Environmental Interdependence

"Many wars we witness around the world are over natural resources… Without a properly managed environment, all of our lives are threatened... In sustainable development, we plant the seeds of peace," declared Kenyan Waangari Maathai after winning the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize for her work with the Green Belt movement in Kenya. By awarding the prestigious peace prize to a community activist and an environmentalist the Nobel Committee “…added a new dimension to the concept of peace… [emphasizing] the environment, democracy building, human rights and especially women’s rights” (Heuvel, Katrina vanden, 2004). Protecting and nurturing the environment is not merely an interesting political notion for the privileged white European or North American, it is essential for the survival of the human species and our blue-green planet.

We have alienated ourselves from Mother Nature in our desire to protect ourselves from nature’s fury, and in our need to control and exploit our living environment. Ironically in our modern, ultra-developed world, where it is becoming very difficult to find truly wild places or creatures, we seem to have become more vulnerable. Human activities in the last few decades may have altered the earth’s climate irreversibly (IPCC 2001); and nature’s ecosystems have been strained to such an extreme, that they are losing their resilience and the ability to maintain equilibrium (Hunter et al., 2002).

The world is changing very rapidly; not only because of globalization of trade and information technology, but because of industrialization’s global impact on the environment, with toxic waste, climate change and loss of biodiversity. What we do in the ‘developed’ North affects the ‘less developed’ South and vice versa. We, as citizens of nation-states, can no longer isolate ourselves from the rest of the world and only concern ourselves with local problems that can be solved within national boundaries, because the effects of pollution know no boundaries. “All life on earth is part of a dynamic, interdependent ecological system.” (Hunter et al., 2002)

I still remember vividly when the Chernobyl reactor exploded in the Soviet Union in 1986. The people of Europe, and especially Scandinavians became extremely alarmed, because they were in the direct path of a radioactive cloud blowing from the reactor. Thousands of reindeer were slaughtered and buried in Lapland because of fear of contamination. Scandinavians, who took great pride in a pristine environment and safe energy production, were helpless in the wake of a nuclear disaster coming from outside their national boundaries. It has since become a priority of the European Union to be actively involved in global co-operation on international agreements and processes in order to solve transboundary environmental challenges.

Globalisation acts as a powerful force for sustaining global growth and providing ways of dealing with international problems such as health, education, and the environment. However, left to develop unchecked market forces cause and exacerbate inequality and exclusion and can cause irreparable damage to the environment. Globalisation must therefore go hand in hand with measures designed to prevent or mitigate these effects. In the crucial spheres of trade, development financing, environmental management and combating poverty and crime, it is essential that efforts be made to draw up joint rules which are implemented and monitored effectively. It is also necessary to improve global governance, i.e. to promote more efficient management of interdependence. (EU, 2002)

The cumulative effects of the damage done to the environment by pollution, overpopulation and extreme exploitation of earth’s resources are quickly becoming the most prominent issues of today. The problems are global; we need to work together to solve them. We, as one species among millions inhabiting the earth, are mutually dependent on each other and must come together to create binding international laws and regulations to avert a crisis of apocalyptic proportions.

1) EU: Global Partnership for Sustainable Development. 2002.

2) Finland. Ministry of the Environment, 2005.

3) Heuvel, Katrina vanden. “A Woman of Firsts.” The Nation, 2004.

4) Hunter, David, Saltzman, James, and Durwood, Zaelke. International Environmental Law and Policy, 2002.

5) IPCC, Climate Change 2001: Working Group II .

Riippuvuussuhde

Ymparisto ei tunne rajoja. Ymparistosaasteet viela vahemman. Mita teemme oman valtiomme sisalla, vaikuttaa kaikkiin ymparoiviin maihin, ja koko maapalloon. Globalisaatio ulottuu myos ymparistotuhoihin; jos havitamme kalat "omasta" merestamme, se vaikuttaa kalastukseen maailman toisella puolella. Jos me pohjoisen rikkaat tuhlaamme energiaa, etelan koyhat maksavat siita kaksin verroin. Jos etelassa ei suojella sademetsia, me pohjoisessa hengitamme saastunutta ilmaa. Me luomakunnan asukkaat olemme kaikki toisistamme riippuvaisia: elaimet, ihmiset, linnut ja kalat, kedon kukkaset ja suonsilmat, puut, jarvet, joet, meri ja metsat - kaikki tarvitsemme toisiamme.