Ensure
Environmental Sustainability
Olivia Collins, Mike
Minasi and Will Thompson
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| Photo Courtesy of Matt Miller |
Introduction
Environmental Sustainability can be defined as using natural
resources wisely and protecting the complex ecosystems on which society depends
(United Nations, 2005, 30.) Ensuring environmental sustainability in all of its
aspects is a tall order, and Goal 7 is one of the most complex Millennium
Development Goals. Since the issues are
so numerous and widespread, the UN broke down this goal into a few more
manageable segments in order to better attack each aspect of the greater
problem individually.
Goal 7 - Ensure
Environmental Sustainability is comprised of 4 targets and 10
indicators. The targets which are
labeled from 7.A to 7.D, address a myriad of problems ranging from resource and
biodiversity loss to access to clean water and improving the lives of slum
dwellers. The indicators, which are
labeled from 7.1 to 7.10, are categorized under the 4 targets and provide a
more in depth means for analyzing the progress of each.
Target 7.A: Integrate the principles of sustainable development
into country policies and programmes and reverse the loss of environmental
resources.
7.1 Proportion
of land area covered by forest
7.2 CO2 Emissions,
total, per capita per $1 GDP (PPP)
7.3 Consumption
of ozone-depleting substances
7.4 Proportion
of fish stocks within safe biological limits
7.5 Proportion
of total water resources used
Target 7.B: Reduce biodiversity loss, achieving, by 2010, a significant
reduction in the rate of loss
7.6 Proportion
of terrestrial and marine areas protected
7.7 Proportion
of species threatened with extinction
Target 7.C: Halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population
without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation
7.8 Proportion
of population using an improved drinking water source
7.9 Proportion
of population using an improved sanitation facility
Target 7.D: Achieve, by 2020, a significant improvement in the
lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers
7.10 Proportion
of urban population living in slums
These 4 targets
and 10 indicators aim to ensure environmental sustainability in all developing
countries of the world. They all work
towards improving different aspects of the environment that are becoming
affected by our world’s growing population and demands. Millennium Development Goal 7 - Ensure
Environmental Sustainability while the most complex, may also be one of the
most important. The environment is
present in every aspect of life, and making sure we maintain it and keep it
sustainable is the only way this world will continue to thrive.
Historical Development
The Development Assistance Committee (DAC) is a committee
created by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD.)
The DAC is comprised of 29 members, who are large donors of aid throughout the
world. In 1985 the DAC held a meeting in France at the Chateau de la Muette,
where there was much discussion regarding the weak support for long-term development.
(Hulme 2007, 13) Out of this meeting
also came two other things; the Development
Partnership in the New Global Context which argued that agreeing to
development is not a bad expense but a good investment. The second was a proposal for a Groupe de Reflexion, by the European
Union, to act as a check and balance for the DAC, it was soon approved and put
into action. Soon after, they began to gather and meet, during a meeting they
reviewed declarations that were decided upon at UN Summits to maybe find
something more out of them. (Hulme 2007, 14)
The Group de Reflexion had an impact on the DAC’s International
Development Goals. They found that a UN
Summit Goal had failed to enter the IDG listing, the 1992 Human Development
Report’s 20/20 initiative that was agreed on at the World Summit on Social
Development in 1995. This initiative was not present in the DAC. The 20/20 initiative asked national
governments in developing countries to provide 20% of their public expenditure
to basic social services and on aid donors to match this by providing 20% of
aid budgets to these services. (Hulme 2007 ,15) In doing this, it was believed
that this would guarantee that the resources would be available to provide
universal coverage in primary education, primary health care, nutrition support
programs and safe water and sanitation.
In 1997, the Kyoto Protocol was created, an agreement on binding
emission reduction targets, this Protocol began action in 2005. (UNFCCC 2005).
Developed nations were expected to carry more responsibility for reductions
than developing nations, because they produce more emissions and have more
resources to eliminate them. In a 2001 meeting, both World Bank and senior UN
managers noted the lack of an explicit goal holding the North accountable to its
levels of development assistance, which brought significant addition to goal 8
during final negotiations, identifying essential policy changes. After the MDG’s were agreed upon, almost
entirely, there was a note in the back of a 60 page document calling for
further refinement of the indicators for goals 7 and 8. Not surprisingly, these were the two goals
that most affected the promises, which the United States and other nations
promised to uphold and desired some flexibility.
Target 7.A: Integrate the
principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes and
reverse the loss of environmental resources.
7.1 Proportion
of land area covered by forest:
Currently, around 30% of the world’s land is covered by forests;
however we have seen a rapid decline in the percent of forests due to
deforestation. Out of the 30% of land
that is covered by forests, around 75% of them have national forest programmes
in place. Unfortunately, natural
programs are unable to control deforestation, because reasons for it are out of
their control. There are different
reasons as to why forests are cut down; a major reason for their destruction is
to allow more space for agriculture. The
world’s population is growing and demand for more everything is growing with
it. While it is difficult to put a
monetary value on natural capital, it is a vital component and driving factor
of sustainable livelihood, especially in developing nations, where they rely
heavily on natural resources for their way of life. The rural poor rely on forests as their
‘safety nets,’ therefore they feel the worst pain caused by deforestation. Forests are beneficial to reducing poverty
and create better lives for the rural poor by, “providing food, wood fuel,
medicines and other non-wood products used in the households of millions of the
world’s poorest people or sold in traditional or informal sectors.”(MDG Report
2013, 44 )
Throughout the last twenty years, there has been a decrease in
global deforestation rates, down from 8.3 million hectares to 5.2 million
hectares annually. Some of the national
forest programs that were created (tree planting, natural restoration) help add
around seven million hectares of new forests each year. The only continent to have significant net
forest gain was Asia, where major afforestation programs were carried out in
China, India, and Vietnam increasing forest area over 2.2 million hectares
between 1990 and 2010. These three
countries were able to increase their forest cover by four million hectares
annually; where as other countries in the region are continuing their use of
forests for other reasons. (MDG Report 2013, p. 44) Continents reporting the greatest loss of
forest area include Africa and South America, at an annual rate of 3.4 million
and 3.6 million hectares respectively.
Millennium Development Goal Target 7.A
Indicator 1; will not be met.
7.2 CO2
Emissions, total, per capita per $1 GDP (PPP)
Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are a greenhouse gas emissions
caused by human activities. Burning of
fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas, and oil as well as abuse of land, and
creation of industries are all human activities that cause CO2 emissions. (MDG
Report 2013, p. 45) The world’s
emissions of CO2 have grown over 46% since 1990. This increase in emissions is caused by
developing countries rapid growth.
However, even though developing countries produce the most CO2
emissions, when we look at per capita emissions developed countries are in the
lead. In developed regions, per capita
levels are more than three times higher than per capita levels in developing
regions (11 metric tons per person compared to only 3, respectively) but in
regards to emissions per unit of economic output the developing world produces
.6 kilograms of CO2 per dollar, relative to .4 kilograms in developed regions
(MDG report 2013, p. 45) Although
the international community continues to make steps towards combating climate
change and the increase of greenhouse gas emissions, we are still way above the
level for planetary well-being and stability.
Many developing countries can combat climate change by implementing
sustainable policies as part of their natural energy plan. Costa Rica is trying to be carbon neutral by
2025. At the United Nations Climate
Change Conference in Doha, Qatar, major actions were taken. There was a second commitment period from
2013-2020 with the Kyoto Protocol. The
Climate Change Convention and Kyoto Protocol are attempting to fortify national
mitigation efforts.
Despite a drop in global CO2 emissions in 2009 by 0.4 percent
from the previous year, as of 2010 the world’s carbon emissions were around
31.7%, an increase of 5% between 2009 and 2010. The increase of emissions is
caused from the fast growth in developing regions. In developing regions, their CO2 emissions
rose by 7% from 2009 to 2010, and only 3% in developed countries. Developing areas slowed down their CO2
emissions from 10 percent in 2003-2004 to 5.4 percent in 2009. Overall, this increase was offset by the
reduction of CO2 levels in developed countries. (MDG Report 2013, p.45)
Millennium Development Goal Target 7.A
Indicator 2; will not be met
7.3 Consumption
of ozone-depleting substances
Ozone gas is apparent in both the Earth’s upper atmosphere as
well as the ground level, and ozone depletion occurs every day and can have
many negative effects on our planet.
When ozone is depleted it allows large amounts of UV radiation to hit
the earth, which has many poor health effects on human beings, as well as
agricultural crops and marine life.
There have been steps taken to decrease the amount of
ozone-depleting substances; The
Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, is one of
them. This Protocol aims to decrease the
amount of ozone-depleting substances that are consumed and produced. By doing
this, the Protocol hopes that it would also reduce the number of substances in
the atmosphere and eventually fortify the earth’s ozone layer. (UNEP,
http://ozone.unep.org/new_site/en/index.php)
Millennium Development Goal Target 7.A
Indicator 3; will not be met
7.4 Proportion
of fish stocks within safe biological limits
Fish accounts for 15% of almost 3 billion people’s animal
protein intake, therefore it is important to maintain the quality of
fisheries. Fisheries play an important
role in maintaining the global food supply as well as serve the livelihoods for
over 200 million people in developing countries and most of Asia. Although widespread, the growing population
is triggering fisheries to become overexploited and the amount of stocks of
marine fish are below the level where they are able to produce their highest
amount of sustainable yields. Throughout
the past 40 years, there has been an expansion of the fishing industry which has
caused a serious decline in the condition of global fisheries. While there are policies and types of
management created by coastal states, it has been hard to maintain the
condition of the fisheries. Overfishing in these fisheries is not only detrimental
due to the possibility of a food shortage, but also for ecological
reasons. These areas, like most
ecosystems, are quite complex and need to maintain a sense of equilibrium. When overfishing occurs, one major aspect of
this ecosystem is decreased. This could
trigger any number of things, which could upset the delicate balance which is
heavily driven by food demand. (MDG Report 2013, p. 46)
As of 2009, 30% of marine fish were misused and not contained in
their safe biological limits, a 20% rise since 1974. In 2006, the world’s food
fish production was around 110 million tons.
Not only do fisheries play an important role in maintaining the global
food supply, they also serve as the livelihoods for over 200 million people in
developing countries and most of Asia.
Although widespread, the growing population is triggering fisheries to
become overexploited. The Atlantic
Ocean, Mediterranean and Black Sea all contain the highest percent of
overfished stocks; more than 50% of these stocks are not in their biological
limits. The Pacific Ocean contains the
smallest percent of overfished stocks resting at around 10%. (MDG Report 2013,
p. 46)
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has reviewed 584
fish stocks worldwide, and of that 584, 52 percent were classified as fully
exploited. This means that they are
catching fish at their maximum sustainable limits. Therefore the option of expansion to appease
the growing population is out of the question.
Furthermore, another 28 percent of these fisheries were classified as
overexploited. This indicates that fish
were being caught at a faster rate than they were reproducing which resulted in
a depleted population. This is dangerous
because as the population of fish decreases due to higher demand from the population,
the threat of a food shortage becomes evident.
Only about 20 percent of all fisheries examined were considered
underexploited.
Millennium Development Goal Target 7.A
Indicator 4; will not be met.
7.5 Proportion
of total water resources used
Total water sources are made up of the amount of groundwater and
surface water taken from their sources by a human. This is important to address because it gives
a check on the amount of water sources that are demanded to meet the needs of a
country. Water is become scarce, and the
over utilization of it can result in negative sustainable effects, and if there
is under utilization, it shows that there can be improvement in sustainable
water use.
Millennium Development Goal Target 7.A
Indicator 5; will not be met.
Target 7.B: Reduce
biodiversity loss, achieving, by 2010, a significant reduction in the rate of
loss
7.6 Proportion
of terrestrial and marine areas protected
In order to reduce biodiversity loss, we need to increase the
amount of terrestrial and marine areas that we are protecting. By protecting areas, we have more ability to
conserve and nurture biological diversity. (MDG Report 2013, p. 46) Areas that are protected are able to create
crucial ecosystem goods and services that are valuable to local, national, and
global economies. A large percent of the
earth’s population require protected areas in order to maintain their
livelihoods.
Protected terrestrial areas grew from 8.9% to 14.6% between 1990
and 2012, and marine protection has doubled in coastal waters (12 nautical
miles) from 4.6% to 9.7%. There was a
Convention on Biological Diversity that was held when the importance of
biodiversity and ecosystem services become apparent. This Convention, by 2020 aims to conserve at
the least; 17% of world’s terrestrial areas, and 10% of marine areas. They would do this “through a global
protected area network that is effectively and equitably managed and
ecologically representative of the earth’s natural resources.” (MDG Report
2013, p. 46) While many countries need
to improve, Latin America is doing the best with their conservation of land and
marine areas, with 21.3% of it terrestrial land protected and 15.4% of its
marine areas. (MDG Report 2013, p. 46)
Millennium Development Goal Target 7.B
Indicator 6; will not be met.
7.7 Proportion
of species threatened with extinction
Due to the large number of species facing the threat of
extinction, the world is facing a huge reduction in biodiversity. This causes pain to the world’s population
because of the serious issues it imposes on the ecosystem services that
individuals rely on. The Union for Conservation of Nature along with others
created what is known as the Red List Index.
The Red List Index contains measurements of the trends in extinction
rates of different species, including, birds, mammals, amphibians, and
warm-water reef-building corals. As of
2012, this index indicates that birds are declining the same amount or a little
quicker than the past. Two countries,
Denmark and Sweden have had success in reducing their possibility of extinction
of some species. Key habitats of most
threatened species are not being protected.
Half of the world’s most imperative terrestrial sites for species
conservation have remained unprotected.
It seems that people would rather use these areas for themselves because
of all the benefits they can derive from the utilization of this land. Because of this, the number of species that
are facing the threat of extinction is growing day by day, especially in
developing countries, which lack the infrastructure to create successful
protected areas. (MDG Report 2013, p.47/48)
Millennium Development Goal Target 7.B
Indicator 7; will not be met by 2015.
Target 7.C: Halve, by
2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe
drinking water and basic sanitation
7.8 Proportion
of population using an improved drinking water source
As of 2010, 89% of the global population are using improved
water sources, a 13% rise from 1990, which accounts for around 2.1 billion
people. While the number has increased,
there are some areas where it has not.
In 2011, 86% of population in Caucasus and Central Asia were using increased
water sources, which was a 3% drop from 1990.
Countries that had the most improvement were Eastern, Southern, and
South-Eastern Asia. Around 6/10 people
that gained access to improved sources are residents of urban areas. If current trends persist, by 2015, over 90%
of the world population will use improved water sources (UNDG 2011, 26.)
Of the 2.1 billion people affected from 1990 to 2010, China and
India have recorded almost half of the global progress, allowing just over 6
million people access to safe water. On
the other hand, 40% of all people without improved drinking water live in
sub-Saharan Africa. Despite this, an
additional 238 million Africans are now using safe drinking water (UNDG 2011, 26) Where there has been great success and the
goal has been met according to the World Bank standards, there is still room
for great improvement in certain areas.
The number of people in rural areas without an improved water source is
five times greater than of that in urban environments.
In 2011, 768 million people were still receiving their water
from a poor water source, the number of individuals living without access to
safe drinking water could actually be two to three times greater than what is
written on paper. (MDG Report 2013, p. 47)
The number of people without access to improved water source is 636
million, or 83% of the population without access to water. (MDG Report 2013,.
47) Significant progress has been made in the use of piped drinking water, up
to 57 percent as of 2008. While this
number has risen only 7 percentage points since 1990, it accounts for an
increase of 1.2 billion people having access to safe drinking water. Health gains are maximized by the use of
piping, the highest rung on the drinking water ladder. Piped drinking water still remains much
higher in urban environments, affecting 2.7 billion people compared to a mere
1.2 billion people in rural areas, respectively.
Millennium Development Goal Target 7.C
Indicator 8; was met in 2010, five years ahead of time.
7.9 Proportion
of population using an improved sanitation facility
While 1.9 billion people have gained access to improved
sanitation facilities between the years of 1990 and 2011, this number needs to
increase much more. Examples of improved
sanitation facilities are latrines or flush toilets. 1990 showed that less than half of the
world’s population had access to improved sanitation facilities and as of
2011, only 64% of the population has
access. Much improvement was seen in
Eastern Asia, a rise of 40% between 1990 and 2011 (27% to 67%.) (MDG Report
2013, 48) The percent of individuals
that perform open defecation decreased by 9% over those 21 years as well,
however that 15% is still at risk for serious health issues. In numbers, it shows that in Easter Asia, 626
million people had begun using improved sanitation facilities in 21 years. Unfortunately, Sub-Saharan Africa and Oceania
are still distantly behind and are not seeing much progress.
While there was a rise in the amount of people that have gain
access to improved sanitation facility, many of these individuals were children
of parents that already had access to these facilities. Developing nations have undertaken policies
to increase their sanitation facilities.
These policies are implemented through the community-level and aim to put
an end to open defecation, around 100 countries “ have taken root and the
number of declared ‘open-defecation-free villages’ is rising.” (MDG Report
2013, 49) The UN General Assembly
recognized the right to safe and clean water and sanitation and stated that
they are an essential human right.
In order to meet the 2015 target, there needs to be a rise of
about 1 billion people gaining access to improved sanitation facility, which is
a rise from 64% of our population to 75%. Rather than improving sanitation
facilities for 240,000 people a day (the amount per day between 1990 and 2011,)
it needs to be improved for 660,000 people a day between 2011 and 2015. In order to do this, experts argue that there
are “three priorities; 1. No one should practice open defecation; 2. Everyone
should have safe water and sanitation facilities at home and practice good
hygiene; 3. All schools and health centers should have water and sanitation,
while promoting good hygiene.” (MDG Report 2013, 49)
Millennium Development Goal Target 7.C
Indicator 9; will not be met.
Target 7.D: Achieve, by
2020, a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum
dwellers
7.10 Proportion
of urban population living in slums
The word ‘slums’ is defined as densely populated, urban areas
containing sub-standard housing, cramped quarters, and squalor. Since the implementation of the Millennium
Development Goals, the number of people living in slums worldwide has decreased
significantly from 39% in the year 2000 down to 33% in the year 2010. This decrease may not appear to be much until
you look at it from the global scale.
This drop indicates that over 200 million slum dwellers have experienced
major improvements in their quality of life. Between 2010 and 2012, a two year
period, 44 million people were no longer considered to be living in slums. (MDG Report 2013, 52) These improvements could include access to
safe water supplies, overall improvement of sanitation, and more effective,
less crowded housing. These factors all
point toward how many countries and governments around the world have made
great strides in attempting to improve the quality of life in slums, which
drastically increases the chances of countless people to rise out of slum
culture and enjoy lives free from poverty, disease, and illiteracy.
Although successes have been made on a global scale, the number
of slum dwellers is actually on the rise in the developing world. As major cities grow, and more and more
people relocate to them in search of new opportunities, more affordable areas
become overpopulated and new slums are born.
The number of urban people residing in slum conditions has increased
drastically from 650 million in 1990, to 760 million in 2000, to a whopping 863
million in 2012, and statistics show that this number is continually
increasing. (MDG Report 2013, p.52)
Northern Africa, Eastern Asia, Southern Asia, and South-Eastern Asia have all
seen decreases in their population of slum dwellers. Sub-Saharan Africa yet again has the least
improvement and is still nowhere near where it needs to be, with only a 3%
decrease in twelve years from 65% to 62% between 2000 and 2012.
Millennium Development Goal Target 7.CD
Indicator 10; has been met.
Successes and Challenges
Successes
In 2012, the Doha Amendment was added to the Kyoto Protocol,
with new commitments, including industrialized countries to reduce their
emissions by 18% where they were at 1990, between 2013 and 2020. It also
included other greenhouse gases that were added to the list of emissions. (UNFCCC
2012)
The Montreal Protocol’s effort to reduce the
number of ozone-depleting substances has been one of the most efficient efforts
in the reduction of them. Since 1986, there has been a 98% reduction in
consumption. The Protocol is also
beneficial to protecting the global climate system. There are a lot of reasons
as to why this Protocol was so efficient including, monitoring, exchange of
information and an adaptable mechanism. (MDG Report 2013, 14)
With the rapid growth in the world’s population has further complicated efforts to meet Goal 7’s target and indicators . There has been a drastic change in population, technology, natural resources, economies and much more since 2000, when the goals were created. Therefore it is hard to argue if the goals being aimed at were enough and done in the correct way. It is unfair to measure these goals on a global scale because each country is different and has different allowances and limitations.
Another challenge of MDG 7 is the
amount of focus that was put on water and sanitation, arguably two of the most
important necessities of life, and they should not be a privilege but a right.
The United Nation General Assembly finally acknowledged the issue in 2010, when
they “explicitly recognized the right to safe, clean water and sanitation and
acknowledged that they are essential to the realization of all human rights.”
(MDG Report 2013, 51) There should have been a separate goal, rather than
including them as two small indicators out of the ten included in MDG 7. More focus needs to be put on this in the
future.
While Target 7.C Indicator was met
and was met earlier than planned, there are still some challenges that will be
faced. Although there is progress in
piped drinking water, 38% of the 6.2 billion people using improved drinking
water sources are still lugging water home from public water areas that are not
as sanitary. (MDG Report 2013, p. 49) Despite the high numbers of
improved access, the poorest people in society are still the most effected, with
the rising cost of water, they are unable to afford the little amounts of bad
quality water. In urban areas,
developing countries are growing at such a high rate and urban infrastructure
cannot keep pace with urban population growth.
Since 1990, of the 1.9 billion person increase in urban environments,
1.05 of urban dwellers have gained access to safe drinking water. The amount of people that rely on poor
surface water has cut in half from 6% to 3% between 1990 and 2011. While this is a great drop there are more
than 180 million people in the world that, “rely on rivers, streams, ponds or
lakes to meet their daily drinking water needs.” (MDG Report 2013, 50) Maintaining a safe urban drinking water
environment of 96% is going to be an increasing challenge as urban populations
in Asia and Africa are expected to climb by almost three billion people by
2015. This poses a problem, as water
coverage cannot stay on track with urbanization resulting in a gradual increase
of those without improved drinking water sources in developing urban areas.
The Millennium Declaration called for water management
strategies, at all levels, to promote both equitable access and supply. The solution for this demand, which was
established (outcome) in 2002 at the World Summit on Sustainable Development,
was integrated water resources management (IWRM). This management approach has
been approved and accepted at the international level for the most efficient
system to combat and help sustain this limited global resource. To assess the current status of IWRM progress
the UN-Water (2008a) carried out a survey covering 104 countries. While many countries have executed the
planning process at the national level, there has been little done to execute
these plans. The disconnect between
national levels and those at the community and provincial levels, where
socioeconomic gains can be made has hindered the progress of IWRM
implementation. One of the most
important factors for a successful IWRM framework is integrating all stakeholders
in the development process. This
includes a combination of sectors of industry including water management,
agriculture, energy and land use planning.
Increased and direct participation from local users is a vital component
as well. Some critical gaps analyzed in the World Water Development Report
included:
· Linking water supply and sanitation and
water resources management- this includes attention to water supply with water
resource management progress. As well as
tools to facilitate stakeholder participation, most specifically (importantly)
gender equality because water management at the farm and household level is
done by women and lack of access to water and sanitation effects women the most
· Protecting water quality- integrated
water pollution prevention and control approaches to guarantee adequate water
quality for human and ecological needs.
Some measures include polluter pays and pollution management systems
improved. Tools also implemented for
water quality management at the community level, so community empowerment is
represented at the higher level as well as control over their own environment.
· Improving water use efficiency-
improvement of efficiency and technology and financial instruments for water
demand management. The development of
operational indicators for water management performance and improved or new
infrastructure for sectoral interaction of planning and developing
financial/economic decision-making.
· Linking trans-boundary and national
water resources management- tools to address the challenge of shared waters
that create dialogue and political will among decision makers.
· Adapting and improving resilience to
climate change and natural hazards through improved water management- these
adaptations will most likely be expensive and require contentious policy
shifts. Investment for these projects is
important, particularly tools for the assessment of basin risks and adaptation
methods in basin planning
· Summary of key lessons and future
measures for accelerated progress countries that are behind schedule need to
prioritize IWRM frameworks with the help of the international community. Once countries have developed plans and
policies they must be implemented and evaluation and monitoring must be shared
through a global knowledge of management (UNDG 2008, 17-20).
Efforts made to eradicate slum life will need to be doubled by
governments worldwide if we want to see any improvements. Also, there has been a recent, global housing
crisis that is projected to renege the progress, which has been made since
1990. What is worse is that public
authorities, due to lack of organization and insufficient funds, products of
the recent, global economic crises, have instead exacerbated the problem even
more. In order to fix the damage done to
the system, those in charge of housing in urban areas must make efforts to
recover land titles and other forms of tenure, secure greater funds which will
be used towards subsidized housing, secure greater land area which is to be
used for the development of new subsidized housing, and lobby at politicians
who have the power to arbitrate the speculation of land and property in the
market. It is because of these shortcomings
that the price of land is rising worldwide which completely prevents the
possibility for low income peoples to become property owners, forcing them to
rent from more affluent land owners who do not have the best interest of their
tenants in mind, promoting the growth of urban slums.
More so, the world population is an ever-rising entity. With this number always climbing, and the
global economy in limbo, this target has proven to be almost unreachable. In addition, newer research has proven that
there was a miscalculation when the goals were originally implemented. Improving the lives of 100 million slum
dwellers was believed to be a significant number, and also a very reasonable
target to strive for within 20 years, however, it was found in 2003 that, 100
million is only a very small fraction of the world’s slum population. Also, the slum target is unique in that it
was not fathomed as a percentage tied to a particular baseline number, but
rather was assigned a specific number.
This method has proven to be a less than effective way to attack this
problem because it was applied to the whole world as a whole instead of a
regional or country-specific percentage or value, thus creating great
difficulty for governments to work toward achieving this goal, because there is
nothing relative to base it on in their nation.
This made this goal heavily dependent on the cooperation of national
governments and international organizations and donors rather than allowing for
the problems to be fixed internally (UNDG 2008).
If the US were a
Developing Country
Currently 33.2% of the United States land area is covered by
forest, a .9% rise from 1990. In an urban area, the average tree coverage is
21.7%. The American Forest Foundation
(AFF) aims to find ways to protect the United States forests. The Foundation collaborates with politicians
and currently has some projects in the works to maintain forestry. Some of these are; “Clean Water in New
England,” “Saving the Longleaf Plain,”
and “Watershed in Wisconsin.” (AFF 2013)
As of 2011, the number of greenhouse gas emissions of the United
States was 6,702 million metric tons of CO2, totally about 84% of the US’s
greenhouse gas emissions in total. There
was a decrease between 2010 and 2011 of about 1.6%, arguable due to improvement
in fuel efficiency in vehicles, different changes in weather, and electric
generation. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) enforces the Clean Air
Act, which is a regulation on emissions. (EPA 2013). CO2 emissions per capital decreased from 20.2%
to 17.6% from 2000 to 2010. (World Bank
2013). The Clean Air Act also aims to reduce the consumption of ozone depleting
substances.
The United States passed the Endangered Species Act in 1973 in order
to “protect and recover imperiled species and the ecosystems upon which they
depend.” This Act is implemented by both
the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) as well as the Commerce
Department’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). The FWS focuses on land
and freshwater species, and the NMFS focuses on marine species. (FWS) Currently
the number of species that are threatened with extinction is 185 fish, 232 plants,
and 26 mammals. (World Bank 2013).
The proportion of terrestrial areas protected remained the same
between the years of 2000 and 2012 at 12.4%. The percentage of marine areas
protected rose 1.4% from 2000 to 2012, and currently 28.6% of marine areas are
protected. The United States has not increased the number of land area
protected but also has not lost any protection.
The US has also seen a minimal increase in the protection of sea
area. However, if it were a developing
country, the United States would not be on track seeing as it has made little
to no improvements of protection. The proportion of population in the United
States that are using an improved water source is between 94-100%. The proportion of population in the United
States using an improved sanitation facility is 100%. (World Bank 2012).
Where do we go from here?
Post 2015
Much can be learned from the implementation
and progress of the Millennium Development Goals. While most of the Goals will not be achieved
by 2015, the implementation of them has created an increase in the number of
people aware of issues in the world.
When looking forward past the 2015 deadlines it is important to keep in
mind that there is a constant rapid growth in population which means that there
will be more mouths to feed, people to house, brains to enrich, resources to be
used, and so on. This causes a need for
more action taken towards ensuring environmental sustainability. It is important to preserve our environment
before resources begin to run out, and individuals are unable to survive. While development is great and helps with
economic stability, it is important that it is done at a rate that maintains
stability with the environment. A
balance needs to be found between the two so that there is a way to benefit
from both sides.
Action
is being taking in preparation for 2015 and afterwards, to continue working
towards the Millennium Development Goals and making sure lives are being
improved. A “Post-2015 agenda” has been
put together to move forward towards achieving all of these Goals in the
future. Ensuring environmental
sustainability is very important to achieve because every being on Earth will
be unable to maintain life if action is not taken. In 2012, the United Nations Conference on
Sustainable Development was held in Brazil.
At this Conference, “governments renewed their strong political
commitment to sustainable development and to promote integration and coherence
of policies and the implementation of actions in the social, economic, and
environmental areas.” (UNESD 2012). A
process was implemented to create goals known as the Sustainable Development
Goals, which will further work on the desired outcomes of the MDGs. “Open Working Group” was formed made up of 30
members who are the leaders of creating the SDGs, and eight sessions will be
held through 2014 to create the optimal goals that will help us further achieve
the MDGs.
As of 2013, plans for post-2015 seem to
prioritize environmental sustainability and believe that it is an important
aspect to focus on. It is hopeful that the “Post-2015 Agenda” and the creation
of the Sustainable Development Goals will be beneficial to achieving global
success. While there is much hope for
the post-2015 movements, there are some issues of how it will pan out. It has been discussed that there would be a
universal plan put in place that would measure the progress of all countries
achievement towards the goals. However
it is uncertain whether or not developed or industrialized countries would be
willing to agree to a universal framework.
Another issue is the idea of importance, which goals are more important
to achieve or more important to achieve first.
Trying to develop goals that cover all the bases, but also manage to
succeed will be difficult. In regards to
funding and donors, a plan needs to be made that will be approved and accepted
by them, because they are very important to the plan’s success. (Higgins, .28)
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