What sustainability means to me

In March 2016, the EfS team welcomed Kazia Martin for work experience. Here's what she thinks about the word, 'sustainability.'

In geography, when we learn about sustainability, we learn about sustainable rainforests and deforestation – and how the word sustainable means to maintain something or someplace. At the moment, we are being taught about deforestation in the Amazonian Rainforest and the impacts that we face in consequence. Such as most of the Yanomami tribes who are being forced to flee and make contact with the world outside of their community’s. This is because loggers or local farmers are chopping down trees for supplies, and are invading their traditions. By doing this, we are not respecting their rights and not protecting the rainforest from mostly illegal actions which are destroying the Amazonian Rainforest.

We also touch on other aspects of sustainability, for example, we look at the different statuses in society and how that can affect your privileges and the importance of global partnership; different countries helping and trading provisions with each other. However, when learning this subject, I noticed that the HIC’s take advantage of the LIC’s because they pay the workers, who make the items, too little; which is not enough to feed their families - I feel that this isn’t fair. The bigger companies gain profit while people in less fortunate countries suffer.

For me, sustainability is about promoting a peaceful and all-round safe society and ensuring equality. It’s also about making sure one day we will have culturally diverse communities and to establish economic justice so we can make settlements that are resilient and sustainable. And by looking at the examples above, we still have a long way to go until we have succeeded.

By Kazia Martin
Education for Sustainability team, March 2016