Sustainability demands a circular economy

The Asia-Pacific region accounts for one third of the planet’s land area. It is home to 65 per cent of the world’s population and 70 per cent of the world’s poorest people. The contrast in wealth and population, density, terrain and climates is extreme. This contrast is exacerbated by natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunami, and economic growth is often at the cost of the environment.

Surendra Shrestha, advocate for “a circular economy in which
the waste from one area becomes the resource for another”.

Regional Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, Surendra Shrestha, visited the Ministry for the Environment during April this year. He said Asia-Pacific sums up the daunting environmental challenges facing the whole world. How we manage rapid urban development, climate change, water quality and the massive demand on natural resources in the region, he said, will map the future wealth and health of the planet.

“Small island states in the Pacific are vulnerable; their survival depends on fragile ecosystems. The activities of the bigger territories literally ripple into these island states, sometimes with devastating consequences,” Shrestha said.

“Population density in Asia-Pacific is higher than the environment can support and the only way to develop successfully is in an environmentally sustainable way. If we don’t, developing nations could end up worse off than when they started and this will negatively impact the whole planet,” he said.

Urbanisation is accelerating rapidly. Construction the size of the city of Stockholm is reported to be going up every month for the next 20 years. Seventy per cent of this construction is happening in China. India is catching up.

“The energy used and the emissions in constructing and maintaining these buildings are massive. To mitigate their effects on climate change we need to encourage carbon neutral concepts. The way to not make a mess of it is to start with a paradigm of a circular economy in which the waste from one area becomes the resource for another.

“This notion and practice needs to go to all areas of life, from the household to industry and back again, and it needs to be consistent for it to work. We have to show cause and effect, and provide solutions. One way to do this is to keep up our scientific research, distribute reports and keep monitoring.”

So how can New Zealand help the Pacific facilitate sustainable development?

“Natural disasters, contamination of ground and surface water, and food security are challenges we need to address. I have just come back from Samoa where the Environment Ministry needs help to turn legislation into practical regulations,” Shrestha said.

“New Zealand can show Samoa what works and what doesn’t. Your Resource Management Act model that connects communities with regional council plans and applications for consents shows the connectedness needed.

“New Zealand is a country rich in many ways and I am eager to see you help lead other countries to improve their environmental management. Don’t underestimate your knowledge in climate change science and environmental protection – this policy knowledge should be disseminated to the world at every opportunity.”

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