Sustainability

1. Sustainability Fayetteville, Belize, and beyond

2. Sustainability = • environmentally friendly • preserving resources • in international development • appropriate technology • with environmental preservation • in Belize • preserving nature • biodiversity

3. Sustainability = • in business • efficiency • cost reduction • reduction of resource consumption • social and quality of life issues • life cycle thinking • environmentally benign • a business plan • in engineering • Low Impact Development (LID) • green building • water management • energy efficiency • in agriculture • sustainability • natural, organic?

4. Sustainability is • a BIG deal at • The University of Arkansas • TODAY 3 PM (next slide) • http://sustainability.uark.edu/ • City of Fayetteville • Academia and Industry • Wal-Mart • International development • Local to federal development regulations

5. Sustainability In Action • Three global business experts will talk about their sustainability projects • Thursday, April 19, 3 p.m. • Donald W. Reynolds Center for Enterprise Development • Vijay Sharma, business head of Project Shakit, Hindustan Lever Inc. • will discuss how business objectives and social development objectives can be aligned and how innovation in business processes can help achieve a sustainable way to do the same. • Jack Linard, scientific and regulatory affairs, Research and Development, Unilever, • will address Unilever and sustainable agriculture: growing for the future. • David Pendlington, sustainable agriculture coordinator, Unilever, Rotterdam, Netherlands, • will address formulation and packaging issues for Unilever globally. He provides support, guidance and facilitation to all of Unilever's global sustainable activities.

6. Sustainable Development: History • the term “sustainable development” from • World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) • in its 1987 report Our Common Future • also known as the Brundtland Commission report. • WCED, which included 23 members from 22 countries, was formed by the United Nations to study the conflicts between growing global environmental problems and the needs of less-developed nations. • WCED’s widely used definition of sustainable development is: • “Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

7. Developing Countries: Sustainability and Appropriate Technology • Appropriate technology • culturally, economically, and technically appropriate • Sustainability • “sustainability” is broader but includes much of what we used to call “appropriate tech”

8. 5 Factors of Sustainability • as applied to Water and Sanitation Development Projects • Five factors (McConville, 2006) • Socio-cultural Respect • Community participation • Political cohesion • Economic sustainability • Environmental sustainability • McConville, J.R. 2006, “Applying Life Cycle Thinking to International Water and Sanitation Development Projects: An assessment tool for project managers in sustainable development work”, Michigan Tech, Environmental Engineering MS Report.

9. Service Learning in Engineering and Science for Sustainable Development • Joshua M. Pearce • For the future, the entire world population needs ways to achieve economic, social, and environmental objectives simultaneously. • How do we engineer our future development so that all people have basic human needs met and a clean, healthy and safe world in which to grow and prosper? • This is the challenge of sustainable development. • Appropriate technologies must be able to be easily and economically constructed from readily available materials by local craftspeople. Appropriate technologies must meet environmental, cultural, economic, and educational resource constraints of the localized community. • (promote service learning)… to help harness the knowledge and skills of our university students to assist their own learning while helping global sustainable development.

10. To an engineer, a sustainable system is • in equilibrium, or changes at a tolerable rate. • illustrated by natural ecosystems, which consist of nearly closed loops that change slowly.

11. The roles of engineers in sustainable development can be illustrated by a closed-loop human ecosystem that mimics natural systems. • This model of a closed-loop ecosystem was first proposed in 1990, as shown below

12. Wal-Mart: sustainability • http://walmartstores.com • http://walmartstores.com/microsite/walmart_sustainability.html • go to website to see slides • see also: http://walmartfacts.com

13. Wal-Mart Experimental Stores • Aurora, Colorado • recycled airport runway concrete • used motor oil and deli oil burned for heat • solar and wind power • porous pavements • radiant floor heating (outside) • tall grass prairie on site • McKinney, TX • renewable or reused materials • rainwater storage and reuse • low-volume irrigation • more natural stormwater management

14. Wal-Mart Experimental Stores • Chicago • green (planted) roof • Rogers, AR • LED lighting • motion activated lighting • Fayetteville, AR Sam’s • roof rainwater collection and reuse • constructed wetlands • efficient heating and cooling

15. Water

18. Water Use

25. Sustainability = • in business • efficiency • cost reduction • reduction of resource consumption • social and quality of life issues • life cycle thinking • environmentally benign • a business plan • in engineering • Low Impact Development (LID) • green building • water management • energy efficiency • in agriculture • sustainability • natural, organic?

26. Developing Countries: Sustainability and Appropriate Technology • Appropriate technology • culturally, economically, and technically appropriate • Sustainability • “sustainability” is broader but includes much of what we used to call “appropriate tech” • Five factors (McConville, 2006) • Socio-cultural Respect • Community participation • Political cohesion • Economic sustainability • Environmental sustainability • McConville, J.R. 2006, “Applying Life Cycle Thinking to International Water and Sanitation Development Projects: An assessment tool for project managers in sustainable development work”, Michigan Tech, Environmental Engineering MS Report.

27. Belize Sustainable Development • Sustainability of • environment and biodiversity • Belize Audubon Society • barrier reef • forestry • energy • solid waste • water resources

28. Belize Sustainable Development • Ministry of Natural Resource and the Environment • “Towards a National Protected Area Systems Plan for Belize” (NARMAP) • “National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan” • Land Management program • NSDC: National Sustainable Development Council • National Poverty and Elimination Strategy and Action Plan (by GOB)

29. NSDC: National Sustainable Development Council • Definition • “Sustainable Development is a process that pursues progressive change in the quality of human life… • It is achieved through economic growth with social equity and changes in production and consumption patterns, based on ecological equilibrium and the support of the region. • This implies respect for regional, national and local ethnic and cultural diversity, and the enhanced and full participation of all citizens, living together in peace and harmony with nature, not jeopardizing but rather guaranteeing the quality of life of future generations.” • Tasks, goals • A public education strategy and program on the concept of sustainable development and its national, regional and international considerations; • A National Policy on Sustainable Development; • Develop the mechanisms and evaluate the progress made towards achieving sustainable development.

30. Other sustainability programs in Belize • Sustainable Use and Conservation of the Belize Barrier Reef Complex • Meso American Barrier Reef System • Regional Fisheries Mechanism • Central American Alliance for Sustainable Development • Various energy programs • solar and wind: sustainable energy practices • hydrolectric: reduce dependency on petroleum • Organization of American States (OAS): Sustainable Human Development Project • Integrated Water Resources Management • National Solid Waste Management Project • Sustainable Tourism

31. Climate Change programs • Central American Regional Project on Forestry and Climate Change • Belize is host country of the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) • Mainstreaming Adaptation to Climate Change Programme • Belize signed and joined stuff

32. National Solid Waste Management Project • Options • Design and construction of a Central Sanitary Landfill to accommodate the entire Western Highway Corridor; • Establishment of Transfer Stations at Cayes, Belize City and Western Landfill; • Barging of wastes from Cayes and then trucking it to the Sanitary Landfill; • Upgrading of existing sites in Orange Walk and Corozal; • Construction of three new sites in South (Dangriga, Placencia and Punta Gorda) which will be a landfill type operation (including those of the north); and • Development of a rural collection system for rural and small communities.

33. Belize Eco-Tourism Association • Code of ethics • To support economic and social sustainability by encouraging small scale tourist developments, providing employment of local people, purchasing products made locally from sustainable resources and providing guidance to all guests to be environmentally and culturally responsible; • To provide education in Belizean geography, customs and culture, creating opportunities for cultural, historical, environmental, and archaeological learning for visitors to Belize; • To maintain and conserve the flora and fauna habits in Belize by providing appropriate information to visitors, teaching them to avoid disturbing wildlife and flora, discouraging the sale of products or species on the endangered species list, helping to implement carrying capacities, and preventing the introduction of non-indigenous species; • To promote the sustainability of all resources, both renewable and nonrenewable; conserving water and energy, and increasing awareness of the need for energy and water conservation;

34. UNDP quotes • Belize will need to increase community participation in environmental management initiatives as one of the main strategies for reversing loss of resources. • This should entail sharing the responsibilities and authority with local governments, community based organizations, private sector and vulnerable groups in the monitoring of the country’s resources. • Currently, a significant portion of monitoring and sustainability initiatives are driven by external funding and technical support. • Belize will have to invest more of its own resources to ensure long term sustainability of many of the initiatives and to improve its prospects for achieving MDG 7 for environmental sustainability.

35. UNDP project: Toledo Institute for Development and Environment (TIDE) • promotes sustainable income generation and biodiversity conservation • works with Maya Mountain Marine Sustainable Livelihoods Initiative • certify fly-fishing guides • ECO-OK timber certification • micro-enterprise • ecotourism training • natural resource management and community monitoring • reduce poaching, illegal hunting and logging

36. statement by Stuart Leslie, Belize UN Ambassador, 2004 - 2005 • on behalf of the member States of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), • need an integrated approach to the management of water, sanitation and human settlements.  • major urban centres with industrial and commercial activity were located principally in coastal zones.  • Tourism development was also concentrated in coastal areas.  • That had increased rural to urban migration along coastlines.   • The vulnerability of urban coasts exacerbated by population growth.  • urban expansion implied unplanned spread beyond the urban fence onto lands important for agriculture or watershed protection.  • Unplanned, informal settlements in the hinterlands, populated mainly by the poor, invariably lacked the requisite sanitation infrastructure, and improper disposal of waste had inevitably led to pollution of the water table, further limiting the freshwater supply.  • For CARICOM, the inability to provide adequate sanitation services had often resulted in increased pollution of the coastal waters, as well, which were vital to the economic viability of the islands. • To pursue effective management, must have a comprehensive strategy to address the needs of the poor, both urban and rural.  • More attention should also be given to programmes for housing the poor. • national recycling initiatives had been hampered by financial constraints.  • need training programmes in water resources management.  • Investment in appropriate technology for water resources management.  • Continued attention must also be given to national policies for freshwater and waste management

42. Questions?