The Global Citizen is a joint project of New Voices and the American Jewish World Service (AJWS). Throughout the year, a group of former AJWS volunteers will offer their take on global justice, Judaism and international development. Opinions expressed by Global Citizen bloggers do not necessarily represent AJWS.
“When life itself is at stake it is not pertinent to ask whether this is financially viable.â€
H.E. Alberto Jose Guevara, Minister of Finance of the Republic of Nicaragua
The current financial crisis has led the United Nations to recognize the global consequences of the private sector’s actions and the interdependency of the public and private spheres. At the UN this past summer, while addressing the financial crisis, a Nicaraguan representative referred to the crisis as a tsunami effect. This tsunami, born in the developed world, has crossed over and inundated the developing world. The current issue is that dependent, small, and/or developing countries  are not absorbing the spill as easily as the developed countries, which were involved in starting the wave. Countries are in the midst of designing policies to alleviate the costs of the financial crisis which have hindered growth. However, there is a general but significant disparity between the response of developing countries and developed countries.
The term sustainable development currently reverberates throughout the UN system and is seen by many as a practical global solution as they recognize the implications of human activity on human security and environmental health. Sustainable development is progress that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The term was coined in 1987 by the World Commission on Environment and Development. The fact that this idea of co-dependency was conceived amongst environmental consciousness emphasizes the centrality of environmental sustainability to development.
Today’s developed world which is too often consumed by wasteful habits and disillusioned by financial success oftentimes fails to recognize its affect on environmental health and consequently human security. Environmental ethics is a crucial consideration for all who care for long term success.
There is a divide between those who have and those who do not in terms of appreciation for the environment. Amongst members of the Nicaraguan farming community in which I resided during my AJWS Volunteer Summer program, there is an unmatched appreciation for nature and Earth. Conservation for them is instinctive especially because their resources are limited; whereas the UN confers environmental sustainability while nestled in an industrialized city. Appreciation for the earth and labor was a part of my daily experience in Nicaragua. For instance, the food that we consumed was the same food we toiled over together. When crops were harvested, all leftover parts were reused.
Just several weeks before I was to end my visit to Nicaragua, I tore a ligament in my right foot while playing soccer with locals in the rain. I was ushered to all forms of medical institutions both public and private. Each time, I was sent away with nothing improved. The last and most effective resort was closest to our home in El Horno. Our neighbor, Doña Marta, was a third generation Sobadora – a folk chiropractor – who paid careful attention to my foot unlike the other doctors who maintained distance. She visited twice a day for three days and mended the tear with oils extracted from local plants and the heat of her hands. From experience, the respect for human interaction and environment was immense among locals. Coming back to the states after such intense immersion was overwhelming and uncomfortable when having to face wasteful and detrimental habits in our developed world.
Despite the environmental awareness of the locals, foreign policies such as free trade have encroached upon their lives and affected the security of their land and environment.
In the last decade, Nicaraguan coffee farmers have been trying to overcome the aftermath of the drop in coffee prices. The current financial struggle has forced farmers to overproduce crops. This emphasis on overproduction has had many far-reaching consequences, both socially and environmentally, such as deforestation and the use of child labor to increase production. Unhealthy competition among local farmers has increased while decreased crop diversity has instigated malnutrition. The resulting environmental problems and social malaise are inextricably intertwined.
The insight afforded to me in Nicaragua and within the UN acquainted me with the relativity of human condition and the need to forge channels of open communication and exchange not only between grassroots organizations and global policymakers to increase awareness, but especially between the public and private spheres. According to the Director of the UN Division for Sustainable Development, Mr. Banuri, “Sustainable development is the bridge between the North and the South.†It is a means of building trust between the North and South. Building trust is particularly important today, when several crises call for common solutions.â€
El Horno, Nicaragua. (2008)
