Why South Sudan Should Embrace Sustainable Socioeconomic Development
Philip Ayuen Dot graduated from Kenyatta University, Kenya, with BSc of Environmental Science, founder of South Sudan Environmental Advocators (SSEA)
Sustainable development is an approach to development that considers the finite resources of the earth and works to create a system that is ” Sustainable” All across our country, crucial connections are being disrupted, the stability that we and all life relies upon is being lost what we do in the next 20 years will determine the future for all life in South Sudan we will reveal what must be preserved if we are to ensure a future where human and nature can thrive
By Philip Ayuen Dot, Nairobi, Kenya
Friday, June 26, 2020 (PW) — When the world met in Rio, Brazil in 1992 for the Earth Summit, all nations present agreed upon embarking on development that is sustainable. They would move from the kind of development that pollutes and degrades the environment rendering it useless for future generations. Furthermore the world was depleting natural resources with some being at risk of being finished forever while others such as forests were being depleted faster than they could regenerate.
It is under these circumstances that they came up with the sustainable development principles. And as South Sudan develops it will be of utmost importance if it embarks on development that doesn’t affect the environment negatively while ensuring that future generations do find some resources for their use too. Furthermore, there are advantages to sustainable development.
One of the major reasons why South Sudan should adopt sustainable development is because most resources are finite. This means that an economy fashioned on these finite resources without any consideration for the future shall fail. Resources such as oil and minerals shall end at some point.
While others such as the teak plantations that the government has given foreign firms concessions to harvest, shall at some point be depleted too if others aren’t planted right now. Even soil fertility that is the backbone of agriculture gets depleted too making it hard for farmers to earn a living from their land. Wildlife that is sometimes poached for their meat, tusks and skins can also become extinct.
It is thus of utmost importance for the country to plan accordingly when it comes to using their resources. This includes; planting more than two trees for each tree cut to ensure that forests shall still exist for the future generations; ensuring that sustainable agricultural practices are embraced to avoid acidification of the soil from overuse of fertilizers; conservation of wildlife and switching to tourism to earn money from them as a country rather than poaching that only benefits a few and ensuring money earned from finite resources such as oil is invested well to avoid the country’s economy from collapsing when oil and minerals end.
Renewable energy is a cornerstone of sustainable development. This is because it pollutes the environment less and is readily available for this present generation and all generations to come as it is infinite. Furthermore besides the cost of installation, repairs and maintenance, solar and wind energy are virtually free.
This then makes them accessible to everyone including those in the villages. Thus South Sudan can consider adopting renewable energy to run their industries, power their schools and homes. This will ensure that development happens, but unlike development based on fossil fuels, this shall not have immense negative effects on people and the environment.
Another reason why South Sudan should adopt sustainable development is because it will assist it in adapting and mitigating climate change. South Sudan is ranked among the top 5 countries in the world that are extremely vulnerable to the effects of climate change. These include floods, extreme weather events such as droughts and storms, fluctuations in temperature, change in rainfall patterns and desertification among others.
Sustainable development includes planting forests, this is both a mitigation measure and an adaptation technique to climate change as it helps absorb carbon emissions from the atmosphere while helping reduce flood intensity. The adoption of renewable energy also means reduced carbon emissions to the air from the country. Thus the country in its fight against climate change definitely does need to adopt sustainable development.
Sustainable development is also a major relief to one of the pressing problems that the country is facing; waste management. As of now the country is grappling with waste from all sectors starting from hospital waste, to plastics, to oil spills to municipal waste. This means unsightly waste dumpsites and the waste finding its way into lakes and rivers. Sustainable development involves fashioning industries in such a way that the least waste is generated.
And even the waste that is generated, the country should ensure that it can be reused or recycled. For example plastics can be reused to make other useful products while worn out vehicle tyres can also be reused sustainably. Thus by adopting sustainable development the country will have hit two birds with one stone. Reduced its waste output by a large margin while growing the economy at the same time.
Sustainable development also does have long-term positive impacts on the economy of a country. It ensures long term job availability for those working using renewable resources. As of now, those working in the sectors dealing with finite resources such as oil, shall be rendered jobless once those resources gets depleted. But sustainable resources means everyone has a chance at getting their basic needs in a long term manner while the environment isn’t polluted as much, and thus ensuring the growth of the country’s economy.
Pollution control is another reason why sustainable development is necessary. Sustainable development involves ensuring that; the waste water released into rivers and lakes from industries does not contain harmful elements such as high level of mercury, cyanide and lead; that the air released from factories does not contain high levels of nitrites and sulphur and; that farming does not use excessive fertilizers and pesticides which usually find their way back into rivers. Thus ensuring that people have access to clean air, water and food that does not have toxic elements.
All these are some of the reasons South Sudan should adopt sustainable development. It results in a cleaner environment, a more stable economy and a healthy people.
The author graduated from Kenyatta University, Kenya, with BSc of Environmental Science, founder of South Sudan Environmental Advocators (SSEA) and can be reached via his email: philipdot57@gmail.com
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