Environment and Development

 Humanity is regarded as a biological entity by the environment as directly dependent on the natural world. Many vital resources on earth have to be exhausted if there is already deteriorating atmospheric chemistry and dangerous growth of human populations. Natural environments irreversibly destroy the foundation of a safe climate. All living things that live on this earth come under the environment. Whether they live on land or water they are part of the environment. The environment also includes air, water, sunlight, plants, animals, etc. Moreover, the earth is considered the only planet in the universe that supports life. The environment can be understood as a blanket that keeps life on the planet safe and sound.

If present growth trends in world population, industrialization, pollution, food problems and resource depletion continue unchanged, the limits to growth on this planet will be reached within the next one hundred years. The most probable result will be a rather sudden and uncontrollable decline in both population and industrial capacity.

International Agents and the Environment:

Since 1990 the World Bank and other international agencies have a formulated environment-related support programmes, i.e., programmes supporting development, while supporting the importance of the environment in economic development. The WB supports the sustainable development view.

First, it has highlighted the need for assessing all those projects which are expected to generate adverse environmental effects.

Secondly, poverty is found to be the major cause of environmental damage. The reason is that the poor people heavily depend on the environment.

The WTO has recognised the trade-off between trade and the environment and that environmental concerns could lead to protectionism. In spite of this the WTO supports the objective of SD and has been involved in assisting multilateral environmental agreements and increasing the awareness of links between trade and the environment.

The UN Conference on Environment and Development in June 1992—the Rio Earth Summit—leached agreements among 150 countries on reducing global warming by limiting atmospheric emissions by the year 2000 to their 1990 levels.