The Process of Assessing the Environment - Essay Example

?Sustainable Environment The planet earth, the only one of its kind and the only one known to sustain life, is slowly succumbing to its unnatural death. It is well on its way to join the other planets and become one like them where life cannot sustain. It is the human beings who have sent earth on this course of destruction, with their “dangerously rapid consumption of finite resources” (Brundtland, 1987). Humans have reached a stage where they have developed so much, but this is not same with the resources in the planet, as they keep depleting with the ever increasing human population and their insatiable demands. Resources cannot be increased and once they are all exhausted there would not be any resources left. It would then only be a question of time that man ceases to exist. This paper discusses about environmental sustainability, mainly focusing on the Brundtland Report about the same. This report not just considers the earth’s “environmental decay, poverty, and hardship,” but also brings to fore the “possibility for a new era of economic growth” and how this possibility can be realized. Environmentalists and scientists alike have tried to bring the situation under control by closely examining the environment as well as the earth. They have proposed several theories and steps that would help man to protect the environment and safeguard it. One such concept is sustainable development, which is the “ability to make development sustainable (by) ensuring that it meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (Brundtland, 1987). So, in other words, sustainable development proposes some restraints on the use of resources, which are to be followed in order to change the present perishing situation of the environment to some extent. It is a known fact that “poverty is no longer inevitable,” thus, such a world, is “prone to ecological and other catastrophes” (Brundtland, 1987). However, sustainable development aims at fulfilling the “basic needs of all,” both the rich and the poor (Brundtland, 1987). Although environmentalists have come up with several strategies to combat the realm of various problems that negatively affect planet earth, it is very difficult to implement these strategies. Even after they are implemented, there arise several changes in the environment, which curb the overall impact that the strategies might have had, had the environment remained the same as to when the plans were originally prepared. Therefore, it becomes clear that there are a lot of issues which stand in the way of environmental sustainability and its success. According to the Brundtland report, some of these issues include population growth, “food security, species and ecosystems, energy, industry and the urban challenge” (Brundtland, 1987). Population growth relates with not just the ever increasing number of people on the planet, but also the way in which this “number relate(s) to available resources” (Brundtland, 1987). The resources available are limited, but the population keeps on expanding, thus making it obvious that sooner or later consumption would increase so much that the resources would be finished off completely. Another factor that poses an issue is the unawareness or lack of knowledge on part of the greater number of people, who do not know how to use the resources efficiently. Therefore, the increasing population demands for increase in educational facilities and awareness programs, in addition to increase in other requirements such as food, health care, energy supplies etc. The problem in terms of food security is that though the production of food has increased rapidly “food is often not available where it is needed” (Brundtland, 1987). Thus, poor people frequently suffer from hunger and starvation. Similarly, when population grows, environmental risks such as pollution through means of increased number of transportation, factories and other chemical wastes also increase. In the case of species and ecosystems, it is a known fact that both of them are interrelated on very strong levels and the former is highly essential for the “normal functioning of ecosystems and the biosphere as a whole” (Brundtland 1987). But due to various developmental activities undertaken by man, a lot of these species are being listed under the ‘endangered’ category and will soon move on to the ‘extinct’ category if effective actions are not taken. “A safe and sustainable energy pathway,” which is very important for sustainable development has not yet been discovered, therefore this arises as another issue (Brundtland 1987). Energy is being utilized worldwide in a very wasteful way and this becomes one of the major issues confronted by the ideals of sustainable development. When focusing on industries, the main objective is to produce more output with less input. Keeping in mind the need to protect the environment, new technologies have been developed, which guarantee “higher productivity, increased efficiency, and decreased pollution” (Brundtland 1987). However, the problem lies in the fact that these innovations bring new risks to the scene in terms of new toxic chemicals and hazardous waste materials. The urban challenge is related with urbanization, where the population migrates from village areas in order to settle down in cities and this often leads to “higher productivity, increased efficiency, and decreased pollution, rampant disease(s), deteriorating infrastructure, environmental degradation etc” (Brundtland 1987). Therefore, this also poses a threat to the environment and its sustainability. In the formulation of any new policy, there arise a lot of factors that pose several challenges. Similarly, the formations of policies that deliver sustainable development also face certain challenges that are “integrated and interdependent (in) nature” (Brundtland 1987). This can be seen as a major challenge to the development and implementation of policies, as the institutions set up today are basically “independent, fragmented” and focus on relatively smaller problems. The reason I have chosen to address to this problem is because it is understood that there the institutions that deal with environment and those that deal with economy are separate. But the economy and environment are connected with each other and, therefore, they need to be dealt with together. The connection between these systems cannot be changed, therefore, “the policies and institutions concerned” must be changed (Brundtland 1987). Basically, it is the policies implemented by the institutions that have any chance of changing how things are now, thus, I think it is the most crucial element and needs to be given top priority. Another factor that poses a challenge is that the legal framework is not strong enough and this leads to “major gaps and deficiencies,” which need to be still overcome (Brundtland 1987). Such aspects demand international cooperation, where countries need to come together and work hand in hand. As far as I’m concerned this is highly significant due to the fact that we all live in one planet and, therefore, every country needs to harbour a mutual feeling of understanding as well as work towards world peace and harmony. For example: The IMF has introduced “its new Structural Adjustment Facility,” which takes into account “wider and longer-term development objectives” that would assist implementation of sustainable development, as there is a “strongly expressed demand from developing-country borrowers” regarding funds (Brundtland 1987). In the process of assessing the environment a lot of steps are involved. One such step is scoping, which is a “stage in policy, plan, program and project making (in) which issues, impacts and preliminary alternatives are determined that should be addressed at subsequent stages (Fischer and P Jones 137). The definition in itself explains its function, thus, showing the importance of such a process. Thus, scoping addresses the various problems, consequences and strategies required to overcome these problems before taking decisions affecting the policies, plans etc. Scoping comes after the process of screening and, thus, it helps to “determine (which) issues and impacts” from the screening stage require “further study” (Fischer and P Jones 137). “The purpose of scoping is: • To identify the important issues to be considered in an (EA) environmental assessment (Including the baseline and alternatives) • To determine the appropriate time and space boundaries of the EA • To establish the information necessary for decision-making • To anticipate the significant effects and factors to be studied in detail” (Fischer and P Jones 138) “The key objectives of scoping are: • To inform the public about the proposal (project, plan, programme or policy) • To identify the main stakeholders and their concerns and values • To define reasonable and practical alternatives to be addressed • To focus the important issues and significant impacts to be addressed by an EA • To define the boundaries for an EA in time, space and subject matter • To set requirements for the collection of baseline and other information • To establish the Terms of Reference (ToR) for an EA study” (Fischer & Jones 138) Thus, the aforementioned shows the role or importance of scoping. Scoping was not so popular earlier and was considered irrelevant, but later studies showed its importance and it was made a crucial constituent of the environmental assessment process. References Brundtland, G. H. Our Common Future: Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development. United Nations: 1987. Available at Fischer, Thomas and Phylip-Jones, John. Scoping in environmental assessment. Web. 20 Feb 2013. < http://www.twoeam-eu.net/handbook/04_new.pdf > Read More