10 Examples of Sustainable Development
Sustainable development is the development that can limit us to use natural resources sustainably so that our future generation will not be suffered. Here, we’ll discuss some sustainable development examples. We can quickly get several instances from different sources, but most importantly, we have to recognize the crucial one.
The above definition is the main motive of sustainable development, but there are many ways to describe sustainable development and sustainability. And for understanding further, we must be familiar with a few examples of sustainable development.
Table of Contents
Sustainable Development Examples:
SOLAR ENERGY
Solar energy is the most common and efficient way to save power. As a renewable energy source, we can quickly get solar energy for free everywhere.
Small income families can save electrical energy costs by utilizing solar panels on the rooftop as it can be installed on an affordable budget.
Various countries have already made such plans for low pay single or multi-families and reduced the energy expense to a higher level.
By using solar grids, several huge industries are also redeeming electricity from non-renewable sources. A country can uphold sustainability and grow its economy by installing the photovoltaic system or large solar panels as the primary energy source to eliminate fossil fuel usage.
GREEN SPACE
What comes to your mind when you imagine the dense urban areas? Most of us answer concrete roofs and large buildings. And this is quite normal that we think the urban environment as non-Eco-friendly. For that reason, green space is one of the most appreciated sustainable development examples.
As its name displays, green space is the development of a green environment within which trees, grass, and other wild-life are inspired to thrive. In metropolitan areas green-space is the expansion of an Eco-friendly environment.
Based on research at the University of Exeter medical school, the UK supports society to get an opportunity to recreate and improve mental health by sowing perceptual happiness.
Not only human society, but our environment also benefited from this. Green space promotes trees to capture carbon concentration in the surrounding and reduce air pollution ultimately diminish global warming.
Its other advantages include better rainwater absorption, which can increase the quantity of groundwater. Hence it helps in the clearance of polluted water in the river and lakes and can eradicate soil erosion.
WIND ENERGY
Wind energy is one of the prominent examples of sustainable development. It provides us with cost-efficient power, which can even replace the expanse of photovoltaic plates.
Various countries are utilizing wind energy as their central electricity supply and thus helping in retaining sustainability. Wind power can be used as an energy provider in large buildings, plants, or industries, where energy is a “must” thing.
Wind energy furthermore facilitates the state to practice the restricted usage of natural resources, which can advance the nation’s economy. But windmills can only be established in the regions having the right airstream.
CROP ROTATION
Crop rotation is an example of sustainable agriculture, in which we can save our earth from harmful chemical utilization and consumption. It is a process of growing different types of crops alternatively, which can solve various agricultural problems.
Similar crops cause soil infertility by absorbing the same kind of nutrients. For example, leguminous plants contain rhizobium like bacteria in their roots, which can only survive by taking nitrogen from the soil.
If we continuously culture the leguminous plant, then the soil lacks nitrogen and becomes infertile, which will give us less profit. If we cultivate the rooted crops like carrots, then the nitrogen content in the ground will remain maintained.
Also, similar crops originate from host-specific pathogens, which leads to destroying the crops every year. By changing crop type, those organisms should not develop further, and thus we don’t have to apply herbicide or pesticides.
SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION
Sustainable construction helps us to grow our infrastructure without harming our mother earth. Lots of buildings, industries, and offices were made by destroying our natural resources, which led them to become non-renewable.
But now the time comes to develop our industrialization in an eco-friendly way. We were constructing roads, buildings, offices, or trades that are energy proficient, renewable, and recycled so that we can sustainably develop our economy. This makes sustainable construction an excellent standard among various sustainable development examples.
EFFICIENT WATER FIXTURES
The most precious resource of the earth is water, covered by 71% of the planet. Still, only 3% of water is useful to us as freshwater.
Second UN world water development reports, we will be the sufferer of water insufficiency by 2050, if such wastage of water continues.
From this, you can estimate that water is a non-renewable resource. That is the reason most countries are facing water scarcity. We depend on the water in various ways, and thus we have to use our water efficiently.
The most basic usage of water per building is for sewage, shower, and handwashing, which can’t be avoided. However, EPA’s water sense program launches several water fixtures, which allows you to use water affordably.
Water used per flush or urinal is calculated as a gallon per flush and shower per minute as a gallon per minute.
The EPAct in 1992 set estimation for all toilets, urinals, showers and developed low-flow taps, showerheads, toilet stops, dual flush toilets. After 1994, this act was applied in the US and low volume toilets flush about 1.6gpf, which was 3.5gpf before 1994.
Thus, the water consumption is reduced by less than 50%. Therefore, it is the best example of sustainable development.
SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY
Sustainable forestry is one of the prime examples, which helps us most with fighting ecological hazards.
In sustainable forestry, we must take care of our forests without losing any of its services or goods it provides, such as drinking water, wood products, endangered species habitat, etc. Also, preventive measures should be taken to improve soil productivity and other such assets.
Forest regulates our climate by absorbing harmful atmospheric gases and fossil fuel emissions humans produced. It is the source of our most valuable things like medicines, clean water, several plants, fuel, food, wild-life, etc.
Forest is the house of 70% of our terrestrial animals and plants, and 25% of the world’s people, i.e., about 1.6 billion, depends on forests. We get about $33 trillion profit per year only from our jungles.
Thus, it is crucial to use our forests sustainably. Disturbance should be less than regeneration. Moreover, for saving our jungles, FSC has made ten principles for environmental, economic, and social criteria.
Some of the principles are such as establishing protected areas and biodiversity, tree plantation, respecting the local community, fostering economic development, and much more.
WASTE TO ENERGY CONVERSION
For saving our most valuable yet non-renewable resources, we must invent some renewable energy methods like solar or wind energies. And further, that’s the intention behind waste to energy production.
Each month about millions of tons of domestic or industrial wastes is produced, which ultimately goes to landfills and causes environmental pollution.
These wastes have a considerable impact on our wild-life and human health too. Waste to energy conversion is the innovation for eradicating such problems. Various techniques, such as municipal waste management (mostly solid wastes) are developed and used to produce fuel or electricity (conversion technology).
The Solid Waste Management (SWM) system goes through reduction, reuse, and recycling methods. In detail, industrial, commercial or domestic wastes are collected for MSW production, which is then managed by either composting, recycling, and sending back to industries or converted to energy by the conversion technology.
SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION
Out of enormous examples of sustainable development, the sustainable transport system is the critical one. We can describe sustainable transportation as an ability to fulfil society’s transport requirements without negotiating the competence of future generations.
Transportation, like other technologies, becomes essential for humanity; however, we should take measures to hinder our environment. To inhibit the consequences of overused transit, we should focus on environmental protection, social progress, and economic efficiency.
Car sharing technology reduced 90% of vehicles on the road plus minimum CO emission design is creating a way for sustainable transportation.
One of the most compelling and easy ways of sustainable transportation is cycling practice. Scientists developed different types of fuels, fuel clean technology and hybrid cars having hybrid (both combustion and electrical) engines for sustainable transport practice.
SUSTAINABLE FISHING PRACTICE
This example from the other sustainable development examples is quite essential to sustaining our biodiversity.
Ocean acidification is a large problem for life below water, and due to this reason, various species extinction occurs. Our destructive fishing practice is another reason for aquatic diversity loss.
Different destructive fishing methods include Trawling, Blast fishing, Cyanide Fishing, and Ghost fishing, in which we destroy about 42% of species and coral reefs.
According to FAO, fishery management is essential these days and can be done by maintenance, quality fishing, and diversity or availability fishery.
Therefore, some sustainable fishing practices such as artesian fishing, Traditional fishing like fish traps, and hook and rod reduced the species loss from 42% to 3%.
Conclusion:
These are some valuable examples of sustainable development, where we understand how sustainability practices are going on. Lots of other examples help the nation grow its ecosystem and economy to a greater extent.
Most importantly, we should help our government to implement these practices to our state to create a sustainable society where everyone can live peacefully.
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