Content area
Full Text
The reality that sustainable development, democracy, and peace are indivisible concepts should not be denied. Peace cannot exist without equitable development, just as development requires sustainable management of the environment in a democratic and peaceful space. In order to advance peace, we must promote its underlying democratic institutions and ideals. In large part, this is only possible if management of the environment is pursued as a universal priority. Only a holistic approach that takes these interlinked factors into account can ensure effective, ecologically sustainable development.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee challenged the world to appreciate this link and, in doing so, broadened our understanding of peace and security. The task at hand is to act on this challenge. This entails motivating leaders to build fair and just societies in which resources are shared equitably; to protect the environment to ensure that the needs of future generations are not compromised; and to expand democratic space, particularly for women and minorities, so that minority representation can exist alongside majority rule. Setting a foundation for peace and development requires that citizens feel vested in a common future and empowered to realize their own potential in addressing the problems they face.
Sustainable Development and the Environment
In many developing countries, particularly in Africa, environmental problems are relegated to the periphery because they do not appear to be as urgent as other issues. Protecting the environment is often seen as a convenient luxury when, in reality, it is a question of life and death. People cannot survive without clean drinking water, which comes from the forested mountains, or live without the food that is grown in fertile fields watered by the rains. Even the air we breathe needs trees to provide oxygen and recycle carbon dioxide. Our very survival depends on the survival of our fragile ecosystems.
The Green Belt Movement (GBM) was initiated in 1977 with the planting of seven trees on World Environment Day. It was conceived as a practical way to address the needs that rural women were facing, specifically for clean drinking water, nutritious food, firewood, and fodder. These are all benefits that come from the land. Simple methods of caring for the environment have a huge impact on the health of communities as well as on...