Environmental Affairs

Lesson 1: Introduction to key environmental issues today

Linkages that really matter

An understanding of the linkages between society (and its guiding principles of organization), environment and the economy (and the dominant modes of production) will prove to be instrumental in arriving at meaningful interpretations of the pressing environmental issues faced around the world today. Through locally accountable organizations, people who are dependent on local resources and their sustainable management can make their concerns heard and often taken into account. The ability to resourcefully contribute to the success of such organizations hinges upon the commitment, experiences and knowledge of the members.

This course can hopefully serve as a modest input for assisting such individuals in expanding their understanding of environmental issues and provide a jump-start for getting involved in environmental action, at all levels.

The first lessons of the course will provide some needed background on the environmental resources that are of major importance. From this basis, the focus of the course will develop some of the linkages between environment and economy that are at the heart of efforts to sustainably manage the environment. A selection of issues will be explored and briefly examined in relation to their role in the globalised economy, both nationally and internationally. The issues are the following:

Environmental Issues 1. water 2. air 3. landuse/soil 4. waste 5. pollution 6. habitat

The course sets out to present best practices in environmental management and by doing so, provide the student with a basic understanding and better appreciation of why it is important to adopt principles of environmental management across sectors and for those students with a professional interest, to suggest approaches on how best to initiate related policy and operational actions. Many of the references used in the course will build on work form international organizations, in particular UN agencies and NGOs.

To get a comprehensive view of environmental issues, you can refer to the Agenda 21, established at the UN Rio conference in 1992.

All Agenda 21 Issues

*Agriculture *Biodiversity *Information for decision-making and participation *Atmosphere *International law *International cooperation for an enabling environment *Biotechnology *Institutional arrangements *Capacity-building *Land management *Consumption and Production Patterns *Demographics *Mountains *Desertification and drought *Oceans and Seas *Education and awareness *Poverty *Energy *Science *Finance *Small Islands *Forests *Sustainable Tourism *Freshwater *Technology *Health *Toxic Chemicals *Human Settlements *Trade and environment *Indicators *Transport *Industry *Waste (hazardous) *Information *Waste (radioactive) *Integrated decision-making *Waste (solid)

Obviously with so many topics, themes and issues involved, environmental management can easily be seen as the art of effectively managing linkages.

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