A Sustainable South West
The South West Region
The South West of England is home to over 5 million people and our population is steadily increasing. Geographically we’re the biggest and most rural of the nine English regions (although 80% of the population live in our towns and cities) and there are particular challenges around transport and access. The South West is relatively affluent, with low unemployment overall, but there are marked inequalities between areas and 'pockets' of real deprivation. The region is renowned for its amazing landscapes and attractions, drawing millions of visitors every year.
A popular retirement destination, the South West also has the oldest population of all the regions, with the average age of residents on the rise. There are issues around young people being able to find skilled employment and the lack of affordable housing in parts of the region (worsened by the trend in second homes) makes it hard for them to stay within their communities. Climate change impacts are a particular concern to the South West, its expansive coast line making it vulnerable to extreme weather, sea level rise and coastal erosion. Our Southern position means average summer temperatures could increase by up to 3.5ºC degrees by the 2050s.
The Challenge
Measurement of the region's 'eco-footprint' reveals that if everyone in the world lived like the average South West resident we would need two extra planets to sustain us. Given that we only have one planet, this is clearly not sustainable! So the challenge for the South West is to develop 'one planet' ways of living and working that also support our social and economic well-being.
What is a sustainable South West?
A sustainable region is ‘resilient, healthy, productive, socially just and lives within environmental limits'. To achieve a sustainable South West we will need to take a long term approach and have the vision and courage to:
- Only use our fair share of the planet’s natural resources by consuming less and using our resources more efficiently
- Meet everyone’s basic need for healthy food, clean water, decent housing and learning
- Develop a thriving 'one planet'/low carbon regional economy that strengthens local economies (ie by significantly increasing the proportion of locally sourced products and services and ensuring that goods sourced from beyond the region are ethically and environmentally sound)
- Enhance the distinctiveness and diversity of the region’s natural enivronment and biodiversity along with its built environment, heritage and cultural assets
- Access goods, services, jobs, learning and leisure in low carbon ways
- Meet most of our energy needs through local renewable energy generation
- Fairly value everyone’s contribution to society, provide satisfying work opportunities matched to local workforce needs and support a healthy work-life balance
- Provide access for everyone to learning, leisure and cultural activities
- Facilitate healthy lifestyles and caring communities to prevent poor health
- Help people to be safe and feel safe from crime or persecution
- Help everyone to learn why and how to live sustainably
- Involve everyone in public decisions and the sustainability challenge
- Successfully adapt to unavoidable climate change
For more info about the particular sustainability issues for the South West see the region's sustainable development framework - SustNav - at www.sustnav.org.uk. Sustnav houses sustainability Principles which you can apply to your day-to-day decision making to help support a sustainable South West. Go to Get Involved for other ways to help Sustainability South West in its Mission to champion action on sustainability.
© 2007 Sustainability South West - UK registered charity, no. 1106125 - info@sustainabilitysouthwest.org.uk.