The illusion of knowledge is worse than ignorance. It is safe to say that the usefulness of data is dependent on its accuracy. The process of sourcing for information which is eventually converted to useful data is fraught with hurdles. Whether it is done on a small scale (ie small communities, towns, villages) or on a large scale (ie states, regions, countries, continents), compliance with standard procedure is important. Certain factors have to be put into consideration; quantity versus quality, cost, availability of skilled manpower, to name a few, all of which go on to affect the accuracy or otherwise of information gathered. In this regard, developed countries might have an edge over their developing counterparts due to the ready availability of skills and resources in the former.
Knowledge is only useful if it is shared. According to Robin Morgan, the American poet, "knowledge is power. Information is power. The secreting or hoarding of knowledge or information may be an act of tyranny camouflaged as humility".
The world is a global village, although separated neatly into countries and continents on maps, but interconnected through vast networks that would have baffled even the wildest of imaginations a mere 50years ago. According to the Internet live stats of 2014, about 40% of the world population have Internet connection, compared to 1% in 1995. In Africa, 10.3% have access to the internet while in my country Nigeria, the percentage is higher at 37.5%.
These statistics translate to billions of people who can now be reached with the proverbial 'click of a button'. It would be therefore be wise to harness this great means of dissemination of useful environment-friendly information for its propagation.
This would be especially helpful to the data-poor regions, ie the regions that lack the capacity to gather their own data, as information can easily be transferred from data-rich regions. In whose hands will this knowledge and information be useful, one might wonder. One might also be tempted to concentrate on the government and larger agencies, forgetting the little building blocks. Granted, data interpretation might not come naturally to most people, that's why simplification is the key. For the government, analysis of studies and research done on the effect of poor environmental choices on us humans and on the environment, conducting more studies to confirm or refute such results, implementation of recommendations of such studies and sharing of data with other governments and relevant agencies would be a good way to start to fulfil the desired goal of the realisation of sustainable development. To the ordinary man however, the one whose daily activities will be determined by his knowledge of the effect his choices have on the environment, facts and figures may not suffice. Environmental concerns like disposal of waste, pollution (air, noise, water), deforestation etc can also be approached at the grass roots level. It is important to interpret this information in as simple a form as possible, so that everyone can benefit from this knowledge.
After interpretation, information could be shared via the media (social media, television, radio), billboards, newspapers, even by word of mouth. For example, a man who has been helped to fully understand the effect his indiscriminate waste disposal could have on the environment and the rebound effect it could have on him, in terms of blocked drainages predisposing to flooding, disease outbreaks, heavy metal poisoning etcetera, is more likely to think twice before making poor environmental choices.
We all like to believe that we want to make the world a better place, that we would be supportive of whatever measures are put in place to aid this, for a better world would mean a better life for us and for generations to come. It is not enough however, to remain idle in our convictions, to feel that the fact that we desire change for the better should be good enough. It is vital to be pro-active in sourcing for data and information, to constantly educate ourselves so that we may be better informed on the right steps to take to help make the world, our world, a better place indeed.
