Interconnected Environmental Issues: Globalization, Emerging Diseases, Biodiversity Loss, Climate Change, And More

Concept map

There is severe impact of globalisation on population and environment. Globalisation has improved the transportation system. These have led to transfer of organisms from their natural habitat to different parts of the world. With the increase in mobility, people travel more than in past and are exposed to invasive species and pathogens (Helminths, Fungi, Protozoa, virus, and Bacteria). Consequently, more new emerging disease is identified increasing the burden of infections. Emerging diseases are influenced by social factors (human-human transition, travel trade and migration, humans demographics and behaviour including war technology and hospitals) and environmental (human contact with water, new vector breeding sites, introduced pathogen) (Leggiadro 2011).

Increase in population and globalisation have led to environmental degradation. Globalisation and environmental degradation are linked by agricultural development, urbanisation, deforestation, population movement; introduction of new species and pathogens and biodiversity loss. Increasing population have increased the consumption of food, land and natural resources. The rising demand has increased the risk of natural disaster and climate change. This situation if continues may lead to population displacement (McMichael 2013).  

Environmental degradation considerably effects ecosystem, biodiversity and human well-being. Human activities are highly responsible for pollution climate warming, desertification, increased CO₂ concentration and biodiversity loss. Human activities to meet the demand for land and food such as deforestations, draining of wetlands alter the habitat of animals. It is damaging the biodiversity and natural ecosystem. Industrial, agricultural and household wastes such as sewage; pesticides; factory and vehicular emissions; and sediment deposits leads to water, soil and air pollution.   Biodiversity loss is associated with the sudden ecosystem change, mass extinction of species, global plant extinction, overharvesting, hunting and poaching, loss of habitat and introduction of invasive species (Cardinale et al. 2012).

Introduced species and invasive species significantly affect the ecological communities around the world. Humans move species from native land to new geographical regions for instance, for pets, scientific research, private collections, Zoos and other reasons. The parasites, pathogens and   predators in the absence of their native partners become invasive to adopt the new community which gives rise to extinction of animals and species over time. The invasive species have high dispersal rate and are responsible for new emerging diseases such as Chytrid fungus (amphibians), white nose syndrome (bats). New diseases occur because invasive species host a pathogen which expand the range of the virus, parasites, helminths.  The serious impact of this phenomena on islands can be explained by few native predators in the new community, lack anti-predator defences, resistance to diseases of the native animal of the new community (Leggiadro 2011). Environmental implications of the invasive species are genetic effects (hybridisation), disturbance of ecosystem function (nutrient cycling, soil stability), competition, predation of native species. Thus, it can said that globalisation, climate change, environmental degradation, biodiversity loss,  invasive species and emerging diseases are interrelated to each other.

Water is the resource, which is under huge pressure and is a main consumer focus. To have sustained economic and societal development managing water resources are inevitable. It is however, undermined due to poor consumer awareness and engagement to reduce water usage. Water is essential resource in relation to gas and electricity and is fundamental to the effective functioning of the company and ensuring operations. Water drives ecosystem and without it agricultural production is difficult. Increasing population, globalisation, trade, and social factors (lifestyle and consumption patterns of people), are responsible for water scarcity, water pollution and related disasters (Olmstead 2014).  

Explanation

Soil is the major provider of ecosystem services and is vital for food and fuel production. Biodiversity is essential component of soil. Thus, soil is interrelated to food security, agricultural economy, biodiversity and climate change. Food (95%) is directly or indirectly produced on soil. By 2050, the world needs to produce more food.  With the use of the agricultural machinery, clearing of forested slopes for agriculture, rapid population growth, migration of animals and humans, large scale farming, pollution soil erosion is inevitable. Loss of nutrient rich soil leads to decrease in agricultural productivity, environmental quality and food insecurity. Climate warming leads to soil warming which causes decomposition of soil and carbon unlocking.  Soil conservation methods include organic farming, intercropping, agro forestry system, and policy solutions (DeLong et al. 2015).

One of the priority issues of humanities is climate change. The global climate change is related to natural forces such as volcanic eruptions and human activities such as burning of fossil fuels. In order to understand climate change environmental reconstruction is important. Environmental reconstruction relates to use of different forms of evidences a proxy to infer climate change, reconstruct climate for a site, paleo-ecology (ecological histories), palaeoarchaeology (cultural histories), and historical geology. All of the above are merged to understand the earth’s climate history. Evidence  involves fossil records, ice core records, isotopic evidence, long term records of natural CO₂  and recent anthropogenic emissions, historical evidences of weather (droughts, movement of alpine glaciers), and phonological records (records of timing of crop harvest). These records help in predicting future climate and their effects (Tomkins et al. 2008). Thus, globalisation, climatic change and environmental reconstructions are interrelated.   

Overall, environmental problem can be dealt with international cooperation, negotiation and treaties. The UN conferences on environment and development produced declaration on forest principles, convention on climate change and biological diversity. The convention on biological diversity is an international treaty focused on the “conservation and sustainable use of the biological diversity”. Similarly, CITES is an international agreement focused on the trade in endangered wildlife. IUCN is focused on protecting the critically endangered and endangered species.  The Wildlife and countryside Act of UK protects wildlife and habitats. The EU biodiversity strategy aims to stop biodiversity loss by 2020. .Policy solutions for soil erosion include Rio summit, World’s soil charter and world’s soil policy, Natural Environment Whitepaper and other to protect soil and increase sustainability (Tscharntke et al. 2012).  Montreal Protocol aims to phase out ozone depleting chemicals and Koyoto protocol aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions. There are also many global targets for water conservation. Sustainable tourism development policies ensures cultural integrity, essential ecological processes, biological diversity and life support system (Cherian 2012). Science and policy are important for environmental justice and are thus interrelated. It relates to environmental sustainability i.e, an equality between existing and future populations (Edmunds 2012).

Globalisation, trade and environment are interrelated. Free trade dominates the world trade and has positive impact on the environment. Free trade refers to making huge profit by purchasing high quality goods with lowest possible price and sell at maximum price possible. This is the strong idea in UK and is linked with the idea of free competition that decreases the prices in supermarkets.  Manufactured goods comprise 75% of the traded goods and apply to the agricultural products (Dicken 2008.).  It dominates the world because fair trade aims to empower the poorest people, give fair wages to producer and ensure long-term contracts. It consequently leads to social and environmental improvements. For instance, it improves agricultural production method, lessens environmental impact, and develops community through   improved education, schooling etc. Food products are traded products such as coffee, tea, meat, soya, vegetables, etc. Shareholders gain more profit than the producers due to modern capitalism. Environmental degradation due to drought, flood affects the food prices and the agricultural production. Other reason of decreasing agricultural production is the emerging diseases that affect invasive tea, coffee, and banana plantation. It significantly hampers the export of these products and the world market (Copeland and Taylor 2013).

Tourism acts as an export industry and is a means of developing foreign exchange. International tourism is related to the neo-liberalism, which is also associated with globalisation. Neo-liberalism is associate with the world trade organisation. Thus, in the above diagram, tourism, fair trade and environment are related. Environmental quality determines the tourism development (Wearing et al. 2005).  Another growing global significance is indigenity. There is a decline in the indigenous culture. Indigenous people have a history of cultural discrimination, stolen generation, oppression, slavery, traditional injustice, and reparations. This heart wrenching history is used by the tourism industry (ethno-tourism, eco-tourism and film tourism) and it may upset the Torres Strait Islanders and the Aboriginals (Choi-Fitzpatrick 2015). Tourism is the source of leisure and outdoor recreation for many people for religious purpose, social activity, sports, film making, and industrialisation (Bond and Falk 2013).   

References

Bond, N. and Falk, J., 2013. Tourism and identity?related motivations: why am I here (and not there)?. International Journal of Tourism Research, 15(5), pp.430-442.

Cardinale, B.J., Duffy, J.E., Gonzalez, A., Hooper, D.U., Perrings, C., Venail, P., Narwani, A., Mace, G.M., Tilman, D., Wardle, D.A. and Kinzig, A.P., 2012. Biodiversity loss and its impact on humanity. Nature, 486(7401), pp.59-67.

Cherian, A., 2012. Confronting a multitude of multilateral environmental agreements. Global Environmental Issues. Oxford: Wiley?Blackwell Publications, pp.39-61.

Choi-Fitzpatrick, A., 2015. From rescue to representation: A human rights approach to the contemporary antislavery movement. Journal of Human Rights, 14(4), pp.486-503.

Copeland, B.R. and Taylor, M.S., 2013. Trade and the environment: Theory and evidence. Princeton University Press.

DeLong, C., Cruse, R. and Wiener, J., 2015. The soil degradation paradox: Compromising our resources when we need them the most. Sustainability, 7(1), pp.866-879.

Dicken, P., 2008. Global Shift: Mapping the Changing Contours of the World Economy.

Edmunds, G., 2012. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. In Encyclopedia of Immigrant Health (pp. 1458-1459). Springer New York.

Leggiadro, R.J., 2011. Major Increase in Human Monkeypox Incidence 30 Years After Smallpox Vaccination Campaigns Cease in the Democratic Republic of Congo: AW Rimoin et al. PNAS. Published online before print August 30, 2010. The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal, 30(1), p.2.

McMichael, A.J., 2013. Globalization, climate change, and human health. New England Journal of Medicine, 368(14), pp.1335-1343.

Olmstead, S.M., 2014. Climate change adaptation and water resource management: A review of the literature. Energy Economics, 46, pp.500-509.

Tomkins, J.D., Lamoureux, S.F. and Sauchyn, D.J., 2008. Reconstruction of climate and glacial history based on a comparison of varve and tree-ring records from Mirror Lake, Northwest Territories, Canada. Quaternary Science Reviews, 27(13), pp.1426-1441.

Tscharntke, T., Clough, Y., Wanger, T.C., Jackson, L., Motzke, I., Perfecto, I., Vandermeer, J. and Whitbread, A., 2012. Global food security, biodiversity conservation and the future of agricultural intensification. Biological conservation, 151(1), pp.53-59.

Wearing, S., McDonald, M. and Ponting, J., 2005. Building a decommodified research paradigm in tourism: The contribution of NGOs. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 13(5), pp.424-439.