“Poverty” The Worst Form of Pollution [Archives:2000/07/Reportage]

Abdukadir M. Al-Areqi
Environment/ Development Consultant

Development and pollution: The necessary for economic development is the environment basic elements and resources including both the renewable and non-renewable resources. More than three decades the traditional concept of development let to catastrophes degradation and pollution of our environment and its elements such as: Air, water, soil forests and human beings. In fact, as consequent “poverty” becomes the most lethal form of environmental economic development and progress for only 20% of the world’s population.
Today, the absolute poor constitute 1.5 of the world’s population (5.6 billion people, 1994) that is more than a billion live in a state of hunger, disease undernourishment illiteracy.
And no more these population could be neglected or separated or isolated whatsoever the resources are. For example why some people, or nations are rich and others are poor? Thus as United Nations Secretary said that “there can be no more urgent talk for development than to attack both the causes and the symptoms of these ills. If poverty persists or increases and there is neglect of the human condition, political and social strains will endanger stability over time” (Boutros Ghali UN Secretary General).
Scourge of poverty
According to many reports due to poverty there are about 1.5 billion of people having no sources of clean drinking water or access to sanitation. Some 800 million go to bed hungry children under 5 years die (almost twice the number that died in the 5 years of world war II). Whatsoever science, technology used by our genius economists, poverty is escalating and threat to overwhelming us wherever we are!! No one is immune from the poor people to despairing actions.
Poverty line or indication
The indicator used to asses the severity of poverty vary with income and consumption levels below the national defined poverty line. In terms of income the world bank has used upper poverty line US $ 370 a year per capita as the cut off; anyone below that is classified as poor. The very poor by these definitions are those annual equivalent falls below US $ 275! The rural poor represent more than 80% of the total number of poor people in the developing countries. While UNDP defines poverty line as “the income level below which a minimum nutritionally adequate diet plus essential non-food requests are not affordable”.
Causes of poverty
The traditional concept of economic development has enriched particular nations and social groups, this led to creation of deprived people (poor) due to:
– Lack of access to resources and job opportunity.
– Lack of social integration.
– Exclusion from the goods, services rights and equality and activities.
– Lack of trade fairness or unequal exchange.
Thus, the people because more vulnerable and more worried with survival needs than in conserving resources or environment.
Poverty alleviation and sustainable development:
More than two decades,, particularly the 1972, United Nations conference on the “Human Environment in Stockholm, Sweden, highlighted the importance of Human development as the center of concern for sustainable development. This means in order to have a long-term remedy, it should be invested in the poor people. Particularly in their education, training, giving them opportunities and bringing them back into the mainstream of development.
Sustainable development as a solution does not mean creation of an international cooperation based only on giving environmental morality preaching. It is unacceptable to suggest sustaining the present level of rich and poor people or nations, or to say, now we became wealthy therefore no over-exploitation of the world’s resources allowed, we will pull-up the ladder behind us and deny economic development to others!!
Thus we should have effective solutions at all levels while reconcile the need to alleviate poverty and the need to protect the environment!
After twenty years, the Rio “Earth Summit” or UNCED of 1992, the linkage between poverty and sustainable development became the basis for commitments action plans such as “Agenda 21” programs.
Agenda 21 and poverty eradication:
“Agenda 21” is a comprehensive global action plan for the twenty-first century, with 40 chapters and more than 100 areas. The first part of it addresses the social and economic dimensions of sustainable development. Chapter 3 of the Agenda is an action plan with strategy of “combating poverty” within the main action plan to tackle poverty by country-specific programs and international efforts as well as the parallel process of creating a supporting international environment for eradicating or at least reducing the poverty level or situation. The major challenges for poverty eradication are:-
– Establishing an effective and equitable income distribution, trade policies, changing of production and consumption patterns.
– Redistribution of resources and wealth.
– Debt relief and incremental cost of conserving or protecting environment by the poor people.
– Empowerment of community organizations.
– The promotion of food security and food self-sufficiency within the context of sustainable agriculture.
In conclusion, the challenges to adopt or implement sustainable development program and actin plans consisted mainly in giving growing priority to environmental protection in “aid” and “debt relief” programs at the expense of the basic requirements for sustainable development, and also the danger of adopting a “quick fix” or the “blue print” approaches focusing on environmental problems without promoting and confronting the long-term challenge of sustainable development that require global solidarity of all parties concerned.
The socio-cultural aspect or development process will play a great role in reducing poverty especially the “Islamic Teaching” such as Al-Zakkak, if properly applied will lead to social justices and integration of incomes. The World Bank proposed a two pronged strategies against poverty which consisted mainly on: expanding employment and income earning opportunities among the poor, in addition enhancing the ability of the poor to respond to the opportunities presented. This means improving to such aspect of social infrastructures as health services and education.
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