Blog Entry #8 - Examples of Sustainable Development

1. Sirona Cares came up with a project that helps develop a stable economic base through farming of Jatropha in rural Haiti, a place where it is very hard for farming. Jatropha has seeds that are oil rich and it grows all over Haiti, and it costs cheaper than food crops - which is a positive thing for farmers because that doesn't damage their economy but lift their lives out of poverty. This project is sustainable because it will carry on into the future while improving the lives of the people that farm at the same time. Additionally, the fuel source from oil in the seeds can displace the use of charcoal, reducing pollution, and the plants will reverse the damage of deforestation while they improve the soil for food production.

2. Vietnam plans to have 100 percent of shrimp and tra fish raised in the form of intensive cultivation and semi intensive cultivation by 2012, and it is a national plan for sustainable development of Vietnam's aquaculture. This plan will approach food safety & pharmaceutical safety, and improve high quality of input materials, building modern raising farms, and diversifying markets. 

3. China built the Three Gorges Dam in order to prevent floods from overflowing to destroy the land and the crops. At the same time, it is built in purpose of harnessing hydro power so that the use of coal will decrease, reducing the release of CO2 which causes global warming.  

4. Other examples: 
Use recycled materials
Use renewable energy (hydroelectricity, solar energy, wind energy, etc)
Sustainable tourism development = instrument for poverty reduction

Blog Entry #7 - Migration/Immigration Assessment


Migration/Immigration Assessment
Nadiir’s Migration from Naagarjun to Saborina

In 1920, Dadaria started to wage a war on Naagarjun – a country that was mostly bound to farming and wild life, in purpose of taking Naagarjun’s rich resources such as diamond, gold, oil, and iron. Many families fled to other countries with a hope of having a better life, including Nadiir’s family. Nadiir and his family migrated from Naagarjun to Saborina mainly because of the war and the pollution it caused. Additionally, they decided to move externally because of a push factor: persecution. Naagarjun and the regions surrounding the country basically had two races: the blue people and the green people. Green people had been mistreated for years because of their appearance, to blue people, green represented sickness. Therefore, green people had to pay high taxes every year, yet they had no right to vote or participate in high government positions. Furthermore, since the war was waged on Naagarjun, a man from any green family was forced to join the army and should be the first one to die in the war. For that reason, Nadiir’s external migration to a country far away from his homeland was a wise decision; otherwise he would suffer the same thing if he just migrated to regions/countries nearby. Meanwhile, Saborina had many attractive pull factors including: safety, education economy, and environment; and these factors sure benefited Nadiir and his family. In contrast, though, they probably left a negative impact in their homeland because they had a lot of skills that could have contributed to help Naagarjun winning the war. People migrating away from the country led to a decrease in population of the country. The culture might also lose, delaying the growth of economy and education. Plus the strain of the war, Nagaarjun would probably end up being under Dadaria’s rule soon.
Despite Nadiir being an immigrant who was supposed to interact and blend in with people of different ethnic backgrounds from his in Saborina, his safety was guaranteed by Saborina’s government and the Saborina’s Refugee Camp. Not long after that, Nadiir’s parents found a job and finally were able to afford an apartment, settling in the capital of Saborina – which was an urban area. The advantage of living in an urban area was that the family’s economy would be more likely to increase so that Nadiir would be able to go to school and get a good education as well as being able to communicate with the world. This new change benefited Nadiir’s family, but they also contributed much to Saborina as well. As they migrated here, they brought along their skills of adapting to nature and animals, boosting more worthy and realistic ideas to zoology, farming techniques, as well as the study of environment in favor of Saborina. There were still some negative effects of Nadiir and his family migrating to Saborina and living in the capital – where it was acknowledged as the center of business and attracted lots of people here. Nadiir’s family moving here added to the population and that would cause more waste, more pollution, which finally could lead to a higher stage of global warming. However, if they developed well and contributed ideas to Saborina, it could change the situation completely (based on the study of environment).