Traversing the unsung

Environmental protection and the global south

Fatima Zubair

Global conferences for the environment come and go. Some are a success while others not so. While these conferences, like the most recent Warsaw Climate Change Conference in November 2013, trigger a worldwide debate, our part of the world remains oblivious. Our politically charged talk shows too turn a deaf ear, intended or inadvertent, at any such environmental enterprise being availed in the wider world. That is just another instance of how myopic and mundane our topics of social discourse have become. We do not want to hear about the future of the world we reside in, nor do we care, but just the daily odds and ends! And for that we are not entirely to be blamed. Below I have delved further, as a student of global environmental politics, into how we are so comfortable in the ignorance of the issue that is universally ubiquitous.

It is crucial to trace the background of this environmental consciousness before starting on the ignorance of the issue in Pakistan, and generally the global south. The environmental consciousness took particular root during the 1970’s oil shocks that laid bare the devastating potential of industrialization – in which the developed world had ruthlessly basked, without a hitch. The break that the 1970’s provided unearthed the tragedy of commons for the whole world – the evident scarcity of the shared resources.

What comprises the environment? It is crucial to delineate that environment includes not just the atmosphere- land and water sources- but also the living beings including plants and animals. When it comes to the environment human beings are the propellers while all other living beings are the passengers that must be looked after. If we exploit them endlessly, without leaving any room for their reclamation, we shall be paid back in the same coin. Efforts are being made in this regard, but at a very slow pace. Developing countries face much graver issues than conducting an extensive environmental campaign.

Ozone depletion, the greenhouse effect, acid rain, and so on are parts of this environmental annihilation process that is beyond redemption. At the same time, the damage done to animals in the process of industrial expansion can also cause great rifts in the ecological balance, like the loss of habitat, deforestation, unregulated and unchecked hunting, water-logging, salinity of the land, and so on. Similarly, industrial water contamination is just as dire a situation, as polluted water tributaries irrigate the adjoining areas and ultimately blend in with the sea. Thus, the havoc this wreaks is far reaching and not fully known. Chemical-infested drinking water is poison, and we see the common people living by the rivers consume the same raw river water and die thereof.

First things first: the issues lying at the top of the developing countries’ priority list are poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, sociopolitical instability, corruption, population growth, and an urgent need to step up economic growth. Too full a plate as it is, these issues do not leave room for any surplus funds to look after the environment.

Second, the core quandary is that developing countries, most of all, require expansion in the industrial sector in order to develop. They need to generate funds to cater for the greater needs of the public, no matter how adversely this affects the environment. Unlike in the developed world, modifying economic policy to reduce environmental impact can only come with a collateral cost of human life, as economic growth falters and deadly poverty proliferates. Thus, the economy is given preference no matter what becomes of the physical atmosphere. The example of Karachi will explain. Karachi happens to be our economic heartland; however, its outward condition with smoke, smog, litter, and congestion discredits the holistic wellbeing of the city. The steps being taken in this direction are meagre. Some years back, when the oil tanker leaked in Karachi’s Port Qasim, the oil surfaced the water for as long as one year. It damaged the surrounding marine habitat to the fullest. People encountered severe bronchial diseases, yet nothing was done on the part of the government. On the other hand, across our eastern border, India has used drones against illegal poaching. Efforts are being made in the developing world, too, but they are disparate and few and far between; with an eventual breakdown of momentum.

Third, work needs to be done on the structural improvements in these programs. The developing countries are called on to help solve the issues of the developed world, while the grave issues facing the developing world are easily brushed aside. Most of all, the world needs to be mindful of the developing world’s need to grow and develop. Chanting the slogans of sustainable development has begun to mean ‘no development’ for the developing countries. It is apparent that the cost of ‘clean’ industry is prohibitively high for players in developing economies. Therefore, the north–south cooperation is beginning to sound farfetched, since the interests of the south are being neglected. A cooperation that guarantees equity between developed and developing countries, and a better sensitivity to the problems of the global south, would hold in the offing a healthy working relationship and substantial results.

In a nutshell, while the south has its reasons and the north refuses to substantially curtail development, the constant victim is the environment in which we breathe.

Other than the divide between the global north and south hampering the way forward, even the common environmental protection regulations do not work as effectively as they ought to. While the ministries of law, interior, health, industry, and electricity are incessantly in the limelight, Pakistan’s ministry of environmental protection is the most dormant of all. On the other hand, Britain, the US, Europe, and a few far eastern countries consider this not just a huge global challenge, but also their responsibility. The recent Japanese effort to curb the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster demonstrates their concern for the safety of not just their nation, but the entire region and their own reputation. Similarly, a recent underwater environmental conference held in Girifushi, Maldives, in 2009, was a clarion call for the states to come to grips with carbon dioxide emissions and save the ever-degrading environment.

Developed countries can afford to do something about it, since environmental concern is a privilege of the elite of the world who are deeply entrenched in the post-materialist age—which is yet a distant prospect for the developing world. The developing world still labors in the materialist stage of providing the basic necessities to its countrymen and a subsequent failure at it in most instances. Therefore, the developing states striving in the cause are, understandably, a handful. For governments, and people at large, cannot care about clean drinking water when they have none at their disposal! These are the glaring realities of our times, but equally crucial are the worries that these environmental conferences draw attention to. There is a dire need to strike a balance between the two.

The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), United Nations Developmental Program (UNDP), and WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) are evidence that work is being done. Similarly, the environmental conferences in Stockholm (1972), Nairobi (1982), Rio de Janeiro (1992 and 2012), and Johannesburg (2002) are evidence of the world coming together for the shared cause of environmental preservation efforts. Similarly efforts by the likes of Green Peace and Global Carbon Project are praiseworthy. A recent report by Global Carbon Project suggests that the world saw a reduction of annual increase in carbon emissions from 3.4% to 2% in 2008. This only reinforces that efforts in this regard are bearing some fruit but these efforts are largely rendered by the civil society, epistemic knowledge circles and the non-governmental sector. These efforts need to be calcified and cemented by the help of the governments to effectively enforce laws, and legitimize the cause of environmental concern in the face of rapid industrial expansion. Only then will a safe future for our generations be made possible, or at least predictable.

While concerted efforts for the environmental welfare are underway, the larger picture remains bleak. Nonetheless, one thing stands assured. As humans, we often fail to avail the lessons from history. Hence it is proved that the international oil shocks of 1970’s that triggered the environmental discourse served little. Instead of immediately implementing, to the letter, a plan for sustainable development the world, instead, drifted on a binge of industrial growth. Rather than allowing the liberal international politics – which is led by global cooperation – see the light of the day, neorealist trend was only reinforced. This pushed the concern for the environment into a dormant posture. The environmental conferences emerged as a mere talking shop; a place for the wealthy and powerful of the world to yield influence instead of to actually salvage the environmental degradation. The environment ultimately failed to emerge from the status that it had always had: largely uncelebrated, and primarily unsung.

The writer is a freelance columnist and can be reached at [email protected].