Political Science Class 12 Notes Chapter

8 Environment and Natural Resources

Environmental Concerns in Global Politics

• There have been many environmental issues that are concerns of the global
politics.
• There is a decline in the availability of cultivable land and a substantial portion
of existing agricultural land is losing fertility.
• Around 1.2 billion people in developing countries have no access to safe water
and 2.6 billion have no access to sanitation according to the Human
Development Report, 2006.
• The loss of biodiversity continues due to destruction of habitat in areas which
are rich in species. The act of deforestation takes place for personal gains,
removing the natural inhabitants.
• Another danger to ecosystems and human health is a steady decline in the
total amount of ozone in the Earth’s stratosphere. Even the coastal waters are
becoming increasingly polluted due to land-based activities.
• The environmental consequences of economic growth acquired an
increasingly political character from the 1960s onwards.
• International agencies like the United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP), started holding international conferences to deal with environment
issues.
• Earth summit or Rio summit was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in June 1992
which produced conventions dealing with climate change, biodiversity, forestry
and recommended a list of development practices called ‘Agenda 21’.

The Protection of Global ‘Commons’

• Commons’ are the resources shared by the community as a whole not

individually.
• In the world, there are some areas which are located outside the sovereign
jurisdiction of any one state and hence require common governance by the
international community. This is known as Global Commons. They include
Earth’s atmosphere, Antarctica, the ocean floor, and outer space.
• A number of agreements were signed which includes the Antarctic Treaty
(1959), the Montreal Protocol (1987) and the Antarctic Environmental Protocol
(1991).
• The history of outer space as a global commons shows that the management
of these areas is thoroughly influenced by North-South inequalities.

Common but Differentiated Responsibilities

• There were differences between the countries of the North and the South over
environment issues.
• The Northern countries want everyone to be equaliy responsible for ecological
conservation.
 • The developing countries of the South believes that the ecological degradation
is the product of industrial development undertaken by the developed
countries.
• In the Rio summit, 1992, it was accepted that special needs of the developing
countries must be taken into account in the development and interpretation of
rules of international environmental law.
• The 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
also provides that the parties should act on the basis of equity.
• It was accepted that a large amount of greenhouse gas emission has
originated in developed countries and per capita emissions in developing
countries are relatively low.
• Developing countries like India and China were exempted from the
requirements of the Kyoto Protocol.
• The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement setting targets for
industrialised countries to cut their greenhouse gas emissions.

Commons Property Resources

• It represents common property for the group but with a rule that members of
the group have both rights and duties with respect to the nature, levels of use
of a given resource.
• But issues like privatisation, agricultural intensification, population growth and
ecosystem degradation have caused common property to dwindle in size.

India’s Stand on Environmental Issues

• India has signed and ratified Kyoto Protocol (1997) in August 2002. Developing
countries like India and China were exempt from the requirements of the Kyoto
Protocol.
• At the G-8 meeting in June 2005, India pointed out that the per capita emission
rates of the developing countries are a tiny fraction of those in the developed
world.
• The Indian Government is already participating in global efforts through a
number of programmes like Energy Conservation Act (2011), Electricity Act of
2003 and so on.
• In 1997, a review of the implementation of the agreements at the Earth summit
in Rio was undertaken by India.
• India suggested that the developing countries must get financial resources and
clean technologies from the developed countries in order to meet UNFCCC
commitments.

Environmental Movements

• Some of the most significant responses to the challenge of environmental

degradation has come from groups of environmentally conscious volunteers
working in different parts of the world.
• The forest movements of the South, in Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Malaysia,
Indonesia, Continental Africa and India are faced with enormous pressures
regarding forest clearing.
 • Another example is of the group which is working against mineral extraction
company as it leads to displacement of communities etc.
• Another groups of movements are those involved in struggles against mega-
dams. In India, Narmada Bachao Aandolan is one of the best known of these
movements.

Resource Geopolitics

• Resource geopolitics means who gets what, when, where and how.
• Throughout the cold war the industrialised countries of the North adopted a
number of methods to ensure a steady flow of resources.
• Oil countries to be the most important resource in global strategy. The
immense wealth associated with oil generates political struggles to control it.
• West Asia, specifically the Gulf region, accounts for about 30 per cent of global
oil production.
• Another important resource relevant to global politics is water. Regional
variations and scarcity of freshwater in some parts of the world is a leading
source of conflicts in the 21st century.
• A number of studies show that countries that share rivers and many countries
do share rivers are involved in military conflicts with each other.

The Indigenous People and their Rights

• As per the United Nations, indigenous population comprises the descendants

of peoples who inhabited the present territory of a country at the time
when persons of a different culture arrived there from other parts of the world.
• Indigenous people voices in world politics to treat them equally with other
communities.
• The areas occupied by indigenous people include Central and South America,
Africa, India and South-East Asia.
• The indigenous people appeal to governments to come to terms with the
continuing existence of indigenous nations as enduring communities with an
identity of their own.
• In India, indigenous people applies to the scheduled tribes who constitute
nearly 8 per cent of the population of the country.
• Issues related to the rights of the indigenous communities have been
neglected in domestic and international politics for very long.

FACTS THAT MATTER

1. Environmental concerns in Global politics cover losing fertility of agricultural land,

and grazing, depletion of water resources as well as loss of bio-diversity, real danger
to eco-system and coastal pollution, deteriorating of marine environment,

2. Environmental consequences of economic growth acquired a political shape from

1960s onwards, following a book published in 1972 namely Limits To Growth and
Initiatives taken by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to promote co-
ordination and effective response on environment at global level.
3. The Earth Summit held in Rio-de-Janerio, Brazil in 1992 revealed different views
i.e. global north (the first world countries) and global south (the third world
countries). Global North was concerned with the issues of ozone depletion and
global warming and global south focused on economic development and
environment management by Agenda 21.

4. Global commons refer to the areas or regions which require common governance
by international community on major problems of ecological issues i.e. discovery of
ozone hole over Antarctic, earth’s atmosphere and ocean floor associated with
technology and industrial development.

5. The Rio Declaration at the Earth Summit in 1992 adopted the principle of common
but differentiated responsibilities ‘refering special needs of developing countries in
the fields as development, application and interpretation of rules of international
environmental law to protect environment by both developing nations in a
responsible manner.

6. The 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

also emphasised to protect the climate system on the basis of equity and in
accordance with their common but differentiated responsibilities and capabilities.
Example-Largest and current global emissions of greenhouse gases originated in
developed nations, hence low emissioned developing countries like India and China
have been exempted from Kyoto Protocol held in Japan in 1997.

7. Common property resources refer to a group who have both rights and duties with
respect to nature, levels of use and the maintenance of a given resource with mutual
understanding and practices i.e. management of sacred groves on state owned
forest land.

8. India plays a dominating role on the environmental issues as it signed and ratified
1997 Kyoto Protocol in August 2002 to follow common but differentiated
responsibilities and India is a wary of recent discussions with UNFCCC about
introducing binding commitments. India participated in global efforts by introducing
National Auto fuel Policy, Electricity Act, 2003 and National Mission on Biodiesel.
Besides, India supports to adopt a common position by SAARC countries on major
environmental issue to have a greater say regionwise.

9. Environmental movements are the movements of groups which are

environmentally conscious to challenge environmental degradation at national or
international level aiming at raising new ideas and long term vision i.e. in Mexico,
Chille, Brazil, Malaysia, Indonesia, India faced enormous pressure.

10. Environmental movements are categorised as forest movements, movements

against mining and mineral industry for creating Water Pollution and Anti Dam
Movement.
11. ‘Resources Geopolitics’ is all about who gets what, when, where and how? The
practices of neo-colonialism spread on a large scale and throughout a cold war,
industrialised countries adopted methods to ensure a steady flow of resources by
deployment of military forces near exploitation sites and sea-lanes of
communications, the stock pilling of strategic resources and efforts to prop up
friendly governments.

12. The global economy relied on oil as a portable and essential fuel. The history of
petroleum is the history of war and struggle. Water is another important resource
relevant to global politics. Regional variations and increasing scaring of fresh water
may also lead to conflicts in the world to play politics.

13. Indigenous people bring the issues of environment, resources and politics
together. Indigenous people live with their social, economic, cultural customs in
particular areas who speak of their struggle, agenda, and rights to have equal status
i.e. Island states in ocean region, Central and South America, Africa, India and South
East Asia.

14. The issues related to rights of indigenous communities have been neglected in
domestic and international politics for long. The World Council of Indigenous People
was formed in 1975 which became first of 11 indigenous NGOs to receive
consultative status in the UN.

WORDS THAT MATTER

1. Earth Summit: A conference held in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) in June 1992 on

Environment and Development to deal with various environmental problems.
2. Agenda 21: The Earth Summit recommended a list of practices in reference of
development to attain sustainability, called Agenda 21.
3. Kyoto Protocol: An international agreement setting targets for industrialised
countries to cut their greenhouse gas emissions was agreed to in 1997 in
Kyoto in Japan, based on principles set out in UNFCCC.
4. UNFCCC: The 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
provided that parties should act to protect the climate system with common
but differentiated responsibilities.
5. Indigenous People: Indigenous people comprise the descendants of peoples
who inhabited the present territory of a country at the time when persons of
different culture arrived there from different parts of the world.

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