Comparing Sustainable Development Between India, Japan and Sudan: A comparative study

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Sustainable Development

in India: Perspectives
In 1972, the then Prime Minister of India, Mrs. Indira Gandhi emphasized, at the UN Conference on Human Environment at Stockholm, that the removal of poverty is an integral part of the goal of an environmental strategy for the world. The concepts of interrelatedness, of a shared planet, of global citizenship, and of spaceship earth cannot be restricted to environmental issues alone. They apply equally to the shared and inter-linked responsibilities of environmental protection and human development.

History has led to vast inequalities, leaving almost three-fourths of the worlds people living in less -developed countries and one-fifth below the poverty line. The long-term impact of past industrialization, exploitation and environmental damage cannot be wished away. It is only right that development in this new century be even more conscious of its long-term impact. The problems are complex and the choices difficult. Our common future can only be achieved with a better understanding of our common concerns and shared responsibilities. Following are some perspectives and approaches towards achieving a sustainable future:

Poverty Eradication and Sustainable Livelihoods

Poverty and a degraded environment are closely inter-related, especially where people depend for their livelihoods primarily on the natural resource base of their immediate environment. Restoring natural systems and improving natural resource management practices at the grassroots level are central to a strategy to eliminate poverty. The survival needs of the poor force them to continue to degrade an already degraded environment. Removal of poverty is therefore a prerequisite for the protection of the environment. Poverty magnifies the problem of hunger and malnutrition. The problem is further compounded by the inequitable access of the poor to the food that is available. It is therefore necessary to strengthen the public distribution system to overcome this inequity. Diversion of common and marginal lands to economically useful purposes deprives the poor of a resource base which has traditionally met many of their sustenance needs. Market forces also lead to the elimination of crops that have traditionally been integral to the diet of the poor, thereby threatening food security and nutritional status.

Sustainable Development: Learnings and Perspectives from India

While conventional economic development leads to the elimination of several traditional occupations, the process of sustainable development, guided by the need to protect and conserve the environment, leads to the creation of new jobs and of opportunities for the reorientation of traditional skills to new occupations.
Percenta o ge f population below poverty line

Women, while continuing to

60 50 40 30 20 10 0 all India rural
urban

perform their traditional domestic roles are increasingly involved in

e arning live lihoods. In many poor

Source: Ministry of Finance (2002)

1983

74

78

88

94

households they are often the principal or the sole breadwinners. A major thrust at the policy level is necessary to ensure equity and justice for them.

1 9 7 3

Literacy and a basic education are essential for enabling the poor to access the benefits offered by development initiatives and market opportunities. Basic education is therefore a precondition for sustainable development. Estimates of poverty A sizeable proportion (about 60 per cent according to some estimates) of the population is not integrated into the market economy. Ensuring the security of their livelihoods is an imperative for sustainable development.
1993 198 7

1977

Changing Unsustainable Patterns of Consumption and Production

With increasing purchasing power, wasteful consumption linked to market driven consumerism is stressing the resource base of developing countries further. It is important to counter this through education and public awareness.

In several areas, desirable limits and standards for consumption need to be established and applied through appropriate mechanisms including education, incentives and legislation. Several traditional practices that are sustainable and environment friendly continue to be a regular part of the lives of people in developing countries. These need to be encouraged rather than replaced by more modern but unsustainable practices and technologies.
Development decisions regarding technology and infrastructure are a major determinant of consumption patterns. It is therefore important to evaluate and make development decisions which structurally lead to a more sustainable society.

Technologies exist through which substantial reduction in consumption of resources is possible. Efforts to identify, evaluate, introduce and use these technologies must be made.

2 0 0 0

1 9 9 9

Perspectives

Subsidies often lead to wasteful and unsustainable consumption by distorting the value of a resource. All pricing mechanisms must be evaluated from a sustainable development point of view.

Protecting and Managing the Natural Resource Base of Economic and Social Development
The integration of agriculture with land and water management, and with ecosystem conservation is essential for both environmental sustainability and agricultural production. An environmental perspective must guide the evaluation of all development projects, recognizing the role of natural resources in local livelihoods. This recognition must be informed by a comprehensive understanding of the perceptions and opinions of local people about their stakes in the resource base. To ensure the sustainability of the natural resource base, the recognition of all stakeholders in it and their roles in its protection and management is essential. There is need to establish well-defined and enforceable rights (including customary rights) and security of tenure, and to ensure equal access to land, water and other natural and biological resources. It should be ensured that this applies, in particular, to indigenous communities, women and other disadvantaged groups living in poverty. Water governance arrangements should protect ecosystems and preserve or restore the ecological integrity of all natural water bodies and their catchments. This will maintain the wide range of ecological services that healthy ecosystems provide and the livelihoods that depend upon them. Biomass is, and will continue for a long time to be, a major source of fuel and energy, especially for the rural poor. Recognizing this fact, appropriate mechanisms must be evolved to make such consumption of biomass sustainable, through both resource management and the promotion of efficient and minimally polluting technologies, and technologies which will progressively reduce the pressures on biomass, which cause environmental degradation. The traditional approaches to natural resource management such as sacred groves and ponds, water harvesting and management systems, etc., should be revived by creating institutional mechanisms which recapture the ecological wisdom and the spirit of community management inherent in those systems.

Sustainable Development: Learnings and Perspectives from India

Sustainable Development in a Globalizing World

Globalization as it is taking place today is increasing the divide between the rich and the poor. It has to be steered so that it serves not only commercial interests but also the social needs of development.
Global business thrives on, and therefore encourages and imposes, high levels of homogeneity in consumer preferences. On the other hand, for development to be locally appropriate and sustainable, it must be guided by local considerations which lie in cultural diversity and traditions. Therefore recognition at the policy level, of the significance of diversity, and the need to preserve it, is an important precondition for sustainable development.

In an increasingly globalizing economy, developing countries, for want of the appropriate skills, are often at a disadvantage in negotiating and operating multilateral trade agreements. Regional cooperation for capacity building is therefore necessary to ensure their effective participation in all stages of multilateral trade.
Globalization is driven by a vast, globally spread, human resource engine involving millions of livelihoods. Their security is sometimes threatened by local events causing global distortions (e.g. the impact of the WTC attack on jobs in India or, in a wider context, sanctions against countries not conforming to international prescriptions in human rights or environment related maters). Mechanisms to safeguard trade and livelihoods, especially in developing countries, must be evolved and negotiated to make globalization an effective vehicle of sustainable development.

War and armed conflict are a major threat to sustainable development. It is imperative to evolve effective mechanisms for mediation in such situations and to resolve contentious issues without compromising the larger developmental goals of the conflicting parties.

Health and Sustainable Development

Human health in its broadest sense of physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing is to a great extent dependent on the access of the citizen to a healthy environment. For a healthy, productive and fulfilling life every individual should have the physical and economic access to a balanced diet, safe drinking water, clean air, sanitation, environmental hygiene, primary health care and education. Access to safe drinking water and a healthy environment should be a fundamental right of every citizen. Citizens of developing countries continue to be vulnerable to a double burden of diseases. Traditional diseases such as malaria and cholera, caused by unsafe drinking water and lack of environmental hygiene, have not yet been controlled. In addition, people are now falling prey to modern diseases such as cancer and AIDS, and stress-related disorders.

Perspectives

Many of the widespread ailments among the poor in developing countries are occupation-related, and are contracted in the course of work done to fulfil the consumption demands of the affluent, both within the country and outside. The strong relationship between health and the state of the environment in developing countries is becoming increasingly evident. This calls for greater emphasis on preventive and social medicine, and on research in both occupational health and epidemiology. Because of the close link, there needs to be greater integration between the ministries of Health and Environment, and effective 160 coordination and cooperation 140 between them.
120 100 80 60 40 20 0 Crude birth Crude death rate (per 1000) rate (per 1000) Infant mortality rate (per 1000 live births) Life expectancy (years)
Sour Mini o Fina 20 ce: stry f nce, 02 National Population Policy, 2000

1951 1998

Basic health and educational facilities in developing countries need to be strengthened. The role of public health services must give preventive health care equal emphasis as curative health care. People should be empowered through education and awareness to participate in managing preventive health care related to environmental sanitation and hygiene.

Selected health indicators

Most developing countries are repositories of a rich tradition of natural resource-based health care. This is under threat, on the one hand from modern mainstream medicine, and on the other from the degradation of the natural resource base. Traditional medicine in combination with modern medicine must be promoted while ensuring conservation of the resource base and effective protection of IPRs of traditional knowledge. Developing countries should also strive to strengthen the capacity of their health care systems to deliver basic health services and to reduce environment-related health risks by sharing of health awareness and medical expertise globally.

Means of Implementation
Finance
Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) is declining. The commitments made by industrialized countries at the Earth Summit in Rio a decade ago remain largely unmet. This is a cause for concern which has been voiced

Sustainable Development: Learnings and Perspectives from India

by several developing countries. Industrialized countries must honour their ODA commitments. The new instruments and mechanisms, e.g., the Clean Development Mechanism, that are trying to replace ODA need to be examined closely for their implications for the developing countries. In view of the declining trend in ODA, developing countries must explore how they can finance their sustainable development efforts, such as by introducing a system of ecological taxation.
Private investment cannot replace development aid as it will not reach sectors relevant for the poor. Such investments and other mechanisms can at best be additional to, not replacements for, development assistance.

We cannot have a ecological movement designed to prevent violence against nature, unless the principle of nonviolence becomes central to the ethics of human culture
Mahatma Gandhi

Conditions attached to financial assistance need to be rigorously scrutinized, and the assistance accepted only if the conditionalities are acceptable. Financial support for sustainable development programmes must not be negatively influenced by political considerations external to the objectives of the assistance.

Trade
Trade regimes, specifically WTO, are sometimes in conflict with sustainable development priorities. Imperatives of trade, and the concerns related to environment, equity and social justice however need to be dealt with independently. Environmental and social clauses which are implicitly or explicitly part of international agreements must not be used selectively to erect trade barriers against developing countries. Developing countries will suffer a major trade disadvantage if the efforts to put in place globally acceptable Process and Production Methods (PPMs) are successful. Instead, existing disparities between the trade regimes and multilateral environmental agreements, such as those between Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) regime and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), should be thoroughly addressed. Mechanisms to resolve such conflicts between multilateral agreements should be set up.

Technology
Developing countries need not follow the conventional path to development with regard to technologies but must use to their advantage the cutting-edge technology options now available to leapfrog, and put the tools of modern technology to use. Mechanisms must be put in place to make available to developing countries the latest technologies at reasonable cost.

Perspectives

Technology transfer must be informed by an understanding of its implications in the social, economic and environmental contexts of the receiving societies. Technologies must be usable by and beneficial to local people. Where possible, existing local technologies must be upgraded and adapted to make them more efficient and useful. Such local adaptations should also lead to the upgradation of local technical skills.
Local innovations and capacity building for developing and managing locally relevant and appropriate technologies must be encouraged and supported.

Integrating highly-sophisticated modern technology with traditional practices sometimes produces the most culturally-suited and acceptable solutions, which also makes them more viable. This trend should be encouraged.

Science and Education

The paramount importance of education in effecting social change is recognized. Mainstream education must now be realigned to promote awareness, attitudes, concerns and skills that will lead to sustainable development. Basic education which promotes functional literacy, livelihood skills, understanding of the immediate environment and values of responsible citizenship is a precondition for sustainable development. Such education must be available to every child as a fundamental right, without discrimination on the basis of economic class, geographical location or cultural identity. Adequate resources and support for education for sustainable development are essential. An understanding must be promoted among key decision makers of the potential of education to promote sustainability, reduce poverty, train people for sustainable livelihoods and catalyze necessary public support for sustainable development initiatives. The empowerment of women and girls must be supported by actions to improve their access to basic and higher education, training and capacity building. The emphasis should be on gender mainstreaming. Greater capacity needs to be built in science and technology through improved collaboration among research institutions, the private sector, NGOs and government. Collaborations and partnerships between and among scientists, government and all stakeholders, on scientific research and development and its widespread application need to be improved.

Annu Saini WSSD School Competition

Sustainable Development: Learnings and Perspectives from India

Population
With Indias population crossing a billion in the year 2000, the National Population Policy announced in that year has special significance. Its change in focus from merely setting target population figures to achieving population control through greater attention to socio-economic issues such as child health and survival, illiteracy, empowerment of women, and increased participation by men in planned parenthood, gives it greater breadth and depth, thereby holding forth better promise of achieving its long-term objective of a stable population by mid-century. The official realization, that population is not merely about numbers but about the health and quality of life of people in general and women in particular, must be reinforced and sustained by an informed debate to bring key population issues into ever sharpening perspective at various levels of policy making from the national and state legislatures to local government institutions. There is need for a better and more widespread understanding that the number of children desired by any couple depends on a large and complexly interrelated number of socio-economic and cultural factors, and that any policy action seeking to control population must seriously take all these variables into account. An important part of empowering women in matters pertaining to population, is to explicitly recognize and respect their rights over their bodies and their reproductive behaviour. This recognition must permeate society in general, and religious, judicial and law-enforcement institutions in particular, through continual campaigning and dialogue.
The pursuit of population control must not be allowed to compromise human rights and basic democratic principles. Such compromises are often implicit in the disincentives aimed at controlling family size; in comments on the fertility of particular social groupings; and in the occasional demands to control in- migration to metropolitan areas. It is essential to place these matters in a balanced and rational perspective through informed public discourse supported by the wide dissemination of authentic data.

You must be the change you wish to see in the world

Mahatma Gandhi

Strengthening Governance for Sustainable Development at the Local, National and International Levels
Local
Effective management of resources requires participation by all stakeholders. At the local level, strengthening democratic institutions generally leads to better and more sustained management of natural resources. To enhance effectiveness of peoples participation in local governance,

Perspectives

committees comprising both elected and executive members of local bodies and representatives of community groups, must be formed. Appropriate capacity building would enable them to undertake local development activities according to community priorities, monitor project implementation and manage community assets. Where the conditions for such community empowerment have already been created, as in India through the 73rd and 74th amendments of its Constitution, effective implementation of the provisions should be ensured. All members of society are the stakeholders of sustainable development. Women make up half of this group. Affirmative action to ensure representation and power to women in local governance, and appropriate capacity building, are necessary to make them effective and equal partners in the development process. Social groups which have been traditionally discriminated against must be represented in local governance and empowered to ensure that they become effective and mainstream partners in development. Children are a valuable asset of every society. It is the responsibility not only of the parents but of the community that children realize their potential fully, growing up in a healthy, enriching and fulfilling environment. Ensuring the provision of such an environment is a major challenge of governance at the local level. The occupational, cultural and economic heterogeneity of population is on the whole a major asset in making development sustainable; but there are times of crisis when the same heterogeneity can become the basis of conflict and social insecurity. It is imperative to evolve participatory mechanisms of governance involving citizen groups and local authorities which will provide effective means of conflict resolution.

National
Sustainable development is achieved through optimizing gains from several variables, rather than maximizing those from a single one. This requires government departments, by convention sectorally organized, to work together, or in some cases as a single multi-disciplinary authority. For this joint planning, transparency and coordination in implementation are required. The richness of skills available in society must be harnessed through partnerships involving institutions in civil society, such as NGOs, CBOs, corporate (including private) bodies, academic and research institutions, trade unions, etc., which must be made an integral part of planning and implementation for sustainable development.

Sustainable Development: Learnings and Perspectives from India

There is on the one hand a surfeit of laws, many of them outmoded and irrelevant. On the other hand, effective enforcement is lacking in respect of laws relevant to contemporary concerns and conducive to governance. This calls for a thorough review of laws, elimination of those which are outmoded, and simplification of the procedures for implementing those which are relevant. Internal reviews as well as learnings from international experience should be the basis of identifying and filling gaps in existing laws. It must, however, be recognized that laws in themselves do not provide solutions, unless there are mechanisms to effectively enforce them. There are many traditional systems and practices whose value and validity needs to be recognized and brought into the mainstream of governmental development thinking and policy. Appropriate mechanisms for integrating them need to be created. Many policies were framed either before sustainable development became a major concern or in a sectoral perspective. These need to be reviewed from the point of view of sustainable development. All future policies must be guided by considerations of sustainable development.
Areas lacking policies should be identified and adequate policies compatible with the imperatives of sustainable development framed, taking into account successful examples, of policies and initiatives in similar areas.

International
There is both a need and a scope for regional and global cooperation in sustainable development. Some of the areas of common concern are marine and riparian issues, transboundary environmental impacts, management of bioresources, technology sharing and sharing of sustainable development experiences. Efforts must be made, especially by developing countries, to work towards synergizing experiences and raising shared regional concerns as a strong united front in international forums. Mechanisms must be put in place to facilitate such international exchange of domestic and global experiences in sustainable development.
There must be mechanisms for monitoring the compliance of countries to their obligations under various environmental agreements. Currently there is a multiplicity of institutions with fragmented responsibilities. A better governance regime is required to ensure cooperation and compliance.

You have to decide whether development means affluence or whether development means peace, prosperity and happiness.
Sunderlal Bahuguna

Sustainable Development in Japan

Abstract Various approaches have been advocated and practiced to address sustainable development. Among these, education has been recognized as one of the key measures to achieving sustainability. In Nishinomiya, Japan, education for sustainable development (ESD) has been established through the Learning and Ecological Activities Foundation for Children (LEAF), a nonprofit organization whose activities have been adopted by the Ministry of the Environment as the model for Japanese ESD projects nation-wide. LEAF aims to establish mutual learning programs through various types of activities. Through an examination of LEAF initiatives, key elements for achieving sustainable development are explored and analyzed in relation to the UNESCO framework for implementing ESD (UNESCO, 2003). The paper suggests that a mutual learning environment is a key element in achieving sustainable development. Introduction Various approaches have been advocated and practiced to address sustainable development. Among these, education has been recognized as one of the key measures for achieving sustainability (UN, 1992; UNESCO, 2005; WCED, 1987), particularly since the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) published Our Common Future in 1987. In supporting the global initiative for Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), the Japanese government has been an active advocate in stressing the importance of combining sustainable development and education by establishing a number of ESD programs across the country (Japan Environmental Education Forum, 2000). Among these, the Learning and Ecological Activities Foundation for Children (LEAF) initiative based in the city of Nishinomiya has served as a particularly influential model; its predecessor, the Earth Watching Club (EWC), was adopted by the Japanese Ministry of the Environment in 1995 as the nation-wide environmental education program. Its membership currently numbers over half a million persons. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the key elements necessary for realizing ESD by examining the case of a successful program in Nishinomiya City. The paper begins by presenting a brief overview of the historical context of ESD, then introduces LEAF within this context.

By examining LEAF's various initiatives, key elements for achieving sustainable development are explored and analyzed in relation to the UNESCO framework for implementing ESD (UNESCO, 2003). The case suggests that creating a mutual learning environment is central to achieving sustainable development.

Background The concept of sustainable development first emerged in the 1980s with the well-known WCED publication Our Common Future (1987), and in response to a growing awareness of the need to balance economic and social progress with concern for the environment and the exploitation of natural resources. The Commission defined sustainable development as "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" (WCED, 1987,p. 47). The first time that the sustainable development concept formally met education was at the UN Conference on Environment and Development in 1992. The conference gave high priority to the role of education in pursuing the kind of development that would respect and nurture the natural environment. In particular, Chapter 36 of Agenda 21 emphasized that education is critical for promoting sustainable development and improving the capacity of people to address environment and development issues (UN, 1992). The Johannesburg Summit in 2002 broadened the vision of sustainable development and re-affirmed the educational objectives of the Millennium Development Goals (UN, 2000) and the Dakar Framework for Action (UNESCO, 2000). The Summit proposed a Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, with UNESCO spearheading the initiative. In December 2002, the United Nations General Assembly's 57th Session proclaimed the Decade for the period of 2005 to 2014. According to UNESCO, the vision of ESD is to realize "a world where everyone has the opportunity to benefit from quality education and learn the values, behavior and

lifestyles required for a sustainable future and for positive societal transformation" (UNESCO, 2005, p. 4). In addition, UNESCO states that ESD has four major domains: (1)basic education; (2) reorienting existing education programs; (3) developing public awareness and understanding of sustainability; and (4) training (UNESCO, 2003). Here,basic education does not mean simply increasing basic literacy and numeracy; rather, itentails sharing knowledge, skills, values and perspectives throughout a lifetime of learning for public participation and community decision-making to achieve sustainability (UNESCO, 2003). Reorienting existing education programs requires transdisciplinary understandings of social, economic and environmental sustainability. Training implies that all sectors of the workforce can and should contribute to local, regional and national sustainability. In particular, UNESCO states the following regarding training: "Business and industry are thus key sites for on-going vocational and professional training so that all sectors of the workforce have the knowledge and skills necessary to make decisions and perform their work in a sustainable manner" (UNESCO, 2003, p. 5). Given the breadth of this vision, a universal model of education for sustainable development does not exist. While there may be general agreement on the concept of ESD, there will be nuanced differences according to local contexts, priorities and approaches. Regardless of these variations, however, ESD seeks to provide an environment where children, youth, the elderly, and other stakeholders, such as nonprofit organizations (NPOs), the public sector, and the private sector, can mutually learn about and transfer knowledge and values for sustainable development. The case of LEAF in Nishinomiya provides an illustration of how one Japanese city has attempted to tackle these issues to implement an ESD model anchored in a holistic approach to economic, social, and environmental understanding and the principle of mutual learning.

Methodology
This case study is the result of research conducted in ishinomiya City between June 2004 and March 2005, and is based primarily on data collected through participant observation and interviews. In order to observe the day to day activities and decisionmaking that took place, the authors participated in the Environmental Learning City Steering Committee of Nishinomiya, the working group initiated by LEAF to promote environmental learning in Nishinomiya. Interviews were conducted with members of LEAF and officers of Nishinomiya regarding various environmental learning activities. In particular, data were collected through a number of interviews with Mr. Masayoshi Ogawa who launched EWC, the predecessor of LEAF, in Nishinomiya and established the Bureau of Environmental Learning city project in the Nishinomiya City Hall Analysis of local and national documents regarding environmental education and education for sustainable development, various LEAF publications, and other related literatures were examined in order to survey the environmental learning activities promoted by LEAF. Data were then compared and analyzed with respect to the definition and objectives of ESD, drawn from the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (January 2005December 2014): Framework for a Draft International Implementation Scheme (UNESCO, 2003).

The Case of ESD in Nishinomiya City

Nishinomiya City The city of Nishinomiya, with a population of approximately 450,000 and an area of 100.18 sq km, lies between Osaka and Kobe in the southeastern part of the Hyogo Prefecture. This is a city where, in 1962, community and local businesses, especially Sake brewing industries, protested against the establishment of petroleum complexes and

waterfront land reclamation schemes in order to conserve the quality of water in the community. Influenced by an increasing worldwide concern over environmental issues, a communitybased environmental learning project called the Earth Watching Club (EWC) was launched in 1992 through the initiative of Mr. Masayoshi Ogawa of the Nishinomiya Municipal Government. The focus of this environmental program was activities targeting children and youths. The Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake of 1995 that resulted in over 6,000 casualties, was a turning point for communitybased environmental learning projects such as EWC, which began to be perceived not only as effective tools for tackling environmental issues, but also for issues such as crime and natural disaster reduction with capacity building at the local level for disaster preparedness. As a result, the concepts of EWC were further developed and in 1998 led to the birth of a nonprofit organization called Learning and Ecological Activities Foundation for Children (LEAF), whose aim is to contribute to the development of a sustainable society by building partnerships among citizens, businesses, and the local government (LEAF, 2004).

Overview of LEAF
To achieve its stated goal of developing a sustainable society, LEAF initiated environmental learning activities at schools and in local communities, by targeting a wide range of citizens (LEAF, 2004). In particular, they focus on youth and children as agents of change who will shape the future of their community. LEAF's approach to realizing this goal encompasses (1) the establishment of partnerships with various civic groups, the private sector, and government agencies; (2) development of respect for the environment, including nature and culture; and (3) cultivation of a "selflearning ability" through which the individual's capacity to learn independently from the assistance of educational institutions is enhanced and extended to the informal arena of the household, the school, and the community. Specifically,

LEAF aims to establish a system that enables people relatively unconcerned with environmental issues to participate in activities of environmental learning through various public events targeting a mass audience. Through their environmental learning activities, LEAF not only seeks to raise people's awareness of environmental issues, but also awareness about community development. LEAF's operations are supported entirely by external funding, such as donations by members and corporations, as well as national and local government trust funds. Acknowledged as one of the most successful models of practice, LEAF was awarded the 5th Green Purchasing Award in 2002 and the Environmental Grand Prix 2004 for Local Municipalities from the Japanese government.

Initiatives of LEAF
LEAF's various activities can be categorized into five types: (1) community-based education, (2) nature experience activities, (3) mutual learning programs, (4) policy relevance activities, and (5) global partnership. The following section provides an overview of these and cites examples of activities under each category. Community-based education. Through their community-based education programs, LEAF invites participants to learn about both global and local environments through active communication at the local level. One of the projects in this category is called the Eco-Card. This project aims to forge links between school, family, and community through socalled Eco-Actions. All elementary school children in Nishinomiya (24,000 enrollment) receive an Eco-Card annually. When children take part in environmentally friendly activities (Eco-Actions), such as purchasing an ecofriendly product or separating recyclable goods in the community, they get a stamp from one of 1,500 EcoStamp Holders, such as local school institutions, stationery shops, the City Hall, and any other institution or adult who is part of the program. After collecting more than 10 ecostamps on their Eco-Card, children are awarded the title of Earth Ranger for their ecofriendly actions. Over 2,000 children are

authorized as Earth Rangers each year. In 2004, 2,048 Earth Rangers were delegated in Nishinomiya City alone, and 82,300 were delegated throughout Japan in the same year (Japanese Ministry of the Environment, 2005). What is interesting about this activity is that these Eco-Stamp Holders decide by themselves whether or not an action by a child should be rewarded as an Eco-Action. Thus, while children actively search for what might be considered EcoActions, the stamp holders must also continue to learn and develop their ideas on what can be determined as EcoActions. The Eco-Card program is further tailored for each segment of the school population. For example, in order to collect stamps, third and fourth grade students must conduct research and interviews with various people from the public and private sectors concerning environmental issues. The information gathered from these interviews are shared with the community through the Eco-Messenger program, which is a studenthosted radio show aired on a local FM station. In collaboration with schools, LEAF organizes special classes where students learn about environmental issues from different perspectives. One such class is called Legacy Tellers in which the elderly of the community talk about the environment when they were young. By listening to what these Legacy Tellers have experienced, children can compare environmental conditions between the present and the past. Also, children can learn how the natural environment has changed by taking short excursions, called townwatch walks, to various local sites with the Legacy Tellers (LEAF, 2004a). Nature experience activities. Nature experience activities allow children to experience the natural environment of their community. For example, the Miyamizu Junior Nature Observation Activities, a program entrusted by the Nishinomiya Board of Education, gives children the opportunity to observe the mountains, rivers and sea in Nishinomiya through school excursions to these sites. Another project allows children to learn about nature in the

mountains through hands-on games and exploratory activities that draw from aspects of the natural environment. Some of these pursuits incorporate the Legacy Tellers through on-site activities that demonstrate how the elders interacted with the natural environment in their youth. LEAF organizes training seminars on nature experience activities for community leaders from all over Japan. After the training seminars, leaders are encouraged to develop nature experience activities for their own communities. Involvement of the workforce. To encourage collaboration between the public and private sectors, LEAF provides opportunities for corporations to become engaged in developing environmental learning programs for elementary and junior high school students. Corporations participate in the project through six different working groups whose themes include clothing, food, housing, energy, eco-friendly stationery, and bottles. Thus corporate employees at various levels are afforded an opportunity to learn about environmental issues through their presentations to children on environmentally conscious products. Policy relevant activities. LEAF also actively involves itself with policy relevant activities that influence municipal development polices. For example, in order to reflect the views of the local community to the policy making level, LEAF conducted a Citizens' Nature Survey and a Citizens' Awareness Poll (City of Nishinomiya, 2003a; 2005). Based on its survey and poll of 5,085 people, including children and youth, LEAF prepared a report that represented the opinions of the local community. The report served as the driving force for the municipal government's revision of environmental policies and led to the establishment of the new Nishinomiya Environmental Plan and Nishinomiya City Ordinance on city management, both of which were enacted in March 2005. The Ordinance regulates, with legally-binding force, day-to-day activities that are not in line with environmental guidelines. The format of the survey and poll also succeeded in stimulating and increasing public awareness on nature issues.

They were designed in such a way that those who were surveyed, numbering 3,993 teenagers and others ranging in age from 7 to 81, had to investigate and report on local insects and plants in the Nishinomiya vicinity. In doing so, the survey and poll stimulated participants' awareness on nature, and thus their mind-set toward environmental issues. The Nishinomiya municipality has developed a web site with the results of the surveys and polls conducted in 1991 and 2003, and people can go online to learn about past and current conditions of the natural environment in Nishinomiya City (City of Nishinomiya, 2003b). According to the results of the survey, those who participated reported a deeper understanding and appreciation of the local natural environment, including their knowledge of the fish, birds, insects, and plants of Nishinomiya. In order to promote local participation and involvement in shaping regional development policies by the municipal government, LEAF also supported the establishment of the Environmental Learning City Steering Committee of Nishinomiya City, which consists of community leaders and representatives of the private and public sectors. With the involvement of this committee, in 2003 Nishinomiya was the first city in Japan to be declared an " Environmental Learning City " (LEAF, 2004a). Global partnership. LEAF develops projects beyond the domestic level to foster global partnership among children around the world. It organizes the Junior Eco-Club AsiaPacific Conference each year. In addition, LEAF has created The Chikyu Kids Environmental Network, a database of children's environmental activities around the world, spanning over 80 countries. LEAF has also coordinated joint projects between Nishinomiya and Burlington, Vermont. These have included such activities as promoting education for sustainability through community partnerships ( Institute of Sustainable Communities, 2002).

Analysis of LEAF Program

The four pillars of ESD, as outlined by UNESCO (2003) and

described here earlier, provide a useful framework through which to reflect on the accomplishments of LEAF towards achieving ESD. This section discusses LEAF initiatives in light of these domains of action. Basic education Whereas traditional educational methods in Japan have served primarily to increase basic literacy and numeracy among children, the activities of LEAF have embraced basic education and extended beyond to impart an understanding of the nuanced interaction between the economic, social, and environmental dimensions central to sustainable evelopment. Fundamental to this process is the development of the selflearning capacities of a range of participants, as well as the sharing of knowledge, values, and skills towards community decision-making and action involving a variety of stakeholders. The Eco-Card program, for example, as well as the establishment of the Environmental Learning City Steering Committee are illustrations of how providing a milieu in which sharing knowledge and values between school children and other community members can extend learning beyond the classroom into the informal sector. In addition, LEAF's introduction of the Citizens' Nature Survey and the Citizens' Awareness Poll has encouraged residents to learn more about their local environment.

Developing public awareness and understanding of sustainability

LEAF's engagement of a wide range of citizens has been a critical feature in implementing ESD. Youth and children, commonly viewed as the agents of behavioral change, are typical targets of educational programs. However, LEAF's outreach has extended beyond these participants to sectors of the workforce and the community. Seminars organized in collaboration with private companies have shown that such activities are effective, not only in raising awareness of those students involved, but also in helping employees within such companies to become more environmentally conscious and aware of important elements of sustainable development,

such as the intricate interaction between economic activities and social and environmental consequences. This leads to mutual learning opportunities for both students and the participating corporate employees. In 2004, approximately 2,000 Earth Rangers were delegated through the Eco-Card project and about 90 private companies engaged in LEAF's activities. This increase in participation is one indicator that LEAF has been successful in raising public awareness through its various activities. Furthermore, the use of a public radio station as one of the rewards for the EcoCard activity, has proven to be an effective method for raising public awareness at the local level. To date, more than 1,400 elementary students have joined in radio programs which they have developed themselves. In addition, introducing children to environmental learning activities from various parts of the world, organizing international conferences, and building a global database on youth environmental networks and activities has expanded the potential for developing awareness and global friendship among children in over 80 countries. Public awareness is therefore an integral component of LEAF activities.

Training
LEAF has actively sought to develop the training component of its initiatives. To this end, LEAF has organized seminars on environmental learning for various groups of citizens and a variety of stakeholders, such as children, youths, adults, the elderly, school teachers, government officers and private companies, in an effort to enhance the sharing of knowledge, skills, and values for sustainable development at the local level. The seminars and environmental learning programs organized in collaboration with the private sector for elementary students have gained much popularity. At present, approximately 90 private companies have joined in the LEAF program. Such activities illustrate the program's engagement in providing continuous training opportunities.

Reorienting existing education programs

At present, LEAF activities do not touch upon the reorientation of existing school curricula, which is considered one of the core elements in realizing ESD (UNESCO, 2005). Although the majority of LEAF activities take place in school, they are not incorporated into the school curriculum itself. LEAF involves school teachers, various civil groups, and the private sector; however, mere involvement may not be sufficient to produce a lasting impact on the community. Integrating these community-based environmental learning activities into the school curriculum could provide further reinforcement and development of core concepts and skills. Analyzing LEAF activities within the UNESCO framework for ESD provides confirmation of the components of an effective program. However, it also reveals areas for further development. The first of these is the need to incorporate ESD programs into formal curricula for reinforcement purposes. Second, while LEAF is involved in several public awareness campaigns, more can be done. For example, the Eco-Messenger program makes excellent use of a local radio station; however, exposure to the public is still limited as the program is not aired regularly. Not only should there be an increase in the frequency of the radio show, but it should also target a wider audience, to include adolescents and adults. Finally, educating the media is of crucial importance. Involving media providers themselves into the ESD program may encourage them to incorporate sustainable development issues into a larger number of awareness programs. Our analysis of LEAF ESD activities suggests that, while there are several components for implementing ESD, the most important aspect that threads across all four domains of the UNESCO framework, is establishing a mutual learning environment. Mutual learning helps develop public awareness of social, economic, and environmental issues and leads to establishing networks of various stakeholders including

students, local residents, local governments, NPOs, and the private sector, allowing them to discuss and address the issues at the same table. Such an environment promotes participation of stakeholders and a sustainable intergenerational dialogue. Furthermore, it improves the capacity of participants to learn and address environment and development issues, thus avoiding a common pitfall for many ESD programs--the lack of common terminology and vision, and clear channels of communication.

Conclusion
The international movement for sustainable development, as represented by various conferences and symposia, has highlighted the need for effective tools to realize sustainable development. Education is now recognized as a key partner in striving for sustainable development. Although the proposed objectives of the Decade for ESD and the vision for ESD have been broadly defined, the analysis of LEAF activities underscores the importance of creating a mutual learning environment involving a variety of stakeholders. Unless people interact, learn, and transfer knowledge and values to one another, it will be extremely difficult to build the capacity to realize a sustainable society. An efficient way to realize a sustainable society is to build such capacity at the local level, rather than through top-down decisions and regulations. LEAF provides such an environment for members of the public and private sectors, including children, youth, the elderly, and other stakeholders such as NPOs. UNESCO's vision of ESD includes both formal and informal education. In this respect, however, the LEAF program faces the challenge of reorienting school curricula. LEAF activities rely on the participation of people who are already interested in ESD to some extent. At present, they do not reach out to those individuals who are unaware of the issues of sustainable development. There is also a problem of the government's vertical administrative structure, where officers working on city planning and economic development are indifferent to environmental learning. Thus, it is important to institutionalize ESD at the government administrative level so

that more people will be given opportunities to participate in ESD programs. In order to change existing school curricula and institutionalize ESD, further discussion with the municipal government and its policy-makers is needed. While this examination of LEAF suggests several effective practical features for a working ESD model based on the broadly defined and agreed upon theoretical principles of the Decade for ESD, further comparative study of ESD initiatives in Japanand elsewhere could yield interesting findings regarding common core elements of successful ESD program design across varying local contexts. Such findings could pointto interesting generalizable models for local modification and adoption. It is hoped that the current case study contributes in part to this end.

Sustainable Development In Sudan

Supporting sustainable development in Sudan
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is assisting the people of Sudan to achieve and maintain peace, recovery and development on an environmentally sustainable basis. Sudan faces complex environmental challenges. These range from desertification and regional climate change to severe deforestation, the effects of environmental degradation on pastoral

livelihoods and the need for improved waste management in the face of rapid urbanization. Since completing the major report Sudan PostConflict Environmental Assessment in 2007, UNEP has established an active country presence and developed the Sudan Integrated Environment Programme. UNEP is working with Sudanese national, state and local leaders, civil society and the international community to improve sustainable and equitable governance and the management and use of natural resources. By brokering relations between decision makers and encouraging community participation, UNEP is also aiming to contribute to Millennium Development Goal 7 (Ensure Environmental Sustainability) and to setting Sudan on a Green Economy path. Sudans Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Physical Development is UNEPs government counterpart. UNEPs principal donor is UKaid from the Department for International Development. Italian Development Cooperation and USAID also provide valued support. UNEPs work in Sudan centres on the following seven areas:

Environment policy
As part of influencing longterm change in environmental management, UNEP encourages the integration of environmental issues into the policies of national and state authorities, the UN and civil society. For example, in 2010, UNEP assisted the Government of Southern Sudan to draft the South Sudan Environment Act 2010 and a forest policy. UNEP was also instrumental in establishing environment ministries in 16 states across Sudan.

Environmental mainstreaming
As the United Nations focal point for environment, UNEP has a responsibility to ensure international interventions in Sudan promote environmental sustainability. Mainstreaming the environment involves project implementation and policy considerations within the humanitarian, recovery and development aid architecture. It includes leveraging resources and integrating early recovery approaches and do no harm principles into all humanitarian programming.

Forests
Deforestation continues at alarming levels in many areas due principally to the unmanaged demand for timber for firewood, charcoal and brickmaking. Yet the timber industry is an important development

opportunity for Sudan, particularly in the south. Better livelihood practices for pastoralists and in the agricultural sector will also help to ensure better management of forest resources. UNEP has a range of projects aimed at introducing sustainable forest management into policies, processes and improved practices. UNEP is also helping to explore alternative energy options, such as greater uptake of Liquefied Petroleum Gas, to offset the use of wood fuels.

Integrated Water Resource Management

(IWRM) IWRM is a participatory process that promotes management of the whole resource on a catchmentbycatchment basis that embraces domestic, agricultural, industrial and environmental considerations. In 2010, a knowledge exchange between Sudanese and South African water engineers and decision makers, arranged by UNEP, resulted in significant government support in Sudan for an integrated approach to managing water resources. In cooperation with the government, UNEP is leading a broad range of IWRM activities, for example small dams for water supply, ground water recharge and capacity building to support drought

contingency planning in camps and cities. UNEP helped broker a US$12 million investment in urban water supply augmentation in Darfur (funded by UKaid) which, when completed in 2012, will ultimately benefit more than 1.5 million people.

Community environment management

UNEP is partnering with the Darfur Development and Reconstruction Agency to develop Community Environmental Action Plans (CEAPs) for engaging communities in a broad range of sustainable environmental activities. Initially, communities in seven villages near El Fasher in North Darfur are participating in a pilot project. It is part of a wider programme encouraging the formation of a CEAP network of government and NGOs to support the continuation of communitydriven plans across Darfur and in other parts of Sudan.

Livelihoods
Pastoralism can contribute significantly to the sustainable use of land as well as to national economies. UNEP, through its support to Tufts University, is strengthening the understanding of pastoralist livelihoods in the context of fragile environments and protracted crises. Key elements of this work include promoting indepth

understanding of pastoralist livelihoods among decision makers in Sudan, and strengthening the capacity of pastoralist leaders, professionals and other advocates to articulate the rationale of pastoralism and argue for its inclusion in national policies, programmes and peace processes. UNEP is also improving monitoring and analysis of trade and markets in Darfur to understand how conflict affects livelihoods and is undertaking demanddriven action research to identify how best to support livelihoods, economic recovery and peacebuilding.

Waste management
The concentration of population in cities, towns and camps in Sudan requires appropriate resources, infrastructure and services to treat solid and liquid waste. As Sudan seeks to expand its economy, the treatment of industrial waste has also become more critical. UNEP is liaising with government authorities at all levels to identify waste management infrastructure challenges and develop solutions. UNEPs work is widespread and ranges from technical assessments to the preparation of infrastructure development plans to address waste management needs. After a highly successful cleanup campaign in Juba, UNEP is also leading a Waste Management Forum in the south.

Comparison of India , Japan And Sudan

COMPARISION OF DIFFERENT COUNTRIES

COUNTRYBASIS-

INDIA
ACTUAL
PREVIOUS

JAPAN
ACTUAL
PREVIOUS ACTUAL

SUDAN
PREVIOUS

INTEREST RATE ( % )

8.00 7.25 -4.6 25681 41947

17158.44

8.00 7.55 -5.1 24455 37942

17278.85

0.00 0.2 -9.7 66140 77599

8667.87

0.00 0.4 -9.0 70322 76904

8795.55

9.7 37.0 15.42 20115 29035

2246.31

11.0 13.0 13.31 19273 28771

1879.48

INFLATION RATE ( % )

GOVERNMENT BUDGET ( PERCENT OF GDP ) EXPORTS ( MILLION USD ) IMPORTS ( MILLION USD ) STOCK MARKET (SENSEX , NIKKEI , KSE) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

3.80
1847.98

9.40
1729.01

4.40
5867.15

4.60
5497.81

10.08
100.33

12.18
95.18

GDP ( BILLION USD )