Sustainable Development of the Netherlands

Sustainable development of the Netherlands

In 2015 Amsterdam and Rotterdam have been place fourth and fifth according to the Arcadis Sustainable Cities Index , supporting the Netherlands reputation as a world leader in environmental and population management.

a/ People and Planet - This index looks at the interaction between people and their city environment. Rotterdam tops the list due partly to the Rotterdam Sustainability Program, through which the government has invested 31 million euros towards creating a healthy city atmosphere. Though this is very much a "planet" initiative, it places great value in improving people’s lived experiences. Policy initiatives include noise reduction and improving air quality. Affordable housing (60 per cent less expensive than the top 10 city average) and relatively low working hours mean citizens of Rotterdam enjoy a high quality of life with significant leisure time. Furthermore  both Rotterdam and Amsterdam score highly (fifth and sixth) on the Planet index, which measures a city’s level of renewable energy use, waste management efficiency and access to sanitation and drinking water.
b/ Profit- Amsterdam placed fourth overall in the index and managed to crack the top 10 in all three sub-categories. Its best performance was in the Profit category."Profit" examines the business climate of a city, looking at such factors as ease of doing business, importance to larger economic networks, commuting conditions, energy efficiency and GDP per capita.The inclusion of this last factor means Rotterdam fares relatively poorly on the Profit index, coming in at 19th place.

2. Nicaragua
After looking at the Netherlands which was one of the most sustainable countries now we are having a look at Nicaragua which on the other hand is the opposite of sustainable.

a/ Planet – Even though Nicaragua is the largest country in Central America and with the least population and according to FSD have the opportunity to enforce environmental protection laws , they don’t do anything and there has been deforestation since 1950 which is still going on.

b/ People – People in Nicaragua are living in extreme poverty and even though the country is known as the “Land of Lakes and Volcanoes’’ and as the country with the most fresh water , it has very little safe drinking water which means that if a person can’t afford to buy water , they are extremely vulnerable to a variety of health issues.