Environment & Development

1. Environment & Development Dr Mahfuzul Haque (Lecture Notes 1.1)

2. Points for Discussion • Population and Development • Colonialism and Development • Industrialization and Development • Green Revolution and Development • Neo-Malthusian theory • Intermediate Technology and Development • Poverty and Development • Environment and Development • Sustainable Development

3. Issues for Debate • Whether over-population is the cause for poverty? • Whether consumption practices cause poverty? • Whether poverty pollutes the environment? • Whether inaccessibility to food causing poverty? • Whether “Green Revolution” was a mistake? • Is it better to remain undeveloped for the sake of a pristine environment?

4. Population & Development • British Economist and Demographer, Thomas Robert Malthus in his Essay on the Principle of Population in 1798 argued that population would outstrip food supply. Population grows geometrically, while food grows arithmetically • There would be massive starvation and famine and so population would eventually be stopped • He didn’t consider agro-tech, HYV, GM crops • What type of agricultural development? • What type of consumption? • Carrying Capacity of the Earth

5. Colonialism & Development • British and French colonialists justified “development” by the belief that industrialization, modernization, westernization, and individualism are beneficial for the natives • They brought roads, coal mining, hydro-electric projects, irrigation projects along with their adverse impacts on environment • Great Britain justified colonialism in the name of “white man’s burden”. Similarly, France claimed to be involved in a “mission civilisatrice”, a civilizing mission for its colonies

6. Colonialism & Development • Human behavior is conditioned or determined by the physical environment • Proponents of “Environmental determinism” advocated supremacy of the people of the temperate region (mild temperature without extremes of heat or cold)over the tropical region (region between the two tropics having warm or hot temperature all year) • They justified domination of Europeans over the people of other areas; racial domination and suggested for mega-projects at the cost of environment

7. Industrialization & Development • Industrial Revolution in Europe in late 18th and early 19th century introduced steam power engines fuelled primarily by coal, water wheels and powered machinery in textile manufacturing caused adverse impacts on the environment • “Grow now and clean up later” policy • Harsh working condition, long working hours, unhygienic living conditions took tolls on the environment • Increased rural-urban migration; air and water pollution; polluted automobiles; and unhygienic living conditions of the workers • Modernization, rapid urbanization had profound impacts on the environment

8. Green Rev & Development • Green Revolution in 1950s and 1960s brought HYV of food crops, fertilizer, herbicides and pesticides, GM crops that created increasing dominance of multinational companies • Revolution had adverse impacts on the biodiversity, water bodies, soil fertility, fisheries and wildlife • Rachel Carson’s book, Silent Spring in 1962 described adverse impacts of DDT on the humans, mammals and birds

9. Socialist approach to Development • Control or taming of the nature was the policy of the centrally-planned economies • They came up with mega-projects related to irrigation, hydro-electricity, coal burning power stations etc • These policies were no different than policies of the capitalist world

10. Neo-Malthusian Approach • A group of economists led by Meadows in 1972 published The Limits of Growth stated that if current rates of consumption and economic development continued, population and industrial growth would certainly stop before 2100 • Economist Homer-Dixon in 1999 noted an interconnectivity between human population growth, rising energy consumption, global warming, ozone layer depletion, rising cropland scarcity, tropical deforestation, rising scarcity of free water, declining fish stocks and loss of biodiversity. He suggested for lowering of population growth

11. Neo-Malthusian Approach • Is increased population a curse? • Bangladesh • 1972: Food production was 10 ml MT with 3 ml MT shortage for a population of 75 ml • 2008: Food production is 30 ml MT with negligible shortage (2-2.5 ml MT) for a population of 150 ml • Amazingly 10 ml farmers make a silent revolution on a fixed geographical area • Independent Namibia with low population had difficulties and Mozambique recruiting Bangladeshi farmers to cultivate fallow lands

12. Technology & Development • “Intermediate Technology” was developed by E F Schumacher in his book Small is Beautiful • He advocated for low-tech and need-based people-centred development as the modernism reducing carrying capacity of the earth. Pro-people policy • He suggested for technology that would employ large numbers of people and not machines. He termed this technology as “intermediate technology” poised between pre-industrial and modern age

13. Poverty & Development • Poor people are often forced to exploit the wetlands and forests in an unsustainable way causing environmental degradation • Hunger is not due to overpopulation but lack of access to food. The planet produces enough food for the entire population. Problem is accessibility to food • “Poverty pollutes the environment”. How far this statement is correct? • There is also a view that it is not poverty but over-consumption of the rich people in the north causing environmental degradation

14. Environment • Environment is the sum of all external conditions affecting the life, development and survival of an organism (any form of animal or plant) • Environment is a complex web of interrelationships between abiotic (non-living-air, water, soil) and biotic (living organisms-animal and plants) components which sustain all life on the earth, including social and health aspects of human beings • Environment is the sum of four components: soil, water, air and biota (plants and animals)

15. Environment • Environment includes water, air, soil and physical properties and the inter relationship which exists among and between them and human beings, other living creatures, plants and micro organism. • Environment is affected by the changes in inter-relationship among them. (ref: section 2(d), ECA, 1995)

16. Development • Development is intended to bring a positive change for human being and its surroundings. Development may take place by bringing about a change in policy, projects and legislation • Environment is where we live and development is what we all do in attempting to improve our lot within that abode • We are to strike a balance between the two. Development must continue without compromising with environment

17. Sustainable Development • “Sustainable Development is the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising with the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. (ref: Our Common Future, WCED, 1987) • The issues of “intergenerational equity’, “needs” and “limits” are of importance here. Needs mean different things to different people and to our ability to satisfy them. What is the limit of growth? How far to go and no further? • visit: www.un.org/esa/sustdev

18. Sustainable Development • Development needed to be sustainable; it must encompass not only economic and social activities, but also those related to population, the use of natural resources and the resulting impacts on the environment • Resources are thought to be infinite ; and pollution and environmental degradation are considered the inevitable consequences of industrial development • Development and conservation are incompatible; challenge is to develop minimizing adverse impacts on the environment

19. Probable Questions • What is meant by “Sustainable Development”? How such a development could be achieved? • Agro-technology greatly increased the crop yield. What are the elements of agro-technology and their likely impacts on the environment • Nexus between population and consumption. How over-consumption could harm the environment? • “Poverty pollutes the environment”, do you agree? Give justification to your answer

20. Readings Materials • Kingsbury, Damien et al., Key Issues in Development. 2004, New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Pages: 22-44, 221-226,266-291 • Kothari, Uma (ed), Development Theory and Practice: Critical Perspectives. 2002, New York: Palgrave. Pages: 92-113, 136-156 • Rahman. A., et al,Exploding the Population Myth, Consumption Versus Population: Which is the Climate Bomb? Dhaka: BCAS, July 1993 • Rapley, John. Understanding Development: Theory and Practice in the Third World.2002, London: Lynne Rienner. Pages: 161-182 • Willis, Katie. Theories and Practices of Development. 2005, London and New York: Routledge. Pages: 146-172

21. THANKS