ – Gisele Bündchen.
Indeed there is no Planet B, the Earth is our only home. Here are some of the actions we can take to help make a difference and achieve sustainable development.[1]
BUSINESS:
Strategic sustainability must be the compass of any business’s long term ambitions.[2]
Inspiration can be gathered from the international furniture and home accessories company, IKEA.[3] It was founded in Sweden more than 70 years ago and is now one of the world’s largest furniture retailers. IKEA announced that it will only use renewable and recycled materials by 2030. The store is making all its furniture environmentally friendly and by 2030 everything IKEA sells will be designed to be repurposed, repaired, reused, resold and recycled. It will also remove all single-use plastic products from stores. Vegetarian food that it offers at its restaurants will also be increased. IKEA also aims for zero-emission home deliveries by 2025.[4]
Another example of sustainable business is Allkopi.[5] It is a Norwegian graphics supplier that delivers banners, books, pamphlets and more. They have switched to more environmentally friendly machines. They have also begun a recycling program, and recycle 87 percent of their waste. They are leading towards a climate friendly direction and this gives them an advantage within the market.[6]
Versed,[7] a skincare company in the USA is providing guidelines in their social media forum as to how to recycle their empty product containers. This encourages more people to recycle.[8]
Green Hug[9] is a Mexican clothing line which aims to create a sustainable brand and a green movement. The clothing line is 100 percent sustainable, making clothes out of garbage. 50 percent from PET bottles, 50 percent from recycled clothing. Compared to conventional clothing, their environmental impact is reduced up to 90 percent. Their T-shirts are made from 100 percent recycled materials, saving 1,865 litres of water, 9 kw of energy and 2.86 kilograms of carbon dioxide per garment.[10]
Sustainable supermarkets are also growing popular. Bulk Market[11] in London asks customers to bring their own bags, jars and containers so they can fill them up with exactly the amount they need, ensuring no plastic packaging. In this way no plastic ends up in landfills, rivers and oceans. 40 percent of all plastic made is used in packaging and only 9 percent is recycled.[12]
These are some examples of sustainable business. As the impacts of ecological deficit grow worse, all companies across all fields should adopt sustainability in Bangladesh. In this way companies whose frugal business models align with resource security will see their markets expand and facilitate sustainable development.[13]
AGRICULTURE:
Sustainable agriculture must also be adopted to meet long term demands.[14] By 2050 there will be 10 billion people on the planet. More food will be required in the next 40 years than all of the harvests in history combined.[15]
Netherlands has a good sustainable agriculture practice. It has become the world’s second biggest food exporter, while reducing water use by 90 percent, and almost eradicating the use of pesticides. The Dutch use technology and science to push the boundaries of agriculture. Drones are used to monitor potato and onion fields, producing crop yields more than double the global average. Huge areas of the country are covered by glasshouses producing large crops of fruit and vegetables. It now exports more tomatoes, chillies and cucumbers than any other country. The Dutch success story is amazing because the country is small and densely populated with 1,300 people per square mile. The USA, the world’s number 1 food exporter is 270 times bigger. More than 140 countries have adopted methods developed by Dutch farmers.[16]
Rooftop farming is another way of producing food for the world’s growing population. Rooftop farms in New York gather millions of litres of rainwater every year and use it to grow more than 36 tonnes of vegetables grown in soil just 25 cm deep using compost from food waste. The green roofs also reduce urban heat, cutting down on the energy used to cool buildings. Half the farms produce is sold to restaurants and the rest to members of the local community. Rooftop farming is one way of using space well, reducing the need to transport food over long distances and cutting carbon emissions.[17]
Emphasis should also be given to healthy soil.[18] Healthy soils provide food, store carbon and help mitigate the effects of climate change. Healthy soils are also more resilient to climate change impacts. Poor farming practices can lead to extensive soil degradation. Soils are the very foundation of agriculture and on improving practices of soil and water management to become more sustainable, it will make a huge transformative difference in moving the agenda on climate-smart agriculture forward.[19]
FOOD CONSUMPTION:
What we eat also has major implications for climate change. To meet sustainable development even the food consumption needs to change to sustainable climate-conscious food consumption.[20] This means reducing meat and emphasising diverse vegetarian ingredients instead. Livestock accounts for 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions.[21] It also means reducing food waste. One-third of the food that is produced is wasted.[22]
Today, most of the area the wild grasslands once covered is now farmland. If we occupy less space on Earth, then the grasslands will be able to expand and thrive forever. If we eat less meat and only from animals raised sustainably, we would dramatically reduce our land we need to feed ourselves.[23] And that extra land can be returned to be wild grasslands.[24]
More people are taking a closer look at what they are eating and the impact of their diets on their health and on the environment. A growing movement of people are changing the way they cook and eat. National campaigns would inspire even more people to enjoy sustainable, climate-conscious and delicious food; and a reduction of food waste.[25]
PLANTS:
To improve air quality, biodiversity and quality of life, more greenery should also be added.[26] An ambitious example is Paris. In Paris 74 acres of new public gardens are being built, planting 20,000 trees and opening vegetable gardens in schools. In Paris, citizens are also planting gardens in the street. Any resident can apply for a permit to grow an urban garden on walls, roofs and fences. In urban gardens chemical pesticides are banned; while bee-friendly plants are encouraged along with fruit trees and living walls. Paris wants to improve its air quality, biodiversity and quality of life; so Mayor Anne Hidalgo is aiming to add 250 acres of greenery to the city with a third of that being fruit and vegetables. 3,000 permits have been issued so far. In this way the quality of life is being improved along with achieving sustainable development.[27]
Forest conservation is also required to meet sustainable development goals.[28] Sri Lanka is striving to become the first nation in history to preserve and replant almost all its mangrove forests. Seacology,[29] a non-profit organisation in California is working with the country by providing micro loans to those leading community mangrove conservation efforts. Seacology has launched over 300 projects around the world and involves the women of a village to head it. The important aspect of this project is the involvement of 15,000 community members living around the 48 main lagoons in the country. They are provided with training on mangrove conservation, business development, livelihood development and technology.[30]
Websites and gaming applications can also be created to encourage people to be involved in reforestation. PosadiLes.ru[31] website has been launched in Russia to reach more people in reforestation efforts. Three years ago, ‘PosadiLes.ru’ was created so that everyone could plant one’s forest without leaving home. The service sends a certificate and GPS coordinates of the planted trees to the person who has planted them. Today more than 4,000 people and 10 companies have planted over 400,000 trees in 17 regions of Russia. In the future, they are planning to launch a “Plant the forest” educational gaming project, where the actions in virtual reality will lead to tree restoration in real life. People can grow their own virtual forest and, in parallel, new forests will be planted by their volunteers. Like in the game, insects, animals and birds will inhabit them. Step-by-step, players will learn about environmental restoration and what they need to do to make animals appear in their forests.[32]
Adaptation of similar solutions in Bangladesh are required to achieve sustainable development goals. It will protect the health of the communities and also the health of the planet.[33]
CARBON FOOTPRINT:
Carbon footprint also needs to be reduced to tackle climate change and achieve sustainable development.[34] Carbon footprint is the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere as a result of the activities of a particular individual, organization or community.[35] There is no country in the world that is not experiencing first-hand the drastic effects of climate change. Greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, and are now 50 percent higher than their 1990 level. Further global warming is causing long-lasting changes to our climate system, which threatens irreversible consequences if we do not take action now.[36]
In Canada, British Columbia has done something no one else has done before. It is the first government at a provincial, territorial and state level in North America to take 100 percent responsibility for the emissions from 128 of its public sector organisations. It includes all of their public sector organisations: the schools, colleges, universities, hospitals, all of their government buildings. Each of these organisations count their emissions, reports on their emissions, reduces their emissions, and then offsets their emissions. Where they cannot reduce emissions immediately, they follow that up with the use of carbon credits that are generated in a way that involve indigenous people in British Columbia and the Great Bear Rainforest in a conservation initiative that both preserve tremendous biodiversity in old growth forests, sequestered carbon and at the same time, provide for economic well-being for these nations.[37]
If similar initiatives are adopted by all public and private bodies in Bangladesh then the carbon emissions can be reduced to zero, and a low carbon future can be our reality.[38]
WASTE MANAGEMENT:
More emphasis should also be given to recycling and waste management – this is also a part of sustainable development.[39] Norway rewards recycling. Norway has a deposit scheme that charges consumers for every container bought giving them the money back only when consumers return the bottles. The result is 97 percent of plastic bottles in Norway are recycled.[40]
In Nigeria, Let’s recycle network[41] is an innovative social benefit initiative that rewards individuals, households, and institutions for recyclable waste collected, which is then re-processed and sold. This initiative aims to give their subscribers a direct opportunity to generate value in the form of cash, food items, household items, for recyclable wastes collected. The waste includes: empty water sachets, used polythene bags, empty water bottles, empty aluminium cans and tins, used paper and paper packaging, metal scrap and metallic waste, damaged glass and bottles, and old tyres.[42] E-wastes are also recycled in Nigeria by Hinckley e-waste recycling.[43]
Clothes also should be recycled to achieve sustainability. The impact of dumping clothing in landfill sites is catastrophic. Natural fibres such as cotton or silk produce greenhouse gases upon degradation, while synthetic fibres such as polyester are non-biodegradable, leading to similar impacts on the environment as plastics. Chemicals from dyes can have severe impacts on soil and water sources from run-off.[44] In The Lebanese Republic, FabricAid[45] reuses and recycles unwanted clothes. Clothes are graded, sorted into over 46 categories, cleaned in their warehouse and redistributed to disadvantaged communities at US $ 0.3 – US $ 2 per item. They have sold more than 60,000 items of clothing to more than 7,000 beneficiaries. In addition, they collect new and gently used clothes, shoes and accessories through their network of smart clothing collection bins located all over Lebanon, and garments that cannot be reused are shredded for pillows, chairs, couches, mattresses, and bin bags.[46]
It is also important to treat wastewater.[47] Aguas Andinas,[48] Chile’s largest water utility is converting the City of Santiago’s wastewater into clean energy. From the wastewater, waste is taken and transformed, purified and returned to the river as 100 percent clean and purified water. From that process biogas and bio-solids are left. Biogas is used as a source of energy, and bio-solids are used as fertilizer by farmers in the metropolitan region. This is recovering the health of the city and citizens.[49]
Trash can also be transformed into value.[50] Ethiopia’s new Reppie Facility[51] turns trash into energy, clean water and bricks. The factory will burn over 1,400 tons of waste a day to power 25 percent of Addis Ababa’s homes and provide electricity to over 3 million people while creating hundreds of jobs. The process of turning waste to energy is quite simple. Rubbish is burned in a chamber. The heat is used to boil water and the resulting steam drives a turbine generator that produces electricity. The new factory will also produce 3 million bricks from ash, and over 30 million litres of water will be recovered from the trash.[52] A trash to energy project is also underway in Dhaka, Bangladesh.[53]
Removal of plastic waste from the rivers, sea and ocean is also a necessity to meet sustainable development.[54] Enaleia[55] is a social enterprise with a vision to revolutionize the fishing sector by tackling the twin problems of overfishing and plastic pollution in the sea. Enaleria established Greece’s first professional fishing school, creating 30 jobs. More than 60 participants have so far collected 2.5 tons of marine plastic monthly, which has been upcycled to create new products. They aim to incentivise fishermen to catch less fish and collect more plastic.[56]
Plastic waste can also be turned into something new.[57] India is making roads out of recycled plastic. India has over 33,700 km of plastic roads. 1 km of road uses the equivalent of 1 million plastic bags, saving around 1 tonne of asphalt and costs about 8 percent less than a conventional road.[58] The Netherlands is also building roads out of plastic waste that could last 3 times as long as a normal road and be recycled into more roads when their life cycle is up. Pre-made sections are transported and fixed together removing the need for excavators and steam rollers. The company VolkerWessels says plastic road is lightweight and virtually maintenance free.[59]
Finally to combat air pollution, introduction of air purifiers can be a solution.[60] Automobiles can be converted into air purification devices. Pariyayantra Air Filtration System[61] purifies air as a vehicle moves, without consuming any power. It is a pilot project sponsored by the Government of India. It is currently in progress and the results are highly encouraging. The system does not consume any electricity like other air purifiers, and is mounted on the roof of the vehicle. When mounted on buses, it works the same as six indoor air purifiers. It occupies little space on the bus rooftop, with a weight of 18 kilograms, and does not add any extra load on the vehicle engine even while running. The device is designed to match the aesthetics of the vehicle, and any moving vehicle fitted with it will become an air purifier too. The filters are biodegradable and have already been installed in 30 buses, collecting 1.5 kilograms of dust in just 10 days, with 77 percent of the particles captured being smaller than 10 microns.[62]
Carbon dioxide emissions from fossil carbon can also be turned into value. The extraction and consumption of fossil carbon to run daily lives accounts for over 6 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year, driving climate change. Xiangkun Elvis Cao in United States of America is building HI-Light which is a solar-thermal chemical reactor technology for converting carbon dioxide into fuels like syngas or methanol. The technology seeks to achieve a kind of artificial photosynthesis inside a factory or a power plant – combining sunlight, carbon dioxide and chemicals to photo-catalytically produce renewable fuel. The technique makes carbon dioxide capture and conversion more economical. The unique design feature of the reactor is the optimized light delivery coupled with optothermal heating to reach elevated temperatures where reaction rates are higher.[63]
Similar initiatives should also be adopted in Bangladesh. Better waste management will improve the quality of life and also the environment and in this way meet sustainable development goals.[64]
PLASTICS:
Plastic pollution is a global challenge. Since the 1950s about 8.3 billion metric tons of plastics have been made worldwide.[65] Roland Geyer, an industrial ecologist at the University of California, Santa Barbara said if all these plastics are spread ankle-deep, ‘it could cover an area the size of Argentina, which is the eighth-largest country in the world.’[66] Around 9 percent of this has been recycled, 12 percent incinerated and 79 percent has accumulated in landfills and the environment. Thus over time, 6.3 billion metric tons of plastic have been discarded and one way or another, we are still living with nearly all of it.[67]
Thus along with plastic recycling, an alternative to plastic is also required to meet sustainable development goals.[68] As mentioned above, we face a severe plastic problem today – thousands of marine animals are dying and if we continue in this way, by 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the sea.[69] A solution is biodegradable plastic. In Spain, VEnvirotech[70] produces biodegradable bioplastics using a special bacteria. The work is based on three principles: first, bioplastics is produced using bacteria. Bacteria use bioplastic is an energy reserve so the bacteria is made to produce bioplastic constantly. Then, the bioplastic is extracted from the bacteria and transformed into biodegradable bioplastic resin, with a multitude of applications. Third, the bacteria is fed with organic waste or sewage sludge. In this way, at VEnvirotech they move from waste to value for a cleaner world.[71] To reduce plastic waste similar biodegradable bioplastics should also be introduced in Bangladesh.[72]
EDUCATION:
Education institutes also have a role to play in achieving sustainability.[73] Australia’s largest university has committed to reach net zero emissions by 2030 for all four of its campuses. Monash University[74] embeds sustainability into the campus culture.[75] Similar initiatives should also be adopted by all the Universities in Bangladesh to reach net zero emissions.[76]
Climate change related education can also be included in schools.[77] North of Tyne in the UK is the world’s first to have accredited climate change teachers in every state school. This will nurture and raise young people to be conscious of the environment at a young age, and their collective action will help address global environmental challenges.[78]
RELIGION:
Religious institutions may also take similar initiatives. They can raise awareness about the importance of environment, impact of climate change, encourage the use of less plastics, encourage care for wildlife, oceans and waterways, encourage a tree growing culture, encourage waste management, etc.[79] This will promote sustainable development – caring for the earth and the community.[80]
ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY:
Entertainment industry can also help achieve sustainable development. Conservation Music[81] in USA is building a global network of musicians and youth volunteers to deliver environmental education through the catalytic power of music. They produce media, develop classroom resources, and lead live events and workshops. Their content reaches millions over radio, TV, online and face-to-face, in nationally relevant genres and languages. Their music is composed to deliver a message while holding attention and inspiring an emotional response, without only preaching to the choir.[82]
Art can also have a positive impact. Giffy Duminy in South Africa creates educational and inspiring conservation murals in public spaces, which can spark conversations about the importance of nature in daliy lives.[83]
Similarly, if all sectors of the entertainment industry in Bangladesh promotes environmental protection, then it will encourage people to be more environmentally conscious.[84]
CONCLUSION:
‘You say you love your children above all else, and yet you are stealing their future in front of their very eyes’ – Greta Thunburg. Environmental degradation is rising, but there is still time to tackle it. However this will require an unprecedented effort from all sectors of society.[85]
We believe in hope and the power of hope to transform into action. We have to act now and protect the environment, protect our planet – this is our only home. The value of nature has to be included in economic models, as the cost of losing it is far too great. We need a new deal for nature. As Jane Goodall said, “..each one of us must do our part in creating a better world, for through the small choices we make each day – what we say, what we eat, what we wear – may seem insignificant, the cumulative effect of billions of people making ethical choices, will start to heal the natural world.” It is up to each of us.
Bangladesh has strong environmental laws that promotes sustainable development.[86] Initiatives are also being taken to implement projects enabling sustainable development.[87] Implementing more similar initiatives, like the above mentioned projects from around the world in Bangladesh, will further promote the global goal of sustainable development and also take a giant leap towards changing the world for the good.
The writer is a Barrister-at-Law
References
[1] “Sustainable development” has been defined by the UN as promotion of social and economic development within the carrying capacity of ecosystems while taking account of the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
[2] UNDP Bangladesh, ‘Sustainable Development Goals, Goal 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure’ <http://www.bd.undp.org/content/bangladesh/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-9-industry-innovation-and-infrastructure.html> accessed 09 September 2019
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[12] World Economic Forum, ‘This supermarket in Germany uses no plastic packaging’ <https://www.facebook.com/WEFvideo/videos/2511101562283259/> accessed 10 September 2019
[13] UNDP Bangladesh, ‘Sustainable Development Goals, Goal 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure’ <http://www.bd.undp.org/content/bangladesh/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-9-industry-innovation-and-infrastructure.html> accessed 09 September 2019
[14] UNDP Bangladesh, ‘Sustainable Development Goals, Goal 2: Zero hunger’ <http://www.bd.undp.org/content/bangladesh/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-2-zero-hunger.html> accessed 09 September 2019
[15] World Economic Forum, ‘The Netherland’s has become the world’s second largest food exporter, while reducing water usage by 90% and nearly eradicating the use of pesticides’ <https://www.facebook.com/Lovenetherlands099/videos/1130944940428015/> accessed 11 September 2019
[16] Ibid.
[17] World Economic Forum, ‘These incredible rooftop farms in New York turn rainwater into vegetables’ <https://www.facebook.com/WEFvideo/videos/2380989808784110/> accessed 04 September 2019
[18] Ibid.
[19] UNFCCC, ‘Soils’ <https://www.facebook.com/UNclimatechange/videos/710946659329169/> accessed 19 August 2019
[20] UNDP Bangladesh, ‘Sustainable Development Goals, Goal 12: Responsible consumption and production’ <http://www.bd.undp.org/content/bangladesh/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-12-responsible-consumption-and-production.html> accessed 09 September 2019
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