OIDA International Journal of Sustainable Development
Open access peer-reviewed journal
Environmental Protection Vis-A-Vis Sustainable Development-A Global Challenge
Amit Kashyap a, Shashi Bala Kashyap b
a Department of Law, Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India.
b Department of Botany, SCD Govt. College, Ludhiana, Punjab, India.
Volume 06, Issue 12, Pg. 12-17,2013.
Abstract: “The more we exploit nature, the more our options are reduced, until we have only one to fight for survival” Man has played a very important part in shaping his environment. He has been responsible for degrading the quality of his environment ever since he appeared on this earth. At first he contaminated the atmosphere by the use of fire which added gases, smoke and ash to it. When he come out of the cave age and began to settle into villages, towns and cities, the situation gradually worsened.
Environmental pollution is one of the most serious problems facing humanity and other life forms on our planet today. With India’s population at 1.2 billion people and counting, plus internal economic migration to urban areas from the countryside, the country’s cities are bursting at the seams. Housing shortages, electricity and water cuts, traffic congestion, pollution and a lack of basic services are the reality for millions.
Keywords: Environmental Pollution, contaminated, atmosphere, traffic congestion, humanity, electricity
Solar Energy Policies in India: An Assessment of the Impediments
Meenal Jain a, Meenakshi Mital b, Matt Syal c
a, b Department of Resource Management & Design Application,
Lady Irwin College, University of Delhi, India.
c Construction Management, School of Planning, Design & Construction, Michigan State University, USA.
Volume 06, Issue 12, Pg. 18-23, 2013.
Abstract: Energy is the prime mover of economic growth, and is vital to sustaining a modern economy and society. Future economic growth significantly depends on the long term availability of energy from sources that are affordable, accessible and secure. Today, India can well be identified as an energy guzzler. The demand for power is growing exponentially and the scope of growth of this sector is immense. In an effort to meet the demands of a developing nation, the Indian energy sector has witnessed a rapid growth. Despite impressive growth in the generation capacity since independence, India has always experienced shortage in terms of peaking capacity requirement as well as energy. The country lacks sufficient domestic energy resources, particularly of petroleum and natural gas, and must import much of its growing requirements. Given this scenario, it is of paramount importance that the country develops all possible domestic energy sources. However, India is still heavily dependent on fossil fuels to fulfill most of its energy demands. But continuation of the use of fossil fuels is set to face multiple challenges: depletion of fossil fuel reserves, global warming and other environmental concerns, geopolitical and military conflicts and of late, continued and significant fuel price rise. Renewable energy, and specifically solar energy, is the solution to the growing energy challenges as they are abundant, inexhaustible and environmentally friendly. Accelerating the use of solar energy is also indispensable if India is to meet its commitments to reduce its carbon intensity. Given the vast potential of solar energy in India, all it needs is comprehensive policies to be a global leader in clean and green energy. Government has taken a number of steps towards improving the adoption of solar energy at a large scale in the country and making the stakeholders aware of its benefits. Many programs and policies have been initiated at both the National and State level for promoting renewable energy, but the use and production of solar energy in the country is still limited. This paper makes an attempt to understand the stakeholders’ perspective on the impediments associated with the governments’ initiatives for solar energy in the country. On studying major initiatives of National government, in the rural and urban scenarios, it was found that there was a gap between the policies and the actual scenario. The awareness level among the beneficiaries was found to be very low. Another aspect tapped is the perspective of the Governments’ officials in implementing the policies and programs, both in the urban and rural areas. Thus, there is an urgent need to generate awareness among the stakeholders regarding the government initiatives, so that solar energy is widely accepted and used.
Keywords: Awareness, Government Policies, Impediments, Renewable Energy, Solar Energy
LEED-EB Implementation in India: An Overview of Catalysts and Hindrances
Meenal Jain a, Meenakshi Mital b, Matt Syal c
a, b Department of Resource Management & Design Application,
Lady Irwin College, University of Delhi, India.
c Construction Management, School of Planning, Design & Construction, Michigan State University, USA.
Volume 06, Issue 12, Pg. 24-33, 2013.
Abstract: Sustainable Development is one of the biggest challenges in today’s scenario. Development cannot subsist on a deteriorating environmental resource base; the environment cannot be protected when growth leaves out of account the costs of environmental destruction. Construction is an essential part of any country’s infrastructure and industrial development. The way we design, build, and operate buildings has negative impact on people and families as buildings use resources such as energy, water, generate waste and emit potentially harmful atmospheric emissions which are ultimately contributing to climate change. Buildings account for more than one third of total energy use and its associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across the world. At the same time, this sector has the largest potential for cutting GHG emissions responsible for global warming. Thus, it is imminent to go in for green buildings which would bring in energy efficiency and reduce the carbon footprint of the building sector, thereby reducing the negative health impacts on families. In developing countries like India, there is a huge stock of existing buildings that are not so efficient and thus, there is an immense potential for energy efficiency measures in the country. Also, considering the current economic challenges, retrofitting an existing building can be more cost effective than building a new facility. Worldwide, a variety of assessment programs have been developed around environmental and energy impacts of buildings. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, provides a suite of standards for environmentally sustainable construction. The LEED for Existing Buildings (LEED-EB) is intended to provide the existing building stock an entry point into the LEED certification process. It has become an important benchmark of sustainable building operations and maintenance. But still, there are only a handful of people concerned about making their existing set-up green. The present paper, thus, throws light on the hindrances and catalysts associated with LEED-EB as a tool for greening of existing buildings in India. Case study method was adopted to have a better understanding of the processes involved in greening of existing buildings. The study was undertaken in India in two buildings, namely Paharpur Business Centre & Software Technology Incubator Park, New Delhi (registered under LEED-EB at the time of data collection) and L&T ECC Division – EDRC Building, Chennai, (certified under LEED-EB), and case studies were developed for the same. Hindrances and catalysts associated with LEED-EB were studied from the perspective of project managers, architects and green building consultants associated with the selected case studies. For the purpose of data collection, Questionnaire and Interview Schedule were used. The tool was administered on some other green building consultants who were not associated with LEED-EB projects to get a wider perspective on the hindrances and catalysts associated with the process as they have a major role in the construction of the building and it is imperative to take their viewpoint on the greening process in terms of the hindrances that they face or the catalysts, which they feel, can accelerate this process of greening the existing buildings. On analyzing the data, Prestige, image and reduction in operational costs were found to be major catalysts behind LEED-EB. Better rental value, social responsibility, Improved Indoor Environmental Quality emerged as catalysts with medium and minor importance. The major hindrances were found to be high renovation costs, difficulty in meeting prerequisites and unavailability of the required data for LEED-EB submission. Some hindrances with medium and minor importance were resistance to make changes in the existing buildings, lack of skilled professionals, difficulty in retrofitting, lack of awareness among the stakeholders, lack of technology and no immediate benefit. Adopting the green initiatives in the existing buildings, including homes, and taking the LEED-EB certification will prove to be a very useful tool in minimizing the negative impact of such a large number of existing buildings on the environment, and in turn, on the health of the people residing in them. The catalysts being revealed by the study need to be made overt and hindrances which have been brought forth by the study can be worked upon so that LEED-EB certification gains momentum and the stakeholders and families start taking initiatives to give the country a sustainable path towards a green built environment. The hindrances like high costs, difficult prerequisites and such can be made easier by more efficient technologies so that this process of greening of existing buildings gains momentum in the country.
Keywords: Existing buildings, Green buildings, Hindrances and Catalysts, LEED-EB
Climate Change, Perennial Crude Oil Theft and the Quest for Sustainable Development in Nigeria
Idowu Adegbite
Faculty of Law, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, Nigeria.
Volume 06, Issue 12, Pg. 34-41, 2013.
Abstract: Nigeria is a country that is richly endowed with both human and natural resources. Chief among the natural resources is crude oil, which has been the mainstay of the country’s economy for decades, yet an average Nigerian lives on less than the equivalent of one US Dollars a day. Clearly, there is a disconnect between the endowment and the standard of living of majority of the people. Considering the available resources, the country is not developing at the rate expected, so many things are responsible for this stunted growth, they include, but are not limited, to corruption, mismanagement, unbridled stealing of the country’s crude oil and other criminal activities. The fulcrum of this paper is the negative effects of the stealing of Nigeria’s crude oil on the climate and how it has clipped the growth of the economy.
In recent times climate change has taken the front seat in global discourse, there has been a growing concern about changes in the climate and the quest that no stone must be left unturned in addressing the issue. Good climate is a sine qua non to sustainable development. The acts of human beings had been fingered as the causes of adverse changes in the environment, such deviant behaviours includes those acts associated with crude oil theft such as oil spillages ; illegal oil pipeline breakages ; illegal bunkering of crude oil; environmental degradation ; deforestation ; etc. This egregious state of things was possible because of lack of good governance flowing from lack of respect for the rule of law.
The deleterious effects of such acts of man described above are manifest in a myriad of social and economic malaise such as scarcity of potable water translating into health hazards and thus lowering the standard of living of its masses. Further there has been huge and recurring loss of revenue that could be used to mitigate the effect of climate change and the setting up of processes to properly address adaptation to natural changes in the climate and also to delimit deforestation in Nigeria. Some other effects includes pollution of land for agriculture ; accumulation of harmful substances in food webs; diminishing biodiversity and people resorting to less environmentally friendly means of generating electricity and power. These factors represent some of the challenges which have impeded the country’s likelihood of achieving the much touted millennium development goals (MDGS) of the current government in Nigeria.
This work posits that there is a strong bond between good governance, sustainable development and climate change. The paper analyses these concepts as they relate to crude oil theft in Nigeria and its impact on climate change in Nigeria. It observes that sustainable development will naturally thrive in an environment of good governance and proper equitable utilization of the country’s crude oil resources. The paper concludes that with the enthronement of necessary enforcement machineries for good governance in Nigeria, the currently booming international crude oil theft syndicate and its attendant ills would be stemmed thus ensuring sustainable development in Nigeria.
Keywords: Climate Change; Crude Oil Spillage; Environmental Degradation; Good Governance; Oil Theft; Sustainable Development.
Sustainable Community Development Efforts in Nigeria: The Effect of Integrating Sustainability Principles into the
Community Development Process
Tewo V. Bakare
Department of Adult Education, Faculty of Education, University of Lagos, Yaba. Lagos. Nigeria.
Volume 06, Issue 12, Pg. 42-63, 2013.
Abstract: Practicing sustainability or responsible use of earth’s resources is a current focus in development issues, especially using the Community Development method as a platform. This survey observed elements of sustainable community development (SCD) in the South Western States in Nigeria and the extent of its incorporation into community development efforts. This is because any serious development effort that does not incorporate sustainability is not likely to succeed long term. 250 respondents in five States were stratified purposefully, using urban and rural areas, and polled about their opinion on the level of adherence to SCD principles with the use of a 61 item Likert-type instrument with five predictors in all for qualitative and quantitative data collection, along with direct observation schedule. The results, using Pearson Correlation Coefficient and Regression Analysis revealed that with r = .030, which is less than the critical r-value of 0.195 at 0.05 level of significance, given 98 degrees of freedom for the economic factor in urban areas. The level of incorporation of sustainability principles is rather low and this is repeated in both the rural and urban areas as there was little or no correlation between the independent variable (sustainability principles) and all other predictors. A major challenge was the perceived low level of provision of infrastructure and amenities by the government and the most popular community development strategy was participative collaboration with the government by the communities, followed by self-help. The implication is that the future of the nation will be compromised and the rates of development slow if sustainability is not interwoven into CD efforts. It was therefore advocated that sustainability be more consciously integrated into community development efforts in Nigeria.
Keywords: community development, method, sustainable community development (SCD), sustainability
Sustainable Development in Agriculture and Green Farming in India
Gurmanpreet Kaur
Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Punjab, India
Volume 06, Issue 12, Pg. 60-65, 2013.
Abstract: Sustainable development as a concept first developed in 1987, it was during this time the scientific evidence began to mount, indicating that human actions were having negative impact on the environment on a global scale leading to outcomes such as global warming. The idea of sustainable development became a widespread concern when people concluded that the current path of human activity was unsustainable in the long term and changes in the human society were needed. If we take all the global issues together, nothing draws more attention than political and economic upheavals as well as climate change and food security. While political and economic upheavals seem to be of temporary nature, climate change and food security are going to have long term implications and call for both immediate and sustained effort by people across the globe as these are vital for our existence itself. Since the time man came to know about the benefits of organized living, he has unscrupulously used the bounties of nature and this practice continues in a great measure today also. So long as man was ignorant about modern farm practices, he had stuck to the farming that is now thought of being sustainable and beneficial in the long term. Organic farming was the original type of agriculture that had been practiced from time immemorial. It is the form of farming which relies on techniques such as crop rotation, green manure, compost and biological pest control. One of the world’s most resilient agro systems dating back to prehistoric times is forest gardening comprising of organic food production system. Weed management without the use of pesticides, soil management by use of crop rotation practices and green manure comprising animal manure is a significant feature of organic farming. Sustained campaign and awareness amongst agriculturists about sustainable development these days has led farmers to manage their fields more proficiently. Interest is driven by consumer demand for locally grown, organic and sustainable products. But still a lot more is required to be done. Agriculture is the backbone of Indian economy and it is the provider of livelihood for nearly half of the working population. At the same time the agriculture is also one of the largest contributors of greenhouse gas emissions. The emissions are primarily due to methane from rice paddies, enteric fermentation in ruminant animals and nitrous oxide from the use of manures and fertilizers. Key actions which Indian agriculture should adopt for adjustments in changes to mean temperature and precipitation are changing crop patterns, effective risk management through early warning, improved land management practices, development of resource conserving technologies, credit insurance support to farmers and nutritional strategies for managing heat stress in dairy animals. There is an urgent call for cost effective opportunities for reducing methane generation, emissions in ruminants by modification of diet and nutrient management which will help make adaptation measures sustainable. The need of the hour is devising new policies encouraging green farming as an alternative to farming coupled with use of chemical fertilizers, investment in water harvesting, promoting small farm mechanization, efficient water use technologies and using balanced fertilizers in crop production. Agriculturists indulging in these sustainable techniques can be given financial incentives for improved land management, for resource conservation including water, energy and fossil fuels. As 21st century represents the crisis of survival of human beings there is an urgent necessity to think of future simultaneously. Development is a holistic concept growth cannot alone be termed as development. Development in agriculture has to look into the aspects of social equity, environmental sustainability and people’s participation. Sustainable development is not just about conserving our resources; it is about changing our culture to make conservation our way of life. Mahatma Gandhi has rightly said that: The Earth provides enough to satisfy every person’s need but not every person’s greed.
Keywords: climate change, crop rotation, organic farming, sustainable development
Residents’ Assessment of Neighbourhood Quality in Penang, Malaysia
Abdul Ghani Salleh a, Nurwati Badarulzaman b, Kausar Ali c, Hamizah Abdul Fatah d
a, b ,c, d School of Housing, Building and Planning, Universiti Sains Malaysia
11800, Penang, Malaysia
Volume 06, Issue 12, Pg. 66-73, 2013.
Abstract: Housing neighbourhoods affect the quality of life of their residents. Residential and neighbourhood quality to certain extent determines the quality of life of the people. The residents’ perception of their housing and neighbourhood environment is based on their satisfaction of dwelling units, physical, social and economic ennvironment. The purpose of this research is to measure neighbourhood quality in both socio-economic and environmental dimensions based on neighbourhood satisfaction of the housing residents using Likert scale. The data were collected from 722 respondents from low-income, middle-income and high-income residential neighbourhoods in Penang. The data analysis used both descriptive and quantitative methods to identify residents’ perceptions of their neighbourhood quality. The study found out that the residents were generally satisfied with the physical, social and economic aspects, except for washing room area, recreational and open space,social interaction and cost of living. However, their satisfaction level varied with their neighbourhoods and family background. The research findings would inevitably affect housing market and national housing policies. Therefore, housing policies should take into account the residents’ own assessments of their housing neighbourhood and local conditions in order to achieve sustainable urban neighbourhood development.
Keywords: Environment, Neighbourhood quality, Public facilities, Quality of life, Residents’ satisfaction
Developing Sustainability Assessment of Informal Development on Illegal Land Subdivision Based on the Bequest Framework
Zakaria Alcheikh Mahamoud a, Yahaya Bin Ahmad b, Nila Inangda Manyam Keumala c ,
Wail Ismail d
a, b, c Centre for Urban Design, Conservation and Tropical Architecture,
University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
d Department of Education, University of Malaya, , 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Volume 06, Issue 12, Pg. 74-88, 2013.
Abstract: Illegal land subdivision in developing countries as well as in the Eastern and Southern Europe has been a major feature of urbanisation. This type of development accommodates significant number of population who cannot meet their housing needs in the formal market. The residents of these areas buy the subdivided land and construct their houses, but outside the legal system. Government efforts to combat this phenomenon have two directions, one is to prevent the emergence of new subdivisions and the other is to deal with the existing settlements. The former has never changed up to date. The latter changed from ignorance to demolition to servicing the settlements and then to regularising the existing settlements since 1980s. The strategies and programmes for both the directions have not been implemented properly. There is an urgent need to understand and evaluate the existing situation and assess it in the content of sustainability. The BEQUEST framework which was developed early in this century is probably the only framework to help assessing the sustainability of formal urban development. There is no such framework to assess illegal development. This paper aims at developing a framework that can be used in the cases of illegal development. The analysis shows that the proposed framework differs from the BEQUEST one in the development activities. No changes are suggested to the set of sustainability issues and the time scale found in the BEQUEST framework while constructing the new framework.
Keywords: Illegal land subdivision; Regularisation, Sustainability issues; The BEQUEST framework.
Price Elasticities of Kenya’s Exports
Angelique Umutesi a, Seth Omondi Gor b
a Poverty Reduction And Economic Management Unit, The World Bank Group, Nairobi Office, Kenya.
b School of Economics, University of Nairobi, Kenya.
Volume 06, Issue 12, Pg. 88-110, 2013.
Abstract: Despite a recent boost of export price indices, Kenya’s exports earnings growth are still low. The value of exports grew by 9.1 percent while imports growth stood at 16.6 percent over the period 2005/2012. In addition, Kenya’s exports share in the world as a percentage of GDP has been gradually weakening as imports share grew significantly. This left the economy with a wide current account deficit and constrained growth. This study attempts to determine the responsiveness of Kenya’s exports (both at aggregate and product levels) to prices.
Empirical evidence explains export performance in Sub-Saharan African countries on the basis on two main factors. First, external factors which unfavorably affect exports including slow growth of demand for primary commodities (these account for the largest share of African exports), as well as worsening terms of trade. Secondly, internal factors which are specific to African economies including the capacity to export (macroeconomic environment, status of infrastructure in place among others) and existing trade policies that facilitate international trade. More importantly, evidence suggests that African exports respond positively to price falls in an effort to maintain revenue balance for foreign earnings, so that for a unit price fall, more is supplied, (Morrissey&Mold, 2006).
We use panel data from UNCOMTRADE; Harmonized System HS1992 for the period of 1997-2010. Building on assumptions of imperfect substitute’s model developed by Goldstein and Khan (1985); we adopt Mold and Prizzon (2010) model of export analysis based on volume index instead of export value. In addition, we base our analysis of specific product price elasticities on Jones (2008). A generalized method of moments model (GMM) is run to study total exports and OLS used to conduct a deep analysis at product level.
Results show that in both the short and long-run Kenyan total exports are price inelastic. In addition, the real exchange rate has a negative influence on exports, which implies that a depreciation would not lead to improved exports volume growth. On the other hand, the world demand is found to have a positive effect on exports, suggesting that continuous global recession would reduce Kenya’s exports. Further analyses on exports price elasticities by products revealed that vegetable product exports (which include among others tea, coffee and horticulture) are however price elastic; indicating existing export potentials. However, even at higher price incentives, results show a net lose of market for other export products including chemical products, and other manufactured goods. Policy implications include continuous efforts towards identifying and eliminating all barriers that hinder increased tea, coffee and horticulture production and exports.
Keywords: Exports, Kenya, Price elasticity, Products, World demand.
Towards Sustainable Tomorrow: Exploring Energy Efficiency of Malls in Delhi
Supriya Sharma a , Sushma Goel b
a, b Lady Irwin College, Delhi University, Sikandra Road, Delhi University, New Delhi-110001, India.
Volume 06, Issue 12, Pg. 106-117, 2013.
Abstract: The rapid growth of population and economic development has put severe stress on the natural resources, infrastructure and environment of the country. Malls are the new generation window to the country’s commercial activity. They are in the luxury mode by spending extravagantly on facilities and services. The study was an effort to explore the energy resources used for facilities and services in selected malls and also assess the experience of comfort level of employees working in the malls as well as customers visiting the malls.
The results of the study highlighted that maximum power was consumed by HVAC ( Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) systems and motors used for pumping water followed by escalators and elevators as compared to energy used by lighting system and security services. Carbon emissions were alarming from each mall as the minimum emissions per day were 8032.12kg to a maximum of 44097.46 kg per day. As regards energy efficiency rating on the parameters of GRIHA developed by TERI, none of the selected malls could obtain minimum score of 50 to be qualified as green structure even though couple of them adopted water recharge pits to ensure zero discharge of waste and rainwater into municipal drainage. In some of the malls the HVAC and the lighting systems were switched off manually when not in use. However, the effort was insignificant. A substantial percentage of respondents i.e., the mall employees and the customers reported discomfort due to heaviness in eyes and high illumination levels.
There is a need to design and build such structures on sound concepts of energy efficiency and apply suitable retrofit options to existing buildings to minimize energy consumption and environmental pollution.
Keywords: Sustainability, Energy Efficiency, Energy Security, Energy Conservation, Green Buildings.