Guideline for planning university addressing Climatic Issues

By Mahinda Panapitiya

Introduction

Due to recent climatic changes taking place at global level the whole world is now heading for a disaster environmentally unless some kind of a middle path is adapted in economic planning for future development projects. Therefore, the recent request made by President Ranil Wickremesinghe from the Asian Development Bank to set up a university in Sri Lanka to address the climatic issues is very timely. This article is an effort to explain how Buddhism could provide a guideline to address that challenge because there is a need to identify right academics to run the proposed university.

· Background

Addressing climatic issues, in parallel to sustainable development is a completely different paradigm we conventionally followed during the last few centuries. The new paradigm should be some kind of middle path which promote development approach in negotiation mode with nature, rather than a Confrontation as adopted now days. However, the Curriculums of modern universities train academics who plan development projects to confront with the ecosystem rather than following a Negotiation mode. The approach adapted for developing downstream areas under the Mahaweli Project is a good example for the confrontation approach. The Chronic Kidney Diseases due to ground water pollution and the never-ending human-elephant conflicts owing to large-scale damage to forest cover are some of the indirect impacts of adapting conventional confrontation approaches.

2.1 Vision behind the Middle Path

How to define a middle path in relation to economic development in negotiation mode is in fact a research need. Conventionally-defined middle path is a person’s specific point of view and therefore the middle varies from person to person from nation to nation and even politically within a nation. However, the middle path meant in Buddhism for development is universal and common to all living beings. Though the Buddhist middle path is conventionally explained in relation to spiritual development of human beings, material development focusing on physical health of the rest of flora and fauna is also stressed as a necessary pre-requisite for the expected spiritual achievements.

The following stanza from the Dhamma Pada summaries that Ancient Vision. In fact, this is an advice given by the Buddha to a politician (king Bimbisara) living at that time.

Arôgyâ paramâ lâbhâ, Santutthiparamamdhanan

(Health should be used as the indicator to measure the ultimate profit of any development project. Happiness should be used as the measurement of ultimate wealth generated from projects)

In order to understand a universally common middle path, applicable to both spiritual and material development, design features of projects, already implemented by the planners, equipped with the Buddhist Vision in its right spirit could be used as an exploration ground. Irrigated agriculture projects which have been sustained more than 2 ,000 years in the dry zone of Sri Lank and still functioning were designed in keeping with the teachings of the Buddha. Note that the projects developed during the last century have already failed due to reasons such as water and soil pollution, global warming caused due to mass scale deforestations, human-elephant conflicts and the never-ending dependency of farmers for fertiliser subsidies, etc. A good example for the ways adapted by ancient Sri Lankans for agriculture without deforestation is the shifting cultivation method called chena or slash and burn method used to grow protein rich foods in highland areas while rice was grown in valleys under Irrigation. That method has now been recognised as the best land use approach for agriculture even by Western Universities.

A similar scenario can be observed in the health sector also. For example, nowadays we have to depend on imported chemical drugs to run our hospitals. As a result, we have become beggars for dollars to treat our diseases. However, it is a well known fact that the Sri Lankan ayurvedic system believes that our food should be our medicine. If we eat healthy foods, we will not need medicine. Ayurveda says that disease does not occur in the body suddenly. It develops over time and is caused by mental stress, poor diet, junk foods, unhealthy lifestyles and lack of proper physical exercise. For example, banks of natural streams in urban areas could be developed for recreational activities.

Reality

In reality, humans are only one link among other components in the natural ecological cycle comprising flora and fauna, the only difference being that humans have the capacity to break it. However, if one link of the cycle breaks, the existence of humans will be at risk. The recent Covid-19 pandemic is a good example; it demonstrates how even a virus could wreak havoc. Climatic issues at global level are also a warning for humans to re-evaluate their so-called modern vision. In formulating the designs based on ancient technologies, guaranteeing the right of existence of the rest of Fauna and Flora, other than human, had been perceived as long-term vision. That approach does not impose any threats to climate.

Conclusion

Based on the above mentioned observations, in my view, a university addressing the climate issue should be able to produce future decision-makers, equipped with a wholistic vision to address not only issues concerning climate but also the physical and mental health of mankind. For example, in 2012 a similar effort was made in Sri Lanka by introducing recreational areas 1 along stream banks in urban areas while streams were improved for flood mitigations.

Note that nowadays Buddhism has been able to generate a spiritual awakening amongst the people of the West.

(The writer is An Irrigation Engineers who worked for Mahaweli Project from its inception.)

1. Mahinda Panapitiya, Sunil Bandaranayake, Pilot Project for establishment of Suburban Recreational areas in riparian lands while improving the urban bio diversity presented at the 3rd URBIO Conference on Urban Biodiversity and Climate Change: Mitigation and Adaptation (8 – 12th. 2007 October, 2012), Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, Powai, Mumbai -400076, India