The Future of Sustainability: Have Your Say!

Week One - “Global Challenges to Sustainability in the Twenty-First Century”
Comment / Comentario / Commentaire

Bryan Furnass, Nature and Society Forum, Australia

Moderating team: Bryan Furnass, a retired physician, echoes comments that spirituality can increase understanding of sustainability and that wellbeing is ultimately dependent on a healthy environment. A global awareness of this is needed, yet he fears that the “imprisoning” Western economic rationalism and galloping consumption is spreading.

Bryan Furnass, un terapeuta retirado, hace eco en la importancia de la espiritualidad como un medio para lograr una mayor comprensión de la sostenibilidad. Recalca que el bienestar humano depende del bienestar del medio ambiente y que existe una conciencia global al respecto. Al mismo tiempo, advierte una invasión del modelo económico occidental y del consumo galopante.

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I agree with Sanjeeva's comments about the missing link of spirituality (not necessarily religious) in increasing awareness and understanding of sustainability. A good example of this is amongst Australian Aborigines, who have survived in one of the world's harshest environments for over 60,000 years. They have been immeasureably deprived by the taking over of their lands by European settlers two centuries ago and now suffer from many health problems associated with social disruption, including a life expectancy 20 years below that of other contributors to Australian society.

The few remaining Aboriginal groups living traditional lifestyles refer to themselves as belonging to the land rather than the land belonging to them, and having sustainable relationships with, and responsibilities towards, animals and plants in the landscape. No doubt the same was true of other indigenous peoples, including those of North America, beautifully depicted in Longfellow's poem Hiawatha.

The NGO of which I am a member, Nature and Society Forum, has as its motto "healthy people on a healthy planet". As a retired physician previously practicing internal medicine I have now developed an interest in what I like to call "external medicine", on the grounds that human health and wellbeing is ultimately dependent on a healthy environment. Western society's imprisonment by economic rationalism and galloping consumption now unfortunately seems to be spreading to India and China. There is need for global awareness of the fact that there can be no sustainability without ecological sustainability.

I think it was Pandit Nehru who said that unless the nations of the world can co-operate to save our common future, we are doomed.