Environment and Natural Resources

What are the environmental concerns?

Cultivable land is barely expanding. A substantial amount is losing its fertility. Land is overgrazed, fisheries overharvested, water bodies are d polluted and depleted

Human Development Report (2016) UNDP, 663 million people have no access to safe water. 2.4 billion have no access to sanitation, resulting in 3 million deaths

Natural forests are being cut down, loss of biodiversity and destruction of habitats

Steady Decline in total amount of ozone in the Earth’s stratosphere(refered as Ozone hole)

Costal pollution increasing

Enviromental issues were brought to the center?

Earth Summit

Where is “Common but differentiated responsibilities” from?

Riot 1992

What report mentions the number of deaths due to environmental pollution?

Human Development Report

Main reason for the loss of biodiversity

Loss of habitat

What does the United Nations Environment Programme do?

Holds international conference and promotes detailed studies to get a more coordinated and effective response

Why is the environment a part of global politics?

No single government can solve it. And who causes and benefits from it being destoryed

Who wrote Limits to Growth and what’s it about?

Club of Rome in 1972. It’s about the depleting of earth resources as the world is rapidly growing.

What was the Bratland report?

1987, Our common future, about economic growth not being sustainable

What was the Earth Summit?

Held in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992

170 states

Nothern states were concerned with ozone depletion and global warning while Southern states were anxious about how to manage economic development and Enviromental management

Common but differentiated responsibilities

What is Agenda 21?

Rio summit’s conventions dealing with climate change, biodiversity, forestry and recommended development practices

Criticized for being in Favour of economic growth rather than ecological conservaiton

What is sustainable development?

Combining economic growth with ecological resposibility

What are Commons?

Resources not owned by anyone but shared by a community

Res Communis Humanitatis

Antartica

14 million square km

26% of world wilderness

90% of territorial ice

70% of planetary fresh water

Extends to 36% million square kilometers

Limited terrestrial life and a highly productive marine ecosystem.

e.g. microscopic algae, fungi and lichen

Krill

Gives in formation of Greenhouse gas concentration

What are the two claims for Antartica?

Some countries like UK, Argentina, Chile, Norway, France, Australia and New Zealand have claims for it

Other countries view it as part of global commons and not subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of any state

Since 1958 activities have been limited to scientific research, fishing and tourism. Still have oil spills

What are global commons?

Res commuins humanitatis. Areas that our outside the sovereign jurisdiction of any one stare and therefore require common governance.

Earth’s atmosphere, Antartica, the ocean floor and outer space.

What is difference in environmental approach between North vs South Countries?

North Countries want to discuss environmental issue and wants everyone to be equal

The developing countries feel that much of the degradation is cause by the developed world so they must take more responsibility. They are also developing to must not by subject to the same restrictions

‘Common by differentiated responsibilities’ Earth summit

What does the 1992 United Nations Convention on Climate Change say?

“on the basis of equity and in accordance with their common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities.”

Largest share of historical and current global emission of greenhouse gases has originated in developed countries

What is the Kyoto Protocol?

International agreement setting targets for industrialized countries. China, India and developing countries are exempt. Based of UNFCCC principles

Carbon dioxide, Methane, Hydro-fluoro carbons are partly responsible for global warming

Fish Laws

International Regulation: Law of the Sea: Coastal Countries have sovereign rights over a 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone off the coast.

National Regulation: Fisheries Act 1897: Prohibits the use of poison and dynamite in the use of inshore fishing and regulated net sizes and construction of weirs

Amendment to Indian Wildlife Protection Act 1993 and 2002: Fish are added under the definition of animals

Marine Fishing Policy 2004: Change marine fish production to the sustainable level. Increase export and per capita fish protein intake of the masses. Insure economic security of the traditional fisherman and to develop environmentally sustainable marine fisheries

What gases are partly responsible for global warming?

Carbon dioxide, Methane, Hydro fluoro carbons etc.

What is common property?

Common property for the group. Members of the group have rights and responsibilities according to this group

Why has common property dwindled?

Privatization, agricultural intensification, population growth and ecosystem degradation

What are sacred groves in India?

Parcels of uncut forest vegetation in the name of certain deities or natural or ancestral spirits exemplify such practice

System that forced traditional communities to harvest natural resources in a sustained manner

Expansion and human settlement have slowly encroached on this sacred forest.

State and the community vary in their policy norms and underlying motives

What are coast environmental issues?

Overexploitation of fish and marine life

Degradation of seabed and fish population due to dredging

Untreated sewage dumped into oceans

Terrestrial pollutants carried in by rivers

Over mechanization

Pollution from industry along the coast

Effluents from aquaculture farms pollutes the surrounding marine environment

What do critics of the Kyoto protocol say?

Developing countries will soon be leading contributors in greenhouse emmisions

What is India’s stand on Enviromental issues?

At G-8 meeting in 2005 it pointed out that per capita emission rates of the developing world is still tiny

Curbing emission rests with the developed countries because the emitted over a long period of time

Position relies on historical responsibility

Economic and social development are the first and overriding priorities of the developing country parties

Wary of recent discussion in UNFCC

.9 tones per capita in 2000 and 1.6 tones per capita in 2030. Average 3.8 tones

Developed countries should give resources to less developed countries

SAARCH should adopt a common position on major global issues

What has India done to help the environment?

India’s National Auto-Fuel policy which mandated cleaner fuels for vehicles.

The Energy Conservation act (2001) which outlines initiatives to improve energy efficiency

Electricity Act of 2003 encourages the use of renewable energy

Keen to launch a National Mission on Biodiesel using 11 million hectares to produce biodiesel by 2011-12

Ratifies Paris Climate Agreement on 2 October 2016.

One of the largest renewable energy programmes in the world

Wilderness

North sees it as wild place and that it not part of nature

South sees as people live there

Wilderness-oritented perspectives are predominant in Australia, Scandinavia, North America and New Zealand

In Phillippines green orgs protect eageles and other birds of prey from extinction

In India it is to protect Bengal tigers

In Africa it is to stop ivory trade

Brazil and Indonesia are most famous

Renamed as biodiversity

Worlwide Wildlife Fund

What do mineral industries to the South?

South economies are reopened to MNC thorough liberalization

It uses chemicals, it pollutes waterways and land, clears native vegetation, displaces communities,

What is a good example of resistance to MNC’s?

Opposition of the Western Mining Corporation in the Philippines and in Australia for basic rights of Australian indigenous peoples

What has sea power rested on?

Access to timber

Where was the first Anit-dam movement launched in the north?

Franklin river and surrounding forest in Australia

What did countries in the North do to ensure steady flow of oil?

Deployment of military forces near exploitation sited and along sea-lanes of communication

Stockpiling of natural resources

Efforts to prop up friendly governments in producing countries

Support to MNC’s

Favorable internation agreements.

What makes oil the most important resource in global strategy?

Oil is portable and indispensable

Creates immense wealth

95% of world transportation need

How much oil does West Asia produce?

30% and has 64% of the known reserves

How much oil does Saudi Arabia have?

¼ of the world’s total reserves and single largess producers

How much oil does Iraq have?

Second to Saudi Arabia and may have more

What are water wars?

Possibility of violent conflict over water

Downstream (lower riparian)

Up stream (Upper riparian)

Why is water a crucial resource?

The lower state doesn’t like pollution, excessive irrigation or dams by and upper riparian state

Yarmuk River in Jordan

Euphrates River in Turkey

What are indigenous populations according to the un?

Comprising of the peoples who inhabited the present territory of a country when persons of another culture of ethnic origin overcame them

Populations of indigenous people

30 crore indigenous people

20 lakhs in Cordillera of Philippines

10 lakhs in Mapuche of Chile

6 lakh in Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh

35 Lakh North American native

50,000 Kuna living east of the Panama Canal

10 Lakh small peoples of Soviet north

Who inhabited Oceania region?

Polynesian, Melanesian and Micronesian people

What is immemorial?

Continued occupancy of indeginous land

Population of Scheduled tribes (Indigenous tribes) in India

8%

What happened to the indigenous in India?

Under subject of British rule, do not get benefits from development, always get displaced

Who got the first indigenous NGOs to receive consultative status in the UN?

The World Council of Indigenous Peoples