World Student Community for Sustainable Development

by Nitin Tanwar, Department of Civil Engineering, Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh 160012, India

Sustainable Development meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.†This definition has been accepted de facto ever since the Brundtland report of 1987. However during recent times there has been a renewed debate as to whether this definition applies to every part of our world. There have been attempts to come up with a region specific definition and a regional concept of sustainability.

The present article presents the results of one such exercise undertaken at the Center for Sustainability at Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zurich. It is the part of the Center’s World YES Forum â Students Shaping the Future†project launched in 2004. The project aims to bring out regional sustainability perspectives. This article explores the South Asian perspectives on sustainability.

1. INTRODUCTION

South Asia , the most populous region in the world, has often been described as a test case for sustainability. The region faces a plethora of problems . Excessive poor population , environmental issues relating to water, possible territorial conflicts which can become nuclear, terrorism, rampant corruption ; South Asia has it all. Under such challenging circumstances achieving sustainability is much more than just difficult. Despite the challenges, there has been a recent trend in the region targeting sustainability issues. However to achieve sustainability we must first understand what sustainability means to the people of South Asia. The South Asian concept of sustainability is markedly different from rest of the worldâ€^TMs understanding of the term. It therefore needs a special approach which takes into account the aspirations of the common people of the region. Before coming out with a South Asian model of sustainability, it would be interesting to know how the various drivers of the South Asian society perceive sustainability.

2. GOVERNMENT

Since the Rio summit of 1992 , all the South Asian Governments have defined sustainable development strictly as per the 1987 Brundtland Commission report- “Meeting the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.†Nearly all the official documents published by the governments refer to this well known and accepted definition of sustainable development.

An important point to be noted is that before 1992 and until very recently, the term “sustainable development” was considered synonymous with environmental protection. Most of the official sustainability documents published are prepared by the environment department of the country. In India, the Governmentâ€^TMs Ministry of Environment and Forests is the controlling agency in toto. It has published documents such as “ Agenda 21 — An Assessment†, “Empowering People for Sustainable Development†, “ Towards Sustainability : Learning from the Past, Innovating for the future†and “ Sustainable Development — Learning and Perspective from Indiaâ€^TM [1]. This is despite the fact that in 1972â€^TMs Stockholm conference Indian Prime Minister Ms. Indira Gandhi remarked “ Isnâ€^TMt poverty the greatest threat to the environment?†[2]. However a gradual change with regard to understanding sustainability is underway. This is reflected in certain planning documents such as the Indian Planning Commissionâ€^TMs 10th plan and its stress on meeting the Millennium Development Goals [3].

3. ACADEMIC

For a long time, the sub-continentâ€^TMs academics have been working on the individual components of sustainable development ( environment, economics, social issues). The academic world has done extensive research on these issues. Prof. Yunus of Bangladesh first introduced the concept of micro — credit in the 1980â€^TMs. The Indian born Noble laureate Amartya Sen is an expert on human development issues. The Energy and Resources Institute( TERI), India and Center for Environmental Education( CEE), India have been working on sustainability issues since long before the 1992 Rio Summit.

It may thus be conveniently assumed that the concept of sustainable development is well known to the South Asian academic world. More importantly , the academics realize the importance of sustainability issues in the development of their countries.

However before we establish the role of academics , we should first asses the role of a scientist or a technologist in the society. In the South Asian social structure, the politicians , lawyers, economists and media persons enjoy more importance than the academics. Consequently, the well informed academics are not able to influence policy making with regard to sustainable development in any significant way. Their role remains limited to paper work.

4. CORPORATE

The economies of the sub-continent have been regulated by the government for the most part of their independent history. The governmental control resulted in the large companies adopting an attitude of indifference towards sustainability issues. Environment issues featured low on the agenda. Corporate role in environment protection first came into focus after the 1985 Bhopal gas tragedy.

The explosive economic growth the region has experienced in recent years ( primarily led by India) and the post Rio world are changing the scenario. The multinational corporations have taken a lead in sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility activities in the region. This has been done in order to develop good will for the companies. Similar to the west, the process is based upon the ‘triple bottom line’ i.e. the organization performance based on economic, social and environmental goals [4].

5. PHILOSOPHICAL

The ancient Indian sub-continent has a long tradition of protecting and worshipping nature. The land, trees and even animals are placed on a high pedestal since the Vedic times( 4500 BC to 2500 BC) [5]. The ancient people perceived divine existence in trees, medicines, rivers, lakes, mountains and living beings. Due to such extraordinary awareness regarding nature and ecological equilibrium , India was the most advanced country of the world in terms of sustainability. It was considered to be a part of the traditions and cultural values not only to protect the environment but also to maintain ecological equilibrium [6].

Religious philosophy plays an important role in everyday life of people even today. Given below is a brief description of the major religions of the present day sub-continent with regards to sustainability , especially the environment.

Buddhist Philosophy

Buddhism emphasize rational use of natural resources by man. Simplicity and non-violence are two cardinal principles of Buddhism. These are closely interrelated. The optimal pattern of consumption , producing a high degree of human satisfaction by means of relatively low rate of consumption, allows people to live without pressure and strain. The teaching of Buddha joins a reverent and non-violent attitude towards trees and animals [7].

The Buddhist follower emperor Great Ashoka promoted the planting and preservation of flora and fauna. He prescribed various punishments for hunting and felling trees. He established two kinds of hospitals , one for man and another for beasts [8].

Hindu Philosophy

Hindu religion is one of the oldest religions of the world. Ever since ancient times , the main motto of social life was to have harmony with nature. Sages , saints and the great philosophers of India lived in forests and on mountains where they meditated. It was required to have a worshipful attitude towards the earth, sky, water, trees, plants, animals and to keep a benevolent attitude towards these. It was regarded as a sacred duty of mankind to protect these [9].

Islamic Philosophy

In the Islamic perspective , the environmental and ecological activities are seen as a subject matter of a wider human effort to usher in a just and peaceful society. Peace with nature is based on divine ethical principles which are immutable. According to Islamic thought , these principles are required to be understood and followed by man in general so that there may not be any imbalance between man and nature [10].

Gandhian Philosophy

Gandhi’s approach to political, social or economic problems was not merely an intellectual approach, it was holistic with an emphasis on ethical and moral concerns. He set himself to remind the masses of India’s ancient and forgotten memories and gave to the people glimpses of their collective soul [11]. For achieving this he advocated an egalitarian society. An egalitarian society in which all have equal social, economic and political rights and opportunities, has been advocated by social and religious thinkers for ages all across the world. It however never got properly defined, much less instituted. Such a society can be realised only through true grassroots empowerment in which grassroots parliaments control all local resources and decision-making. Such grassroots empowerment nurtures societal values that look upon wealth for societal good not personal aggrandisement, and prevents exploitation of the weak. Social and environmental discords are resolved within the local level, that is, district, country or municipality. State and national governments have no jurisdiction over social matters, including religion. Based on 4000 years of democratic ethos of India, Gandhi advocated such a system. Unfortunately, it never got adopted.

6. CONCLUSION: REGIONAL CONCEPT OF SUSTAINABILITY

The South Asian perspectives seem to be a combination of the western oriented definitions comnined with a more “spiritual†approach (Figure 1). It wonâ€^TMt be incorrect to say that the South Asian Model for sustainability is very much philosophical and lays great stress on the individual. It is based on notions of becoming a “good human being†. Once a person becomes a good human being , it can be assumed that he will not cause any harm to the environment and other people till the time he is in his senses. He shall have an inherent tendency to live in peace with his fellow man and surroundings. This is in tune with what the religions of the region preach. Such a person will give due regards to his environment and society while performing any economic activity.

The values which are inscribed in a person might come from his family , surrounding environment, society, or education. Once the person is able to give importance to these values in his daily life, he becomes a sustainable person. A large group of such people form a sustainable society . Many such societies form a nation.

Thus it may be concluded that the South Asian concept of sustainability attempts to incorporate the sustainability dimensions of economy, environment and society in the system of values governing a human being.

References

[1] Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India, Annual Report 2002 — 2003 . Published by Environmental Information System (ENVIS), New Delhi, p. 19.

[2] Sharma, S. K.., 2005. Personal Communication during interview with The President of The Environment Society of India held for the ETH Center for Sustainability WYF Project. , May 8th, 2005, Chandigarh, India.

[3] Background paper on ‘India and the Millennium Development Goals ‘ by Empower Poor. Available on line at : http://www.empowerpoor.org/background.asp?report=68 (July 4th, 2005).

[4] Nyati, K. P., 2002. “Sustainability as Corporate Strategy for Competitive advantage†, Environment Management Division , Confederation of India Industry. Available on line at: http://greenbusinesscentre.com/Sustain.asp (July 4th, 2005).

[5] Lal, M., 2002. Ancient India — Textbook for class XI, published by the National Council of Educational Research and Training, New Delhi, p. 84.

[6] Khan, I. A., 2000. Environmental Law, Central Law Agency, Allahabad, India, p. 22.

[7] Ibid. p. 28.

[8] Ibid.

[9] Shastri, S., 1996. “Environmental ethics and constitution of India,†in R. B Singh and Suresh Mishra eds., Environmental Law in India, Issues and Responses, p. 98.

[10] Khan, I. A., Op. Cit. , p. 29.

[11] Chowdhry, K., 1999. Development: Spirituality and Sustainability. Lecture delivered at IGNCA, Available on line at: http://ignca.nic.in/nl_01207.htm (July 4th, 2005).