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International Relations-PSC 201

LESSON 42

THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT

Population and the Environment

Today, there are over 6 billion people in the world, and by the year 2025, the global population would be at

least 8.5 billion. The bulk of population growth is projected to be in the developing world.

The link between population growth and environmental degradation is complex, as reflected in the several

competing theories. However, a larger population generally translates into greater demands on the Earth's

resources.

Population size that exceeds local carrying capacity of the ecosystems can cause soil depletion,

deforestation, and desertification. Agriculture demands have raised important environmental concerns.

Irrigated crop land for food production is being eroded by water logging and made less productive by

salinization (cumulative build-up of salts left by evaporation of irrigation water). Fresh water is a critical

resource. Besides water-quality problems of surface waters, new concern has emerged concerning depleting

groundwater resources. If we multiply projected population increases by the substantially higher standard of

living that equity requires for impoverished communities today and for future populations, the potential

demands on the environment are dramatic.

Global Concern for the Environment

Scientists and environmentalists have convinced world leaders that environmental protection is a global

concern, dealing with which is beyond the scope of national governments. New international pacts,

conventions and protocols rooted in a common commitment to sustainable development are the right

response. Today, there are several hundred international environmental regimes. Yet many of these

agreements are very recent.

History of Environmental Cooperation

International environmental law dates back to 1972, when countries gathered in Stockholm for UN's

Conference on the Human Environment and United Nations Environment Program was formed.

At the turn of the 20th century there were hardly any multilateral or bilateral environmental agreements.

Prior international laws were based on the principles of unfettered national sovereignty over natural

resources and absolute freedom of the seas beyond the three-mile territorial limit.

International agreements which dealt with the natural environment largely addressed issues concerning

boundary waters, navigation, and fishing rights along shared waterways.

By the 1930s and 1940s, conservation and preservation had emerged as conceptual approaches to natural

resource management. This led to agreements to protect fauna and flora like the 1933 London Convention

on Preservation of Fauna and Flora in Their Natural State (focused primarily on Africa). During the 1950s

and early 1960s, agreements governing international liability for nuclear damage were negotiated, as was the

1954 International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution of the Sea by Oil.

Relevant Vocabulary

Conservation - maintenance, upkeep

Natural Resources resources of land, air and the sea

Prior previous

Liability responsibility or binding obligation

Depleting diminishing or reducing

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International Relations-PSC 201

Suggested Readings

Students are advised to read the following to develop a better understanding of the various principals

highlighted in this hand-out:

Global Environment Facility

www.gefweb.org/

Global Environment Outlook