Chapter 6 Environment And Natural Resources

Environmental Concerns In Global Politics

Traditionally, world politics often focused narrowly on issues like wars, treaties, state power dynamics, and intergovernmental organisations. However, issues like poverty and epidemics (Chapter 5) have expanded this scope, as governments are seen as responsible for addressing them. Now, we consider other issues that also fall within the realm of contemporary world politics.

Several environmental issues have become critical global concerns:

• **Declining Agricultural Land:** Cultivable area is stagnant, and existing land is losing fertility.
• **Overexploitation:** Grasslands are overgrazed, and fisheries overharvested.
• **Water Crisis:** Water bodies are depleted and polluted, impacting food production. Millions lack access to safe water and sanitation, leading to child deaths.
• **Deforestation and Biodiversity Loss:** Forests are being cut down, displacing people and causing biodiversity loss due to habitat destruction.
• **Ozone Depletion:** The thinning of the ozone layer poses risks to ecosystems and human health.
• **Coastal Pollution:** Pollution of coastal waters, mainly from land-based activities, is increasing globally.

These issues might seem like natural phenomena, but they have significant political consequences because governments are increasingly expected to address them. Crucially, most of these problems cannot be solved by a single government alone, making them part of **‘world politics’**.

Environmental issues are political in a deeper sense as well: they raise questions about who causes degradation, who bears the cost, who is responsible for corrective action, and who gets to use natural resources. These are questions of power and distribution.

Environmental concerns gained significant political traction from the 1960s. The Club of Rome's 1972 book *Limits to Growth* highlighted resource depletion due to population growth. Agencies like the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) started holding conferences and promoting studies for a coordinated response. The **United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED)** in **Rio de Janeiro (Earth Summit) in June 1992** firmly consolidated environmental issues in global politics.

The 1987 Brundtland Report, *Our Common Future*, warned against unsustainable economic growth patterns. At the Rio Summit, a clear divergence emerged between the **‘global North’** (rich, developed countries) and the **‘global South’** (poor, developing countries). The North focused on ozone depletion and global warming, while the South prioritised linking economic development with environmental management.

The Rio Summit produced conventions on climate change, biodiversity, and forestry, and recommended sustainable development practices (Agenda 21). While there was consensus on **‘sustainable development’** (combining economic growth with ecological responsibility), how to achieve it remained contentious. Some critics argued Agenda 21 favoured growth over conservation.

The Protection Of Global Commons

‘Commons’ are resources shared by a community, not owned by anyone (e.g., a park). Similarly, **global commons** are areas outside the sovereign jurisdiction of any single state, requiring common international governance. These include the earth’s atmosphere, Antarctica (Source on Antarctica details its unique nature and governance), the ocean floor, and outer space.

Cooperating to manage global commons is difficult but has led to agreements like the 1959 Antarctic Treaty, 1987 Montreal Protocol (on ozone depletion), and 1991 Antarctic Environmental Protocol. Ecological issues often involve achieving consensus with uncertain scientific evidence and timelines (e.g., ozone hole discovery). The management of global commons, particularly outer space and the ocean floor, is heavily influenced by **North-South inequalities**, reflecting disparities in technology and industrial development and raising questions about fair benefit distribution from exploiting these areas.

Common But Differentiated Responsibilities

The differing approaches of the North and South to environmental issues reflect the principle of **‘common but differentiated responsibilities’**. Developed countries (North) argue for equal responsibility in present ecological conservation. Developing countries (South) argue that historical industrialisation by the North caused most current degradation, so the North bears greater responsibility for both past damage and providing resources/technology for the South to develop sustainably.

This principle was accepted at the Rio Earth Summit (Rio Declaration, 1992) and in the 1992 **United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)**. It states countries have common responsibilities to protect ecosystems but different contributions to degradation and differing capabilities. Developed countries acknowledge their responsibility based on historical pressure on the environment and their technological/financial resources.

The UNFCCC notes that developed countries caused the largest share of historical emissions, and per capita emissions in developing countries are low. This led to the **Kyoto Protocol (1997)**, an international agreement setting binding emission reduction targets **only for industrialised countries**, exempting developing countries like China and India. The protocol aimed to curb greenhouse gas emissions (like CO2, Methane) causing global warming.

Common Property Resources

Common property refers to resources owned by a group, with members having rights and duties regarding use and maintenance. Many village communities traditionally managed resources through mutual understanding.

However, factors like privatisation, agricultural intensification, population growth, and ecosystem degradation have reduced the size, quality, and accessibility of common property resources for the poor globally. **Sacred groves** in India (uncut forest parcels managed by communities for religious reasons) are examples of traditional community-based resource management systems that function as common property regimes (Source on Sacred Groves in India discusses their nature and management).

These groves, traditionally managed by village communities in South India, are valued for their spiritual and cultural significance, promoting sustained resource use. However, modern national forest policies and encroachment by human settlement have impacted their traditional management and existence, raising issues when legal ownership (state) and operational control (community) differ.

India’s Stand On Environmental Issues

India's stance on environmental issues is shaped by the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and its focus on development. India signed and ratified the Kyoto Protocol in 2002, but was exempt from its emission reduction targets, arguing its historical contribution to greenhouse gases was not significant compared to developed countries.

India maintains that developed countries, responsible for most historical emissions, bear the primary responsibility for curbing emissions and providing financial resources and clean technologies to developing countries to help them develop sustainably. India relies on the principles of historical responsibility enshrined in UNFCCC, asserting that economic and social development are developing countries' top priorities.

India is wary of proposals for binding emission reduction commitments on rapidly industrialising countries, viewing them as contravening UNFCCC principles and unfair, as India's per capita emissions remain low compared to the global average. India's projected per capita emissions in 2030 are still expected to be less than half the world average in 2000.

Despite this stance, India is actively participating in global environmental efforts through domestic programmes: National Auto-fuel Policy (cleaner fuels), Energy Conservation Act 2001 (energy efficiency), Electricity Act 2003 (renewable energy), importing natural gas, adopting clean coal technologies, and planning a National Mission on Biodiesel. India ratified the Paris Climate Agreement in 2016 and has one of the largest renewable energy programmes globally.

India reviewed the Earth Summit agreements in 1997 and concluded there was insufficient progress on transferring financial resources and environmentally-sound technology to developing nations. India believes developed countries must meet their commitments under UNFCCC. India also advocates for SAARC countries to adopt a common position on global environment issues to increase the region's influence.

Environmental Movements: One Or Many?

While governments address environmental degradation at the international level, significant responses also come from environmental movements involving environmentally conscious volunteers globally and locally. These movements are vibrant, diverse, and powerful social forces that raise new ideas and long-term visions for human interaction with the environment.

Examples illustrate the diversity of these movements:

• **Forest Movements:** In the South (Mexico, India, Brazil, etc.), these movements face intense pressure due to alarming rates of forest clearing. Unlike in the North, forests in the South are often inhabited, challenging the 'wilderness' notion of areas without human presence. While the North's wilderness campaigns focus on preserving areas from human intrusion, movements in the South often focus on people living *within* forests and sustainable practices. (Source on Are Forests "Wilderness"? contrasts Northern and Southern perspectives). Campaigns in the North and South also focus on protecting specific species and habitats (e.g., eagles in Philippines, tigers in India, elephants in Africa), sometimes framed as biodiversity issues. NGOs like WWF often support these efforts.
• **Anti-Mega-Dam Movements:** Movements opposing large dam construction exist globally. These often evolve into pro-river movements advocating for sustainable river system management. Early movements (1980s) were in the North (e.g., saving Franklin River in Australia). Currently, many mega-dams are being built in the South (Turkey, Thailand, South Africa, China, Indonesia), sparking resistance. India has prominent anti-dam movements like the Narmada Bachao Andolan, where non-violence is a shared principle. (Illustration of protest against a coal mine project in Bangladesh).

Resource Geopolitics

Resource geopolitics examines the distribution of power related to resource access and control. Resources have historically driven European power expansion and interstate rivalry. Western geopolitical thought focused on trade, war, and power linked to overseas resources and maritime control (e.g., ensuring timber supply for navies). Uninterrupted supply of strategic resources like oil was crucial in both World Wars.

During the Cold War, Northern industrialised countries used various methods to secure resources: military deployment near exploitation sites and sea lanes, stockpiling, supporting friendly governments in producing countries, backing MNCs, and favourable international agreements. Traditional Western strategy prioritised access to supplies, potentially threatened by the Soviet Union, focusing on controlling oil in the Gulf and strategic minerals in Africa. Post-Cold War, security of supply remains a concern for minerals (including radioactive materials) and especially oil. (Leading the good life illustration and text discusses the geopolitics of oil).

**Oil** remains central to global strategy, powering most transportation and industry. Its immense wealth generates political struggles for control, making the history of petroleum intertwined with war and conflict, particularly in West Asia and Central Asia. West Asia's Gulf region has the largest known oil reserves and is crucial for meeting future demand increases. Saudi Arabia and Iraq hold vast reserves, with the latter potentially having much more. Major consumers (US, Europe, Japan, India, China) are distant, highlighting the strategic importance of the region.

**Water** is another crucial resource relevant to global politics. Regional variations and freshwater scarcity in some areas point to potential conflicts over shared water resources in the 21st century. 'Water wars' might arise from disputes over pollution, excessive upstream irrigation, or dam construction reducing downstream water quantity/quality. States have used force to protect or seize water resources (e.g., Israel, Syria, Jordan over Jordan/Yarmuk Rivers; Turkey, Syria, Iraq over Euphrates). Studies show military conflicts involving countries sharing rivers are not uncommon (Cartoon on water scarcity).

The Indigenous Peoples And Their Rights

The issue of **indigenous peoples** brings environment, resources, and politics together. The UN defines indigenous populations as descendants of original inhabitants of a territory, overcome by later arrivals of different culture/origin. Indigenous peoples often maintain distinct customs and traditions compared to the dominant culture of their country.

Globally, millions of indigenous peoples share common concerns. Their voices in world politics call for recognition as equal members of the international community and as enduring nations with their own identity. They refer to their historical connection to their lands using phrases like ‘Since times immemorial’. Indigenous worldviews often share similarities regarding land and life systems.

The most obvious threat to indigenous peoples' survival is **loss of land**, which is also their economic resource base. Without land, they face insecurity and challenges to their cultural and political autonomy.

In **India**, ‘indigenous people’ usually refers to the **Scheduled Tribes** (nearly 8% of population). Most depend on cultivation, historically with free land access. Under British colonial rule, tribal areas faced external forces. Despite constitutional protection in political representation, they have benefited less from development and are a significant group displaced by development projects since independence.

Issues related to indigenous rights were long neglected. Growing international contact among indigenous leaders led to a sense of common concerns. The **World Council of Indigenous Peoples**, formed in 1975, became an NGO with UN consultative status. Indigenous rights are increasingly a focus of movements against globalisation (Chapter 7), highlighting their struggle for recognition, rights, and protection of their lands and ways of life in the face of political and economic pressures. (Source on Spoonful of Ecology presents a perspective on the interaction between urban/developed people and nature).