Sustainability practice

Sustainability has been defined and practiced for at least 30 years.  How relevant is its practice today to the readership of Lha’sContact Magazine (Contact) and Tibet Nature Environmental Conservation Network website (TNECN)?

This article defines the term Sustainability and summarises 6 environmental articles that show sustainability in practice. They, in turn, ask the readership to reflect how they can personally do more for their environment and its sustainability.

Many definitions of sustainable development exist. The original by the Brundtland Commission remains the most quoted: “Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. (Brundtland Report, 1987).

Or as HH Dalai Lama said shortly after: “As people alive today, we must consider future generations: a clean environment is a human right like any other. It is therefore part of our responsibility towards others to ensure that the world we pass on is as healthy, if not healthier, than we found it.” (HH Dalai Lama, 1990)

Look around you and ask the question about what you see: Is it sustainable? It may be maintenance of a section of road, a new phone or internet connection, what you eat, the water you drink, the waste water you discharge from home, a house or temple extension etc. It’s not easy.

Often it is better to think of the individual economic, social and environmental benefits (strengths) and costs (weaknesses).

Sustainability is maximized where all three are strengths. For example:

·        Snow Leopard Conservancy, India Trust (SLC-IT) has provided villagers with secure domestic animal enclosures against snow leopard depredation and homestay options (see Growing snow leopard importance article). Snow leopards will seek their preferred wild animal prey instead, villagers will be happier that their domestic animals are safe and will receive a higher income from their sheep and goats and from tourists.

·        Ice Stupas will conserve water until later in the season, help villagers with crop irrigation and provide extra income for sale of crops (see Climate change status and action article).

·        Someone giving an experience rather than a gift will reduce material costs, improve the environment and may make people happier (see Reducing waste and material use article).

·        Topsoil protection will usually be a net financial benefit and will benefit the environment by offering a fertile and stable landform. It will benefit people, especially farmers and those impacted by landslips (see Saving our soils article).

·        Walking instead of taking a taxi/bus which burns fossil fuels will save cost, mitigate climate change impacts and may the person healthier (see Climate change status and action article).

·        Banning vehicle horn use in McLeod Ganj, as in Kathmandu (The car horn is uncivilized: how Kathmandu streets went quiet, The Guardian, 24/10/17) will have no cost and may raise money from fines, will benefit the noise environment and make the streets more pleasurable for everyone.

Sometimes two strengths may be offset by a weakness. In this case, the overall sustainability strength will be less and help future generations less. For example:

·        Lha’s drinking water filtration plants have supply and maintenance costs. They benefit the environment by replacing other potable water supply for others to use and have demonstrated healthier more productive students (see Improving our water quality article)

·        Waste reuse or recycling will have a financial cost but may be less than landfill cost. Yet, either will benefit the environment – less litter and landfill –  and it may make people happier (see Reducing waste and material use article)

·        Grey water treatment  will have a financial cost unless done by , will benefit the environment and will ensure down-steam people have healthier lives (see Improving our water quality article)

Some of these examples depend on interrelationships and interdependencies.

In relationships, these ideas may be at a spiritual, philosophical, or behavioral level. They may manifest in day-to-day practices.  For example, the elimination of car horns in Kathmandu was behavioral and could equally apply in McLeod Ganj if stakeholders agreed.

Figure;Typical Life Cycle analysis

Interdependencies may be technical or systematic. Technical interdependencies may require an understanding of lifecycles sometimes referred, as in people, by the term “cradle to the grave”

 Technical inefficiencies either at each step or between steps may be economically costly and little value to people or the environment. The waste / material prevention example eliminates these inefficiencies. Grey water treatment options are more complex as they are a step in the water cycle.

System inefficiencies may also apply in above examples. Likewise, setting aside grazing areas for wild animals will help snow leopards.

Undertaking an eco-footprint analysis will show how many equivalent Earth’s you are consuming and help you decide how best to reduce your footprint (see Climate Change status and action for an Indian analysis, or this global one which compares countries).  The whole family could be involved.

World Environment Day (5 June each year) gives us an opportunity to reflect on these ideas and sustainable practice.

In 2017, Lha introduced a contest and awarded prizes for essays on ‘Connecting People to Nature’. The topic was similar to the one suggested by the United Nation’s World Environment Day theme. Many good essays were submitted. The three prize winners can be found on the website (posted TNECN, 12 June 2017). Most submissions explained sustainability and interconnections from a broad philosophical perspective. What does good and bad practice look like?

For 2018:[A1]

1.      Lha would like good and bad practical examples. They can be written and/or pictures and open to school children and adults. The series of recent articles published in Contact and TNECN may help.

2.      Lha has registered with the United Nations World Environment Day 2018 and proposes an event celebration under the theme of ????? [A2] as follows ??????[A3]

3.      Lha has registered with the United Nations World Environment Day 2018 and proposes an event celebration as follows ????? [A4] and to award essayists for good and bad practical examples on 2017 theme of ‘connecting people back to nature’.

Thinking and acting more sustainably will not only benefit us but the next generation.

Simon Cavendish, Marvin Westerveld and Amelia Rozelle

References
Brundlandt report, 1987

HH Dalai Lama, 1990

The car horn is uncivilized: how Kathmandu streets went quiet, The Guardian, 24/10/17)

Global Footprint Network eco-footprint calaculator

World Environment Day

TNECN, 12/6/17

Contact articles above