Sustainable Development

Sustainable Development.

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A few days ago I got an opportunity to speak on the topic of sustainable development before the students of a management institute of repute. The said institute was celebrating a function on the occasion of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.

                I am not from academics nor have I any specific expertise on sustainable development. Despite it being so, the opportunity I got was due to my friend who holds an administrative post in that institute. He,acting out of sheer love and affection, invited and expected me to participate in the function with the aforesaid assignment.

In a bid to help me my daughter apprised me that there is plenty of materials on the internet as sustainable development is the most talked about proposition in the present global scenario. But that was only partly satisfying for me. Besides,thinking in my own way on an issue has always been my habit and forte as well.

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We know there are many ways of learning but the most enduring type of learning is learning by observing, learning by doing.

I was born in the late sixties. Those born in this decade are referred to as Gen X people. The term owes its origin to a Canadian Journalist who coined this to refer to people born much after the world-war and who had only a little exposure to technology that was at that time only in a fledgling state.

* I remember my mother would collect utensils to the nearby well or pond to clean them. There were no handpumps, the only generally available sources were wells or ponds. But what is the situation today? Wells and ponds are generally not seen or even if seen they are non-functional.

* I remember that not to speak of the village l lived in even in my panchayat there was no school. Such a situation is almost non existent today. During those days the medium of transportation was meager. We did not have broad roads and highways,dams etc.

*I can say with certainty that almost 90 percent of the people in my village had to go outside to relieve themselves. Is this the situation today? No, definitely not.

* I still remember how cumbersome cooking with the help of traditional chulha happened to be in the past. Lpg cylinders which generation Y or Z see since their very birth were not to be seen during my childhood days. In other words I was not fortunate enough to see in my childhood what you have been seeing since your birth and used to. 

Yes, I am talking about computers, mobile phones and a number of electronic gadgets that adorn your drawing room.

Instances are not few and far between. There are many-many like this.

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 A.The point I want to drive home is that development evolves rather than it suddenly appears. Generally speaking it follows an evolutionary path

 B.So the point I want to emphasize is that development is more a process than an event.

 C. Development is more a product of mind that puts our natural resources converted into artificial objects in the form of goods and services with the help of contemporary technology.

 D. At the same time it is also mentioned that development is not a journey in one particular direction. It can never be equated to the situation that you board a train to reach a destination. What appears as a destination may actually turn out to be a strange beginning.

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Now let us turn to the other side of the story.

Does development only mean constructing high rise buildings,dams, bridges, gas guzzling factories for making goods and services?

Is development all that which helps GDP numbers grow year after year?

Should we be so passionate about GDP which is generally speaking has become the barometer of development the world over?

These are some questions whose answer will decide the type of development we favour.

The question is- are we satisfied with the existing model of development?

If yes why or If not, why?

While deciding this issue we are bound to pore over a number of issues that the existing model of development has given rise to.

Here comes the importance of the term "Sustainable"."Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.". This definition is from World Conference on Environment and Development".

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The long and short of what I tried to impress upon the audience in respect of development,much less sustainable development, was my efforts to visualise it rather than making an attempt to define or theorise.

I made an attempt to emphasize that Development is undoubtedly resource based but is technology driven. We cannot think of development in absence of the nullity of natural resources. So natural resources which is the base of development or sustainable development should be utilised with that much prudence that would also enable the future generations to meet their needs.

For this it should be our endeavour to enhance the productivity of our natural resources through adoption of such technology which protects, preserves and creates more than it impairs,destroys and consumes.

Why? Because we must provide for posterity.

Hence development consists of exploring ways and means to meet the needs of not only the current generation but future generations also.

 This makes us realise the importance of sustainability in this process of development.  

       Sustainable development means being less selfish and more concerned to the posterity in order to ensure sustainability. 

This would naturally require conversion of natural resources should be built upon the principles of reversibility as far as it is possible so that nature keeps on renewing itself.

 Here comes the importance of renewable sources of energy to ensure sustainability.

This leads us to suggest that we should invest more on research that encourages development of that technology which exploits renewable sources of energy. Only then we will be able to hand over the present environment and ecology to the future generations at least in the shape they are now. Would we like to hand over charge of "thing" to the posterity by making it worse than we received from the preceding generation?

Sooner we understand this the better.

I also feel that development without justice not only perpetuates inequality but also aggravates it. 

For development to be effective and pervasive it should not be "directive" in nature but every effort should be made to make the process of development " participative".

 In that case every section of the society would feel happy without making any section "unhappy" with the process. Each section will have its stake duly addressed. The journey of development will then become a pleasant one. This will require changing the gear of the development vehicle from "top-down" to "bottom-up". 

We need to understand that no benefit can be had without a cost.So is with Development. Development too can't take place without any cost. The cost benefit analysis should favour that type of development which maximizes benefits to all the sections of the population while the cost thereof is borne differentially keeping in mind the cost bearing capacity of each section. For that to happen we need to work-out impartially the Break-Even point of this cost-benefit analysis of development. In no case it should be like " for a benefit to the few the cost is borne equally by all".

It is my considered view that the present position of development on the cost benefit curves lies on the negative side of break-even point. We have outreached the benefits of the present directive model.

Therefore,we should want ourselves to understand that developing"collectively" is always better than "developing individually". Have we imagined what type of growth in our body would look like if only a few organs of the body is allowed to grow while rest others kept checked or left uncared?

In order to "develop collectively" it was necessary that no one the world over should be left behind. For this goals were set up in the year 2015 by UN that we would not only end poverty, hunger, malnutrition, illiteracy, gender inequality by 2030 but will ensure clean water & sanitation, affordable and clean energy,decent work by making cities sustainable while preserving climate and life both on earth and below water. Such lofty goals were to be achieved by creating conditions for establishing world peace and justice through partnership among institutions by making them stronger. 

These goals are called "Sustainable Development Goals(SDG) '' which are seventeen in number. 

The latest report published in July last month by the UN says that the progress made so far in respect of these SDGs have been brought to naught; courtesy devastating war between Russia and Ukraine that ruined lives and properties as also COVID pandemic that panned the entire economy and of course lives the world over.

To conclude; it is submitted that unless the leaders of the world realise that peace is non- negotiable no development much less sustainable development is possible. 

 Though aware of the fact that peace is a precondition to development, their indulgence in war and creating conditions of brinkmanship is simply disappointing. The powerful nations are busy manufacturing weapons of mass destruction while talking about the issue of environment and development. 

Is it not unfortunate? Just pore over. 

Turbulence and development can't coexist.

Great saint and poet Goswami Tulsidas said in the Ramcharitmanas-

दुइ कि होय एक समय भुआला।

हंसब ठठाय फुलाउब गाला।।

R.R.Prabhakar.

24.08.2022.