Environment and Natural Resources
1. Chapter Overview
2. Environmental Concerns in Global Politics
⚠️ Key Environmental Problems
- Agricultural land degradation: Cultivable area barely expanding; existing farmland losing fertility. Grasslands overgrazed, fisheries over-harvested, water bodies depleted.
- Water crisis: As per UNDP Human Development Report 2016 — 663 million people in developing countries have no access to safe water; 2.4 billion have no sanitation, causing death of 3 million+ children annually.
- Deforestation: Natural forests — which stabilise climate, moderate water supplies, and harbour biodiversity — are being cut down and people displaced. Biodiversity loss continues.
- Ozone depletion: Steady decline in ozone in Earth’s stratosphere (the “ozone hole”) poses danger to ecosystems and human health.
- Coastal pollution: Coastal waters increasingly polluted due to land-based activities; intensive human settlement of coastal zones worsens this.
📅 Timeline of Global Environmental Awareness
1972 — Club of Rome
Published Limits to Growth, dramatising potential depletion of Earth’s resources against rapidly growing world population.
1972 — UNEP Founded
United Nations Environment Programme established; began holding international conferences and promoting coordinated response.
1987 — Brundtland Report
Our Common Future warned that traditional economic growth patterns were not sustainable, especially given demands of the South for industrial development.
1992 — Earth Summit (Rio)
UN Conference on Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro. Attended by 170 states, thousands of NGOs and many MNCs. Firmly consolidated environment as a global political issue.
3. Earth Summit — Rio 1992 & Its Outcomes
📋 Outcomes of Rio Summit
- Produced conventions dealing with climate change, biodiversity, and forestry.
- Recommended a list of development practices called ‘Agenda 21’.
- Established consensus on combining economic growth with ecological responsibility — known as ‘sustainable development’.
- Left unresolved considerable differences — critics say Agenda 21 was biased in favour of economic growth rather than ecological conservation.
🌍 Global North (Rich Countries)
- Concerned with ozone depletion and global warming
- Want everyone to be equally responsible for ecological conservation
- Focus on the environment as it stands now
🌏 Global South (Developing Countries)
- Anxious to address link between economic development and environmental management
- Feel ecological degradation is product of industrial development by the North
- Want special needs of developing countries to be taken into account
4. The Protection of Global Commons
🗺️ The Four Global Commons
🌫️ Earth’s Atmosphere
The air we breathe belongs to no single state. Ozone depletion and greenhouse gas accumulation are shared threats requiring international cooperation. Key agreement: Montreal Protocol, 1987 (to reduce ozone-depleting substances).
🧊 Antarctica
Extends over 14 million sq km. Has 90% of world’s terrestrial ice and 70% of freshwater. Key agreement: Antarctic Treaty, 1959 and Antarctic Environmental Protocol, 1991. Activities limited to scientific research, fishing, and tourism since 1959.
🌊 Ocean Floor
The deep seabed beyond national jurisdiction. Contains mineral resources and unique ecosystems. Management influenced by North-South inequalities — access depends on technology controlled by developed countries.
🚀 Outer Space
Benefits of exploitative activities in outer space are far from equal for present or future generations. Access depends on technology and industrial development — largely controlled by the North.
5. Common but Differentiated Responsibilities
📜 What the Rio Declaration Says
📋 Kyoto Protocol, 1997
- An international agreement setting targets for industrialised countries to cut their greenhouse gas emissions.
- Gases covered: Carbon dioxide, Methane, Hydrofluoro carbons etc. — considered responsible for global warming.
- Based on principles set out in UNFCCC (UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, 1992).
- UNFCCC acknowledged that the largest share of historical and current global greenhouse gas emissions has originated in developed countries.
- Per capita emissions in developing countries are still relatively low — so China, India, and other developing countries were exempted from Kyoto Protocol requirements.
- Agreed in 1997 in Kyoto, Japan.
6. Common Property Resources
- Common property is being degraded due to: privatisation, agricultural intensification, population growth, and ecosystem degradation.
- This causes common property to dwindle in size, quality, and availability to the poor.
- Sacred groves in India — parcels of uncut forest vegetation maintained in the name of deities — are an example of community-based resource management and common property.
- Sacred groves preserve not just biodiversity but also cultural diversity.
- Along the forest belt of South India, sacred groves have been traditionally managed by village communities.
7. India’s Stand on Environmental Issues
📋 India’s Key Positions
- India signed and ratified the Kyoto Protocol in August 2002.
- India was exempt from Kyoto Protocol requirements — its contribution to greenhouse gases during industrialisation was not significant.
- India holds that the major responsibility for curbing emissions rests with developed countries, which have accumulated emissions over a long period.
- India is wary of UNFCCC discussions on introducing binding commitments on rapidly industrialising countries (like Brazil, China, India) — feels this violates the spirit of UNFCCC.
- India’s rise in per capita carbon emissions by 2030 will still be less than half the world average — from 0.9 tonnes (2000) to 1.6 tonnes per capita (2030) vs world average of 3.8 tonnes.
- India believes SAARC countries should adopt a common position on major global environment issues to carry greater weight.
- India ratified the Paris Climate Agreement on 2 October 2016 and has one of the world’s largest renewable energy programmes.
✅ India’s Domestic Environmental Initiatives
National Auto-fuel Policy
Mandates cleaner fuels for vehicles, reducing vehicular emissions.
Energy Conservation Act, 2001
Outlines initiatives to improve energy efficiency across sectors.
Electricity Act, 2003
Encourages the use of renewable energy.
National Mission on Biodiesel
Plans to use ~11 million hectares of land to produce biodiesel by 2011–2012.
8. Environmental Movements: One or Many?
🌲 Types of Environmental Movements
🌳 Forest Movements (South)
In Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Malaysia, Indonesia, Africa, and India. Southern forests are still peopled — unlike Northern forests perceived as “wilderness”. Forest clearing in the Third World continues at an alarming rate despite three decades of environmental activism. Famous example: Chipko Movement in India.
⛏️ Anti-Mining Movements
Minerals industry is one of the most powerful forms of industry. Its extraction, use of chemicals, pollution of waterways, displacement of communities face resistance worldwide. Example: Philippines groups campaigned against Western Mining Corporation (WMC) of Australia.
🌊 Anti-Dam / Pro-River Movements
Wherever a mega-dam is being built, an environmental movement opposing it is likely to be found. First anti-dam movement launched in North in early 1980s — campaign to save Franklin River, Australia. In India: Narmada Bachao Andolan is the most well-known. India’s anti-dam movements share the principle of non-violence.
🦅 Wilderness / Biodiversity Movements
Focus on protecting individual species and wilderness habitats. Examples: protecting Bengal tigers in India, fighting ivory trade in Africa, protecting eagles in Philippines. Many funded by NGOs like WWF (Worldwide Wildlife Fund).
9. Resource Geopolitics
🛢️ Oil — The Most Strategic Resource
- The global economy relied on oil for much of the 20th century as a portable and indispensable fuel.
- West Asia (Gulf region) accounts for about 30% of global oil production but holds 64% of the planet’s known reserves — the only region able to satisfy any substantial rise in oil demand.
- Saudi Arabia has a quarter of the world’s total reserves — single largest producer. Iraq’s known reserves are second only to Saudi Arabia’s.
- The US, Europe, Japan, and increasingly India and China consume petroleum but are located far from the Gulf region.
- During the Cold War, industrialised countries maintained supply through: deployment of military forces, stockpiling of strategic resources, propping up friendly governments, supporting MNCs, and favourable international agreements.
💧 Water — The Next Flashpoint
- Regional variations and increasing scarcity of freshwater point to disagreements over shared water resources as a leading source of 21st-century conflicts.
- Commentators refer to ‘water wars’ — potential violent conflict over this life-sustaining resource.
- Conflicts arise from downstream states objecting to pollution, excessive irrigation, or dam construction by upstream states.
- Historical examples: Israel, Syria, Jordan conflicts (1950s–60s) over Jordan and Yarmuk Rivers; Turkey, Syria, Iraq threats over dams on Euphrates River.
- Studies show countries that share rivers are often involved in military conflicts with each other.
10. The Indigenous Peoples and Their Rights
📋 Key Facts About Indigenous Peoples
- UN Definition: Indigenous populations are descendants of peoples who inhabited the present territory of a country when persons of different culture or ethnic origin arrived and overcame them.
- Approximately 30 crore (300 million) indigenous people spread throughout the world, including India.
- Examples: 20 lakh — Cordillera region (Philippines); 10 lakh — Mapuche people (Chile); 6 lakh — Chittagong Hill Tracts (Bangladesh); 35 lakh — North American natives; 10 lakh — Small Peoples of Soviet North.
- In India, ‘indigenous people’ usually refers to Scheduled Tribes — nearly 8% of India’s population.
- Most indigenous populations in India depend for their subsistence primarily on cultivation of land.
⚠️ Threats & Struggles
- The loss of land = loss of economic resource base = most obvious threat to survival of indigenous people.
- After British colonial rule established, Scheduled Tribe communities were subjected to outside forces — losing free access to land they had cultivated for centuries.
- They enjoy constitutional protection in political representation but have not received much of the benefits of development.
- They are the single largest group displaced by developmental projects since independence.
- Their rights have been neglected in domestic and international politics for very long.
🌍 Indigenous Voices in World Politics
- Call for admission of indigenous people to the world community as equals
- Use phrase ‘since times immemorial’ to assert continued occupancy of their lands
- Worldviews of indigenous societies are strikingly similar with respect to land and life systems
🏛️ International Recognition
- World Council of Indigenous Peoples formed in 1975
- First of 11 indigenous NGOs to receive consultative status in UN
- Growing international contacts among indigenous leaders from 1970s aroused sense of common concern
- Many anti-globalisation movements focus on rights of indigenous peoples
11. Mind Map — Chapter 6 at a Glance
Water crisis · Pollution
Biodiversity loss
Sustainable Dev.
North-South divide
Ocean floor · Space
Res communis
Kyoto Protocol 1997
Developed = more duty
Historical responsibility
Renewable energy
Anti-dam · Forest
Non-violence
Gulf region
Naval timber → oil
Scheduled Tribes (India)
World Council 1975
12. Summary — Quick Revision
Environmental issues are deeply political — they involve questions of who causes degradation, who pays the price, who uses Earth’s resources, and who is responsible for action. No single government can address them fully — they must be part of world politics.
The Earth Summit (Rio, 1992) attended by 170 states, firmly consolidated environment in global politics. It produced conventions on climate change, biodiversity, forestry, and recommended Agenda 21. Concept of sustainable development emerged — combining economic growth with ecological responsibility.
Global Commons (res communis humanitatis) are areas outside sovereign jurisdiction — Earth’s atmosphere, Antarctica, the ocean floor, and outer space. Key agreements: Antarctic Treaty 1959, Montreal Protocol 1987, Antarctic Environmental Protocol 1991. Cooperation is difficult due to North-South inequalities.
Common but Differentiated Responsibilities (CBDR) — accepted at Rio 1992: all states share the duty to protect the environment, but developed countries must bear greater responsibility because they caused more historical damage. The Kyoto Protocol (1997) exempted developing countries like India, China from binding emission targets.
India’s stand: Signed Kyoto Protocol (2002), ratified Paris Agreement (2016). Argues developed countries should bear the major responsibility for curbing emissions. India’s per capita emissions are still very low. Has large renewable energy programmes, National Auto-fuel Policy, Energy Conservation Act 2001, Electricity Act 2003.
Environmental movements are among the most vibrant social movements globally — forest movements, anti-mining, anti-dam/pro-river, and wilderness/biodiversity movements. In India, Chipko Movement (forest) and Narmada Bachao Andolan (anti-dam) are the most famous. India’s movements share the key idea of non-violence.
Resource Geopolitics — who gets what, when, where, how. Oil is the most strategic resource: the Gulf region holds 64% of known reserves. Water scarcity is becoming a leading source of 21st-century conflicts — ‘water wars’. History of petroleum is the history of war and struggle.
Indigenous Peoples — ~300 million worldwide — bring together issues of environment, resources, and politics. In India, Scheduled Tribes (~8% population) are the largest group displaced by development projects. The World Council of Indigenous Peoples (1975) was the first indigenous NGO to receive consultative status in the UN.
13. Important Terms to Remember
- Global Commons (Res Communis Humanitatis): Areas/regions located outside the sovereign jurisdiction of any one state — Earth’s atmosphere, Antarctica, the ocean floor, and outer space. Require common governance by the international community.
- Sustainable Development: An approach to development that combines economic growth with ecological responsibility. Emerged as the consensus concept from the Rio Earth Summit (1992). Based on the 1987 Brundtland Report’s warning that traditional growth patterns are unsustainable in the long term.
- Common but Differentiated Responsibilities (CBDR): The principle accepted at Rio 1992 that while all states must protect the environment, developed countries must bear greater responsibility because they have contributed more to historical environmental degradation and possess more technological and financial resources.
- Kyoto Protocol (1997): An international agreement setting binding targets for industrialised countries to cut greenhouse gas emissions (CO₂, CH₄, HFCs etc.). Based on UNFCCC principles. Developing countries like India and China were exempted due to relatively low per capita emissions.
- UNFCCC: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (1992). Provides that parties should protect the climate system “on the basis of equity and in accordance with their common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities.”
- Agenda 21: A list of development practices recommended by the Rio Summit (1992) for combining economic growth with ecological responsibility. Critics say it was biased in favour of economic growth over ecological conservation.
- Resource Geopolitics: The study and practice of who gets what, when, where, and how in terms of natural resources (especially strategic resources like oil and water). Has historically been a major driver of war, alliances, and power expansion.
- Common Property Resources: Resources shared by a community where members have both rights and duties regarding nature, levels of use, and maintenance. Example: sacred groves in India — managed by village communities for centuries. Being degraded by privatisation, population growth, and ecosystem degradation.
- Indigenous Peoples (UN Definition): Descendants of peoples who inhabited the present territory of a country at the time when persons of a different culture or ethnic origin arrived and overcame them. In India, referred to as Scheduled Tribes (~8% of population).