Environment and Development Homework Help

Environment and Development

The interactive co-evolution of most aspects of life such as cultural, economic, social, and environmental trends all around the world can be considered as globalization. Transnational structures arise from this co-evolution as well as the integration of cultural, social, economic, and political process internationally, nationally, regionally, and locally. When applied, globalization impacts on the environment, people, and their day to day activities in various ways. Globalization has led to the growth of international trade. International trade affects the economical, social, political, and environmental spheres of the world. This paper will focus on the effects of trade on the environmental and developmental issues such as poverty and inequality. Also examples of inequalities that arise from the role of market and global financial institutions will be addressed.
As a result of the expansion in world trade, concerns arise over how trade and the environment relate. The concerns range from comparing the benefits and limitations of trade on the environment, wondering whether the exporting, importing nation or the world as a whole is impacted and who takes the responsibility of responding to the environmental problems brought about by trade. International trade first received attention on this issue in 1991. United States law that banned imports of Tuna from Mexico was challenged by the Mexican government. The law practiced by the United States was referred to as the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act which aimed at eliminating tuna fishing methods that led to the death of large numbers of dolphins (Harris, pr. 5). In this way the United States government was trying to preserve the environment and reduce an imbalance in the ecosystem that would be created by the eventual depletion of the dolphin population.
However, the move to protect dolphins outside the United States territorial limits was contested as unconstitutional and one that was not in agreement with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) (Harris, pr. 6). This particular scenario opened the world to controversy over trade and environmental issues. International trade was found to sometimes overlook forest protection, promote ozone depletion, increase hazardous waste, and speed up global climate change. The environmental issues arising from international trade are persistent because of the confusion over responsibility that ensues in international interactions. The environmental externalities that arise from the trade may burden the exporters, importers or other people not directly involved with the consumption or production of these traded goods. Usually policies regulating trade and the effects of trade on the environment exist at the national level. Since a majority of international trade agreements do not address environmental protection, environmental impacts of trade that are transnational cause significant problems. There is no specific authority to formulate and enforce environmental policies at this level.
The developmental issues impacted by international trade include inequality, poverty, hunger, health, and social interactions. Poverty and inequality are two major impacts of global trade. Developed countries enjoy improved living standards, a stable political, economic, and social environment, a democratic environment, and full potential for Human Development. Various aspects of these needs should be provided starting from the household to the international level. However, due to various reasons these requirements are not available in many parts of different societies. Political interests is one of these reasons whereby a particular scenario like diversion of available resources from domestic requirements to the western market would leave the locals without these resources which would otherwise have been available to them (Shah, pr. 4). Poverty and inequitable development can be traced many times to international trade. In August 2008 the estimates of global poverty were revised by the World Bank and the number of people living on the equivalent of $1 per day changed to $1.25 per day. At this new poverty line, 1.4 billion people are found to live at or below this poverty line (Shah, pr. 5). This is an increase from the previous estimate that used $1 a day. In addition, World Bank considers previous estimates lower due to underestimation in the cost of living in a majority of developing countries. The data here presented excludes the recent global food crisis and high cost of energy. Another 100 million people are therefore expected to be added in the current estimate.
The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have in the recent past prescribed some structural adjustments as loan and payment conditions cutting back in education, health and other crucial services worldwide. There is also an additional requirement for developing nations to open up their markets to compete with each other as well as with more powerful, established, and industrialized countries (Shah, pr. 13). This is classic example of how international trade impacts on the poverty levels of developing countries. The poor countries are forced to lower their standards, provide cheaper resources, and offer reduced wages all with the aim of attracting investment. Inequality and poverty have therefore increased for a majority of people and illustrates the unequal rules of trade.
As much as it is important to alleviate poverty, inequality is also an issue to be tackled. Relative poverty is a context that inequality can be applied to whereby for instance in a wealthy nation the poor people may not be in absolute poverty but since they lack some basic needs or they are lower in income level compared to the nation’s majority, they are considered poor. Social cohesion, increased violence, and crime are some social problems that may arise from inequality. The social problems such as social cohesion are hard to measure. However, studies show that sometimes the poor people in a wealthy nation find it hard to cope compared to the poor people in a poor country. Reduction in equality and reduction in income differences are factors that should be considered when strategizing on how to alleviate poverty.
International trade has benefited particular groups and institutions. Over 43, 000 transnational corporations (TNC) in an analysis produced a relatively small group of companies that possessed disproportionate power over the economy of the world (Shah, pr. 16). Most of the companies were banks and a core of 1318 companies showed interlocking ownership. Of the 1318, 147 companies were even tighter, named ‘super entities’ and they controlled 40% of the total global network wealth. The ability of such a minority like this to influence the global system disproportionately is an indication of inequality. A strategy that would appeal to them doesn’t necessarily have to reflect the best interests of the other people. Also a problem affecting a handful of these powerful entities would immediately reflect on the global economy and affect every other person.
Global financial institutions such as the IMF or the World Bank play a certain role in increasing poverty in the world. There are times that the World Bank has been under criticism over its developmental projects not aiding the societies that they are intended to. An example is the many dam projects that have led to devastation of lives with millions being displaced and the environment being degraded. Another is the recent Structural Adjustment Policies that apply pressure on poor countries. The First World countries get to benefit from these policies while the Third World countries suffer. Not long ago an oil pipeline project named Chad-Cameroon was opposed by the World Bank claiming that the project targeted to take oil wealth not to a few but the larger mass of poor people (Shah, pr. 20). The project would have helped many Chad nationals and improved Cameroon’s revenue but the World Bank undermined the ability and willingness of Chad and Cameroon to improve the lives of their citizens.
In conclusion, international trade has improved and expanded over time. The policies and market practices formulated in most countries today take into consideration international standards. However, there are some environmental and developmental issues that international trade impacts such as the ecosystem and poverty. Environmental policies aimed at protecting the environment are often found on the national scale. During transnational dealings, the importing, exporting, or related countries get to be impacted by the trade and since no specific authority can be held accountable and also no specific authority is responsible for the formulation of environmental protection laws, the impacts on the environment continue to dominate. Developmental issues such as poverty and inequality are also observed. Poverty is most prevalent in developing countries where basic necessities sometimes lack for long periods. Global trade and global financial institutions, in as much as they have campaigned for the alleviation of poverty, have played a part in increasing poverty. The Structural Adjustment Policies formulated by the World Bank are an illustration of the inequality of global financial institutions on developing countries. The poor countries continue to strain and plunge in poverty. The fact that a small group of institutions posses significant power in the world economy leaves the rest of the world dependent on this group’s decisions.

Reference List
Harris J. M. 2008. Trade and the Environment. The Encyclopedia of Earth. Retrieved December 11, 2011 from: http://www.eoearth.org/article/Trade_and_the_environment
Shah, A. 2011. Poverty around the World. Global Issues. Retrieved December 11, 2011 from: http://www.globalissues.org/article/4/poverty-around-the-world#WorldBanksPovertyEstimatesRevised