Awareness is key for global sustainability

Wayan Aksara, chairman of Trash Hero Indonesia, picks up plastic cups at Saba Beach in Gianyar, Bali. (Reuters photo)

In a recent opinion piece, the writer raised a universal point when discussing the use of farm chemicals.

"Apart from direct contamination of farm produce ... every drop of chemical we pour onto the land will end up in water sources, entering the food chain," she wrote, noting that such chemicals "kill, not just the users but consumers, as well as the environment."

The point? Our lives are directly connected to the environment: to forest and farmlands, to the rivers, lakes and seas, as well as the villages, towns and cities in which we live. The way we treat our own environment through our decisions and actions has a direct impact on our lives, both positive and negative.

Yet urban populations around the globe often lose sight of this important connection. In the chaos of modernity, this is no surprise. As we sip our coffee, write on our paper at our desk, eat our food, or breathe the air, we do not realise the intricate path all of these took to reach us as consumers.

Most importantly, however, we overlook the impacts of our own decisions and lifestyles.

Last June, 80 pieces of plastic waste, weighing approximately 8kg in total, took the life of a pilot whale off the coast of Thailand. The whale, which made international headlines, is unfortunately one of many examples of how consumer patterns have consequences for the environment.

The scale of our problem is vast, as the United Nations Environment Programme states, eight million tonnes of plastic are dumped into the ocean each year; and since 1950, about 6.3 billion metric tonnes of plastic have been thrown away, globally.

Our decisions matter, but so do our lifestyles.

Hydropower, which is an important source of our electricity, can be fatal if not managed properly or ethically. We were reminded of this by the recent tragedy in the Lao PDR, where over 30 people died after a dam collapsed in Champassak, leading to flooding in the neighbouring Attapeu province, as well as in Cambodia. Thailand was to be the main recipient of the dam's electricity supply.

The intense connection between urban centres, rural communities, and the environment is not unique to Southeast Asia. Deforestation in the Congo Basin is being driven, via China, by consumer demand in the United States.

The same can be said regarding tropical forests and palm oil in Indonesia and Malaysia. Price rises and volume growth saw the Netherlands, already Europe's largest importer of palm oil, increase imports by 22% between 2016 and 2017.

And in the past few years, an increase in western demand for palm oil, which can be found in food products, cleaning products, and cosmetics, has put considerable strain on the environment and labour practices of the region. This is not only a global issue, it is something driven by and impacts us all.

Demand creates supply, and supply can have devastating consequences. Therefore, as members of a globalised world, we have a moral, political, and environmental imperative to act as responsible consumers. To do otherwise would be detrimental to the world, and consequently, ourselves.

Initiatives do exist that are attempting to address the disconnect between our consumption patterns and the natural world. Even before the death of the pilot whale, the Thai government considered taxing plastic shopping bags and has engaged the private sector to limit plastic usage. Most recently, the government banned plastic from national parks. In the Lao PDR, the government has suspended new investments in hydropower projects while existing projects are under review.

Laws and policies do work to an extent, but participation and having access to accurate information is needed on the consumer side as well.

Raising awareness on consumer behaviour is a non-compromise matter. This is our effort at the People and Forests Forum, which ended on Sunday in Bangkok. As a regional expert in community-based and sustainable forest management, RECOFTC has a desire to reconnect people with the forests that sustain their life in the city. Inspired by a desire to create a more sustainable environment, the hope is that urban participants will learn more of their power to create change.

The forum realises that the ways in which products reach us can be complicated and opaque, which makes participation in governance structures necessary at the local level. Forest governance is key to collecting reliable data that can then be used to create effective change by politicians, practitioners, and ordinary citizens, with emphasis on supporting the well-being of those living in and around the forests.

The information collected is a powerful guide for consumers to ensure that the products they are buying do not further marginalise women, youth or indigenous peoples, damage the environment, or uproot local communities for the sake of economic efficiency. Knowledge also allows consumers to be proactive, to seek out products from sustainable sources and inclusive enterprises.

People assert that business should bear the burden when dealing with issues of environment and sustainability, implicitly assuming that citizens do not have agency in enacting much needed change. I do not seek to argue against the former, but only dispel the latter. Companies have responded to public pressure and shifting consumer behavior before. It is often in their best interest to do so.

Remember, it is demand that creates supply.

It is time that the urban population reconnects with the forest and generates the demand that will produce a more equitable and sustainable earth for all.