Just as in the United States, Europe and the rest of the world, concerns about
environmental, economic and social sustainability are running high on the Pacific
Rim, the huge collection of nations located in and around the Pacific Ocean.
Certainly there are grave concerns about the ability of many Pacific Rim nations
to feed their growing populations. Global warming is also an important issue
because many Pacific Rim countries are susceptible to flooding that could be
caused by rising world temperatures.
In some Pacific-region nations, political stability is the paramount issue.
Shaky governments are hard-pressed to provide the leadership needed to move
their people in the battle to achieve a sustainable economy and environment.
There is a broad range of sustainability projects going on in the Pacific Rim
in a variety of areas including agriculture, reforestation, marine resource
management and waste management. Here are some examples:
In response, governmental and non-governmental organizations have increasingly
encouraged Japanese farmers to adopt alternative agricultural practices. High
emphasis has been placed on what the Japanese call nature farming, which includes
integrated pest management techniques, minimal or no tillage of farm fields,
and the replacement of chemical fertilizer applications with alternative soil-building
techniques such as composting and use of animal manures.
Japanese farmers are also adopting integrated agriculture and aquaculture systems
that are designed for small-scale farms. In this system farmers raise crops,
livestock and fish in the same operation and emphasis is placed on making full
use of all materials produced or found on the farm.
Before adopting new waste management techniques, NCM used a "wash down
process" as part of the plant’s standard operating procedure. This
produced tons of chemical sludge dangerous to the environment. Processing and
disposal was costly, too. NCM improved its waste management practices by separating
and segregating wastes generated during production of its various chemical products.
As result, the company cut its production of sludge by 66 percent and improved
overall efficiency of operations. NCM’s efforts ultimately led to increased
productivity, cost savings and reduced impacts on the environment from chemical
waste disposal.
Vanuatu is a group of 83 islands in the southwest Pacific, northeast of New
Caledonia and northwest of Fiji.
Throughout the 1990s, coastal marine fisheries in the area endured increasing
pressure as the commercial fishing industry grew. A variety of local products
became valuable exports including trochus (a mollusk valued for its meat and
conical shell), giant clams, rock lobsters and pearl shells.
Government officials and fishermen throughout the islands became concerned that
important fisheries would become exhausted. Their collective response to the
problem is the process called cooperative management, which blends a partnership
of government fisheries research, monitoring and regulations enforcement with
traditional village control over local fisheries.
The collaboration between government and local village leaders has been a key
to the success of the program. Coastal village authorities have proved willing
to police their own fishing activities with the result that economically important
fisheries in Vanuatu have remained healthy and strong.