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by Lionel Wijesiri

Determined to overcome a decade of disappointing results in efforts to reverse environmental degradation and combat poverty, the World Summit on Sustainable Development opened on Monday, 26 August, in Johannesburg with a sharp focus on finding ways to get things done. "There are high expectations for the Summit," said South African Foreign Minister Nkosazana Zuma. "We have to make sure the dreams and aspirations of millions of people are met, now and for future generations." The Summit, she added, was a place for the world to come together to shape what will be done to address problems of poverty eradication, education, health services, access to water and sanitation, energy and the environment.

Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the UN said: "We have seen the results when leaders speak publicly about an issue and put the full weight and resources of their administrations behind it. Johannesburg Summit can and must revive political commitment to sustainable development, especially at the highest levels".

A recent United Nations report found that if current patterns of development continue, nearly half of the world's people will suffer from water shortages within the next 25 years; the use of fossil fuels, along with greenhouse gas emissions, will grow; and the world's forests will continue to disappear.

Sri Lanka has finally understood the need for action. The Government is now planning to create a National Council for Sustainable Development (NCSD) mandated to oversee the development through proper management of natural and human resources of the country. According to Professor Mohan Munasinghe, the role of the NCSD would be to integrate social, environmental and economic dimensions in development and promote participation of all stakeholders, helping in creating unorthodox policies and regulations, monitoring and evaluating progress of all sectors and educating general public on what sustainable development is.

Challenges

The challenge of sustainability for us - in either economic, social or environmental terms - is daunting if for no other reasons than the multiple complex settings in which sustainability must be managed for, and the significant financial and human resource costs that are required to undertake it.

Population growth, urbanization and development will also transform Sri Lanka's consumption patterns. Our basic needs of food, potable, agricultural and industrial water, clothing, housing and energy will increase dramatically in the coming decades. Energy use and water resources will come under similar pressures. The increasing population and the use of irrigation are expected to yield qualitative and quantitative water demand problems before 2020, as the water carrying capacity of the island is outstripped.

Issues of population, consumption and poverty all have important relations to Sri Lankan health issues. Health is recognized as one of the prerequisites of sustainable development and a safe environment is recognized as one of the means to improve the health of communities.

Human settlements (i.e. housing and communities) are the primary settings in which these complex human service dynamics interact. Settlement issues for much of Sri Lanka are confounded by poverty, resource scarcity and pollution and population density.

While poverty and consumption have clear and tangible needs for management, the population dynamics of Sri Lanka have been less readily engaged to date. Population affects human services and broader social and environmental factors in a variety of complex and recursive manners. The challenge now is how to induce and motivate the communities so that they will be more responsive to collaboration with the government in managing the environment. This can be done through a set of programs comprising activities to increase community awareness, at all levels, about the importance of environmental management for sustainable development, and human resources development.

NCSD

It is in this particular aspect that an organisation such as a "National Council for Sustainable Development" will have a key role to play. "National Council for Sustainable Development" or NCSD is a generic term for multi-stakeholder mechanisms that bring together representatives of civil society, private enterprise and government to ensure mass-based participation in planning and policy-making, and in integrating the social, cultural, economic, environmental and other dimensions of sustainable development into national action plans.

NCSDs are called by various names, usually based on the form, and mandate. For instance, Canada has the national round table on environment and Economy, Mexico has National Consultative Council for Sustainable Development, while Korea has Presidential Council for Sustainable Development.

The NCSD concept legitimises the role of civil society as a partner with government in making policy for implementation of the sustainable development agenda and to move it from agenda to action.

Diversity

Participation by as many stakeholders as possible must be a major consideration in the establishment of an NCSD. A multi stakeholder process must reflect the society at large. In addition to the government and para-governmental institutions, the NCSD should have the representation of all major groups: women, children and youth, trade unions, business and industry, local authorities, farmers, science and technology, indigenous people, and non-governmental organisations. Media and education sectors should also be involved. We may also profit from involving members of national and local parliaments in our NCSD.

Diversity of opinions is part of the success; members must adequately represent and reflect the opinions of the network or sector they represent.

The success of the NCSDs also depends on the calibre and motivation of its members, preferably, the members should be high level decisionmakers in their respective fields, though not necessarily technical experts.

Sustainable development is government's core concern, but must not be only government's concern, and citizens should not believe that they can simply wait for change and blame government if it does not come. It is the interaction and engagement of all of the sectors in society that creates change. Government, industry, NGOs, labour and communities all are concerned because it is the way a society lives, the way that it produces and consumes that determines whether it is sustainable. The outcome of a society's efforts to achieve sustainability depend on the choices that individuals and institutions make, and progress depends upon broad social agreement about the goals and process of change.

Efforts

If we are to grow as a sustainable society and to foster a sustainable relation with foreign countries, we have to strive harder. Challenges are diverse, but particular importance should be attached to a few points. First, education and dissemination of information to raise public awareness of the need for sustainable development and to promote public efforts; second, the establishment of market mechanisms and information systems which enable citizens to effectively work for sustainable development. New price setting systems where prices reflect the product's impact on the environment, the provision of information on governmental and corporate activities for environmental conservation, and information on environmental impact of goods are all part of the needed social systems. The third point to be stressed is the need for strengthened partnership among various actors, and fourthly, the need for further expansion of NGO activities.

In order to promote the comprehensive and planned efforts in environmental conservation under a common understanding shared by each actor constituting society, the government has to set forth a "Basic Environment Plan" which expresses the long-term goals and basic concepts of environmental policy and clearly show the outline of the measures which should be taken in the next ten years. Since the government plays a major role in society as an economic actor, it should also enact a Action Plan for Greening Government Operations to carry out its own economic activities with less pressure on the environment.

Education

For many different age groups, from pre-schoolers to senior citizens, environmental conservation education and independent study efforts must be promoted by both the government and private organizations: at schools, in the community, at home, in the workplace and through outdoor activities. Training and lectures on the environment should be held not only by the government, but also by companies, universities, and citizens' groups.

The government must plan a systematic program of training and communication to provide community members, business communities, local NGOs and local government officials with the information, skills, method and practices needed in participatory program planning and implementation. This can be acquired throughout training existing extension workers drawn from agriculture, public health and other sectors in participatory techniques and in different aspects of environmental management planning and techniques. It can be supplemented by training non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that have grassroots experience in technical and professional skills. Sri Lanka has literally thousands of NGOs with experience in community participation. They are potentially very helpful in developing community-based environmental management projects, but most of them do not have the technical skills needed.

Public recognition of individual or group contributions to environmental conservation through awarding prizes is not only rewarding to the winners, but also effective in making such activities widely known to the public, thus assisting in both education and dissemination. Newspaper companies should also establish environment-related award systems.

A variety of events and campaigns can be held to support the spontaneous and productive engagement in environmental conservation activities. For example, Exhibitions, "Environment Month", films, dramas, Workshops etc and can be jointly sponsored by business organizations, corporations, and other private organizations.

Branches

The NCSD should have local branches in each province. All provincial branches should develop their own Action Programs as their vision for the next ten years. These development programs should incorporate environmental concerns, social priorities and economic objectives. They should be developed to ensure that the concerns of local people are reflected in national sustainable development policies.

A recent United Nations report found that if current patterns of development continue, nearly half of the world's people will suffer from water shortages within the next 25 years; the use of fossil fuels, along with greenhouse gas emissions, will grow; and the world's forests will continue to disappear. The message is clear.

The sustainable development is everybody's concern, and making it work requires everybody's engagement. Providing the opportunity for current and future generations to live better lives requires economic, environmental and social changes - immediate action based on a long-term vision - changes driven by global concerns, but contingent on local action.

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