Hindrance to International Cooperation in Human Development, Climate Change, and Resource Depletion - Essay Example

? Word Count Most serious hindrance to international cooperation regarding human development, climate change, and resource depletion The practices of international Cooperation between nations are growing as evident from the increasing international development agencies, treaties and policies. These collaborations reflect the interest of international community towards the development of human race rather than individual nations. For example, in China, the extensive use of coal in Chinese industries; problems created by sandstorms from the inland deserts and negative impact of construction of Three Gorges Dam on the Changjiang have drawn the international attention (National Institute for Environmental Studies). At one end China is becoming the manufacturing hub of world’s big industries and at the other end, the role of China regarding climate change has become more important on international screen. In fact the process of internationalization and globalization has made the international cooperation through suitable channels a necessity for the economies. However, international cooperation which deals with the development in different fields of life has itself become a global issue. There are various concerns and problems which hinder the progress of international cooperation especially regarding human development, climate change and resource depletion. Much has been achieved through international cooperation however, many economies remain off track. It is very significant to learn the factors which have been contributing to hinder the progress of international cooperation especially in the area of human development, climate change and resource depletion. The world economy is a building block of various social classes which differ based on their income levels, races, religions etc. To reduce the conflicts and to ensure the sovereignty of every nation, the nation-state system has been introduced however; the increasing globalization is contributing to the unification of world. The major reason which is generally considered to be the major source of hindrance in international cooperation is the self-interest of every nation. When these interests conflict, the issues of inequalities and sovereignty become dominant. The developing countries in the pursuit of expanding their economic activities give very low priority to climate change and environment conservation. Therefore, the approaches which are being used by developed states cannot be used in the developing states and the collaboration gap expands. Dvorsky (2010) has identified the five reasons because of which the Copenhagen Climate Conference failed. He has identified that nation states do not like to be told what to do. Therefore, the economies who consider “maintaining trade balance” as their top priority and “climate change” as their last priority cannot change their priorities after an international conference on climate change. The cultural conflicts between the developed and developing states largely hinders the international cooperation especially regarding human development. Japan is actively involved in international cooperation regarding human development through technical cooperation and educational cooperation. From Japan’s perspective international cooperation in education is important because education shapes the foundation of an individual and at large foundation of a nation thereby, contributes to economic and social development. On the other hand, Kenya society identifies the various differences between modern education introduced by colonial government and traditional education formed by tribal societies. These differences are related to objectives, methods, contents and attitudes between two educational systems. The government of Kenya took this matter very seriously as it was increasing cultural conflict in the society. Like Kenya, the other countries which have been forced to adapt the modern education system have faced such cultural conflicts during the process of colonization (Baba). The Human Development Report 2007-2008 highlights that development progress in Africa is hindered by violent conflicts, poor coordination, insufficient resources and weak policies (Watkins). The climate change has become a global issue however; various factors are contributing to hinder international cooperation in this area. Although all economies care about the future of their next generations and seek to increase their role in international collaboration regarding climate change however, in reality they may not be able to play their role. Actually world is a heterogeneous place where both the poorest and richest economies exist. The vast disparity that exists between the “haves” and “have nots” appear to be another factors hindering international cooperation. Poor states are the main victims of climate change and highly threatened by global warming however, least efforts to save the environment can be seen in these economies. The developed economies can see the growing threat of climate change for the humanity as a whole and aim to provide financial and technological support to poor nations however, the conflicting political imagination and leadership reduces collaboration (Watkins). The governments of developing nations may consider such collaborations as direct threats towards their sovereignty and become vulnerable to the risk of ecological disaster. The developing economies are more focusing on making their economies stable and their collaboration towards climate change becomes last priority. Developing policies and plans against climate change can never work unless the developing economies which are the most influenced by climatic changes increase their efforts and reduce their carbon emissions. According to Hall and Day lack of attention towards resource depletion is the major factor contributing to lack of international cooperation in this area. They argue that world economies are debating on human activities related to climate change and biodiversity and their lack of focus towards world resources is contributing to resource depletion and population growth. International cooperation and ideal policies at political level cannot always ensure the effectiveness of plans because collaboration at individual level is very important. One of the primary factors that are contributing to the diminishing resources for human such as depletion of oil reservoirs is the huge population growth. However, at individual level people believe that such issues can be controlled through technological developments rather than realizing their role in limiting population growth. Lack of public awareness also hinders the progress of international cooperation especially in human development and climate change. Green (2009) conducted a study to identify the impact of socio-cultural inequality on resilience to climate change. By collecting the archaeological records, Green has studied the socio-cultural inequality among indigenous Australians. He highlights that in the Torres Strait and other parts of Australia people have access to information about the climate changes and their impact. In mid-2007 Federal Government funded the climate impact workshops however; no funding was reached to the region to date. The idea is that if socio-cultural inequalities play a substantial role within a huge state then how can be the role of these inequalities ignored at international level. Another factor that is reducing the access to explore more resources is the sovereignty of states. The developing nations who have explored huge natural reservoirs are unable to use the reservoirs because of lack of technology and they are not letting the technologically-advanced states to support them because they consider it as a direct threat towards their sovereignty. The research study of Yamamoto and Esteban (2010) focuses on various Island States which are at the risk of disappearing because of sea level rise. Since rise in sea level can have substantial issues for many countries therefore, this issue attracts international attention. However, they highlight that sovereignty over the lands hinders international cooperation for example, various questions have been raised like whether the sovereignty of a specific Island occupied by people, would be maintained or not if the Island became submerged. Therefore, it is concluded that inequalities between nations based on various factors, self-interests of nations, failure of political imagination and leadership and risks towards nation-sovereignty are the main factors that hinder international cooperation. References Baba, Takuya. Significance of ethnomathematical research: Towards international cooperation with the developing countries. 1998. 10. May 2011 . Dvorsky, George. Five Reasons the Copenhagen Climate Conference Failed. 2010. 10. May 2011 . GREEN, DONNA. OPAL WATERS, RISING SEAS: How SOCIOCULTURAL INEQUALITY REDUCES RESILIENCE TO CLIMATE CHANGE AMONG lNDIGENOUsAuSTRALIANS. CA: Left Coast Press Inc., 2009. Hall, Charles A. S. und John W. Day. Revisiting the Limits to Growth After Peak Oil. May-June 2009. 10. May 2011 . National Institute for Environmental Studies. Environmental Issues in Developing Countries. 10. May 2011 . Watkins, Kevin. „Human Development Report 2007/2008.“ Climate Report. 2008. Yamamoto, Lilian und Miguel Esteban. „Vanishing Island States and sovereignty.“ Ocean & Coastal Management (2010): 1-9. Read More