Who in a globalized world should be responsible for the management of natural resources?
A number of anti-globalization activists, journalists and scholars have claimed that the accelerated activity of global economy has placed major pressure on the natural resource. Majority of the concern is regarding the enhanced participation across emerging countries like India and China, in the global economy (Young 2010). This has placed major pressure on extraction of natural resources for meeting the subsequent increase of global demand for specific commodities. Indeed, it has been predicted by experts that supplying of non- renewable natural resources across the globe will end up reaching peak by the next 30 years and thereafter, start declining. All of these resources can be identified as crucial for the development and survival of humans as these resources have enhanced the possibility for existence of man on earth, while reproducing and contributing to the economy for meeting the need (Stiglitz 2007).
However, management of natural resources is not the responsibility of one individual or authority. In majority of the areas across the globe, with the requirement of sustainably managing the natural resources, there is a need for involving various different stakeholders. Taking into consideration the different responsibilities of women and men is crucial for sustainably managing the natural resources and being successful in implementing programmes and policies of natural resource management (Griffith 2010). This awareness is significant for the promotion of effective conservation and sustainable development of natural resources while ensuring they are managed in an appropriate manner. In this context, the aim of this essay is to identify who is responsible for managing natural resources in the current era of globalization.
Management of natural resources is referred to as sustainably utilizing major natural resources like wild fauna and flora, fisheries, forests, minerals, air, water and land. Altogether, these resources tend to be providing the services of eco-system that hold the major string of human life (Stiglitz 2007). Why is it important to manage natural resources?
Natural resources have been identified as the fundamental support for human life in terms of both, public- good services and consumptive services. Processes of ecology have been maintaining the productivity of soil, recycling the nutrient, cleansing water and air, and the cycles of climate (Young 2010). Soils are extremely important components for agriculture, which further provides a basic building block in the lifestyle of each and every individual across the globe. Across the generic level, diversity identified in natural forms of life have been evidently supporting the programs of breeding significant for the protection and improvement of domesticated animals and cultivated plants. Further ahead, fauna and flora have been forming the base regarding traditional medicine while actively supporting the modern industry of pharmaceuticals (Tomás 2010). The foundation of natural resources has started to come under increased pressure from both, higher level of economic activity and increased level of population.
While there is major difficulty in forecasting how income per capita will end up changing in the coming 30 years, there is quite clarity in the fact that increasing population will be aspiring better standard of living. More often, this will be entailing an accelerated utilization of natural resource as both, recipients of waste and inputs to the economy (Rudra and Jensen 2011). However, the relationship between environmental stress and economic growth cannot be considered linear, as growth ends up generating resources for the better management of natural resources.
It has been pointed by a number of critics that there are negative implications for exploitation of natural resource in the current environment of globalization (Griffith 2010). As a significant example, as nations have been growing in terms of richness to persuade comparative benefit, it has been argued by a number of scholars that the efforts of meeting increased demands of consumption in both, developed and developing nations lead towards exploiting the natural resources in the absence of any sustainability (Griffith 2010). A number of others have claimed that globalization tends to be encouraging government for favouring the demands of exporters that leads towards supporting the industry at the cost of sustainability. In partial terms, this is due to the aspect of public good in sustainability, there is a natural creation of incentives to shrink and collect action problems.
Globalization can be referred to as the process in which decisions of business, processes of production and markets moves ahead in gradually exhibiting less national attributes and more international features. Globalization holds an implication of several underlying strategy reforms such as altered patterns of consumption, the private- public interface, and business organization (Rudra and Jensen 2011). Change of technology can also be considered significant when viewed from the dimension of environment in globalization. The underlying link between globalization and natural resources has been overlooked majority of the times, yet can be considered crucial for economy and environment on the whole. There is a global inheritance of natural resources as life is sustained in ecosystems shared by everyone irrespective of national borders. The ecosystem can be seen as a common shared atmosphere that provides protection from harsh climate and shielding everyone from harsh rays of ultraviolet rays (Tomás 2010). As a response to the issue for monitoring it, there are issues related to natural resources depletion that further provoke a strong coordination between global and regional governance. Also, there is no denial in the fact that there is an intrinsic relationship between the global environment and the global economic development. This is because the global environment has been providing natural resources as required for fuelling growth and services of ecosystem underpinning both, livelihoods and life (Agrawal 2008).
As the strong relationship between natural resources and globalization is obvious, the framework of environment ethics had been presented for spreading awareness about natural resources and their management (Young 2010). Evidences in bulk from resources rich nation pointed out the positive results for local countries and communities during the development of natural resource (Berkes 2006). Elements like equally redistributing the revenue, strong institutions of public, environmental planning, investing in local capacity along with transparency measures make key contribution in the virtuous cycle for managing natural resources, for the establishment and sustainability of wealth and prosperity across business organizations and citizens.
It is the responsibility of policy makers for considering the environment effect underlying leased land for activities of productivity. As a significant example, wetlands can be represented as important components in the eco- system, yet can be considered as an area with most productivity for rice framing at larger scale. In any of the cases, it is significant that there is involvement of population to discuss about the issues (Anderson 2010). In this context, it can be stated that community consent has ended up becoming a formally set requirement related to multiple instruments, like the standard of the broad community support across the International Corporation of Finance, following the declaration by United Nations. In considering the issue of natural resource depletion, there is need for huge emphasis on sustainable management and conservation of natural resources (Berkes 2007).
Environmental ethics is a field of philosophy where there is a consideration of moral relations between the natural environment and human beings (Bormann 2005). As a branch of study, there is an underlying assumption that humans hold specific responsibilities for the protection of their natural environment, while seeking to assist people along with their leaders for spreading awareness and acting with responsibility when things end up impacting the natural world (Stiglitz 2007). This framework identifies four different dimensions of individual responsibility towards the natural resources and earth. These are mentioned further ahead (Bulte 2008):
Shallow Ecology: The philosophical system of belief holds the assumption that humans have key responsibility for protection of environment for supporting human life in both, the future and the present.
Ethics: The field of philosophy tends to be dealing with the general nature of specific moral choices and morals.
Deep Ecology: The philosophical system of belief holds the assumption that each and every form of life, human, animal, plant, involving an intrinsic right for its existence across the natural environment and that humans are known to be having a direct responsibility for maintaining the environment in each and every form of life.
Anthropomorphic: Thought or described of having human attributes or human form.
For meeting the increased demand of population across the globe, there is major pressure on natural resources. A number of new sources have been making entry in global market platforms, majority of them across emerging or developing economies (Crona 2009). Valuable resources like timber, gold, tungsten, copper and oil can be identified in a number of fragile or poor states, specifically across extremely remote regions (Zerner 2005).
There is no doubt that natural resources are indispensable for proper function of modernized economies in this globalized world and to achieve and maintain living standards high in every nation. They are production related primary inputs required for manufacturing goods (Rudra et al 2011). They also help in providing energy required for transporting individuals and products from one place to another, to provide electricity and to heat homes and work places. They also are a potentially unending valuable materials source and plant and wildlife habitat. It is not exaggerated to state that the way in which the globalized world operates and manages its natural resources is the way to determine global economy sustainability.
Due to natural resource significance across all economies and in every endeavour of industries, the management of these resources in the globalized world rests upon all nations and not any specific authority (Reddy 2009). Also natural resources trade will certainly continue growing in the future years and therefore improvised international cooperation and domestic regulatory legislations are needed for contributing to gain efficiency, eliminate extraction and use of natural resources based adverse consequence and increase market price stability for these goods.
Since the last decade, it has been recognized by a number of actors that natural resources when managed in a proper manner, hold huge tendency for contributing towards economic and social development (Ewel 2001). Evidences in bulk from resources rich nation pointed out the positive results for local countries and communities during the development of natural resource (Young 2010). Elements like equally redistributing the revenue, strong institutions of public, environmental planning, investing in local capacity along with transparency measures make key contribution in the virtuous cycle for managing natural resources, for the establishment and sustainability of wealth and prosperity across business organizations and citizens (Fabricius 2004).
Such responsibilities are perceived by a number of civil societies, organizations, international companies for addressing the relation between conflict and natural riches by collaboration of several significant tools and guidelines for assisting nations to ensure that there is a proper development and utilization of these resources (Gonsalves 2005). A number of bodies of expertise can be seen pertaining to the opportunities and challenges in association with exploitation of natural resources that include mechanisms of supporting ensuring that the wealth of a nation does not end up undermining the prosperity.
It is also the responsibility of policy makers for considering the environment effect underlying leased land for activities of productivity. As a significant example, wetlands can be represented as important components in the eco- system, yet can be considered as an area with most productivity for rice framing at larger scale (Griffith 2010). In any of the cases, it is significant that there is involvement of population to discuss about the issues. In this context, it can be stated that community consent has ended up becoming a formally set requirement related to multiple instruments, like the standard of the broad community support across the International Corporation of Finance, following the declaration by United Nations (Miller 2008).
The sustainable utilization of the environment and the natural resources for production of services and goods in fisheries, forestry, livestock and agriculture is highly dependent on the ways in which communities, individuals and other groups obtain the ability of gaining access to forests, fisheries and land. Responsibly governing the tenure of forests, fisheries and land is significant for ensuring responsible investment in sustainable development, sustainable utilization of environment and social stability, while eradicating food insecurity and poverty across rural regions (Minang 2005). As a significant example, an internal cash flow of an organization may impact the spending of investment due to a hierarchy of finance within which internal funds are known to be having an advantage of cost over equity finance or new debt. In these types of circumstances, the financing decision and investment of an organization are independent.
For nations under the endowment of natural resources, recent trends provide a suggestion that exploiting the factor of natural resources leads towards booms of economy, fuelling the growth of GDP. These major returns tor production of natural resource may be more in comparison with just temporary surges due to the increase in global demand (Pretty 2003). It has been stated by IMF (2008; 9) that the current boom in commodity price is considerably unique in that it is broader as well as long lasting with increased price than what had been expected.
In context with nations persuading comparative benefit in natural resource, there is a focus of countless studies in the field of political science on extremely broad negative repercussion regarding the endowment of this factor. A significant role has been played by domestic institutions to limit the progress of politics and the growth of economy (Race 2001). This curse of resource can be considered in association with the survival and emergence of economic under- development, authoritarian regimes, political violence and higher levels of corruption and all of this reviewing is done in large contributions perceiving specific volume.
The credible barriers across the global world results in incumbents for providing the levels of re- distribution for co- opting the opposing view, and finally lowering the scope of democratization (Reddy 2009). The relationship between globalization and natural resources, even though overlooked more often, is crucial to both the concepts. Itself, the natural resources are inherently global with ecosystems sustaining life and watersheds crossing national borders more frequently, movement of air pollution across oceans and continents, and a common shared atmosphere that provides protection from harsh climate and shielding everyone from harsh rays of ultraviolet rays (Rudra and Jensen 2011). Responding to and monitoring the issues regarding depletion of natural resources ends up provoking a significant need to coordinate regional or global governance. In addition to this, the environment has an intrinsic link with the development of economy as it provides natural resources for fuelling growth and services of ecosystem underpinning both, livelihoods and life.
This essay research paper is of the notion that in this globalized world, the responsibility to sustain and maintain the natural resource usage by managing them appropriately and sustainably lies in the hands of all developed and developing nations. This section offers some key insights as to how this responsibility can be tackled by these nations in order to make sure natural resources continued usage with extra efforts to manage it.
Nations that are about to develop from status of low income has been able to find various measures essential to set the foundation for efficiency and effective natural resource management (Pretty 2003). These take into consideration the interlinkage between sectors of an economy inclusive of the following:
Development of an overall strategy for the sector of natural resources across all economies that helps in incorporating the main goal to transform and develop. Such strategy will help in outlining the extraction based optimal levels with the trajectory of economy particularly engendering all the policies of natural resource management, determine types and levels of incentives for investment encourage, allow being transparent and setting up standards for accountability, stipulate the requirement to protect environment and biodiversity and put into position a system for revenue based effective usage derived from development of natural resource (Race 2001).
Considering to perform a comprehensive inventory survey of the several natural resources form. This information is essential for planning short term and long term goals for efficiency natural resource allocation decision
There are several risks that require to be mitigated such as conflict on natural resource allocation but each of these require management for responsible control over natural resource usage. The risks can be mitigated by the following:
Formulation of a comprehensive policy for resource use and tenure after consulting extensively (Subramanian 2003)
Establishment of effective mechanisms of coordination for competing demands management like permit building and rights on mining or rights of property
Setting up an office for natural resource registry
Development of capacity for natural resource administration such as land administration
Establishment of Web based GIS for management of resources
Conclusion
In this globalized world, natural resource allocation to a nation is responsible for determining the extent of success that nation can gain in future. When managed appropriately, resources have the power to offer development and better life for people of a nation. It is now the responsibility of this collective globalized world to join hands and individually start making a different. The way ahead should take into consideration that there are various inter-dependent agendas for management of resource sector, making peace and building it. This consciousness furthermore should acknowledge conflict of political economies and focus more deeply over inclusion by space multiplication for making peace with regard to natural resource management (Tomas 2010). Furthermore, a focus is required on consensus and not on consultation as the base to make decisions wherein governments across the global should build legitimacies and capacities that help in strengthening natural resource management agenda. The best approach will be, a do no harm approach that looks at balancing opportunities with risks that can be designed for every nation. This approach should take into consideration broad objectives for development, engage with standards at global level and ground towards transparency.
References
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