Environment and Natural Resources

Why the environment is a political issue

Farmland is losing fertility, fresh water is scarce, forests are cut, the ozone layer thinned and the climate is warming. These problems cross borders, so no country can solve them alone. From the 1960s they became part of world politics. The Club of Rome report 'Limits to Growth' (1972) warned about resource use. The Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro (1992) produced agreements on climate change and biodiversity and Agenda 21 for sustainable development (growth that does not harm the future).

Global commons

Commons are resources owned by a community, not by one person. Global commons are areas outside any single country's control, shared by all: the earth's atmosphere, Antarctica, the ocean floor and high seas, and outer space.

• Agreements: the Antarctic Treaty (1959), the Montreal Protocol (1987) on protecting the ozone layer, the Antarctic Environmental Protocol (1991), and the Outer Space Treaty (1967).
• Problems: it is hard to agree on who must do what, scientific proof is sometimes debated, and rich countries with better technology can benefit more, for example in space.
• If everyone uses a common resource but no one looks after it, it gets ruined: the 'tragedy of the commons'.

Common but differentiated responsibilities

Rich countries of the North want everyone to share the task of cutting pollution equally. Developing countries of the South say most of the damage was caused by industrial countries over two centuries, so they should do more.

The Rio Declaration (1992) accepted the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR): all states must protect the Earth, but developed countries bear more responsibility because of their past pollution and their greater money and technology.

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (1992) and the Kyoto Protocol (1997) set emission-cut targets for industrial countries; India and China were not required to cut under Kyoto. The Paris Agreement (2015) asks every country to set its own targets.

India's stand on environmental issues

• India signed and ratified the Kyoto Protocol (2002) and the Paris Agreement.
• India points out that its per capita emissions are far lower than those of rich countries, and will remain lower.
• It supports CBDR: those who polluted first must do more and give finance and clean technology to developing countries.
• It defends the right to development and fighting poverty.
• Actions at home: the Energy Conservation Act (2001), the Electricity Act (2003) encouraging renewable energy, cleaner fuels such as CNG, the National Action Plan on Climate Change (2008), and the National Auto-fuel Policy.
• India co-founded the International Solar Alliance (2015) and wants SAARC countries to share a common stand.

Environmental movements

Some of the strongest responses have come from people's movements rather than governments.

• Forest movements: in the South (Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Malaysia, Indonesia, Africa, India), people resist the cutting of forests. In India, the Chipko movement (1970s) saw villagers, many of them women, hug trees to stop felling.
• Movements against mining: mines harm land, water and local people; for example, protests against mining companies in the Philippines and Australia.
• Anti-dam movements: big dams flood forests and villages and displace people. The Narmada Bachao Andolan in India opposed large dams on the Narmada. Movements against dams have also arisen in Australia and elsewhere.

These movements are diverse, often led by local people, and have brought new ideas and new ways of acting into politics.

Resource geopolitics

Resource geopolitics is about who gets which resources, when and how.

• Timber and naval power: in earlier centuries European powers wanted timber for ships and raw materials from colonies.
• Oil: the most important resource of the 20th century; it was vital in both world wars. Huge wealth and conflict are linked to oil, especially in West Asia (the Gulf region holds a large share of known reserves). Big powers want steady supplies.
• Minerals: critical for industry and technology.
• Water: shared rivers can cause disputes between countries; fresh water is becoming scarce in many regions and may cause conflicts in future.

Rights of indigenous peoples

The UN defines indigenous peoples as descendants of people who lived in a place before others came and settled there. They include communities in the Americas, Australia, the Philippines and India (often called Adivasis or tribal peoples).

• They want to be treated as equal peoples with their own identity and culture.
• Their demands: rights over their land, forests and resources, and a voice in decisions.
• Development projects like mines and dams have displaced many tribal people in India; they have often received little benefit.
• The World Council of Indigenous Peoples was formed in 1975; the UN set up a working group in 1982 and adopted a Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2007.

Try it yourself

Keep a one-day 'energy diary': list every time you used electricity, fuel or plastic. Mark which ones you could cut. Then move the fishing-boats slider in the 3D and explain the tragedy of the commons in your own words.

Key formulas and definitions

• Global commons: atmosphere, Antarctica, high seas/ocean floor, outer space
• Earth Summit, Rio 1992: Agenda 21, CBDR, sustainable development
• Kyoto Protocol 1997; Paris Agreement 2015
• Antarctic Treaty 1959; Montreal Protocol 1987; Outer Space Treaty 1967
• CBDR: common duty, bigger share for the developed North
• Movements: Chipko, Narmada Bachao Andolan

Worked examples

Common mistakes

• Listing a country's forests as a global commons. Global commons lie outside any single country's control.
• Saying CBDR means only rich countries must act. All countries share the duty; the rich carry a bigger share.
• Mixing up the Kyoto Protocol (1997) and the Earth Summit (1992).
• Treating environmental movements as only anti-development. They ask for development that is fair and sustainable.