Climate Change and Constraints on Water, Resources, Land, and Energy Straining Living Standards - Coursework Example

4. Climate change and constraints on water, resources, land, and energy straining living standards Name Instructor Course Introduction Since the Second World War, various countries have been undergoing a global struggle for the improvement of the living conditions and more so in the development countries (Leonidou, 2004). Initially, there was only a little query regarding the reasons for underdevelopment, but currently, it has become a severe and constant question because it is becoming very rampant. Various scholars have even argued that development is a myth because it is not attainable for many countries. Some of the newly independent countries and some bodies of the United Nations have been trying to promote development through the application of various measures (Leonidou, 2004). With the increasing cases of climate change problems, the scarcity of resources, water resources, among other global strains, development is continuing to be a challenge as there are high risks for the developing nations to become even worse because of underdevelopment (Leonidou, 2004). Therefore, the paper will support the argument that there are risks of the poor people and countries becoming even poorer because of the low development levels due to various challenges that are experienced in these countries. Poverty Vicious Cycles Different countries are experiencing the vicious poverty cycle which is self-reinforcing condition or situation whereby some particular factors tend to perpetuate some undesirable phenomenon (Putu, Jan van Helden, & Tillema, 2007). This cycle is mostly experienced in the developing countries which can be perceived on both the supply and demand side. The demand side of the cycle implies that the low-income levels result in low demand levels which then leads to the low investment rates, then a resulting lack of sufficient capital which leads to low productivity and finally income (Putu, Jan van Helden, & Tillema, 2007). From the supply side, the low productivity shows that there is low income which turns into low savings, then low investment levels which result in the capital deficiency (Putu, Jan van Helden, & Tillema, 2007). This is a clear depiction that it is possible for poverty to lead to more poverty which is something that is being experienced in many countries which then significantly hinders the development efforts. The populations of the nations with low development levels have the possibility of becoming more vulnerable to diseases and ill health which leads to the reduction of the workforce’s productivity (Sachs & Malaney, 2002). Additionally, the lack of education results in a workforce that of low quality hence low investment levels and consequently will not attract foreign investors. These are some of the things which exacerbate poverty and have kept many countries stuck in low development levels (Woolcock & Narayan, 2000). It is proving very hard for countries to grow or expand from the low base especially in the current highly competitive global economy. Also, the nations which are at low economic development levels are the most likely to be the victims of occurrences like civil wars and their aftermath. These wars primarily crop up because of the highly scarce natural resources or the lack of which results in high competition levels of the same (Woolcock & Narayan, 2000). This, therefore, means that development is still proving to be difficult to achieve because people continue to live at risks of becoming even poor in the future. Environmental Factors that Impact Development The physical environment has had a direct effect on the way the development of a place takes place. Some of the countries that have developed to becoming super power countries owe it to their natural and physical environment (Nadkarni, 2000). For example, the United Kingdom in numerous ways has experienced many development benefits because of their natural environment for its growth to a global superpower during the period of Industrial Revolution. The natural resources that are in a given country play a significant role in its development and its ability to exploit these resources for the development purposes (Nadkarni, 2000). Some of the environmental issues which present the risk of experiencing the precarious living standards for the already poor people and countries even deteriorating further include the climate-related diseases, the lack of sufficient natural resources and the theory of natural resource curse among others. Various tropical nations usually suffer from some diseases which tend to thrive in some hot, humid conditions like Malaria, Dengue Fever, Chagas disease, among others (Sachs & Malaney, 2002). The individuals who acquire these diseases are usually incapacitated in several ways and can therefore not work efficiently or even present the risk of them losing their lives which in the end, limits development (Sachs & Malaney, 2002). On the other hand, the nations which have few natural resources or high population levels which lead to high competition levels for these scarce resources usually begin at a low economic base and in the process find it rather difficult to carry out their developmental strategies (Schipper & Pelling, 2006). This, therefore, means that the already uncertain living conditions will just continue prevailing and the poor will continue to be poorer even in the long run. According to the theory of natural resource curse, if a given country has a valuable resource, then a significant amount of the country’s efforts will be channeled towards the exploitation of that particular resource (Schipper & Pelling, 2006). Doing this tends to limit the potential for that given country more so in the other sectors of the industry. If the resource lands in the hands of the minority and unscrupulous ruling elite, more often than not, the profits of the valuable resource are usually not shared among all the citizens in that country (Schipper & Pelling, 2006). This is what leads to the continuous widening gap between the rich and the poor and slows down development, in the long run, leaving the poor people to continue languishing in poverty. Climatic hazards have also played a significant role in slowing down development rates. Such climatic hazards include events such as drought, floods, hurricanes, famine, among other events which are usually caused by anthropogenic factors (Mirza, 2003). Climate change has been an issue that has been discussed over time and which has resulted in extreme weather events and significant changes in the distribution of water all across the globe (Mirza, 2003). For some fragile countries, these extreme weather events and patterns usually have a devastating effect on their development strategies. For example, between the years 2011 and 2012, the famine that struck the Horn of Africa affected some countries like Somalia, Kenya, Eritrea, and Ethiopia which resulted in long term effects that are still being felt (Mirza, 2003). Aside from weakening and even killing people because of thirst and hunger, these countries also have to handle issues to do with the refugee crisis. In the end, there was the diverting of the valuable resources away from the development objectives and redirect them to addressing these issues (Mirza, 2003). Since the climate keeps on changing, it presents uncertain risks and events which lead to the stakeholders divert their attention from striving to achieve the development objectives to handling these symptoms and just be prepared to deal with these events in the case that they occur (Mirza, 2003). Consequently, the poor will keep on living in poverty and low development efforts will be achieved. Social Factors Numerous social factors impact the development levels of a given country. Some of these factors include unproductive social occurrences like war, lack of the social motivation drive, negative social cultures like drinking and gambling, as well as the lack of the necessary skills because of poor education and training. Education is a crucial factor in the development practices. This is evident because many of the nations that do not have the ability to afford the cost of education are the ones that are suffering from the reduced levels of development. According to UNICEF, in the year 2006, about 93 million kids of the primary school age are still not in school. In the same light, the water quality can have a significant effect on people. A good example of the way water quality can have an impact on the development of a country is the case of India (Easterly & Levine, 2003). The state has attempted numerous times to clean River Ganges because it was experiencing various development issues because of the lack of sufficient water in the country. This means that the nation will be necessitated to divert its resources from the development initiatives towards addressing water quality issues since it is more crucial for the survival of its people (Easterly & Levine, 2003). Poor water quality typically possesses a direct effect on the lives of individuals because it is a necessity for people’s survival (Easterly & Levine, 2003). The lack of proper water may result in diseases which may weaken citizens. This, therefore, means that it will have a direct effect on their productivity and consequently their economic development (Easterly & Levine, 2003). Some of the diseases which are related to poor water quality include Malaria, Yellow fever, Bilharzia, and cholera. In the same light, water supply is also a major concern because, in various parts of the globe, the unreliable supply of water tends to, limit agriculture as well as other major development areas (Easterly & Levine, 2003). This is because the people tend always to be busy searching for water instead of focusing their energy on other economic areas, which further limits development efforts. This means that people are still likely to experience continuous precarious living standards for the already poor people slipping even further. Political Factors It is evident that the governments of various countries usually play a significant role in the development process (Li & Resnick, 2003). It is also true that these governments are usually filled with honest citizens who usually do an excellent job in trying to enhance both the living standards as well as that of the quality of life of the citizens who reside in that particular country (Li & Resnick, 2003). On the other hand, unfortunately, there are usually cases where the same government has corrupt officials whose aim is usually to create their wealth and money at the expense of the very citizens who they are required to represent (Li & Resnick, 2003). For example, according to BBC, Nigeria has been tagged as the most corrupt country on earth which is what has overseen the lag in its developmental efforts. When a country has politicians who are corrupt, then the developments in clean water, infrastructure, education, and health are less likely to be achieved (Leonidou, 2004). Also, other governments and companies will be less likely to invest in such countries as well because of the integrity and instability question. The leaders in many countries, especially those that are suffering from underdevelopment have not been able to lead their followers to manage to provide themselves with the necessities that they need for their survival (Leonidou, 2004). Some of these basic needs that the leaders need to enable their citizens to provide for themselves include security, food, health, clothing, and shelter. Naturally, any population that is not enabled to clothe, feed, shelter, defend, and heal themselves have a very little chance of their long-term survival (Nadkarni, 2000). This will mean that they will keep on depending on other people or nations for the survival and consequently will not manage to develop within the required boundaries. Continuous dependence on others, political ineffectiveness, and bad leadership usually do very little to assist people to come from poverty because in essence very minimal developmental levels are achieved (Nadkarni, 2000). It still creates low development achievements which do very little in helping the poor people get out of poverty. Conclusion Various scholars have argued that development is a myth because most countries will experience difficulties in achieving it. This is true because of the various factors which lead to low achievements of development in these countries and consequently resulting in the already uncertain living standards for the poor to deteriorate even further. Some of the factors that lead to the low development levels and the continuous poor living standards for the already poor people include poverty vicious cycles in these countries, effects of climate change and the climate change hazards, the scarce natural resources, social factors, as well as the political factors. Following this, instead of efforts being directed towards the right channels of development, they are being directed to efforts of addressing the symptoms of these factors. Consequently, the lack of development results in the inability of these countries to capacitate their people to continue languishing in poverty and instead makes the situation even worse. References Easterly, W., & Levine, R. (2003). Tropics, germs, and crops: how endowments influence economic development. Journal of monetary economics, 50(1): 3-39. Leonidou, L. C. (2004). An analysis of the barriers hindering small business export development. Journal of small business management, 42(3): 279-302. Li, Q., & Resnick, A. (2003). Reversal of fortunes: Democratic institutions and foreign direct investment inflows to developing countries. International organization, 57(01): 175-211. Mirza, M. M. Q. (2003). Climate change and extreme weather events: can developing countries adapt?. Climate policy, 3(3): 233-248. Nadkarni, M. V. (2000). Poverty, environment, development: A many-patterned nexus. Economic and Political Weekly, 1184-1190. Newmark, W. D., & Hough, J. L. (2000). Conserving Wildlife in Africa: Integrated Conservation and Development Projects and Beyond: Because multiple factors hinder integrated conservation and development projects in Africa from achieving their objectives, alternative and complementary approaches for promoting wildlife conservation must be actively explored. BioScience, 50(7): 585-592. Putu S, N., Jan van Helden, G., & Tillema, S. (2007). Public sector performance measurement in developing countries: A literature review and research agenda. Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change, 3(3): 192-208. Sachs, J., & Malaney, P. (2002). The economic and social burden of malaria. Nature, 415(6872): 680-685. Schipper, L., & Pelling, M. (2006). Disaster risk, climate change and international development: scope for, and challenges to, integration. Disasters, 30(1): 19-38. Woolcock, M., & Narayan, D. (2000). Social capital: Implications for development theory, research, and policy. The world bank research observer, 15(2): 225-249. Read More