Environment & Natural Resources Class 12 Political Science

Introduction

Environmental problems like land damage, too much fishing, and dirty water are closely connected to global politics. They raise important questions about who is responsible and who has power. Solving these problems requires countries to work together.

Environmental Concerns in Global Politics

The Protection of Global Commons

Signing of The Antarctic Treaty

The Protection of Global Commons: Antarctica 

Common but Differentiated Responsibilities

Commons Property Resources

Sacred Groves in India

Environmental Movements: One or Many?

Volunteer-Led Movements as Responses to Environmental Degradation:

• Many impactful responses to environmental degradation come from environmentally conscious volunteers rather than governments.
• These movements operate at both international and local levels and are among the most vibrant and powerful social movements globally.

Purpose and Impact:

• Environmental movements introduce new ideas and long-term visions for both individual and collective actions regarding the environment.

Examples of Environmental Movements:

• Forest Movements:  These focus on tackling deforestation in places like Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Malaysia, Indonesia, continental Africa, and India. Despite many years of activism, the destruction of the world's last great forests has actually increased recently. A key difference between forest movements in the South and those in the North is that Southern forests still have people living in them, while Northern forests are often seen as empty. This distinction is vital for understanding the social and environmental issues involved.
• Minerals Industry:  This sector is one of the most significant industries globally. Many economies in the South are being reopened to multinational corporations (MNCs) due to global economic liberalisation. The minerals industry faces criticism for issues such as extraction, pollution, deforestation, and the displacement of communities.

Anti-Dam Movements: These movements oppose the building of large dams and support sustainable management of rivers. Notable examples include:

• The Franklin River campaign in Australia, which combined wilderness protection with anti-dam efforts.
• The Narmada Bachao Andolan in India, recognised for its commitment to non-violence as a shared principle among anti-dam movements.

Resource Geopolitics

• Fundamental Questions of Resource Geopolitics: This area looks at who gets what, when, where, and how resources are managed and controlled.
• Historical Context:
  1. European Expansion: Driven by the need for resources, this period led to the growth of power and competition between nations.
  2. Western Geopolitical Focus: Historically, this has centred on trade, warfare, and overseas resources, particularly maritime routes. A key issue has been the Western control of oil in the Gulf and strategic minerals in Southern and Central Africa.
• World Wars: It was vital to ensure a constant supply of key resources, especially oil.
• Cold War: During this time, developed nations used various strategies to secure a reliable flow of resources. These included deploying military forces near resource extraction sites, stockpiling essential materials, backing friendly governments in resource-rich countries, and supporting multinational corporations with favourable international agreements.
• Post-Cold War: Following the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union, concerns about supply security continued to impact governmental and business decisions regarding various minerals, particularly radioactive materials.
• Oil:
  1. Oil remains the most crucial resource in global strategy, affecting the world economy and sparking political conflicts and wars, especially in West Asia and Central Asia.
  2. The Gulf region is vital, accounting for around 30% of global oil production and 64% of known reserves.
  3. Saudi Arabia and Iraq play significant roles, with Iraq potentially having larger reserves.
• Water: This resource is becoming increasingly important due to regional differences and scarcity. Conflicts may arise over shared water resources, including:
  1. Disagreements between upstream and downstream countries regarding pollution, irrigation, and dam building.
  2. Notable conflicts include those involving Israel, Syria, and Jordan over the Jordan and Yarmuk Rivers, and between Turkey, Syria, and Iraq over the Euphrates River.
• The 1992 Earth Summit highlighted environmental issues, bringing them to the forefront of global politics.

The Indigenous People and their Rights

Indigenous populations are descendants of people who lived in a territory before the arrival of different cultural or ethnic groups, as defined by the UN. 

• Lifestyle: Indigenous peoples often live in alignment with their social, economic, and cultural customs rather than with national institutions.
• Global Presence: Approximately 300 million indigenous people are spread across regions such as India, the Philippines, Chile, Bangladesh, North America, Panama, and the Soviet North. They advocate for their struggles, rights, and equal status within the global community.
• Historical Occupation: Indigenous peoples have historically occupied areas in Central and South America, Africa, India, and Southeast Asia. In Oceania (including Australia and New Zealand), Polynesian, Melanesian, and Micronesian peoples have inhabited these regions for thousands of years.
• Challenges: Loss of land and economic resources threaten their survival and political autonomy. In India, Scheduled Tribes are considered indigenous and make up nearly 8% of the population. They depend on land cultivation and have faced displacement due to colonial rule and development projects. 
• Development and Rights: Despite constitutional protections, indigenous people in India have faced limited benefits from development and significant displacement. Indigenous rights have been historically neglected in both domestic and international politics.
• International Advocacy: In the 1970s, international contacts among indigenous leaders led to the formation of the World Council of Indigenous Peoples in 1975, the first of 11 indigenous NGOs with UN consultative status. Movements against globalisation often highlight the rights of indigenous peoples.