On Tuesday evening, students from around the world gathered to discuss what sustainability looked like in their home countries.
“Putting a Face on Global Sustainability” was a panel discussion sponsored by many different departments on campus as a part of International Education Week.
It began with a sampling of food from the featured countries: India, Ghana, Madagascar and South Korea. The students then gave a brief presentation on the successes and challenges of sustainability efforts in their home countries.
“We are going to hear from people who deal with these issues in a very real way,” Ed Carr, a professor from the geography department and moderator of the panel, said.
A student from India summed up what each of the presentations said as a whole, “People live life based on needs instead of wants.”
While sustainability in the U.S. has become a catch phrase and a marketing tool, sustainability in developing nations in many cases is a matter of survival.
In India, the urban population growth, high population density and the difficulty in balancing continued development with sustainability all pose challenges.
Proposed solutions include improving public transportation and water treatment. According to information in the presentation, Delhi, India’s capital and one of the most densely populated cities in the world, has a “Green Delhi” campaign involving and a specific climate change plan. However, India has a very diverse population and the people have many different needs. Solutions will need to be just as complex as the problems.
Narindra Randrianavony, a student from Madagascar, has come to the U.S. to study ecotourism in hopes of helping the economy with the tourist industry while still preserving the natural landscape.
“My aim is to go back to my nation and create an eco-lodge and help create sustainable tourism,” Randrianavony said.
He has worked extensively with Ranomafana National Park in Madagascar and hopes his time spent studying the U.S. will provide real solutions to sustainability problems and help both the local population and the environment.
Eco-fair trade is Christopher Aluah’s plan for creating sustainable development in Ghana.
“Our goal is for healthy people and healthy development,” Aluah, a public health master’s student, said.
Through the “Peanut Project,” farmers are able to get a fair trade price for their crops, which strengthens the economy and allows more youth to receive education. According to Aluah, since the farmers are earning a fair wage, there is less pressure to overharvest the land, which causes environmental degradation.
“We want to provide the framework for communities to organize themselves into a farmers-based organization,” Aluah said.
Just as sustainable energy is a difficult issue in the U.S., South Korea also faces challenges with high levels of emissions and a lack of alternative energy options.
While the challenge of creating sustainability in a developing nation was clear, each of the students also offered creative solutions.
“I like knowing specific strategies for sustainability and global improvement,” said Brooke McAbee, a second-year English student. “I like the interaction and all of the different ideas.”
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