Chapter 6: Ecological Dimension of Globalization

Ecological Dimension of Globalization

It highlishts the different environmental issues that have seriously impinged on the development effort of several countries in recent history. It is also the intensification and expansion of international cooperation among the different members of the international community.

global environment

It remains as one of the important topics in the study of globalization notwithstanding the limited attention that was given initially by the members of the international community.

Middle part of the 20th century

During this period, global environment became even more the focus of a serious and expansive campaign of both the developed and developing countries. The international community initiated an extensive campaign against global pollution including the preservation of the natural environment.

Latter part of the 20th century

This period witnessed the signing of several environment related agreements among the members of the international community.

1. Demographic Change
2. Economic Growth
3. Technological Innovation
4. Governance Framework

Drivers of Environmental Issues

Demographic Change

Places tremendous pressure on the global environment through excessive demands for food, water, and energy sources.

Economic Growth

It is often associated to gross domestic product that measures the value of goods and services produced. It has resulted to the build-up of global wastes in major cities around the world. It has also contributed to the growing problem of global pollution and to the loss of big habitable spaces in major cities of the world

Technological Innovation

The concept brings a number of negative repercussions to the global environment. As early as 1945, the world has already experienced the destructive effect of a technological marvel that was created to put an end to the Second World War - the "atomic bomb" - was dropped twice in Japan and killed several hundreds of people in just two days.

Governance Framework

As the world transitioned into the era of globalization, the world demanded for a better way of discussing and proceeding with the different environmental issues. Such demand resulted into multilateralism that brought several governments, business corporations, and members of the civil society closer together.

Environmental issues

products of the unsustainable human activities in the 18th century.

Second and Third Industrial Revolutions

Environmental issues became more pronounced during the _________________ with the introduction of electricity, oil, gas, nuclear energy, computer, transistor, and micro-processor.

1. Loss of biodiversity
2. Decline of fresh water
3. Deforestation
4. Pollution
5. Climate change

5 environmental issues

Decline of fresh water

Brought about by the changing climate and growing number of pollutions. It involves the degradation of the soil and the loss of existing vegetation on the surface of the earth.

loss of biodiversity

It is one of the pressing environmental issues that the international community is facing right now. It results from the destruction of natural habitats in both, land and water

Deforestation

results from the conversion of forest lands into urban landscapes

Pollution

caused by contaminants released from vehicles and other similar sources.

Climate change

It is considered as the most prominent and controversial environmental issue at the moment. It originates from the heat trapped inside the atmosphere causing changes in the weather pattern of the earth.

United Nations Environmental Programme

The organization is the designated authority of the United Nations system that was created in 1972 to serve as the linchpin of the institution on environment related issues. It is mandated to promote international cooperation in the environment and assist other countries in developing strategies in pursuit of sustainable development.

International Environmental Governance

It centers on a wide range of regional and international agreements that regulate environment issues.

International Union for Conservation of Nature

The organization is a membership union and is made up of government and civil society organizations that span the eight major regions of the world. It was established in 1948

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Created in 1948, the organization is one of the primary agencies of the United Nations that provides a scientific assessment on the nature of climate change.

World Nature Organization

An environmental organization that started in 2012 with the conclusion of the Earth Summit in Brazil. The initiative behind the creation of the organization started as early as 2010 when a number of emerging and developing countries conspired to confront the worsening effects of climate change.

Greenpeace International

The organization is an independent campaigning group that employs innovative ways in protecting the global environment. The purpose of the organization is to preserve the ability of the earth to nurture life.

The World Wildlife Fund

The organization is one of the popular conservation groups that maintain its presence in more than 100 countries, helping people survive the environmental challenges of the 21st century.

Morges Manifesto

It outlined the commitment of World Wildlife Fund to finance the projects of several conservation groups.

Global environmental agreements

considered as binding arrangements between two or more parties that agree to manage human activities in order to protect the global environment.

"Tragedy of the Commons"

presents a situation where individuals, motivated by their self-interests, resort to consume or misuse their shared resources.

William Forster Lloyd

"Tragedy of the Commons" was first adopted by ___________ when he explained the saturation of the English common pastoral lands in 1832.

Sustainable development

Defined as "a form of development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the capability of the future generations to meet their own needs".

It emerged as a development paradigm in the 1990s when a number of countries and other international institutions supported the idea of protecting the global environment.

Collaborative engagement

takes the form of either an international agreement or an international organization signed or created for the purpose of preventing the decline of the global environment.

World Commission on Environment and Development

The pursuit for sustainable development started in 1984 with the creation of this special commission by the United Nations to identify the needed environmental strategies for the future.

global environmental partnership

a collaborative engagement of several states and non-state actors that aim to promote the sustainability of the global environment.

Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes

one of the major environmental agreements that were signed by several countries in 1989. It aims to introduce an environmentally sound management system of hazardous wastes, limit transboundary movements of these hazardous materials, and enforce stricter regulatory policies where transboundary movements are allowed.

Kyoto Protocol

It was signed in order to reduce the emission of greenhouse gasses in different parts of the world. Also known as the Climate Protocol

Montreal Protocol

this environmental agreement is a multilateral arrangement of countries that intends to eliminate the production and consumption of ozone-depleting substances. It was considered as the only environmental treaty to attain universal ratification by all the countries of the world. Adeopted in 1987.

Ramsar Convention

environmental agreement that focuses on the conservation of wetland areas in different parts of the world. Named after the key City of Ramsar in Iran, this environmental agreement was signed in 1971 and came into effect in 1975

Convention on Biological Diversity

This environmental agreement was officially launched and recognized at Rio de Janeiro during the historic Earth Summit in 1992. It is also known as "Biodiversity Treaty" and is considered as one of the critical environmental agreements that were approved by the members of the international community in recent history.

World Conference on Environment and Development

In 1992, the United Nations sponsored the __________ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and used sustainable development extensively all throughout the conference during the discussion of the global environment.

Johannesburg, South Africa

Another conference followed in 2002, ten years after the international gathering of government leaders at _____________________. The conference was again attended by government leaders as well as the members of the civil society.

Kofi Anan

The global environmental partnership took a historic turn in 1992 when the United Nations Secretary General, _________, emphasized the concept during the World Conference on Environment and Development.