Environment and Development

Gen 203

Rezwan Siddiqui
[email protected]
[email protected]
 Development

What is “development”?
Development is a
A multi-dimensional process which involves
transformation in structures, attitudes and
institutions as well as the acceleration of
economic growth, reduction of inequality and
the eradication of absolute poverty
Development is about expanding the choices
people have to lead lives that they value
by UNDP, Human Development Report, 2014

The term “development” includes not only economic growth, but also
human development—providing for health, nutrition, education, and a
clean environment.

Two key components of development

Economic Growth
Human Development
Elements of Human Development

1. People
2. Opportunities
3. Choices
People: the human development approach focuses on improving the lives people lead
rather than assuming that economic growth will lead, automatically, to greater opportunities for
all. Income growth is an important means to development, rather than an end in itself.

Opportunities: human development is about giving people more freedom and

opportunities to live lives they value. This means developing people’s abilities and giving them
a chance to use them. For example, educating a girl would build her skills, but it is of little use if
she is denied access to jobs, or does not have the skills for the local labour market.
Three foundations for human development are to live a healthy and creative life, to be
knowledgeable, and to have access to resources needed for a decent standard of living.

Choices: human development is, fundamentally, about more choice. It is about providing

people with opportunities, not insisting that they make use of them. No one can guarantee
human happiness, and the choices people make are their own concern. The process of
development – human development - should at least create an environment for people,
individually and collectively, to develop to their full potential and to have a reasonable chance
of leading productive and creative lives that they value.
Key Focuses of Human Development

UNDP HDR Report, 2016

 Human development—achievements, challenges and
hopes
During the past quarter of a century, there has been impressive progress on many fronts
of human development, but the gains have not enriched every human life.
 Game
Divide into groups of 4-6.

Each one of you represents the head of a family that is starving. In order for your family to
survive, you must catch enough fish for them to eat. The only food source is a small local
lake which can accommodate 16 fish.

You will get a chance to fish once a year (which lasts 2 minute) and each time you fish you
may take 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4 fish from the lake.

You should rotate your fishing order every year so that everyone has a chance to go first.

It is your choice of how many fish you take, however, if you only take one fish, your
family will starve. If you take more than 2 fish, you can sell them for a profit

The fish in your lake will reproduce once a year.

each remaining fish is able to spontaneously reproduce and make one new fish (4 fish
become 8, i.e., to a maximum of 16)

Do not talk or communicate while fishing!!

 Tragedy of Commons

The tragedy of the commons is a dilemma described in an influential article titled

―the tragedy of the commons‖ written by ecologist Garret Hardin which was
published in December in 1968‘

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxC161GvMPc
Tragedy of Commons
Tragedy of Commons
Tragedy of Commons
Chawkbazar Tragedy (February, 2019)
"Sustainable development is development that
meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to
meet their own needs.”
By Our Common Future, also known as the Brundtland Report

3 Components Of Sustainable Development

1. Environmental Sustainability
 
2. Social Sustainability
 
3. Economic Sustainability
‘We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors,
we borrow it from our children’

-Ancient Indian Proverb

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
At the environmental level, sustainability prevents nature from being used as an
inexhaustible source of resources and ensures its protection and rational use.

 
SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY
At the social level, sustainability can foster the development of people, communities
and cultures to help achieve reasonable and fairly-distributed quality of life,
healthcare and education across the globe. The fight for gender equality, especially in
developing countries, is another aspect which in coming years will form the basis
of social sustainability.

 
ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY
Sustainability focusses on equal economic growth, that generates wealth for all,
without harming the environment. Investment and an equal distribution of the
economic resources will strengthen the other pillars of sustainability for a complete
development.
 What Are The Sustainable Development
Goals?
As a part of a new sustainable development roadmap, the United Nations approved
the 2030 Agenda, which contains the Sustainable Development Goals, a call to
action to end poverty, protect the planet and guarantee the global well-being of
people. Ratified by all member states, this roadmap seeks to:

•Eradicate poverty and hunger, guaranteeing a healthy life

•Universalize access to basic services such as water, sanitation and sustainable
energy
•Support the generation of development opportunities through inclusive education
and decent work
•Foster innovation and resilient infrastructure, creating communities and cities
able to produce and consume sustainably
•Reduce inequality in the world, especially that concerning gender
•Care for the environment combating climate change and protecting the oceans and
land ecosystems
•Promote collaboration between different social agents to create an environment of
peace and sustainable development.
What Are The Sustainable Development Goals?
The 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) to transform our world:

GOAL 1: No Poverty
GOAL 2: Zero Hunger
GOAL 3: Good Health and Well-being
GOAL 4: Quality Education
GOAL 5: Gender Equality
GOAL 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
GOAL 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
GOAL 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
GOAL 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
GOAL 10: Reduced Inequality
GOAL 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
GOAL 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
GOAL 13: Climate Action
GOAL 14: Life Below Water
GOAL 15: Life on Land
GOAL 16: Peace and Justice Strong Institutions
GOAL 17: Partnerships to achieve the Goal
 What is Gross Domestic Product?
• Gross domestic product (GDP) is the most commonly
used measure for the size of an economy. GDP can be
compiled for a country, a region (such as Tuscany in
Italy or Burgundy in France), or for several countries
combined, as in the case of the European Union (EU).
• The GDP is the total of all value added created in an
economy. The value added means the value of goods
and services that have been produced minus the value
of the goods and services needed to produce them,
the so called intermediate consumption.

https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Beginners:GDP_-
_What_is_gross_domestic_product_(GDP)%3F
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_v_ALQ4nODM&feature=youtu.be
What’s covered by GDP?
• No distinction is made whether the goods or services that are
produced have a positive or negative impact from a social or
environmental perspective. For example if there is an oil spill
in the ocean, the transport of the oil as well as the cleaning
work related to this is included in GDP.
• GDP also includes the value of goods and services produced to
be used as investments by the producers themselves.
• Furthermore, GDP also includes all goods which are produced
by households for own use.
• In fact all volunteer services — as opposed to the
volunteer production of goods — are excluded, regardless of
who benefits from the work, whether it is you and your family
or an organisation, like a charitable or sports/youth organisation.
What GDP does not reflect?
• When considering how big an economy is, or how it
compares over time or with other economies, it
should be remembered that there is no ‘right’
amount of GDP or of GDP growth.
• GDP growth does not necessarily go hand in hand
with positive social or environmental development
in an economy. However, it does not measure the
social or environmental situation of an economy.
 Human Development Index (HDI)

The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistic composite

index of life expectancy, education, and per capita income indicators,
which are used to rank countries into four tiers of 
human development. A country scores a higher HDI when the 
lifespan is higher, the education level is higher, and the 
GNI (PPP) per capita is higher. It was developed by Indian Nobel
prize winner Amartya Sen and Pakistani economist Mahbub ul Haq,
with help from Gustav Ranis of Yale University and Lord Meghnad
Desai of the London School of Economics, and was further used to
measure a country's development by the United Nations Development
Program (UNDP)'s Human Development Report Office
 What is Gross National Income (GNI)

The gross national income (GNI), previously known as gross

national product (GNP), is the total domestic and foreign output
claimed by residents of a country, consisting of gross domestic
product (GDP), plus factor incomes earned by foreign residents,
minus income earned in the domestic economy by nonresidents

GNI=GDP+ Money flowing from foreign countries - Money

flowing to foreign countries

The GNI per capita is the dollar value of a country's final income

in a year, divided by its population. It reflects the average income
of a country's citizens
Human Development Index (HDI)
• The HDI was created to emphasize that people and their capabilities should be the
ultimate criteria for assessing the development of a country, not economic growth
alone.
• The HDI can also be used to question national policy choices, asking how two
countries with the same level of GNI per capita can end up with different human
development outcomes. These contrasts can stimulate debate about government
policy priorities.
• The Human Development Index (HDI) is a summary measure of average
achievement in key dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life,
being knowledgeable and have a decent standard of living. The HDI is the
geometric mean of normalized indices for each of the three dimensions.
• The health dimension is assessed by life expectancy at birth, the education
dimension is measured by mean of years of schooling for adults aged 25 years and
more and expected years of schooling for children of school entering age. The
standard of living dimension is measured by gross national income per capita.
• The HDI simplifies and captures only part of what human development entails. It
does not reflect on inequalities, poverty, human security, empowerment, etc.
Human Development Index (HDI)

http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/human-development-index-hdi