Group Presentation Development Econ and Envi..pptx
- 1. 10.1 Environment and Development: The Basic Issue
- 2. Economic and Environment ● Environmental issues are now central to development. ● Poverty and environmental degradation feed a vicious cycle ● Environmental degradation harms the poorest the most. ● Damage to resources reduces long-term productivity. ● Environmental effects must be included in economic planning.
- 3. ● Developing countries face higher risks, despite polluting less. ● The world depends on shared responsibility. ● Sustainable development is a central concept.
- 4. Sustainable Development and Environmental Accounting . ● Sustainability means meeting present needs without harming future generations. ● Sustainable development uses economic tools to protect the environment. ● Development is only sustainable if total capital stays the same or increases.
- 5. ● Nature and machines are not full substitutes. ● Future growth depends on environmental quality. ● Environmental accounting tracks real development. ● No net loss of environmental assets is a useful policy goal. ● Rising population and consumption make sustainability harder.
- 6. Poverty and the Environment. ● The poor are the main victims of environmental degradation. ● Poverty reduces the ability to fight environmental problems. ● Poverty is both a cause and effect of environmental damage.
- 7. ● High fertility and environmental damage both come from poverty. ● Environmental policies must focus on land, poverty, and resources. ● Helping the poor is key to solving environmental problems.
- 8. ENVIRONMENT RELATIONSHIPS TO POPULATION, POVERTY, AND ECONOMIC GROWTH
- 9. 1. Population Growth Environmental Degradation → • More people = higher demand for land, food, water, fuel and energy consumption etc. • This leads to environmental degradation, especially in places with limited resources.
- 10. 2. Environmental Degradation Lower Quality of Life → • When the environment is damaged (e.g., polluted water, deforested land), it becomes harder for people to survive and thrive, both present and in the future.
- 11. 3. Poverty Makes Things Worse • Poor families often depend on natural resources for survival (e.g., farming,). • As resources are depleted, poverty deepens. • Poor families also tend to have more children, worsening population pressure.
- 12. 4. Economic Growth vs. Population Growth • If the economy (GNI) and food supply don't grow faster than the population — lower per capita income and food. • This keeps people in poverty, making them rely more on larger families for help and survival.
- 13. 5. Solutions Depend on Government Action • Governments need to create economic and institutional changes (education, jobs, healthcare, family planning). • These can help slow down fertility rates and reduce population growth.
- 14. “GROWTH VS THE ENVIRONMENT” Environmental Curve (EKC) • suggests that as income rises, pollution increases at first, then increases at higher income levels —(forming an inverted-U pattern). • This pattern works for some local pollutants like air particles and sulfur dioxide, since wealthier societies have the means and willingness to invest in environmental protection. • However, it does not apply to all problems. For global issues like climate change and biodiversity loss, there is no clear evidence that damage declines with income. • In fact, some of this damage may be irreversible and will require active international action.
- 16. Natural Resource–Based Livelihoods as a Pathway Out of Poverty: Promise and Limitations Promise
- 17. • More than half of the economically active people in the developing world depend on agriculture, hunting, fishing, or forestry. • This environmental income, along with foraging and other activities, is vitally important to a majority of the poor.
- 18. • Under the right policy conditions can offer a pathway out of poverty. • Part of the solution is “pro-poor governance,” with the genuine empowerment of poor people and their communities to assert their rights. • The empowerment of women in their communities is often a key aspect of program success.
- 19. Limitations • Access to the benefits of environmental resources is often highly inequitable and, in some cases, increasingly so. • The poor have been losing control of some of their traditional natural resource commons, including forests, fields, and fishing areas.
- 20. • Many of the rural poor lacking access to adequate farmland or to resources for earning adequate livelihoods from nature have seen few gains or have suffered setbacks. • Much natural resource exploitation has been locally unsustainable. • It has occurred in a manner and on a scale that often bypasses the poor.
- 21. The Centrality of Water • "Water is the new oil” highlights how water has become increasingly scarce and valuable, especially in developing countries, where it is central to the experience of poverty. The poor often lack access to clean and safe water, spend a large portion of their time collecting it, and are forced to pay high prices per liter when buying it. This scarcity worsens health conditions, limits productivity, and deepens poverty in these regions.
- 22. Environmental Detoriation in Villages • Economic necessity forces small farmers to use resources in ways that guarantee short-term survival but reduce future productivity of environmental assets. • Persistent poverty is frequently the root of much locally caused damage, especially on land that is too shallow, too dry, or too sandy.
- 23. • Soil erosion from little plant cover leads to loss of topsoil, reduced yields, and desertification, causing rural-to-urban migration. • Deforestation for fuel for cooking lowers agricultural yields, increases rural hardships, and can facilitate the spread of disease. • Loss of vegetation and forest reduces groundwater replenishment and local rainfall, escalating to natural disasters and regional agricultural decline.
- 24. 10.2 Global Warming and Climate Change: Scope, Mitigation, and Adaptation - Adaptation
- 25. Scope The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has warned that climate change will severely impact many of the world's poorest countries sooner than previously expected. These impacts include increased disease, contaminated groundwater, degraded freshwater sources, loss of coastal ecosystems like fisheries and coral reefs, and more frequent coastal flooding. Ecological damage may also involve the loss of critical species such as pollinators and soil organisms, increased forest and crop fires, and higher surface ozone levels. As a result, any productivity gains in these regions could be offset just by trying to manage the worsening environmental conditions.
- 26. Mitigation Various strategies have been proposed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including carbon markets, carbon taxes, and subsidies to promote technological advancement. However, due to uncertainties in the costs and benefits of emission reductions, creating efficient regulatory systems— such as permits or tax regimes—presents economic challenges. The Stern Review recommends setting a long- term cap on greenhouse gases based on the earth's absorption capacity to prevent environmental catastrophe. In the short term, policies should be flexible to minimize economic burdens if the costs of emission reductions prove unexpectedly high.
- 27. Adaption • Climate change is now largely unavoidable due to delays in the climate system. • Adaptation is essential, especially for developing countries, to protect livelihoods and support development. Definition • UNDP defines adaptation as developing and implementing strategies to cope with, moderate, or benefit from the effects of climate change.
- 28. Types of Adaptation • Planned Adaptation: Led by governments (policy- driven). • Autonomous Adaptation: Done by individuals, households, or businesses (self-initiated).
- 29. Interaction Between Types • Complementary: When both types reinforce each other (e.g., farmers using heat-resistant seeds developed by government research). • Substitutive: When one type reduces the need for the other (e.g., government irrigation reducing the need for private conservation).
- 30. 10.3 Economic Models of Environmental Issues
- 31. • Niger is landlocked and borders seven countries, many of which face stability, development, and environmental challenges: Nigeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Algeria, Libya, and Chad. • The country struggles with governance, private sector development, and civil society engagement. • Niger's colonial legacy includes difficult institutional challenges due to French colonization from 1922 until independence in 1960. • The nation has experienced military or single-party rule, coups, and regional rebellions, particularly until the 2011 elections.
- 32. • Ongoing risks include ethnic strife, spillovers from conflicts in Mali and Libya, and unresolved border issues. • The Sahara Desert covers a significant portion of Niger, with the remaining area suffering from recurring droughts. • Niger has a predominantly rural and agricultural economy, but its natural environment is deteriorating. • Issues stem from poor domestic practices, secular desertification in the Sahel, and the worsening impact of climate change. • Average temperatures in Niger have increased by over 0.7 degrees Celsius (1.25 degrees Fahrenheit).
- 33. • Climate change is exacerbating water scarcity and food insecurity. • Many farmers in Niger recognize the effects of climate change, particularly in decreasing rainfall. • Research indicates that Niger has considerable potential for improved agricultural and livestock practices, leading to increased productivity.
- 38. Universality: • Private ownership • Legal rights Control • Resource management Exclusivity (Excludability): • Prevent use • Permission • Owner benefits • Resource control • Sell Transfer ownership • Market transactions • Valued uses Enforceability: • Legal protection • Rights upheld • Trust in market • Benefit distribution
- 39. The economic model of environmental issues highlights the tension between economic growth and environmental sustainability. It suggests that while economic activities can lead to environmental degradation, effective policies and valuation of natural resources are essential for achieving a balance between development and ecological preservation.
- 41. Common Property vs. Private Property • Under private ownership, landowners hire workers until the marginal product equals the wage rate, ensuring maximum efficiency and the collection of scarcity rents (profits due to limited land). • In common property systems, anyone can use the land. This leads to overuse since each worker focuses on their average product, ignoring the negative impact on others. As a result, too many workers join, driving productivity below the wage rate, causing inefficiency—a situation called the "Tragedy of the Commons."
- 42. Efficiency vs. Equity • Neoclassical theory supports privatization to improve efficiency but does not address income inequality. • Redistribution of gains through taxation is suggested but has rarely worked well in practice, especially where the wealthy control both the resources and the government.
- 43. Barriers for Small Farmers • Family farmers are often the most efficient users but hesitate to invest in common land due to insecure tenure and limited access to credit. • Giving them long-term rights or ownership could boost productivity, but simple auctions of public land may worsen inequality.
- 44. Alternative: Community-Based Management • Elinor Ostrom’s research shows that fair and efficient management of common resources is possible when local communities set and enforce rules. • However, such systems require constant monitoring, especially as development brings new temptations for individuals to act selfishly.
- 45. Public Goods and Bads: Environmental Degradation and the Free-Rider Problem Externalities: When someone's actions (like overusing land) affect others without paying the costs. Public Goods: Benefits everyone, and one person’s use doesn’t reduce availability for others (e.g., clean air). Public Bads: Harms everyone in a non-exclusive way (e.g., pollution, deforestation).
- 46. Environmental Degradation as a Public Bad •Deforestation leads to public bads • Private actions regional effects → • Forest protection = public good
- 47. Elinor Ostrom’s 8 Design Principles (for managing common resources effectively): 1. Clear boundaries – Know who has access and where. 2. Fair sharing – Match benefits to contributions. 3. Collective choice – Users help make the rules. 4. Monitoring – Users or assigned individuals monitor use.
- 48. 5. Graduated sanctions – Rule violators face fair, step-by-step penalties. 6. Conflict resolution – Easy access to local and low-cost solutions. 7. Right to organize – Users can create rules without outside interference. 8. Nested systems – Governance works across multiple levels.
- 49. Limitations of the Public-Good Framework • Pricing Problem: It's hard to set the right price for public goods because people tend to hide their true benefits to avoid paying—this is called free-riding. • Government Role: While governments can reduce inefficiencies, they often lack the full information needed for perfect resource allocation.
- 50. • Practical Challenges: Charging fees for public goods like forest preservation or sustainable timber programs is very difficult, especially in poor communities. Collecting payment is nearly impossible from impoverished or subsistence-dependent populations. • Neoclassical Insight: Despite these issues, neoclassical theory still helps explain market failures and how to improve resource use in commercial economies.
- 51. 10.4 URBAN DEVELOPMENT AND THE ENVIRONMENT
- 52. ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS OF URBAN SLUMS •Poor Living Conditions: Similar to rural poverty, but worse due to dense population and pollution. •Air Pollution Indoors: Women and children inhale smoke from cooking with unsafe fuels This leads to chronic bronchitis and respiratory infections. •Lack of Clean Water: Families often can’t afford enough fuel to boil water, leading to waterborne diseases like diarrhea, especially among children. •Exposure to Street Pollution: Vendors and kids are exposed to vehicle emissions and open sewage. •Absorptive capacity - environment’s ability to absorb waste without damage.
- 53. IMPACT: •Children suffer most: High risk of malnutrition, dehydration, and disease. •Girls are often left untreated when sick due to gender bias in medical attention. •Crowding worsens everything: Poor sanitation, garbage mixing with sewage, and fast disease spread.
- 54. INDUSTRIALIZATION AND URBAN AIR POLLUTION The Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC):
- 55. Main Pollution Sources: •Energy use (burning fossil fuels) •Vehicles (no catalytic converters) •Factories (release untreated waste) Clean technologies - eco-friendly technologies that reduce pollution.
- 56. Pollution Externalities: •Polluters don’t bear full costs of their actions. Externality - when someone else pays the cost of another person’s actions. Social cost - total cost to society, including health/environmental damage.
- 57. Solution: Introduce pollution taxes to reflect the social cost, not just private cost. Pollution tax - a tax to make polluters pay for the harm they cause.
- 58. PROBLEMS OF CONGESTION, WATER, AND SANITATION Water & Sanitation Crisis: •Over 1 billion people lack clean water. •1.5 billion lack improved sanitation. •Slum residents may share one faucet with 1,000 others. •Drinking from polluted rivers or canals causes diarrhea, parasites, and death. Private cost - cheapest way to buy or produce goods. Infrastructure Strain: •Illegal housing means no government water services. Overuse of groundwater leads to: •Land subsidence (ground sinking) •Saltwater contamination in coastal areas
- 59. 10.5 The Local and Global Costs of Rain Forest Destruction
- 60. Due to changes in patterns of land use in the developing countries, It currently make their largest contribution to global concentrations of greenhouse gases. ●Greenhouse gases Gases that trap heat within the earth's atmosphere and can thus contribute to global warming
- 61. Deforestation and Climate Change • Rain forest destruction contributes about 20% of global carbon dioxide (CO ) emissions. ₂ • Trees absorb CO and release oxygen during ₂ photosynthesis. • Cutting trees reduces the earth's ability to absorb CO , ₂ worsening climate change. Loss of Biodiversity • Rain forests are home to countless species.
- 62. • Due to deforestation, the following are now threatened: • 12% of bird species • 24% of mammal species • 30% of fish species • Species extinction is a major concern.
- 63. Main Cause: Agriculture • 60% of deforestation is caused by small farmers clearing forests to plant crops. • But: 90% of this land is infertile — usable only for a few years. • After that, land is often sold to large landowners for cattle grazing, often with government subsidies. • This leads to more forest clearing as small farmers look for new land.
- 64. The Poverty Trap • Settlers clear land farm on poor soil sell it move again → → → → repeat. • It becomes a vicious cycle, trapping people in poverty and worsening deforestation.
- 65. Preserving Forests Isn’t Free • It seems “cheap” to leave forests alone, but it’s actually costly for developing countries: • Loss of fuel sources (like firewood) • Loss of income from timber and beef exports • Fewer short-term solutions for land shortages • The cost of preservation is often too high for poor nations to bear alone.
- 66. Global Public Good • Rain forest preservation benefits the entire world (less CO , more ₂ biodiversity). • So it's unfair for only a few developing countries to bear all the cost. • A solution: rich countries should pay their share — for example, through fees or contributions to preservation programs.
- 67. Long-Term Solutions • Increase access to alternative fuels to reduce forest use. • Promote sustainable timber harvesting (e.g., tree-cutting every 30 years only). • Develop markets for non-timber products (e.g., fruits, nuts, oils, medicines). • Implement careful oversight of logging to prevent illegal or wasteful cutting. International Support Needed • Reduce trade barriers so forest products become more profitable. • Support “debt-for-nature swaps”: in exchange for canceling some national debt, countries agree to preserve forests. • Provide international funding not as aid, but as payment for a global benefit.
- 68. Why Can’t Developing Countries Cut Forests Like Rich Countries Did Before? Differences between then and now: • Tropical forests have nutrients in biomass, not in soil — harder to regenerate than temperate forests. • Modern deforestation has global consequences (climate, biodiversity). • Forests are now more valuable, due to eco-tourism, carbon credits, and bioresources. • Cutting forests doesn’t lead to real development — productivity gains come from industry, not land expansion.
- 69. 10.6 Policy Options in Developing and Developed Countries What Developing Countries Can Do: 1. Proper Resource Pricing • Remove harmful subsidies on energy, water, and agriculture. • These subsidies mostly benefit wealthy people, not the poor. • Underpriced resources lead to wasteful use and environmental harm.
- 70. 2. Community Involvement • Projects are more effective when they involve local communities. • Community participation makes programs cheaper and more sustainable. • Locals are often willing to help if they benefit directly from the project. 3. Clear Property Rights • People won’t invest in land or improve it if they’re unsure they legally own it. • Securing land titles leads to better environmental care and investment. • In some cases, land reform is necessary so that tenants have a fair share.
- 71. 4. Improving Economic Alternatives • People clear forests because they’re poor and have no other income sources. • Solutions: • Support small farmers with credit, irrigation, and tools. • Build rural infrastructure (roads, storage, etc.) to create jobs and reduce forest pressure. • Provide access to alternative fuels (so they don’t rely on cutting trees for firewood). 5. Raising the Economic Status of Women Educated women tend to: • Have smaller families • Know more about nutrition and health • Use resources more wisely • Empowering women leads to less pressure on the environment.
- 72. 6. Industrial Emissions Abatement • Governments can use taxes or tradable permits to control pollution. • Market-based policies are more efficient and reward clean producers. • Offer tax credits or subsidies for businesses that use clean technology. • Hardest to regulate: government-run industries — they lack profit motives and oversight.
- 73. Proactive Stance Toward Climate Change and Environmental Degradation: Import Restrictions A proactive stance on climate change and environmental degradation, specifically concerning import restrictions, involves implementing policies that prevent or mitigate harm before significant damage occurs. This contrasts with a reactive approach, which addresses problems only after they have manifested. Import restrictions, in this context, are used as a tool to reduce the environmental impact of imported goods and materials.
- 74. Definition: Proactive import restrictions are policies that limit or ban the importation of goods or materials deemed environmentally harmful, contributing to climate change or environmental degradation. These restrictions aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, protect biodiversity, and conserve resources by shifting consumption patterns toward more sustainable alternatives.
- 75. Summary: Proactive import restrictions are a key element of a broader strategy to combat climate change and environmental degradation. By targeting specific products with high environmental footprints (e.g., certain types of plastics, unsustainable timber, or goods produced with high carbon emissions), these policies aim to: • Reduce the demand for environmentally damaging goods. • Encourage domestic production of sustainable alternatives. • Promote cleaner production methods in exporting countries. • Protect domestic ecosystems from the impacts of imported pollution.
- 76. Important Details: Several factors are crucial to the effectiveness and fairness of proactive import restrictions: • Scientific basis: Restrictions should be based on robust scientific evidence demonstrating the environmental harm caused by specific imported goods. • Transparency and accountability: Clear criteria for identifying harmful goods and implementing restrictions are essential, along with mechanisms for monitoring compliance and addressing any unintended consequences.
- 77. • International cooperation: Effective implementation often requires collaboration with exporting countries to ensure fair trade practices and promote sustainable production methods. - Economic considerations: Restrictions may have economic implications, impacting industries and consumers. Careful consideration of potential trade-offs and the need for compensatory measures is vital. • Enforcement: Robust enforcement mechanisms are needed to prevent circumvention of import restrictions and ensure compliance. The effectiveness of proactive import restrictions depends on a multifaceted approach that includes other policies like carbon pricing, investment in renewable energy, and public awareness campaigns. These restrictions are not a standalone solution but a crucial component of a comprehensive strategy for environmental protection and climate change mitigation.
- 78. Thank You!