According
to a native American proverb, 'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors.
We borrow it from our children'. This quote conceptualizes the essence of
sustainable development. Development which is eco-friendly, long-lasting and
not emergent of mindless exploitation of natural resources but which is the
resultant out of their effective and efficient use.
Why
is the need of the hour? Why is it that it has gained this importance?
Sustainable development is not only about the importance of the environment but
about economic and social gain too. For example, burning of fossil fuels and
deforestation are undoubtedly harming the environment but the effects of rising
carbon dioxide which could have been stored in the forests by tress as a 'sink'
is simply absent and (as was calculated by the World Bank) costs about 3.7 lakh
crore or 5.7% of India's GDP. Further, when thousands of lives are lost because
of the same pollution, it is not just a shocking demographic statistic but an
enormous loss of human capital/resource. The Climate Vulnerable Forum estimates
that "the cost of climate change and air pollution combined will rise to
3.2% of global GDP, with the world's least developed countries forecast to bear
the brunt, suffering losses of up to 11% of their GDP". Clearly the
development pattern which most countries have been following is a damaging one.
It is a vicious cycle which starts will ill practices which lead to ill effects
which cost us greatly. This is why sustainable development is the need of the
hour.
Sustainable
development is about human development. Development which is in the best
interests of the present generation but does not compromise the interests of
the future generations. So how can sustainable development address the
fundamental challenges which we face? The foremost step which would have to be
taken is to build eco-friendly technology for energy use. India's energy
requirements for example are still heavily dependent on fossil fuels. There
must be a shift to less harmful but stable energy sources such as nuclear
technology and investment required and market built for renewable energy such
as solar, wind and hydro-electric power. This is the future energy scenario
which countries must strive for. It may be argued that the energy harnessed
from them is not enough but this shortcoming is only limited to the
technological ability we possess. Therefore investment in these technologies is
imperative. These are the practices of the 'future'. Sustainable development
also means empowering people to make smart decisions. In a country where there
is mass scale
ignorance, this becomes a challenge. Therefore making people aware and environmentally conscious and impart livelihood practices (such as those displaced by big projects) is not only important in itself but has long term economic and social ramifications. Sustainable development cannot just be a governance idea but has to be an individual decision too. Individually we can say no to plastic, spread awareness; collectively we can plant more trees, develop rain water harvesting techniques. At the government level it can build smaller dams, invest in public transport, use CNG for vehicles and develop more efficient waste disposal/management techniques. These are all viable practices for now.
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