Until some time back, things were all going fine, we had all our imperfections in the society however there was no crisis from nature. We had all the natural resources in plenty. But then we started using them recklessly, and it took a toll on nature.
Nature came back to us, not in a pleasant way. Climate started changing. Water crisis started. Rains have become very less. Groundwater is becoming polluted.
Today we need to slow down a bit on technology and start developing sustainable developmental habits. Government policies and laws are needed, however the awareness of every individual is of critical importance.
As a common citizen, I feel the following are the salient features which should be taken care of with utmost urgency :-
1) Town/city/village planning - A systematic demographic analysis of the various cities/towns and villages have to be done. Development should not be localized to certain cities only, rather a distributed developmental model has to be laid town and cities/villages should be planned as per master plans taking into account all aspects of sustainability so that the ecology is not disturbed.
Strict laws have to be made so that builders are not able to do scrupulous building constructions and disturb the ecosystem of the area.
2) Waste disposal/recycling and management - First priority in terms of sustainability is that of how we manage our waste in whatever form it is. The Government should provide incentives for developing profitable industries around recycling and managing all types of waste. Landfills are no longer a means of disposing off waste. We need to have comprehensive waste management so that 100% of the waste can be recycled. The impetus to this will come from policy, polity and legality, i.e., policies backed by strong legal backbone. The citizens role however would be to create awareness and voluntarily follow principles of waste management.
3) Water conservation - Preventing industrial and any other forms of waste to go into rivers and water bodies is very critical. Today we are facing acute water crisis in cities as well as villages. We need to rejuvenate rivers, as well as harvest rain and ground water and also prevent water wastage in our day to day usage. Again this whole effort has to be backed by law and policies.
4) Energy conservation and use of renewable sources of energy - We all know that all the oil is going to finish someday, but the irony is we have hardly invested in R&D in renewable energy sector. This again has to be backed by policies and laws. Academia has a major role to play in this regard.
5) Efficient public transport modes - The above point is best augmented through good public transport systems, the best among them is sub-urban railway system, which is extremely sustainable and energy efficient. The number of cars on the road would be drastically reduced and so is the pollution caused by smoke, and also reduced consumption of fuel. This would be one of the finest methods of bringing immediate sustainability in the ecosystem.
6) Natural farming - Chemical-free farming is the modern as well as the ancient system of agriculture. Perma-culture and many such methods today are proving the fact that natural farming which is pesticide free is sustainable in the long term as well as gives better yields. Again this has to be backed by policies and laws.
7) Food supply chain - Today a country like India produces surplus food. But such is the irony that many people in this country remain hungry. Billions of tons of food is wasted every day/ every year. The food supply chain network is heavily influenced by political parties and muscle power. Hence tons of food is wasted but it never reaches the needy. India produces so much food that it can fulfill all its needs as well as export to countries like Africa. In fact we can just give away excess food without any price, to needy countries.
Surprisingly if we ponder a bit deeper, all aspects of sustainability are linked with socio-economic development. This can be harnessed through financial incentives and creating an eco-system that encourages profit-making through better sustainability models.
As Mahatma Gandhi said "The world has enough for everyone's need, but not enough for everyone's greed."
It is human greed that is responsible for the destruction of nature, ecology and environment. We can only beat this with awareness and laws of the land.
Let us all together join hands to create sustainable developmental models and protect this planet. It is high time that we act. The seriousness of this issue is beyond imagination.
