Be Mains Ready

• Introduce by linking the issue of environmental degradation with socio-economic activities.
• Discuss the environmental problems as immediate results of prevalent economic practices.
• Connect with how these problems are also linked to social processes – how both affect each other.
• Conclude by suggesting a way forward.

Introduction

Socio-economic growth denotes an increase in real output (real GDP) coupled with urbanisation and industrialisation. Therefore, increased opulence and consumption are likely to incur costs on the environment. The environmental impact of unsustainable socio-economic processes includes the increased consumption of non-renewable resources, higher levels of pollution, global warming and the potential loss of environmental habitats.

Body

Present environmental degradation are immediate results of economic practises adopted in the wake of Industrialisation and consequent man’s indifferent attitude towards ecology.

• Resource Depletion: Fossil fuel, intensive input-based economy results in overexploitation of natural resources beyond carrying capacity like overuse of groundwater in Green Revolution areas, forest ecosystem is depleting due to changing land use patterns.
• Pollution: Air, water and land pollution is caused due to increased emissions and wastage from urbanised and industrialised societies.
• Global warming and volatile weather: Global warming leads to rising sea levels, volatile weather patterns and could cause significant economic costs
• Soil erosion: Deforestation resulting from economic development damages soil and makes areas more prone to drought.
• Loss of biodiversity: Economic growth leads to resource depletion and loss of biodiversity. This could harm future ‘carrying capacity of ecological systems’ for the economy. Though there is uncertainty about the extent of this cost as the benefit of lost genetic maps may never be known.
• Long-term toxins: Economic growth creates long-term waste and toxins, which may have unknown consequences. For example, economic growth has led to increased use of plastic, which when disposed of do not degrade. So there is an ever-increasing stock of plastic in the seas and environment – which is both unsightly but also damaging to wildlife.
• Such environmental problems are also linked to social processes where each affects others in a cyclic manner.

Environmental costs of unsustainable social processes

• As per International Organisation of Migration, vulnerable sections of society like women, children, old age would be most adversely affected due to Climate Change, example drought induced forced migration in Sub-Saharan Africa.
• Disasters inadvertently affect society at large, especially those with less access to resources, for example ability to rehabilitate post-floods or cyclones.
• Some ecological problems reinforce social inequality and cycle of poverty, example reduced productivity of soil in Vidarbha (Maharashtra) due to HYV seeds planting and consequent inability to re-invest in land rehabilitation resulting in Farmers Suicide.

Social Causes to Environmental Problems

• Changes in social values and norms like consumerism without regards to ecological values result in commodification of nature leading to its overexploitation
• Social Inequality in access to resources and say in their way of utilisation leads to environmental conflicts, example alienation of tribals from forest conservation and its resource usage leading to economic development prevailing over environmental development.
• Changing and pressing demands of society like Food Security, increased productivity leads to pressure on already limited natural resources.

Conclusion

• Thus, environmental problems are intertwined with social processes. There is a need for achieving sustainability at social, economic as well as ecological level like highlighted in SDG-2030 goals, agendas of UN-Habitat.