Globally, the list of endangered, threatened, and extinct wildlife is changing rapidly due to various anthropogenic pressure on the natural ecosystem. These pressures can’t be lifted overnight to abandon the effects. However, a sustainable lifestyle on sustainable natural resource management approaches may reduce the pressure on the natural ecosystem to a longer extent. A lifestyle based on sustainable approaches such as conservation of the productive resource, production of a consumer product with fewer resources, green innovations and practices, reduction of food demand, more focus on bioenergy, and combating threats to the food supply is crucial to achieving the same. Following HDI-based sustainable lifestyles could be helpful to achieve the same.
1. Lifestyle to increase the HDI
We are developing but at what cost is crucial to understand before acting on it. Hence, re-evaluation of the increasing human development index (HDI) becomes crucial to understanding the impact of our lifestyle on biodiversity. Currently, the HDI is computed based on longevity, knowledge, and income. However, these factors are directly linked with the ecological processes and environmental conditions which are often neglected while calculating the development index. In addition, the steps taken by environmental managers, individual steps such as waste management, product choices, and environmental awareness are crucial to protecting the environment. Through greater awareness and application of ecological principles, each individual can help to assure that there will be suitable environments for succeeding generations on our planet. Individuals in society must decide on proposals that involve the introduction of new technologies. These decisions must assess environmental risks, costs, benefits, and trade-offs.
2. Do not compromise your health for income and knowledge
It is very important to balance the activities to increase longevity, knowledge, and income, simultaneously without compromising each other to increase the impact of your lifestyle on development. For the same, we need to make sure that every day we work on all three aspects on an equity basis. For example, if someone is working overtime to increase their income but in that process, health and knowledge are compromised then it cannot be sustainable. This is because all three factors are in the multiplication to compute HDI. Hence, it is very important to balance and manage your lifestyle accordingly.
3. Do not compromise your knowledge for income and health
The second parameter for development is to increase knowledge. Every day you need to learn something from various sources to increase your overall development. At the same time, do not compromise your knowledge for increasing income and health. Remember, all three parameters have equal weightage in your life. For example, if someone is earning money and spending it to increase their health, it is fine to some extent, but knowledge should not compromise.
4. Steps to stabilize the population
As discussed earlier, the root cause of most environmental problems including natural resource depletion, extinction of wildlife, and pollution is the growing population. By November 2022, we will cross the 8 billion population with only 12 billion hectares of biocapacity. Hence, it is very important to focus on stabilizing the population as soon as possible to sustain longer within the biocapacity. We all need to take the initiative as individual members of society to stabilize the population of the nation.
5. Acting in ignorance
Often, we know what to do to manage the resources on a sustainable basis. However, we ignore it and believe that others will manage the problem including environmentalists or environmental managers. Remember, no one can understand your problems since your environment is unique and different from all others. Only you can understand your situation and manage it accordingly by taking the initiative.
Remember, each habitat is unique and wonderful in the world. We share it with all others. At the same time, we hold the future in our hands. The above-listed HDI-based sustainable lifestyles will be highly crucial to achieving the same. Remember, the environmental choices we make today will decide the fate of the intergenerational sustainability of resources. Hence making the right choices and activities is highly crucial for our future.
