Goodessa Weluck J.

Hiponia BSED 1C FILIPINO

CHAPTER 14: SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Upgrading Competence and Expanding Insights (enrichment phase)

Make a speech on how to promote sustainable development.

Ladies and gentlemen, I commend and thank you for your efforts. I feel this is a
noble concept in which we should all work together to guarantee sustainability. This day
brings me delight because it reminds me that there are people who are dedicated in
keeping a clean environment not just for us but also for the future generations. I am
here to speak about sustainable development, which is a difficult issue for me, but I
hope you will find the insights in my lecture useful.

Sustainable development can be defined as a method of utilizing resources for

the purpose of meeting human needs while also keeping in mind the larger picture of
environmental conservation in order to leave future generations with the same
resources so that they can meet their needs without depleting these resources. It is a
notion that attempts to make individuals who are living aware that future generations will
require the same resources that they do, and that even as they utilize the resources,
they should not compromise on the potential of these resources to satisfy the demands
in the future, thus not jeopardizing the future. It entails using less than nature's capacity
to replace these resources.

I'd would like to take Easter Island as an example. It is a small, steep volcanic
island with no trees and is commonly assumed that this island nearly destroyed itself by
chopping down native palm trees, resulting in the extinction of all vegetation and
causing a series of environmental and social disasters with enormous consequences.
They cut down palm trees to get firewood for cooking and to transport fuel. The
construction of canoes was also a precipitating factor for the rampant cutting of trees.
They also needed space for their agricultural activities, and this is how the cascade of
social and environmental dangers arrived.
 This is how Eastern Island walked the plank to its own demise. This is a perfect
illustration of why resources should be utilized cautiously to protect the future. Failing to
do so, we may face the extinction of an entire generation. These persons were involved
in short-sighted self-promotion that could not be continued at that rate. It is believed that
this island was well-endowed with resources, and that the precipitating factor for the
collapse of this civilization was exponential population growth while food supply
increased only arithmetically. Once a civilization goes way beyond the threshold of the
current resources resulting to deforestation, loss of biodiversity which leads to civil
strife, diminished living conditions and finally societal collapse. We do not want to
criticize the residents of these islands harshly since it might be they were unlucky to be
living in ecosystems that were extremely fragile and one that was depleted. Such
experiences should be used to ensure our future and the next generation.

Continued destruction in the Amazon jungle might have serious effects. If this is
not checked, we may be in for another calamity. The focus should then move to how to
safeguard this forest failure, for which we will all be held accountable for the sin of
omission, by remaining silent despite the clear consequences for the ecology. The
reasons for chopping down trees may be fair, but we must not lose sight of the greater
picture, which is tomorrow. We may forgive the Easter Islanders and claim they didn't
know, but we now have the knowledge and should avoid a similar disaster, especially in
the twenty-first century. Even if we do not become extinct, future generations will judge
us harshly for our quirky approach to environmental issues.

I can only recommend that making sustainable development a reality is not

rocket science, but it is difficult. It requires the cooperation of all stakeholders, including
government, NGOs, the private sector, civil society organizations like yours, and
educating all and sundry that while industrialization is important, it should not be done at
the expense of the future.

Thank you for listening to me and standing up to be acknowledged as people

who care about the environment and as men and women of foresight.