Sustainable considerations into their Engineering , Design and Community Projects

Engineering Students are encouraged to incorporation Sustainable considerations into their Engineering , Design and Community Projects

References:

1) Lafayette college Sustainable Development Guide
2) “Community Development Guidelines” from the EWB members resources.  

3.0 Sustainable Community Development

"Sustainability may be described as our responsibility to proceed in a way that will sustain life that will allow our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren to live comfortably in a friendly, clean, and healthy world.” –Thomas Jefferson

This standard will guide you on the key components that must be met in any EWB project for it to be sustainable.

Sustainable development can be viewed as having four dimensions:

• Ecological sustainability implies that non-renewable and other natural resources are not depleted for short-term improvements. This requires an assessment of available natural resources.
• Economic sustainability implies that improvements do not depend on continuing infusions of resources that cannot be maintained. This requires looking at what and where the available resources are and how these assets are valued. Also, an understanding of how money and resources flow between the community and outside groups is required.
• Political sustainability requires that changes are consistent with present or emerging distributions of power in the society. It is important to understand who holds power and influence in the community and what the sources for this power and influence are. Knowing what other organizations, both government and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), are working in the community, what programs they have brought, how projects were funded and how the community organized to respond to these projects are all important. Being aware of the nature of relationships with outside agencies: their degree of dependency and the extent of capacity building are all important. A community’s history and experience with other agencies, both government and NGOs will affect their preconceived notions of what a relationship with EWB will be like.
• Cultural sustainability suggests that community changes must be driven primarily by the community itself in order to be consistent with core values, expectations, and mores of the society. The final implemented project should, and likely will, be a hybrid of community input and what was originally designed.

Effective approaches to sustainable development must:

• work within the existing distributions of power in the community to determine the best solutions for the community
• ensure that there is community participation on the project. The community should contribute either monetarily or with labor
• train the community how to maintain and manage the installed systems
• conserve those resources that are needed for improvements over the long-term
• optimize the use of resources that are available locally
• minimize dependence on resources that must be brought in from the outside
• avoid improvements for which continuous infusions of existing or new resources are needed
• ensure ownership and maintenance is assumed by the community
• the long-term commitment and continuity of EWB leadership personnel. This requires the commitment of mentors, faculty advisers, and professionals to the community.