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Unit 2: Sustainable development, Sustainable development:, Sustainable development is understood as satisfying the needs of the present generation without compromising the needs of future generations., The three pillars of sustainability:, 1. Economic: we need economic growth; to assure our material welfare., 2. Environmental: we need to minimize environmental damage, pollution, and exhaustion of resources., 3. Social: this is equity; the world's resources should be better shared between the rich and the poor., Sustainability can be seen as a triangle, each of its cornerstones being environmental, economic and social elements The three elements of sustainability, Eco-efficiency : “Is reached by the delivery of competitively priced goods and services that satisfy human needs and bring quality of life while progressively reducing ecological impacts and resource intensity throughout the life cycle to a level at least in line with the earth's estimated carrying capacity.”, The seven actions to attain eco-efficiency:, · Reduce material intensity of goods and services.·, Reduce energy intensity of goods and services.·, Reduce toxic dispersion.·, Enhance materials recyclability.·, Maximize sustainable use of renewable resources.·, Extend product durability.· Increase service intensity of goods and services., Pollution Prevention., Pollution Prevention entails avoiding pollutant production right before pollutants are issued at end of pipes, through stacks or into waste containers., The waste management hierarchy list:, 1.- Whenever feasible, pollution or waste should be prevented or reduced at the source., 2.- If the pollution or waste cannot be prevented, reuse or recycling is the next preferred approach., 3.- If the pollution or waste cannot be prevented or recycled, safe treatment must be carried out., 4.- Disposal or other release into the environment should be employed as a last resort and accomplished in a safe manner., Examples of Pollution Prevention measures, Raw material replacement Product replacement Process re-designing Equipment re-designing Waste recycling Preventive maintenance (i.e. pump-end lock leaks) Stock minimization to prevent future wastes Solvent adsorption or distillation in water and later recycling, Concepts Green Chemistry: is aimed at designing chemical substances and, at the same time, production processes respectful of the environment. This includes reducing or eliminating use and production of dangerous substances. Cleaner Production: It is applied to processes, products and services to increase Eco-efficiency and reduce risks to population and the environment., Life Cycle Thinking A product or service system is evaluated with the goal of reducing potential environmental impacts over its entire life cycle. Life Cycle Thinking implies that everyone in the whole chain of a product’s life cycle, from cradle to grave, has a responsibility and a role to play, taking into account all the relevant external effects., Need for EIA:, “Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”., Environment and Sustainable Development, Population and Implications, Limits to Growth, Economy, Poverty, Human Settlement Issues, Land Resources, Forests, Methodes to achive sustainable development:, Purpose of the methodology:, The purpose of this methodology is to help users assess the sustainable development impacts of policies and actions. Sustainable development impacts include a wide variety of impacts across three dimensions: environmental impacts, social impacts and economic impacts. Examples of impacts include improved health from reduced air pollution, job creation, poverty reduction, increased energy access, gender equality, The methodology was developed with the following objectives in mind:, • to help users assess all relevant sustainable development impacts of policies and actions in an integrated way, • to help policymakers and other decision makers develop effective strategies for achieving sustainable development objectives through a better understanding of the various impacts of policies and actions, • to support consistent and transparent reporting of sustainable development impacts and policy effectiveness, The methodology is intended to help policymakers and analysts systematically assess multiple sustainable development and climate change impacts to help achieve the objectives ., Assessing a broad set of impacts before and after policy implementation can help policies be more effective and durable, generate positive benefits for society, and achieve desired climate and development outcomes., This type of assessment can help climate targets into a unified process – for example, by identifying and reporting on the sustainable development benefits of actions taken to achieve nationally determined contributions (NDCs), It may also facilitate increased access to climate finance, given the inclusion of sustainable development priorities, Intended users:, This methodology is intended for use by a wide range of organizations and institutions. Throughout this document, the term “user” refers to the entity using the methodology., Governments., Assess the environmental, social and economic impacts of policies and actions to inform and enhance policy design and implementation, improve monitoring of progress of implemented policies and actions, retrospectively evaluate impacts to learn from experience, report on progress towards SDGs, and facilitate access to financing for policies and actions., Donor agencies and financial institutions., Assess the impacts of finance provided, such as grants or loans, to support sustainable development policies and actions, including results-based financing and development policy loans, Businesses., Assess the impacts of private sector actions, such as voluntary commitments, implementation of new technologies and private sector financing, or assess the impacts of government policies and actions on businesses and the economy, Research institutions and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)., Assess the environmental, social and economic impacts of policies and actions to evaluate performance or provide support to decision makers., Stakeholders:, Participate more effectively in the design, implementation and assessment of policies and actions to ensure that their concerns and interests are addressed., Strategies for Sustainable Development:, 1. Use of Non-conventional Sources of Energy India heavily depends on thermal and hydro power plants to meet its power needs. Both of these have adverse environmental impacts. Thermal power plants emit large quantities of carbon dioxide, which is a greenhouse gas. If it is not used properly, it may cause land and water pollution., 2. LPG, Gobar Gas in Rural Areas Rural households in India generally use wood, dungcake (upla) or other biomass as fuel. This practice has several adverse implications like deforestation, reduction in green cover and air pollution., To rectify the situation, subsidised LPG is being provided. Besides it, gobar gas plants are being encouraged through easy loans and subsidy. LPG is the clean fuel. It does not create any household pollution and also wastage is minimised. For gobar gas plants, cattle dung is fed in the plant to function which produces gas and slurry is used as organic soil fertiliser., 3. CNG in Urban Areas In Delhi, the use of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) as fuel in public transport system has significantly lowered air pollution and the air has become cleaner in the last few years., 4. Wind Power In areas, where speed of wind is usually high, wind mills can provide electricity without any adverse impact on the environment. The turbines moves with wind and electricity gets generated. Its initial cost’ remain high but it can be recovered easily., 5. Solar Power Through Photovoltaic Cells In India, solar energy is used in different forms for agriculture products, daily use products and even to warm ourselves in winters. Through photovoltaic cells, solar energy can be converted into electricity. This technology is extremely useful for remote areas and for places where supply of power lines is either not possible or proves very costly. This technique is also totally free from pollution., 6.Bio Composting In order to increase production, we have started using chemical fertilisers which are adversely affecting the waterbodies, ground water system, etc. But again farmers in large numbers have started using organic fertilisers for production., In some parts, cattles are maintained only because their waste prouction is very useful in form of fertiliser. Earthworm can convert organic matter into compost faster than the normal composting process., 7. Mini-Hydel Plants Mountainous regions have streams every where. Most of such streams are perennial. Mini-hydel plants use the energy of such streams to move small turbines which generate electricity. Such power plants are more or less environment friendly., 8. Traditional Knowledge and Practices Traditionally, Indian people have been close to their environment. If we look back at our agriculture system, healthcare system, housing, transport, etc we find that all practices have been environment friendly. But in recent years, we have been moving away from these practices. This has caused large scale damage to our environment., During older times, we used Ayurveda, Unani, Tibetan and Folk systems for the treatments but now we are ignoring the traditional system and we are moving towards the western system. Not only these products were environment friendly but they are free from side effects too., 9. Biopest Control With the advent of Green Revolution, the country entered into the use of chemical pesticides to produce more which laid the adverse impacts on soil, water bodies, milk, meat and fishes. To meet this challenge, better methods of pest control should be brought. One step is pesticides based on plants like neem. Even many animals also help in controlling pests like snakes, peacocks, etc., To achieve sustainable development, the following needs to be done:, (i) Limiting the human population., (ii) Technological progress should be input efficient and not input consuming., (iii) Renewable resources should be extracted on a sustainable basis, that is, the rate of, extraction should not exceed rate of regeneration., (iv) For non-renewable resources, rate of depletion should not exceed the rate of creation of renewable substitutes., (v) Inefficiencies arising from pollution should be corrected., Strategies for Sustainable Development., (i) Use of non-conventional sources of energy., (ii) Use of cleaner fuels: LPG, Gobargas in rural areas and CNG in Urban areas., (iii) Use of Solar energy and wind power., (iv) Shift to organic farming., (v) Recycle the wastes, (vi) Public means of transport., (vii) Traditional knowledge and practices., (viii) Establishment of Mini-Hydel plants., (ix) Biopest Control