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Environmental issues are some of the big problems being faced by almost all the countries around the globe. This affects not just the state but also all of its citizens.

Since all of the said problems and growth are being experienced by various countries, taking good care of the environment and making a change to the world have become a global effort. Different countries around the globe have been addressing environmental issues by holding conferences and pledging on treaties. Three of the most important and most popular treaties that have been part of the global agenda to ensure environmental sustainability are the Basel Convention, Convention on Biological Diversity and Global Environmental Facility (GEF).

Basel Convention

Basel Convention has been established on March 22, 1989 by the Conference of Plenipotentiaries in Basel, Switzerland, mainly focusing on the control of transboundary movements of hazardous wastes and their disposal and ensures that these are disposed in an environmentally friendly manner. This is a response to the public protest in the 1980s when Africa and other developing countries became a dump of hazardous wastes from abroad.

The said convention has been the way for people to be more aware of the environmental issues happening during the late 1970s and early 1980s. During that time, countries (mostly those from the Eastern European region) have been disposing their wastes to developing countries that were not as aware on the bad effects these hazardous wastes can bring to them. The environmental awareness in the developing countries was clearly much less developed and strict regulations and enforcement mechanisms were lacking. It was only then when the Basel Convention was created that the countries were enlightened. This has resulted to various environmental regulations in different industries as well.

The main objective of Basel Convention is “to protect human health and the environment against the adverse effects of hazardous wastes”. It aims to reduce the generation of hazardous wastes and to promote environmentally sound management of hazardous wastes wherever the place of disposal may be. The convention also provides training and technology transfers of the hazardous wastes as well as the minimization of the generation of the said hazardous wastes.

Convention on Biological Diversity

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was ratified on December 29, 1993, with three main objectives in mind: to conserve biological diversity, to sustain the use of the components of biological diversity and to ensure the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits from the utilization of genetic resources through the appropriate transfer of relevant technologies, considering all the resources and technologies available to funding.

This convention is mainly concerned on the genetic resources, species and ecosystems. It is a result of the response done by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) when it convened the Ad Hoc Working Group of Experts on Biological Diversity in November 1988. On May 1989, an Ad Hoc Working Group of Technical and Legal Experts was established to prepare an international legal convention for the conservation and use of biological diversity, while taking “the need to share costs and benefits between developed and developing countries as well as ways and means to support innovation by local people” into consideration.

The said convention was finally opened for signature on May 22, 1992 and its first session was held at the Bahamas. It was inspired by the growing commitment of countries around the globe to sustainable development. It has been a significant event towards man’s effort to conserve biological diversity.

Global Environment Facility

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is an independent financial organization that has been established in 1991 and is composed of 182 member governments addressing global environmental issues. This is in partnership with various international institutions, non-governmental organizations and the private sector.

GEF provides grants for projects that are related to biodiversity, climate change, international waters, land degradation, ozone layer and persistent organic pollutants to developing countries and even countries that are experiencing economic transition. In fact, GEF is hailed as the “largest funder of projects to improve the global government”. It has allocated more than $9.5 billion for more than 2,700 projects in more than 165 developing countries and countries with economic transition around the globe. It also has a Small Grants Program (SGP) that was able to help 12,000 non-governmental and community organizations worldwide.

As mentioned in a previous post, environmental sustainability can be found in various gadgets and structures. In fact, more and more establishments, even residential spaces, are employing green architecture or sustainable design principles.

Sustainable design principles would typically include the following:

1. Durability – materials to be used in constructing various establishments shouldn’t be replaced as often as non eco-friendly materials used in previous designs
2. Recycling and Reusing – materials to be used should ideally come from recyclable items
3. Use of low impact products – materials should be toxic-free. These materials should help lessen pollution
4. Energy consumption – processes involved in construction should use as little enery source as possible without compromising the quality of the end product

Essentially, sustainable architecture will emphasise using processes and materials that will improve the cooling and heating systems in an establishment. This type of architecture will also consider various options to energy sources—like making use of solar panels. Recycled water is also another feature in sustainable designs. In this process, sewage water will be treated by having the impurities treated. Afterwards, the treated water can then be used for recharging aquifers. In other instances, rainwater is also harvested for reuse. Usually, rainwater from roofs are treated to provide drinking water. These reclaimed water can also be used for flushing the toilet, washing the car, and for gardening purposes.

Aside from the features mentioned earlier, you might also want to consider a few things before getting a sustainable home. See below for more details.

1. Floors – Consider slip resistant floors in your sustainable homes. This way you can lessen accidents
2. Outdoor lighting – Lights outside the house should clearly illuminate the house and its entrance. This way your home can be easy to find and lessens the risk of injuries in the dark
3. Surveillance – You can place security areas around your house to minimise burglaries
4. Future concerns  – The design of the house should post no problem as you grow older. Ensure that rooms are accessible and that steps are easy to take without causing any accidents during old age.
5. Air quality – Avoid materials that could cause allergic reactions to the occupants of the house.

Living in an environmentally sustainable house could mean a higher cost in living. However, the increase in expenses is well worth the benefits. Besides, even the costs of non-sustainable products are increasing. You might as well pay for something more sustainable, right? On the other hand, the choice is still yours. Make sure that you understand everything about sustainable living if you choose to make a lifestyle change.

Man is very dependent on his surroundings, especially on his environment. It is where he gets his basic needs such as food, shelter, air, and water. Without this, he cannot survive.

Decades ago, the world can still be considered a good place to live in. The forests are still abundant; the waters are still clean. There was a good balance in nature back then. Unfortunately today, there are tons of problems that man is facing on his environment. It is being destroyed by the people who are supposed to be taking care of it.

As the population increase more and more as years pass by, the environment is being greatly affected. This results to a phenomenon called ‘environmental degradation’. Environmental degradation happens because of the pressure being put on nature to produce more food and energy to sustain everyone. This pressure also results to toxic wastes, marine and coastal degradation, deforestation, pollution and climate change, and these are all contributors to the destruction of the environment.

Economic growth is also a factor in this pressure being placed on natural systems. The need to provide necessary resources is somehow heavily dependent on natural resources such as forests, soil, oceans and fresh water. This growth can also contribute to land, air and water pollution, especially when the people who run the companies or factories are irresponsible.  Thus, it fastens the degradation of earth’s resources as well.

All these problems that were mentioned above are intensified by climate change and global warming. Climate change is defined as “the change in global climate patterns apparent from the mid to late 20th century onwards, attributed largely to the increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by the use of fossil fuels”. On the other hand, global warming is the “gradual increase in the overall temperature of the earth’s atmosphere generally attributed to the greenhouse effect caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons, and other pollutants”. The two may seem to be alike, but take note that climate change covers many other changes that men experience beyond an increase in temperature, such as alterations in precipitation patterns, sea level changes and the increase of frequency of severe weather conditions.

Global warming and climate change will most definitely make an impact to various sectors of different countries, whether they are industrialized capitalist countries or developing countries. Their potential to be more exposed to disasters, diseases and low productivity has been increased. The only key to strengthen this vulnerability is to learn to adapt to the changing environment. However, this adaptation will never be easy, since those countries that are most vulnerable to climate change will be the ones to be least able to manage the said challenge of adapting to the environmental changes.

Since this is a global phenomenon, the best way to remedy these problems is for the countries to go hand in hand and start making a change for their environment. They should set aside their differences and set their minds to achieve the goal of attaining environmental sustainability. That is certainly a challenge for all of us.