HUMAN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: GLOBAL ISSUES
Trilochan Pokharel
Deputy Director of Studies
Nepal Administrative Staff College
[email protected]
Abstract
Sustainable development is widely researched and written discipline of the new millennium.
Defined in Brundtland conference in 1987 as meeting present needs without compromising the
ability to satisfy future need attracted attention for a balance between environmental
sustainability and development activities. A progressive definition that emerged these days
argues sustainability needs to have convergence with human development. Therefore, it proposes
clear arguments of distinction between the ‘to be sustained’ and ‘to be developed’.
This study elucidates some fundamental assumptions and gaps between sustainability and human
development based on the country level data from 187 countries on human development and
environmental aspects. First, there is imbalance between use of natural resources and level of
development. This sustains the arguments of that developed countries are exploiting natural
resources and also threatening the sustainability by increasing carbon dioxide emissions, a
major pollutant posing pressure on global climate change. Second, developing countries are the
direct victim of global environmental degradation. The human cost of degradation is several
times higher in developing countries who already are marred by poverty and poor governance
structure.
1. Introduction
It has been many years that we have started discussing about development. Several useful
theories, indicators and methods have been devised to explain and measure development. Recent
approaches are human development and sustainable development. These two concepts basically
argue to consider development to a broader perspective rather than a mere concept of economic
growth. Much have been written and discussed about these issues ever since their evolution.
These approaches have worked good to redefine development to a newer concept but need
further revision in addressing the issues of sustainability of development (Ross, 2009).
Human sustainable development involves two important concept together- human development
and sustainable development. This is an approach used to produce a better understanding and
promoting sustainable development with human face. Human development and sustainable
development if considered independently may have shortcomings of disciplinary limitations. To
have a common understanding and reinforcing each-other, it is better to bring these two
approaches together. A classical human development index has limitation to explain the
environmental cost of the development (Neumayer, 2001). It basically ranks countries based on
health, education and access to income. Countries are criticized for not maintaining
environmental balance against the progress in human development (United Nations Development
Programme [UNDP], 2014), allowing rooms to criticize for shortage of not addressing
environmental concerns adequately (Bravo, 2014). The criticisms are simple but carry worth
Paper presented in 13th South Asia Management Forum, 26-27 March 2015, Colombo, Sri Lanka
considerations. An appealing question is whether countries with high development indicators are
doing justice with environment (Mazilu & Guirgea, 2011). The contradictions of the recent
development phenomena concern on the ‘growing wealth but, at the same time, growing
environmental degradation’ (Melamed & Paul, 2013).
Defined by Brundtland Commission 1987 and expanded by the Earth Summit 1992, sustainable
development considers three pillars of development – economic, social and environmental
growth (Soubbotina, 2004). Each pillars contains number of development indicators that must be
satisfied by the countries. Despite the tremendous development achievements in the new
millennium, there are contradictions abound. There are debates on the cost of development
against cost of environment. Are countries able to achieve a balance between development and
environmental sustainability? Who are paying for the human cost of development? What should
be basis for achieving sustainability in the development? There are number of questions like this
that the development discourse has to propose further.
2. Objectives
This paper serves major two objectives. First, this analyses the relationship between human
development and environmental factors. It helps to know the contribution of the countries to
impose environmental threats. Second, it analyses the impact of environmental degradation in
human lives. This analysis allows to enhance understanding the cost of environmental
degradation. In addition, this paper makes a global comparison of countries in terms of relative
contribution to environmental degradation and its human impact.
3. Materials and Methods
This study uses data from Human Development Report 2014 for 187 countries (United Nations
Development Programme [UNDP], 2014). The data used in this analysis are human development
index (composite of healthy life, knowledge and decent standard of living), primary energy
supply (fossil fuels, renewable sources, electrification), carbon dioxide emission, natural
resources (natural resources depletion and forest area), effects of environmental threats (deaths
of under 5 children due to outdoor and indoor air pollution, unsafe water, unimproved sanitation
or poor hygiene and population living on degraded land) and impact of natural disasters (number
of deaths and population affected).
The study uses bivariate analysis methods to derive inferences. Using scatter diagrams, the
relationships of human development index with environmental variables are displayed. A
bivariate correlation analysis between environmental factors are and human development is done
to derive conclusions.
4. Results and Analysis
The relationship between development and environment is always contending. There is no
straightforward relationship of environmental impact of development. Human impacts of
environmental degradation imposed by developmental activities demand careful analysis. In this
section, countries’ position based on the relationship between environmental factors and human
development are displayed. A growing argument is the imbalance between development and
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impact on ecological balance. Consumption of fossil fuels is remarkably higher among the
countries with higher development indicators (Figure 1).
Figure 1: HDI and fossil fuels as % of total energy supply (N=134)
First contradiction is that countries with high development are dependent to non-renewable
resources. Countries with higher human development are also responsible for higher
consumption of fossil fuels. Qatar, Kuwait, Australia, United States, United Kingdom, the
Netherlands, Japan, Saudi Arabia are among the countries with more than 80 percent
consumption of fossil fuels as primary energy along with high development indicators. It may
imply exploitation of fossil fuels is inevitable for attending the goals of development for all
countries. Such competition may pose a threat for sustainability of development. On the other
hand, countries with low development also have low consumption of fossil fuels but their current
consumption pattern may reject the pledge to phase out fossil-fuel subsides (Swift, Turnbull,
Schmidt, & Kertzmann, 2012).
Figure 2 displays the relationship between human development and carbon dioxide emissions.
Countries with high development are posing enormous threat to the environment by producing
huge amount of carbon dioxide. This calls for an action to redefine the development discourse. It
urges for advocacy to audit environmental impact of development. Particularly countries like
Qatar, Kuwait, Trinidad and Tobago, United States, Oman, Brunei, Luxemburg, Saudi Arabia
and Australia are among the countries with high human development and high carbon dioxide
emissions rate. Among the countries with high carbon emissions are fossil oil dependent.
Basically, the countries in G20, by providing subsidies for fossil fuel exploration, ‘are directing
large volume of finance into high carbon assets that cannot be exploited without catastrophic
climate effects; diverting investment from economic low-carbon alternatives such as solar, wind
and hydro power’ (Bast, Makhijani, Pickard, & Whitley, 2014).
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Figure 2: HDI and carbon dioxide emissions (tonnes) (N=186)
Other side of analysis proposes an alarming message. As expected, there is strong inverse
relationship between development and child survival (Figure 3). The deaths of under five
children due to indoor air pollution is higher among the less developed countries. It is mainly the
due to increase in pneumonia and other acute lower respiratory infections (ALRI), which
accounts for 900,000 deaths out of 2 million under five deaths (World Health Organization
[WHO], 2012). It is mainly because households in less developed countries depend on traditional
sources of energy like firewood, crop residues, dung, straw and coals. These sources produce
high level of indoor pollution causing a serious threat to the survival of children and women.
Supplementing these arguments, results show that countries using less fossil fuels have higher
child deaths due to indoor air pollution. Countries like Zambia, Niger, Togo, Cameroon,
Tanzania and Mozambique use less than 20 percent fossil fuels as primary energy but have more
than 200 under 5 child deaths per 100,000 children (Figure 4). On the other hand, countries that
use large proportion of fossil fuels have low health impact on child survival. However, studies
claim the health impacts of fossil fuels are inevitable (Bailey, 2011) and such impacts may
transmit across the globe, particularly affecting less developed countries for the reasons they are
not accountable. In addition, the projected growth in demand of energy in developing countries
in the coming years may increase the health impact more seriously (McMichael, Woodward, &
van Leeuwen, 1994).
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Figure 3: HDI and U5 death due to indoor air pollution (N=182)
Could be of low level but a conclusion can be derived that in order improve in child survival,
countries have to change sources energy from traditional sources to fossil fuels. Data show,
consumption of fossil fuels can explain about 35 percent variation in under five mortality due to
indoor air pollution (Figure 4). This evidence projects a possible struggle among developing
countries for increasing dependency in non-renewable resources to attain development goals. It
will be hard for the developed countries to deny the demands of developing countries. It may
increase the burden in already strained environmental balance. Hence, it necessary to harmonize
the relationship in human ecology (Marten, 2001) for achieving human sustainable development.
Figure 4: Fossil fuels as % of primary energy and U5 death due to indoor air pollution (N=131)
Child health alone is a strong indicator of countries’ socio-economic development. Higher child
mortality explains multiple disadvantages of the countries in many aspects including
environmental factors. Not enough has been written about the impact of high consumption of
fossil fuels on child health. Perera (2008) argues ‘[c]onsideration of the full spectrum of health
risks to children from fossil fuel combustion underscores the urgent need for environmental and
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Paper presented in 13th South Asia Management Forum, 26-27 March 2015, Colombo, Sri Lanka
energy policies to reduce fossil fuel dependence and maximize the health benefits to this
susceptible population. We do not have to leave our children a double legacy of ill health and
ecologic disaster.’
Table 1 explains the relationships among the environment and development variables. The
contradictory environment and development nexus is not a new phenomenon but needs more
careful and decomposed analysis. Evidences are contentious. It reinforces the argument whether
we applaud the progress of developed countries at the cost of exploitation on environmental
balance.
A positive relationship (r=0.603, p<0.01) between human development index and consumption of
fossil fuels raises question of sustainability of development. Despite having many claims for
reduction in consumption, fossil fuels will remain a major source for much of the 21st century
(Lincoln, 2005). But the alarming message is the increasing cost of sustainable development. It
has direct impact on emission of carbon dioxide which has a positive relationship with level of
development. The tradition of high emissions from the first world countries including North
American and European continent has been exceeded by the Asian countries (Siddiqi, 1996)
indicating a gradual shift in geography of fuel consumption.
Table 1: Correlation of environmental factors with human development index (N=187)
Variables
Fossil fuels as % of primary energy supply
Renewable sources as % of primary energy supply
Carbon dioxide emissions (tonnes)
Natural resource depletion
Forest area as % of total land area
% change in forest between 1990 to 2011
Fresh water withdrawals (% of total renewable water resources)
Death rate of under five children due to outdoor air pollution
Death rate of under five children due indoor air pollution
Death rate of under five children due to unsafe water, unimproved
sanitation or poor hygiene
% of population living on degraded land
Number of deaths due to natural disasters (per year per million
population)
Population affected due to natural disaster (per million people)
Correlation value
0.603**
-0.579**
0.583**
-0.130
0.052
0.372**
0.146
-0.609**
-0.709**
-0.766**
-0.454**
-0.117
-0.354**
** p<0.01
Interestingly an inverse relationship of development with utilization of renewable sources of
energy has given enough room to question on the sustainability of the development practices.
Countries like Australia, Greece, the United States of America, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Saudi
Arabia, Russia and Canada are countries with low dependency on renewable resources among
others. Two Asian giants, China and India, are among the countries with less than 30 percent
dependency in renewable energy. With the growing increase in demand of energy, these
countries tend to exploit non-renewable resources in the coming days. Even in global estimate,
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Paper presented in 13th South Asia Management Forum, 26-27 March 2015, Colombo, Sri Lanka
the contribution of renewable energy is just around one-fifth, of which modern renewables
account only 10 percent (REN21, 2014).
On the other hand, human impacts of environmental degradation are huge for less developed
countries. For example, deaths of children under five due to outdoor (r=-0.609, p<0.01) and
indoor air pollution (r=-0.709, p<0.01) and unsafe water, unimproved sanitation or poor hygiene
(r=-0.766, p<0.01) is exceptionally higher among the less developed countries. Poor countries
are unable to invest in protection of human health due to environmental degradation. WHO
(2015) estimates environmental hazards cause as much as 25 percent of global deaths. Of these,
most of the deaths occur in developing countries and are preventable. There could be multiple
disadvantages for human health due to loss in environmental standard. For example, global
environmental changes like loss of bio-diversity may impose health consequences ‘by increasing
instability in disease transmission in animal population, which are the source of most of the
pathogens affecting humans’ (Taylor, Latham, & Woolhouse, 2001).
Table 1 is also evident for large number of population from less developed countries are living
on degraded land. Degraded land is characterized with decrease in land productivity or
usefulness of a particular place due to human interference (Johnson & Lewis, 2007) and
increasing environmental disadvantages making the survival of people dependent to those lands
more difficult. There could be several reasons for land degradation. But whatever the reasons
are, it mostly affects the poor and marginal rural people living worldwide disproportionately
(Gisladotier & Stocking, 2005). It is unjust to argue land degradation as simply a technological
problem (Levia, 1999) but is a result of complexities in the natural ecosystem and human social
systems (Wrold Meteorological Organization, 2005) including development practices. Land
degradation impacts indifferently but more to population depending on land for their survival
(Reddy, 2003). There are projections that land degradation continues to increase with an
accelerated rate aggravated by climate change and increasing extraction of land. In many
developing countries increasing use of chemical fertilizers and non-degradable pollutants may
pose additional threat to land quality. Land degradation and climate change have causal
relationship. They reinforce the severity of impact. And the impacts are more severe to marginal
population living in less developed world who cannot fight the environmental shocks.
Although natural disasters do not discriminate the countries based on their level of development,
the impacts greatly vary. Results of this study show people of less developed countries have
higher impacts of natural disasters (r=-0.354, p<0.01). Disasters have multiple influences in
socio-economic and human lives. It is not only disasters that increases vulnerability to human
lives but the socio-political, economics and governance status of a country determine the human
impact of disasters. There is increasing trend of climate induced disasters. Many developing
countries including Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Maldives are experiencing
climate induced disasters. For example, Nepal is at high risk of flood, outburst of glacial lakes,
depletion of snow deposits in mountain and erratic rains. Likewise, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and
the Maldives are experiencing risk with sea level rise. Countries in South Asia region have
endured a series of catastrophic disasters compounding with the pains of poverty and poor
performance in human development (Memon, 2012). Disaster risk is connected with the process
of human sustainable development. Disasters put development at risk while development in
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Paper presented in 13th South Asia Management Forum, 26-27 March 2015, Colombo, Sri Lanka
human capacity may reduce the disaster risk (United Nations Development Programme [UNDP],
2004).
The analysis shows that indicators that do not consider environmental factors are insufficient to
portray a clear picture of development. Development practices must account the environmental
cost for reducing the imbalance pressure in consumption of natural resources. Human sustainable
development is an approach to increase the commitments of countries to consider their
development activities through a sustainability perspective and maintain a standard between ‘to
be developed’ and ‘to be sustained’.
5. Conclusion
Sustainable development is a buzz word of this century and will keep dragging discourses for
many years to come. The discourse has encouraged countries to redefine development activities
from a different and broader framework. Defining development is tricky and contextual. But it is
necessary to define and act on. There are enough theoretical writings on putting human face into
development and ensure the sustainability of development outcomes. But the results are yet to
confirm the practices. There is a trending gap in ecological balances. Since the principle of
human development is to enlarging choices of people, such choices are not uniform throughout
the world. The world is interdependent. None of the development and environmental issues is
confined to political boundary of a country. It cuts across and beyond. Therefore, we cannot
ignore the environmental impact of human activities. Anand and Sen (2000) call for not to ‘abuse
and plunder our common stock of natural assets and resources leaving the future generations
unable to enjoy the opportunities we take for granted today’. As ‘access to ecosystem services
will become more critical factor for economic success and resilience in the 21st century’ (Ewing,
et al., 2010), achieving an ecological balance is a challenge for both developed and developing
countries. The trend of exploiting natural resources is shifting to developing countries including
Asia and Pacific region where resource intensive production is practiced (WWF, ADB & Global
Footprint Network, 2012).
Despite the several commitments and improvements in technology to reduce the pressure on
environment, there is continuing imposition on environment. The increasing pressure on
ecological footprint has clarion call for rethinking our development activities for achieving
human sustainable development. The fundamental question of meeting the gap for achieving the
global target of human sustainable development without compromising the lives of developing
countries is critical. It may be possible only by integrating sustainability issues in development
activities and using innovation and technology to reduce strain on environmental factors. Thus,
there is need to emphasize human sustainable development rather than merely focusing on
development without considering the critical factors of sustainability.
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