Co-Creating Sustainable Ways of Living
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Co-Creating Sustainable Ways of Living Stories of On-the-Ground Innovations Co-Creating Sustainable Ways of Living: 17 Stories of On-the-Ground Innovations by Atsushi Watabe, Simon Gilby, Ryu Koide, Caixia Mao, Mizuki Kato, Patricia Vilchis-Tella, and Stefanie Chan Copyright © 2020 Institute for Global Environmental Strategies. Co-Creating Sustainable Ways of Living Stories of On-the-Ground Innovations Lead Author: Atsushi Watabe Co-authors: Simon Gilby, Ryu Koide, Caixia Mao, Mizuki Kato, Patricia Vilchis-Tella, Stefanie Chan Reviewers: Mike Ward, Vanessa Timmer, Dwayne Appleby Special thanks: Emma Fushimi, Yulia Rubleva Please cite as: Atsushi Watabe, Simon Gilby, Ryu Koide, Caixia Mao, Mizuki Kato, Patricia Vilchis-Tella, Stefanie Chan, 2020. Co-Creating Sustainable Ways of Living: 17 Stories of On- the-Ground Innovations, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, Hayama, Japan IGES is an international research institute conducting practical and innovative research for realizing sustainable development in the Asia-Pacific region. Inquiries regarding this publication copyright should be addressed to IGES in writing. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior permission in writing from IGES. Although every effort is made to ensure objectivity and balance, the printing of a paper or translation does not imply IGES endorsement or acquiescence with its conclusions or the endorsement of IGES financers. IGES maintains a position of neutrality at all times on issues concerning public policy. Hence, conclusions that are reached in IGES publications should be understood to be those of the authors and not attributed to staff members, officers, directors, trustees, funders, or to IGES itself Copyright © 2020 Institute for Global Environmental Strategies. Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) 2108-11 Kamiyamaguchi, Hayama, Kanagawa 240-0115 Japan Tel: +81-46-855-3720 Fax: +81-46-855-3702 E-mail: [email protected] ISBN: 978-4-88788-247-8 2 Contents Acknowledgements 4 Executive summary 5 Part I: Co-Creation of Alternative Ways of Living 7 Introduction 8 01 The Sustainable Lifestyles and Education Programme and Projects 9 1.1 Call for Projects under the Sustainable Lifestyles and Education Programme 9 1.2 The SLE Programme’s Collaboration with the Selected Projects 13 02 Learning obtained with the SLE Projects 15 2.1 Addressing challenges 16 2.2 Tapping into opportunities 19 2.3 Taking actions 22 2.4 Learning-by-doing 26 2.5 Achievements 30 2.6 Scaling 32 03 Driving efforts for Sustainable Lifestyles 35 3.1 Aim for Sustainable Lifestyles 35 3.2 Supporting initiatives enabling Sustainable Lifestyles 38 04 Conclusion 40 References 42 Part II: 17 Stories of On-the-Ground Innovations 43 01 Brazil: Alana Institute 44 02 Cameroon: Resource Centre for Environment and Sustainable Development (RCESD) 49 03 Chile: Universidad de Chile 54 04 India & Bangladesh: South Asian Forum for Environment (SAFE) 59 05 Malaysia: Forum Air Malaysia 63 06 Zimbabwe: Development Aid from People to People (DAPP) 67 07 Armenia: Armenian Women for Health and Healthy Environment (AWHHE) 71 08 Colombia: El Bosque Universit 77 09 Peru, Nicaragua & Honduras: National Council for Sustainable Development of Honduras (CONADES), World Resources Forum and WRAP 81 10 South Africa: Environmental Learning Research Centre (ELRC), Rhodes University 85 11 Viet Nam: Asian Institute of Technology Center in Vietnam (AITCV) 90 12 Viet Nam: Da Nang University of Science and Technology 96 13 Zambia: The Copperbelt University 100 14 Asia and the Pacific: United Nations Environment Programme Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (UNEP/ROAP) 105 15 Morocco & Colombia: United Nations Environment Programme and El Bosque University 110 16 Thailand: Provincial Electricity Authority 115 17 India: Centre for Sustainable Agriculture 121 3 Acknowledgements This report is based on the experience of the One-Planet Network Sustainable Lifestyles and Education Programme (SLE Programme) in collaboration with 17 projects that were financially supported by the Government of Japan through the 10YFP Trust Fund administered by the United Nations Environment Programme. We would like to thank the Government of Japan and the United Nations Environment Programme and the project implementers as follows: 01 Brazil Alana Institute 02 Cameroon Resource Centre for Environment and Sustainable Development (RCESD) 03 Chile Universidad de Chile 04 India & Bangladesh South Asian Forum for Environment (SAFE) 05 Malaysia Forum Air Malaysia 06 Zimbabwe Development Aid from People to People (DAPP) 07 Armenia Armenian Women for Health and Healthy Environment (AWHHE) 08 Colombia El Bosque University Peru, Nicaragua & National Council for Sustainable Development of Honduras (CONADES), 09 Honduras World Resources Forum and WRAP 10 South Africa Environmental Learning Research Centre (ELRC), Rhodes University 11 Viet Nam Asian Institute of Technology Center in Vietnam (AITCV) 12 Viet Nam Da Nang University of Science and Technology 13 Zambia The Copperbelt University United Nations Environment Programme Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific 14 Asia and the Pacific (UNEP/ROAP) 15 Morocco & Colombia United Nations Environment Programme and El Bosque University 16 Thailand Provincial Electricity Authority 17 India Centre for Sustainable Agriculture 4 Executive summary Our lifestyles, through the impacts of our day-to-day activities such as eating, moving and commuting, heating and cooling our homes, caring, working, and so on, have become major threats to the sustainability of the environment. While continued economic growth and urbanisation in many countries are expected, it is imperative to consider how we could shift our current consumption-intensive ways of life into more responsible ones which produce fewer negative impacts. At the same time, people in many societies suffer from instability or insecurity of living, in association with rapid changes in environmental, economic, and societal conditions. We need to continue our efforts to create a society where everyone can meet their needs in more resilient and reliable ways. Given these multi-dimensional challenges, we need to find and create pathways that enable different patterns of living which reduce the negative impacts from our life on the environment and society, and realise more secure and stable means of meeting day-to-day needs. In this context, the Sustainable Lifestyles and Education (SLE) Programme was launched in 2014 as one of the six programmes under the UN 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns (10YFP, which is now known as the One-Planet Network). The SLE Programme has supported 24 projects (of which 17 were completed by 2019) that are fostering the shift to more sustainable ways of living, based on the unique contexts of local societies. This report elaborates on the essential points of these projects, including the challenges of sustainable lifestyles, opportunities utilised, actions taken, learning, and other achievements. Highlights include: • Challenges of sustainable lifestyles: Reflecting the various and specific conditions of society, economy, and environment of the countries or regions, the projects identified a diversity of challenges that pose threats to the sustainability of living. These included the increasing demand for water, energy, and food, as well as the wasting of food and other products, and the insecurity and instability of livelihoods and basic needs such as food, water, health, and housing. Most of the 17 projects addressed both these challenges. Thus, we can understand efforts aiming at sustainable lifestyles as, at least in the contexts of the 17 projects, the (co-)creation of alternative means and contexts of living that enable people to live more responsibly (with mitigated negative impacts), and to live in a more stable way (through securing their livelihoods and basic needs). • Opportunities utilised: In addressing the challenges, projects took advantage of unique opportunities, including awareness/recognition of the issues among the local stakeholders such as citizens, local governments, and the private sector, availability of untapped resources that may help fulfil people’s needs with reduced negative impacts, and accessibility of tools or methodologies. • Actions taken: Projects took multiple actions combining some of the following approaches: visualisation of the impacts of the current patterns of consumption and livelihoods on the environment or stability of livelihoods, visualisation of the benefits of choosing alternative means of living, provision of tools, equipment, or facilities that help them fulfil their needs in alternative ways, and development of capacities (skills and knowledge) of individuals and organisations (including governments) for effectively utilising information, tools, and facilities in creating alternative patterns of living. Furthermore, some projects set up spaces for co-learning and co-creation by participants in generating new social norms and alternative contexts of living. Schools, community spaces, and workplaces served as the basis for setting up such co- creating spaces, and sometimes arts and music were used to bring people together in these spaces. The majority of the projects applied more than one of these approaches in growing the capacities and