Global Efforts for Sustainable Development

Corazon C. Bernido Philippine Nuclear Research Institute

eSustainable Development is development that meets the needs of the present without comprocompro-mising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

References:


Report of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, Johannesburg, South Africa, 26 August-4 September 2002 (United Nations, New York, 2002) The Road from Johannesburg (What Was Achieved and The Way Forward) (United Nations)

Historical Background


UN Conference on Environment and Development, or the 1992 Earth summit in Rio de Janeiro unanimously adopted Agenda 21, a blueprint for sustainable development. Millennium Development Goals UN General Assembly resolution 55/2, outlined 8 targets aimed at reducing poverty and promoting sustainable development. World Summit on Sustainable Development reaffirmed the commitment to Agenda 21 and Millennium Development Goals

Pillars of Sustainable Development

  

Economic Development poverty eradication Social Development active participation of women; education; good governance Environmental Protection prevent environmental degradation and patterns of unsustainable development

At the local, national, regional, and global levels

Economic Development
      

Poverty eradication Halve, by 2015, the proportion of the worlds people with income less than $1/day Basic health services for all, reduce health threats Increase food availability Combat desertification, mitigate effects of drought and floods Provision of clean drinking water Enhance industrial productivity

Changing Unsustainable Patterns of Consumption and Production

 Cleaner

production technologies  Developing cleaner, more efficient energy technologies  Maintain urban air quality and health, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions  Sound management of chemicals throughout their life cycle, and of hazardous wastes

Protecting the Natural Resource Base of Economic & Social Development

Prevent water pollution to reduce health hazards and protect ecosystems  Watershed and groundwater management  Support desalination of seawater, water recycling  Ensure the sustainable development of oceans, marine environmental protection


Action Agenda Focus on Five Key Thematic Areas (WEHAB)

Priority areas for action, identified by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan:  Water and sanitation  Energy  Health  Agriculture  Biodiversity protection and ecosystem management

Water and Sanitation

eWater is not only the most basic of needs but is also at the center of sustainable development.  Around 1.2 billion people still have no access to clean drinking water  Around 2.4 billion people do not have adequate sanitation.

Water and Sanitation

Some key issues:  Prevent water pollution to reduce health hazards  Protect ecosystems  Introduce technologies for affordable sanitation, industrial and domestic wastewater treatment  River basin, watershed and groundwater management  Support desalination of seawater, water recycling  Marine environmental protection - oceans, seas, islands and coastal areas are essential components of the Earths ecosystem

Contributions of Nuclear Technology to Managing Water Resources

IAEA-supported projects worldwide using nuclear techniques:  Isotope techniques for water resources development and management  Automatic tracer flow gauging stations in ephemeral rivers  Investigating dam and reservoir leakages and safety  Electron beam purification of wastewater

Contributions of Nuclear Technology to Managing Water Resources

Nuclear power plants are used for saltwater desalination

Contributions of Nuclear Technology to Managing Water Resources RCA Projects:

Isotope Techniques for Groundwater Contamination Studies in the Urbanized and Industrial Areas Investigating Environmental and Water Resources in Geothermal Areas Use of Isotopes in Dam Safety and Dam Sustainability

Energy
eSome 2 billion people lack access to electricity and rely on traditional fuel sources such as firewood, kerosene, or biomass for their cooking and heating.

Energy
Some key issues:  Focus on access to energy in rural areas  Energy conservation and energy efficiency building design & management, better mass transportation, advanced and innovative cleaner technologies  Promotion of renewable energy  Action on climate change ratification by countries of the Kyoto Protocol

Energy & Contributions of Nuclear Technology

Nuclear Power reduces emission of greenhouse gases
Some IAEA-supported projects worldwide:  Comparative studies on natural gas and nuclear power  Uranium resources development  Operational and safety issues of nuclear power plants  Nuclear power plants for saltwater desalination

Energy & Contributions of Nuclear Technology

 

  

Electron beam purification of flue gases Isotopic techniques to study climate change and predict future global changes resulting from greenhouse gases Rational exploitation of geothermal sources Isotope hydrology and geochemistry in geothermal fields Quality control and inspection of pipelines by NDT

Energy & Contributions of Nuclear Technology

RCA Projects: Process Diagnostics and Optimization in Petrochemical Industry Role of Nuclear Power and other Energy Options in Competitive Electricity Market

Health
eGood health is vital for eradicating poverty and achieving sustainable development.
Some key issues:  Reduce mortality rates in 2015: by 66.7% for children & infants under 5; by 75% for maternal mortality rates  Control & eradicate communicable diseases, reduce HIV prevalence, combat malaria, tuberculosis  Ensure that chemicals are not used and produced in ways that harm human health  Reduce air pollution  Improve developing countries access to environmentally sound alternatives to ozone depleting chemicals

Health & Contributions of Nuclear Techniques

Some IAEA-supported projects worldwide:  Use of radioisotopes in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of diseases
 Upgrading of radiotherapy services  Production of Tc-99m Gel Generators for Nuclear Medicine  Early diagnosis and treatment of cervical cancer  Screening of newborns for neonatal hypothyroidism  Nuclear medical techniques in preventive nephrology

Health & Contributions of Nuclear Techniques

Isotopes for control of human communicable diseases (SIT for Tsetse eradication & control of malaria) Molecular biology techniques using radionuclide methods (e.g. Polymerase chain reaction or PCR) for diagnosis of infectious diseases such as hepatitis B & C, tuberculosis Rapid diagnosis of dengue fever infection Early detection of congenital diseases in children

Health & Contributions of Nuclear Techniques

 Applications

of radiation technology

Radiation sterilization of health care products Cyclotron for short lived medical radioisotopes Radiation sterilization of human tissue grafts for transplantation (bone, skin & other tissues)
 Nutrition

Nuclear techniques to address problems of malnutrition such as micro-nutrient deficiencies, energy expenditure, nutrient absorption & utilization

Health & Nuclear Techniques

RCA Projects:  Strengthening Medical Physics in Asia and the Pacific region  Brachytherapy in Treating Cervical Cancer  Distance-assisted Training (DAT) in Radiation Oncology  Distance-assisted Training (DAT) for Nuclear Medicine Technicians  Management of Liver Cancer using Transarterial Radioconjugate Therapy  Treatment with Unsealed Radioactive Source: Radiosynovectomy  Osteoporosis and Serum Turn Over by RIA and DEXA  Improved Information of Urban Air Quality Mgt.

Agriculture
eAgriculture is central to sustainable development. About 70% of the poor in developing countries live in rural areas and depend in one way or another on agriculture for their survival.
Some key issues:  Address serious soil fertility problems  Diversification of crops  Increase water-use productivity  Apply R&D to increase productivity in crops and livestock

Nuclear Techniques in Agriculture



Mutation breeding to produce new varieties in different crops and ornamental plants

Nuclear Techniques in Agriculture

 Crop

productivity

Control of insect pests by Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) Biofertilizers to increase crop production Optimization of water and fertilizer use for crops Saline groundwater and wastelands for crop production

Nuclear Techniques in Agriculture

 

Increasing food security

 Food irradiation for food preservation

Livestock development
 Sustainable animal production  Improving productivity of goats  Feed supplementation for increasing livestock production  Improving cattle fertility and disease diagnosis  Eradicating rinderpest, screwworm

Agriculture & Nuclear Techniques



RCA Projects:
 Restoration of Soil Fertility and Sustenance of Agriculture Productivity  Production of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) Antigen and Antibody ELISA Reagent Kit  Enhancement of Genetic Diversity in Food, Pulses and Oil Crops & Establishment of Mutant Germplasm Network  Better Management of Feeding and Reproduction of Cattle  Application of Food Irradiation for Food Security, Safety and Trade

Biodiversity & Ecosystem Management

eBiodiversity and the ecosystems they support are the living basis of sustainable development.

Biodiversity & Ecosystem Management

Some key issues: Significantly reduce the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010 Reverse the trend in natural resource degradation Restore fisheries to their maximum sustainable yields Protection of the marine environment from land based sources of pollution

Biodiversity & Contributions of Nuclear Techniques

Nuclear techniques are used: To trace the fate of pollutants, and study sedimentation rates in pollution studies To identify pathways of pesticides & agrochemicals in the environment


RCA Projects:  Enhancing the Marine Coastal Environment  Applications of nuclear and modeling techniques to sustainable development in the coastal zone  Investigating Environmental and Water Resources in Geothermal Areas

THANK YOU!