Bahir Dar University

Faculty of Social Sciences

Department of Geography and Environmental Studies

Assessment of Theoretical Frameworks of Environment

and Environmental Management Frameworks Problems

By: Getachew Sinku

 Environment is defined based on knowledge and social
constructs. Surroundings are related to the object they
surround (Mishra, 2021). It is essential for our survival
of animals, plants, and non-living components (Herzog
et al, 2003; Kralisch et al, 2007).
 Humans are dependent on the atmosphere, hydrosphere,
lithosphere and biosphere (Iyyanki et al, 2017). It
provides life-sustaining services, such as climate
regulation and nutrient cycling (Färe et al, 2007).
 Environmental function has decreased due to unlimited human
interference (Vinod eta, 2020; Bisht,2020, ESCWA, 2016).
 But the main reasons are economic development and
population explosion (Shailesh , 2022). Humans have had a
significant impact on the environment over the past two
centuries (Shrinkhal, 2019).
 Industrialization caused climate change, loss of resources,
pollution, and species extinction (Hemakumara, 2020). GHG
emissions have caused an increase in global temperatures
(Igliński, H., & Babiak, M. 2017) .
CO2 levels in the atmosphere is now reaching
higher than 50% before the industrial revolution
increased 278ppm to 417 ppm (Wang et al, 2021;
Cheng, 2021).

Deforestation increased the concentration of CO2

in the atmosphere. The global forest cover has been
declined from 6 billion to 4 million hectars in the
past two hundred years (Ritchie & Roser, 2021).
 Due to increased agricultural production and wood
extraction, 150 million hectares of forest were lost in
the 1980s (Ritchie, 2021). Between 2000 and 2019,
the cropland footprint expanded by 1 million Km2
(Lalisa, 2019).
 These factors cause Global warming, desertification,
soil erosion, biodiversity loss, flooding, and
pollution. Over 100 thousand square kilometers are
turned into desert (Paramita, 2022; Oljirra, 2019).
 Earth's To has risen by an average of 0.08° per
decade since 1880 and 0.18° C per decade
since 1985 (NOAA, 2022).
 The Solid and liquid such as grey water, food
waste, packing material, paper products and
cleaning material generated on board ships
poses a significant threat to the marine
environment.
 Oil spill is one of a major treats which can harm sea
creatures, ruin a day at the beach, and make seafood
unsafe to eat (Arafat & Hussan, 2016).
 For example Spillage in Arebian Gulf (1994), Ixotic 1
oil, Atlantic Empress in Trinidad and Tobago (1979)
and Amoco Cadiz (1978) are the major castorphic
environmental hazards (Al-Jammal, 2016).
 Due to this, movements started in 1960s that influence
governments to find solution for both national and
international environmental crisis (Rootes , 2008).
 Demand for environmental management was in
the form of movement, protest and
environmental publications.
 Scientific researches such as such as the Tragedy
of the commons (Hardin, 1968), Blueprint for
Survival (Goldsmith, 1972) and the Limits to
Growth (Meadows et al., 1972), showed the
seriousness of environmental problems.
 Environmental movements were to call for
reducing pollution, protecting natural resources,
and preventing biodiversity and enact
environmental laws (Dunlap, 2016: Jones, 2013) .
 The 1972 Stockholm Conference, The 1992 Rio
and The 2012 Rio+20 are called to dialogue about
environment and economic development (Barrow,
2005).
 Despite these progress still environmental problems
are on progress due to lack of cooperation among
states and unchanged human, economic and political
behavior (Valavanidis , 2022; Jorgenson & Dunlap,
2012).
 Therefore this paper intends assess the theoretical
frameworks used to understand the overall
component of the environment and the environmental
management framework problems
General Objective
 To assess the theoretical framework of environment and
environmental management Framework problems
Specific Objectives
 To Explain to Concept of Environment and its
components
 To discuss Environmental thought and its paradighm
shift
 To Explore evolution of International Environmental Law
 To identify the environmental management framework
and their problems.
Methods of Review
 All materials used for this work was downloaded
from online sources.
 Materials such as journals, Books, conference
reports, Agreements, convections, online blogs has
been used.
 Scientific environmental journals also downloaded
from Elsevier, springer and Research Gate using
Google Search Engine.
Strings like “Environment”, “Environmental Management”,
“Environmental Theory”, or “Environmental thoughts” and
“Environmental Problem” in proximity to “Environmental
Management framework” used to restrict the number of
nonrelated articles.
Then downloaded materials grouped as Environment concept,
Environmental theories, Environment management,
Environmental problems and Environmental laws. Totally 98
documents are downloaded and reviewed for this work.
The Concept of Environment

 The roots “environment” is the French word “environ”

which means ‘to surround’, ‘to envelop’, ‘to enclose
(Cooper, 1992). As Savindra Singh & Dubey (1983)
environment is the collection of the physical elements,
biological elements and cultural elements (economic, social,
political).

 Cunningham & Saigo (1997) stated environment as the

circumstances surrounding and affect organisms, social and
cultural conditions that encompasses.
  Both the natural world (biotic and abiotic),

 The ‘built’ UP world (technology, cities and machines)

 Socioeconomic, cultural and economic systems and

institutions

 It encompass anything from the whole Biosphere to the

habitat of the smallest creature or organism”(Bernie &
Boyle 1998).
 The environment is the condition surrounding an
organisms or group of organisms (Cunnigham, 2004).
 There are many confusion about meanings of
environment, but one of the most common is the equation
of the environment with ‘nature (De Groot, 1992).
 The ‘environment’ can refer to the non-natural
environment, as in the human, social or built environment.
However, ‘nature’ does only refer to the nonhuman
world, but is, the most complex word in the language’
(Williams, 1988). This is because ‘nature’ can and does
refer to both ‘human nature’ and nonhuman nature.
 However nature does opposes the Environment, because
the nature of human behavior is opposite to the e
external environment. ‘Nature’ and ‘Environment’ are
viewed in opposition to human society and culture
(Schultz, 2000).

 The Environment is some thing that separate from

human society, but this does not mean that the
environment human do not have relation with
environment (Bakar,2017).
Lithosphere
 The upper mantle of planet earth is the solid outer
part of the planet that is made of rock. A lot of the
water is flowing from Earth's platesThe atmosphere
consists of soil which provides water and nutrition
for living things. It can be divided into minerals and
rocks, soil organic matter, soil water, soil
atmosphere, biological system, and the like
(Artemieva, 2011).
Hydrosphere
 The hydrosphere is part of the earth where water is available
either in the liquid or in the solid which coverts ¾ the Earth
(Polyakov, 2012). It is important since it provides water,
purify air, and moderate temperature, and also has a waste
assimilator. (Pagano, 2002; Chahine, 1992).
 The process of water movement between the land, ocean,
and atmosphere is called the hydrological cycle. The process
of water moving between the land, ocean, and atmosphere is
called the hydrologic cycle (Oki & Kanae, 2006) .
Source: https://www.sciencefacts.net/hydrosphere.html
 The rain falling on the continents is partly absorbed by
earth surface to become ground water and partly flown
into the streams, which finally returns to the sea. Only
the groundwater and the surface water constitute less
than 1% directly used by man (Stephens, 2020) .

Source: Alsharhan & Zeinelabidin,

Atmosphere
 The atmosphere of the planet is dynamic and critical for life
that make the Earth more favorable to live in (Kastingb &
Siefert, 2002). The atmosphere is a collection of gases that
change frequently and 4 layers are defined by composition
and temperature gases (Saha, 2008)).
 The troposphere extends 8 -17 kms
 The stratosphere extends up to 50 kms
 The mesosphere extends 80-90 Kms
 the thermosphere (also called the ionosphere), which gradually
diminishes and forms a fuzzy border with outer space.
Source: Lutgens and Tarbuck's , (2001)
 Atmosphere (Riedel, 2019);

 protects life forms from harmful solar radiation.

 traps heat close to the planet’s surface.

 provides an energy circulation system (through wind
and pressure systems).
 maintains the gases that support life on Earth
Source: Lutgens and Tarbuck (2018)
 As Bille & Simonsen (2021); Zumthor, (2006) atmospheric
gasses in the atmosphere affected by
 Photosynthesis (O2 Released)
 Nutrient Cycling
 Physical Transport (Acid Rain)

 In addition to the natural process, human added the amount of

naturally occurring chemical compounds in the atmosphere.
 Burning of wood, oil, propane, fossil fuels, and gasoline release
CO2 in to the atmosphere potentially harmful

 P, CH4, and CFC also released from different activities of man

Biosphere
 Biosphere refers to the narrow zone of the earth in which
all life forms exist. Nonetheless, the region consist the bulk
of living organisms. It extends from about 500 MBSL to 6
KASL (Vernadsky, 1998; Stewart & Grinenko, 1991).
 Biosphere have dynamic interactions an individual
(organism), population, a community, an ecosystem, a
biome or the entire biosphere (Budyko, 2012).
 Organisms Population  communities  Ecosystem
Biomes  Biosphere
Organisms
 Organisms have adapted to a wide range of
environments from the icy regions near the poles to the
warm tropics (Tsujimoto, 2018; Costanza, 199).
Populations and Communities
 A number of individuals of the same species are in a
population. The number can be many, many individuals.
All of the populations of species in a region are part of a
community (Musa & Ashaolu, 2020; Michel, 2010)
Ecosystems
 A dynamic complex of micro-organism, plant, animal and
human communities and their non-living environment
interacting as a functional unit (MEA, 2005).
 Ecosystems has Interacting ecosystems (ecological
systems), indistinct boundaries , transition zones (ecotones)
where organisms from adjoining ecosystems may be
present together (Blew, 1996).
 Living organisms are usually grouped as Autotrophs and
heterotrophs based on with how they get food (Costanza,
Biomes
 A biome has a distinct climate and certain living
organisms (especially vegetation) characteristic to the
region and may contain many ecosystems. The Biomes
are classified as terrisiterian and aquatic biomes (Brock &
Perry, 2020; Roxburgh, 2001).
 The aquatic ecosystem is the habitat for water-dependent
living species covers more than ¾ of the earth and
divided as freshwater ecosystems and salt water
ecosystems (Melack, J2016; Brinson & Day, 2002).
 Map of World Terrestrial Biomes

Source: ducksters.com, 2023

Anthroposphere
 Baccini and Brunner (2012) define the anthroposphere
as “mankind’s sphere of life, a complex technical system
of energy, material, and information flows.”
 The anthroposphere encompasses the total human
presence throughout the Earth system including our
culture, technology, built environment, and associated
activities. The anthroposphere complements the term
anthropocene – the age within which the anthroposphere
developed.
Environmental Thought and Paradigm shift
Judeo-Christian Conception of Environment

 Traditionally, the environment as considered as

wilderness, countryside/garden, the urban environment
and the global environment (Barry, 2007).
 Different culture conceptualize environment in different
way. Among this Judeo-Christian thought is the major one.
In the Christian Bible environment all things created by
God for harmony of Adam (Konisky, 2015; Guth, 2005).
 “God orders Adam and Eve to ‘dominate and subdue’
the earth and ‘go forth and multiply” saying of the
genesis indicate that human has a mandate over
environment (Hill, 2000).
 The Judeo-Christian has anthropocentric believe in
“Human domination” over all affairs on the land but
God is “Superior of All”(Horrell, 2015).
 The Christian ‘Great Chain of Being

Source: Pepper (1994)

Industrialization and Environment
The Industrial Revolution brought many changes in terms of
concepts, theories and ideas. The environment was viewed as a
collection of tools for achieving human goals, as well as raw
materials for factories, equipment, and technological advances
(Dewey, 2013).
The natural environment was disassembled to the point where it
was no longer a meaningful order but rather a collection of means.
knowledge was seen as unlocking the secrets of nature and
enabling human to exploit the environment (Peet et al., 2010).
 In Judo-christian tradition the environment was
considered as 'enchanted' or imbued with spiritual
significance But the industrial revolution descanting the
meaning of environment from other status to a set of
human needs (Barry, 1993).
 Marx blamed capitalism for the proliferation of the
environment by the bourgeoisie, not being used for the
commoners, as he believed that the environment was a
medium of human labor and that nature would be used
for production purposes (Foster, 2010; Foster, 1995).
Utilitarian and Romantic Environmentalist
 Utilitarianism is a theory of morality that advocates actions
that foster happiness and oppose actions that cause
unhappiness. It allocates moral value in terms of the overall
benefit of actions. It says that an action is right when it
maximizes the good for maximum number of people (Abakare,
2021).

 According to utilitarianism, acts that advance the greatest good

(i.e., have the greatest utility) are morally right. The greatest
good is happiness and freedom from pain and suffering
(Miller, 2006).
 The theory has two types of values: instrumental values and
intrinsic values. Examples of intrinsic values include the idea
of goodness, pleasure, or bliss .
 Nature exists for the good of humans and the significance of
nature lies in service to mankind. Utilitarianism has a strong
sense of anthropocentrism known as all and only humans have
a moral nature with a set of intrinsic values (Norton 2017).
 Non-humans are mere tools for human ends and benefits.
Utilitarian reasoning has an impact on the economy, public
policy and government regulation.
 George Perkins (1864) published, “Man and Nature”
that witnessed resources which seems like limitless is
matter of time. Therefore environment is should be
protected for the seek of human benefits.
 The influenced;
 The UK government to establish forest and wild life
conservation is Burma, India, Kenya, Lesetho and
Cape Verde.
 The Establishment of US National parks and forest
Service (1860-1908).
Romantic Environmentalism
 In 18th and 19th century industrial revolution caused
overcrowded cities, damaged country side, loss of commons
and misery in Europe and North America. These problems
raised questions about capitalism, industrialism and
modernization. Poems and painting show sympathy for the
environment.
 This was regarded as undesirable and leading to the degradation
of the humans. According to the romantics, the solution was
“back to nature” because nature was seen as pure and a spiritual
source of renewal
 Romantic Environmentalism

Source: Andrea Wulf, 2015

Source: botanicalpaperworks.com
Image by Caspar David Friedrich
(1818)
Source: Oosthoek, 2018
Economics and Environment
 Economics saw the land as an object of interest to humans,
and a view of the environment as a matter of value to them.
Economics is concerned with the allocation, distribution and
use of environmental resources’ (Perman et al., 1996).
 The first systematic attempt to introduce the environmental
dimensions within mainstream economics is environmental
economics to solve environmental problems by a regulated
market and neo-classical economics (Pearce et al., 1989).
 It tries to deal with social environmental issues by reducing
them to economic ones, but the foundation of environmental
protection in EEs cannot convince reasons of preservation
whether for marginal economics purpose or not.
Environmental problems arise because of market externalities,
which are outside the market mechanism (Peet et al., 2010).
 The preservation of natural capital does not necessarily mean
the preservation of particular parts of nature. If one wants to
preserve the natural environment, they may want to argue for it
in terms of capital (Holland, 1997).
 Environmental valuation and reasoning encourages not
suited to the holistic and integrated approach that is needed
to deal with most social environmental problems.

How Externalities Managed in Environmental Economics?

 An externality is a positive or negative outcome of a given
economic activity that affects a third party. Externalities
caused by economic development can be valued using
evaluation of environment and natural resource through the
following mechanisms (El Baz, 2022).
 Cost-benefit analysis (CBA) seeks to identify the impact of
development on each person and so estimate the aggregate value
which each person gains or loses (Rai, 2018).
 Shadow prices is the marginal cost of obtaining an additional
unit of the ecosystem service by implementing the
environmental target.
 Environmental (green) taxes are revenue-raising potential is a
potential positive side effect of a policy. Environmental taxes are
those designed to tax behavior that is harmful to the planet's
health. They are based on a simple principle “ those who pollute,
pay” and are essential to halting polluting activities.
Environmental Impact Assesment (EIA)
EIAs make sure that project decision-makers take into
account the potential effects on the environment as soon
as possible and work to avoid, mitigate, or offset those
effects by evaluating the significant environmental
effects of a project or development proposal (Lawrence,
2003).
Environmentalism, Postmodernism and Ecologism
 The term environmentalist was not used before the
1970s, but has been applied retroactively to those
involved in environmental matters (Grove, 1990; 1992;
Pepper, 1984)
 Environmentalism is a movement encompasses theories
about the nature and causes of environmental problems,
moral views about our relation to nature, which attempts
to bring environmental sound society (Thompson, 2021).
 The main issue of how an environmentally sound
society should be defined and attained is between
antropocenteric and those who take an egocentric view
—who believe that things in nature have inherent
worth (Kingsnorth, 2017).
 Along with preserving natural elements, this
movement primarily seeks to protect the Earth's
resources that humanity needs for survival and
development (Lovelady and Shrestha, 2012).
 Postmodernism suggests that the environmental
problems associated with modernity cannot be solved
within modernity, but require a postmodern solution
(Kempf-Leonard, 2005).
 Postmodernism as a philosophy rejects ideas of reason,
objectivity, and absolute truth in favor of emphasizing
the variety of human experience and the multiplicity of
viewpoints (Finlay, 2009).
Ecologism and Environment
 The fundamental tenet of ecological economics is that the ecological
system is interdependent with and a part of the social system (Folke,
2006).
 To develop a deeper scientific understanding of how humans interact
with nature and develop policies that will result in a sustainable
world, it integrates ecology and economics (Chapin et al., 1990).
 The ecological economics arose from a critique of EEs. Orthodox
economics is hard to deal with green issues, and that is what makes
ecological economics important to the long term
(MartinezAlier,1997).
 The ecological school of thought views the economy not
only as a component of the ecological system but also as
having an impact on the political and cultural landscape of
the society as a whole (Wezel et al., 2009).
 The main focus of ecological economics is to base its
theories and models on natural science and economics,
which is different from mainstream economics. The goal
of ecological economics is to integrate nature and the
human economy so that they are seen as dependent on
each other (Barry, 2007).
Green Theory and Green Movement

 The GT rejects the separation of ‘humanity’ and

‘environment’; a stress on the biological

embodiedness and ecological embodiedness of

humans. GT used to suggest the integration of

the natural and social sciences, which for some

may lead to a ‘unified science of humanity and

nature’(Munday, 2009).
 The Green theory seeks unified science of humanity and
nature, for adoption of a more multi/interdisciplinary
approach. The GT has 3Ds; integrating with future
generations, extending greening beyond the nation-state
and focusing on globalization regretless race (Milani,
2010; Doherty, 2005).

 The paradox of the "human condition," in which people are

both a part of and separate from the natural environment,
can be seen as the focus of environment (Miller, 2010).
 The GM is a wide range of interrelated interests that
address the concerns of environmentalism. It covers an
array of groups on international, national and local
levels associated with politics that are reformist or
radical (Peattie & Ratnayaka, 1992).
 The Green Movement had a significant impact on the
creation of Green political parties in some European
nations as well as on international environmental
agreements (Vogel, 2010).
 Beyond the environmental moment the following major
publication has forced world politician to adapt
international Environmental laws.
 Malthus’ warning on limitation of carrying capacity of
the land was ignored, until the frontiers of land and forest
were closed for development, and disastrous pollutions.
 Neo-Malthusians argue that population growth as the
main cause of concern by neo-Malthusians, but few
blamed "careless technology”
 Hardin (1968) argued that commonly owned natural resources under
conditions of population growth would be damaged because each
user would seek to maximize their short-term interests
 The limits of Growth (Meadows et al., 1972) warned that ‘If present
growth trends…continue unchanged, the limits to growth on this
planet will be reached within the next hundred years’….calling for
reduced or even ‘zero growth’. However, any state embracing such
ethics would face considerable disruption of its economy.
 Blueprint for Survival (Goldsmith et al., 1972) ‘radical change is
necessary and inevitable because of the increase in human numbers
and consumption.
International Environmental Law (IEL)
 International Environmental Law (IEL) is a discipline
that involves the whole world in the protection of a
common good: our environment (Wolf, 2014).
 The history of IEL can be divided into three stages,
separated by two of the most relevant international
conferences held so far: the Stockholm Conference
(1972) and the Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit (1992)
(Kiss & Shelton, 2017).
From 1900-1972: Early Glimmers
 Before Concern for the environment was based on Judeo-Christian
tradition and other religions which endowed human as the owner
of nature.
 In 20th centuries at least four agreements to protect species of
commercial value. During the 1930s and 1940s, countries
concluded several agreements aimed at protecting fauna and flora
in specific regions, namely the Western Hemisphere and Africa
 Agreements concerned with marine fisheries and concluded the
landmark International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling
 In the period between 1950 and 1970
 Marine pollution from oil and damage from civilian use of
nuclear energy, and negotiated several agreements.

 By the late 1960s, environmental concerns had

broadened to an African Convention on the
Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources in 1968
and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands in 1971.
 Two famous arbitrations took place, the Trail Smelter
Arbitration' between Canada and the United States, and
the Lac Lanoux Arbitration between France and Spain.
1972-1992: Development of Basic Framework
 The UN Conference on the Human Environment, held in
Stockholm in 1972, was the first international
intergovernmental conference to focus on environmental
problems .
 The aim was to address the potential conflict between
economic development and environmental protection.
 Developing countries were especially concerned that an
international effort to protect the environment would
come at the expense of their own development.
 The Stockholm Conference also resulted in the adoption by
governments of the U.N. Stockholm Declaration on the Human
Environment.
 Principle 21 “”the Declaration affirmed the rights of the people
to exploit their resources and said that activities within their
jurisdiction should not have a negative effect on the
environment”
 As a result of the Stockholm Conference, the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP) in Nairobi, Kenya (Kutting,
2009). Several important multilateral agreements are associated
with the Stockholm Conference, namely;
  The 1972 Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution by
Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter.
 The 1972 Convention for the Protection of World Cultural and
Natural Heritage
 The 1973 Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)
Aftermath

 After Stockholm, green political parties were formed, some

Ministries of Environment were created, and a significant
amount of local environmental legislation began to be
developed.
 In 1983, the UN created the WCED, known as the Brundtland
Commission which published report called “Our Common
Future” (1987). The report coined the concept of SD as "meeting
the needs of the present generation without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.
 At this time, Environmental problems such as depletion of the
ozone layer, loss of biodiversity, and the threat of climate change
began to manifest themselves. In 1987, the Montreal Protocol
was signed to combat the depletion of the ozone layer aimed to
recover ozone by 2050 (Brundtland, 1987).
The 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development
 Sometimes referred to as the ‘Earth Summit’ or abbreviated to
UNCED, held in Rio, Brazil.
 Originally there were hopes that UNCED would agree an
Earth Charter, but this was not achieved, although several new
declarations were made and conventions were established
(Barrow, 2005).
 Rio Declaration on Environment and Development updated
version of the Stockholm Declaration (of 1972); published
general principles for future international action on
environment and development.
 UNFCCC for negotiation of detailed protocols to deal with
control of greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, sea-level
change, etc.
 CBD intended to arrest alarming rate of species loss
 Declaration on Forests a principle

 Agenda 21 an action plan for the rest of the century and

framework for dealing with environment and development
issues.
 GEF a fund established for global problem-solving. Under the
auspices of the World Bank, UNEP and UNDP.
 The Precautionary Principle, the most advanced form
of prevention and important to the formation of modern
IEL; and Principle 10, which recognizes the right to
information, participation, and justice in environmental
matters. In 1998 Principle 10 gave rise to the Aarhus
Convention, binding in Europe and Central Asia
(Hartley & Wood, 2005).
After Rio…..
 After Rio, all major economic treaties began to include
environmental protection as follows (Sand, 1993).
 Marrakech Agreement, 1994 WTO recognize the goals of
sustainable development and environmental protection
(Jackson, 1995).
 The Convention on Climate Change of 1995 deserves
special mention, since its signatories have met every year
at the so-called Conference of the Parties (COP)
(Bodansky, 1993).
 Within this framework, in 1997, the Kyoto Protocol was
presented. It operationalizes the UNFCCC by committing
industrialized countries and economies in transition to limit
and reduce GHG emissions in accordance with agreed
individual targets (Bodansky, 1998).
 In 2000, 189 countries adopted the Millennium Declaration
in New York, which strengthened the importance of
sustainable development by recognizing the need for
sustainable economic growth with a focus on the poor and
respect for human rights (UN Summit, 2000).
 In 2002, UN World Summit on Sustainable
Development held in Johannesburg to follow up on the
commitments of the Rio Summit. On that occasion, 190
countries adopted the Declaration on Sustainable
Development, which focused on development and
poverty eradication with a legal-economic approach on
"public-private partnerships” (Hens & Nath, 2003).
United Nations Conference on SD (Rio+20), 2012
 “The Future We Want” outlines the key issues and challenges in
the path of achievement of the goal of sustainable development.
 To a great extent, the Rio+20 Summit were a continuation of
WSED in terms of the nature of the discourse (Bartelmus, 2013).
 The outcome document reasserts the three pillars of sustainable
development identified at WSED, that is, economic development,
social development and environmental protection. It also
reinforces poverty eradication as an indispensable requirement for
sustainable development (Pisano et al, 2012).
The 2009 Copenhagen Accord (COP 15)

 The continuation of the Kyoto protocol is endorsed by

the principle of common but differentiated
responsibilities and respective capabilities (Rajamani,
2010).
 The world should raise $100 billion per year by 2020
from a wide variety of sources to help developing
countries cut carbon emissions. New funding for
adaptation will be delivered with a governance
structure. It is not a binding treaty (Bodansky, 2010).
The 2015 Paris Agreement (COP21)
The countries committed themselves to doing
everything in their power to prevent the average
temperature of the planet from rising by 2 o
(Paris agreement, 2015).
Major Environmental Problems and Management
Frameworks
Climate change and Global Warming
 The world climates are constantly changing. The climate
of the earth is vastly different from 100 million years ago
(Mac et al., 1998).
 The evidence shows that the world's climates are
warming due to increases in global average air and ocean
temperatures, melting glaciers and rising global average
sea level (IPCC, 2007).
 Climate change is result of natural internal processes, or
change in the composition of the atmosphere. It can be
either an extreme or a gradual event (IPCC, 2007).
 It is the variations and shifts in weather conditions over
space and time of different scales and magnitude e.g. from
warm moist to warm dry or vice versa (Houghton, 1997;
MSSIIC, 2017; Sing, 2007). The term "GW" describes the
rise in global temperatures brought on by an increase in
the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases
(Ramanathan et al., 2001).
Source: Samanthi, 2011
 Global Warming is the gradual rise in atmospheric and
ground surface air temperatures and the changes in
global radiation balance caused by anthropogenic
processes (Konrath & Schwarz, 2011, Zaelke &
Cameron, 1989).
 Climate change has occurred throughout geologic time,
is currently occurring, and will continue to occur in the
future, according to climatology (Gornitz, 2008).
 However, what is new is that human activities have
recently altered the natural system's natural
processes in a quick and rapid manner (IPCC,
2014).
 The processes of global warming is of no doubt has
raised the changing trends of climates and is
modifying the climatic systems throughout the
globe (Labat et al, 2004 ;Jones, 1988).
 The rising sea levels, melting glaciers, steady depletion of ozone
layer, and massive coral bleaching are indicators of climate
change (Dyurgerov & Meier, 2000).
 Floods, severe droughts, and changes in the global radiation
balance are examples of disasters that could pose catastrophic
risks to human communities around the world (Society &
Sciences, 2014).
 We can't stop the climatic changes immediately or near the future
(AghaKouchak, 2020; Easterling, 2000). But global warming
caused by our interferences into the natural processes might be
resolved (Pittock, 2013).
Indictors of Global warming
 Earth’s temperature has risen by an average of 0.08° C since
1880. The rate of warming since 1981 is more than twice as
fast0.18° C per decade.
 2022 was the sixth-warmest year on record based on NOAA’s
temperature data.
 The 2022 surface temperature was 0.86 °C warmer than the
20th-century average of 13.9 °C and 1.06 ˚C warmer than the
pre-industrial period (1880-1900).
 The 10 warmest years in the historical record have all
occurred since 2010.
Source: NOAA, 2023
What Human activities causing Global warming?
 As discussed earlier emissions from the industries, transportation
and animal farming is the main source of GHG that increased the
temperature of the globe (Jian-Bin et al., 2012).
 The industrial era has lead to an increase in GHG emissions. This
has resulted in unprecedented concentrations of CO2, MH4 and

N2O in the atmosphere over the last 800,000 years (Young, 1992).

 The effects have been detected throughout the climate system

and are likely to have been the main cause of the warming since
the 20th century (Meinshausen et al., 2009).
Source: IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report, 2014
GHG Emissions Facts according to IPCC, 2014

 The 2010 greenhouse-gas emissions have reached 49 4.5

gtCO 2-eq/yr. Use of fossil fuel made up a majority of the
increase in GHG emissions from 1970 – 2010.

 The economic and population growth were the most

important drivers of increases in CO2 emissions.

 The contribution of population growth is similar since

2000 while the contribution of economic growth has
increased.
 The longstanding trend of gradual de-carbonization has
been reversed by increased use of coal. It is highly
likely that more than half of the observed increase in
global average surface To from 1951 to 2010 was

caused human actions.

Source: IPCC 5th Report Assessment, 2014
Mitigation Measures
 Efforts to reduce emissions and enhance sinks are
referred to as “mitigation. The atmosphere and in
reducing the current concentration of carbon dioxide
(CO2) by enhancing sinks (Bosetti et al., 2014).
 Under the UNFCCC, and notably under the Kyoto
Protocol, developed counties have set economy-wide
caps for their national emissions, while developing
countries have generally focused on specific
programmes and projects (Cóndor & Vitullo, 2012).
Copenhagen Agreements developed countries have
communicated quantified economy-wide emission targets for
2020 and developing countries have agreed to implement 
nationally appropriate mitigation actions (NAMAs) with
support from developed countries (Linnér & Pahuja, 2012).
In Paris Conference all countries agreed to prepare nationally
determined contributions (INDCs), which outline national
efforts to reduce emissions and increase resilience (Rogelj et
al., 2016).
 Parties to reduce GHG emissions from deforestation in
developing countries. LDCs are encouraged to contribute
to mitigation actions in the forest sector by undertaking
activities to reduce emissions conserving forest carbon
stocks (Corbera et al., 2010).
Carbon Tax
 Despite many countries have CTS, the implementation
of carbon price is still a debate because of complex
carbon pricing. Together N2O, CH4, HFCs, PFCs and

SF6 are the main cause of climate change (Ghazouani et

 The different emissions characterization factors indicate
how much a pollutant contributes to global warming. The
higher the characterization factor, the greater the
contribution. E.g. , MH4 has a higher factor than CO2
(Elkins & Baker, 2002; Pearce, 1991).
 Politics play a role in determining the price of carbon,
which is determined by its effects on global warming
potential, externality effects, environmental quality, damage
costs, and abetment costs. Carbon pricing policies can be
divided into carbon tax and cap & trade (Debnath, 2017).
 According to Hsu (2012) Carbon tax is a tax;

 Levied on carbon and is a form of carbon pricing

to reduce GHG.

 Sets the level of demand and supply at the social

optimum and avoids an externality if set on the
right price.

 Lower than the actual social cost of carbon still

lead to an undesirable level of pollution.
Source: The Green City Times, 2023
Cap and Trade
According to Barry, (2007); Bosetti et al., (2014)
 This is a form of emissions trading that limits
emissions and puts a price on them.
 The cap on greenhouse gas emissions is the limit on
pollution. Subsequently, it will get stricter over time.
 The trade will have companies that decide which
allowances to sell and how much to sell. It helps
companies save money by cutting emissions.
The government has a cap the main pollutants are
Source: Ecochain ,2023
Environmental Pollution
 Environmental pollution is the contamination of the
physical and biological components of the
earth/atmosphere system to such an extent adversely
affected (Brusseau et al., 2019; Hill, 2004; Shafi, 2005).
 Air pollution, water pollution, and land pollution are
some of the major types of pollution. The modern
society is concerned with certain types of pollutants
such as noise pollution, light pollution, and plastic
pollution (Wise, 2023).
Smoking, cars and industrial sources all produce
pollutants that are common in air pollution. Some
pollutants of major public health concern include CO,
NO2, and S2O (Rieuwerts, 2017).

Environmental pollution is greater in middle and low

income countries than in developed countries,
possibly due to poverty, poor legislation, and being
unaware of pollution forms (McGranahan & Murray,
2012).
 The causes of environmental pollution are not limited
to industrialization, urbanization, population growth,
exploration, and mining. But also, trans boundary
movement of pollutants (Shafi, 2005; Wise, 2023).
 The effects of environmental pollution are seldom
reported in LDCs where it is the most serious. Lack
of awareness and poor database management systems
are blamed for this.
 According to Khallaf (2011); Merrington et al. (2002);
Azcue (2012) environmental poluution sourced from
mining and exploration, Agricultural activities and
burning of fossil fuels.
 Mining and Exploration causes varying degrees of
pollution affecting the air, Water, and land. The pollution
level depends on the size of the project being performed
 Agricultural Activities dispose nutrients, such as
nitrogen and phosphorus. pesticides, including
herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides.
 Excess nutrients can impact water quality when it
rains or when water and soil containing nitrogen
and phosphorus wash into nearby waters or leach
into ground waters.
 Agricultural practices (in crop fields) and the use
of fertilizers on lawns, golf courses and other
fields contribute to phosphate and nitrate nutrient
accumulation that causes eutrophication of water
bodies.
 Burning of fossil fuels
 Fossil fuels may emit harmful air pollutants before they
are burned. Fossil fuels cause environmental pollution and
destruction of the environment.
 Pollution is caused by burning fossil fuels and includes
airborne particles, SO 2, CO 2, CO, hydrocarbons, organic

compounds, chemicals, and N2O .

Plastic pollution can affect habitats and natural processes,

reducing the ability to adapt to climate change, which affects
millions of people's livelihoods.
Environmental Regulation and Standards
 ER are any federal, laws and requirement or rule relating
to dangerous, toxic or hazardous pollutants (Telsey, 2016).
 Regulation used to impose limitations on individuals,
corporations, and other entities for the purpose of
protecting public health and improving degraded
environments (Winter & May, 2001) .
 A standard is defined as a widely accepted example of
something against which others can be measured (Heras-
Saizarbitoria, 2017).
 ISO 14001 is an internationally agreed standard for an
environmental management system. It helps
organizations improve environment performance
through more efficient use of resources and reduction
of waste(ISO 4001, 2015).
ESs can include prohibition of specific activities,
mandating the Frequency and methods of monitoring,
and requiring permits for the use of land or water. There
are different types of standards used to protect the
environment from pollution (Heras-Saizarbitoria, 2017)
 Product Standard are used to regulate the physical or chemical
composition manufactured items for sale or distribution e.g. amount of
sulfur in pharmaceutical drugs

 Process standards to regulate the operations of hazardous activities

posing a risk of accidents or other dangers.

 Ambient quality standards limits the maximum allowable level of

pollutants. For example the level of Mg in rivers, the level of S 2 O in

the air and the noise level of airplanes can be set by a quality standard.

 Emission standards specify the quantity or concentration of

pollutants that can be emitted in discharges from a specific source.
Solid Waste Management
 Solid waste management is the process of collecting,
treating and disposing of solid waste. This process
involves collection, transportation, treatment, analysis
and disposal of waste.
 The environment is protected by waste management
because of the damaging impacts of non-biodiesel waste
elements. If the waste is collected and managed
correctly, it can be recycled.
Deforestation

 According to FAO,(2018) deforestation is the conversion of forest

areas into agricultural land, shrubs and savannas due to and non
vegetative land. The term does not apply to areas where trees are
removed due to forest management activities or due to natural
activity.

 Forest degradation is a process that leads to a temporary or

permanent decline in the density or structure of forest cover or its
species composition, and then leads to a lower capacity of forest to
supply products and/or services, and finally to reduction or loss of
the biological productivity of the land (Allen et al., 2011).
 Tropical deforestation is driven by a combination
of direct and indirect drivers of different nature,
which interact with each other (Newton et al.,
2020; Rudel & Horowitz, 1993).

 The primary cause of forest loss in the tropics is

shifting agriculture, the development of pastures,
and other land uses, all of which are considered
direct drivers (Shvidenko, 2008).
 The construction of roads is one of the main causes of
Global deforestation. For example 80% of the
destruction in the Brazilian Amazon occurs in a 100 km
band along major roads (Fath, 2018b; Shvidenko,
2008).
 In Asia and Latin America, commercial logging is a
significant direct driver, whereas in Africa, fuel wood
gathering is one of the most significant drivers (Bais et
al., 2015).
 Rapid market expansion and integration into the global
economy, commercialization, urbanization,
industrialization, growth in demand for forest-related
consumer goods, and poverty are just a few of the
factors that often reveal the underlying social processes
that result in the primary causes of deforestation (Wood
et al., 2013).
Consequence of Deforestation
 The primary consequences of depredation are the invasion of
exotic species, the decrease in water quality, and the
acceleration of soil erosion (Whitmore & Sayer, 1992).
Deforestation dramatically impacts runoff and hydrological
regime, which threatens aquatic species (Fath, 2018).
 Clearing of tropical forests substantially impacts fertility of
soil. About 80% of soil in the humid Tropics is acid and
infertile. Once the soil temperature exceeds 25 oC, volatile
nutrient ingredients like nitrogen can be lost (Jørgensen,
2010).
 Deforestation of temperate and boreal forests has a cooling
effect on near-surface climate by increasing surface albedo
because cultivated fields typically have a higher surface albedo
than natural forests. In tropical regions, deforestation typically
has the opposite effect, with the predominant effect being a
decrease in evapotranspiration due to lower surface roughness
and a shallower rooting zone (Evans & Youngquist, 2004).
 Deforestation accounts for 12% of the world's greenhouse gas
emissions, along with forest degradation and the destruction of
tropical peatlands, which also contribute to emissions (Huxman
et al., 2005).
Strategies to reduce deforestation
 There are no general solutions and strategies since these
will vary with region and will change over time.
 The strategies should recognize the critical roles of
national, state and municipal governments and on other
hand empower the civil society and the private sector to
take a pro-active role in reducing deforestation, often
working in conjunction with government (Leicht et al.,
2018; Yadav et al., 2012).
Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation
 Numerous international organizations, such as the UN and the
WB, have started to create programs to stop deforestation,
primarily through REDD, which uses direct financial or other
incentives to persuade developing countries to limit and/or roll
back deforestation (Okia, 2012).
 The overall goal of REDD+ is to provide incentives in the form
of results-based payments for developing countries that are
willing to participate in REDD+ implementation. The concept
of REDD was first developed in 2007, under the UNFCCC
framework (Alix-Garcia & Wolff, 2014).
 REDD activities must contribute to (Affairs et al., 2008):
1) Reducing emissions from deforestation
2) Reducing emissions from forest degradation
3) maintain carbon sequestration through promotion of sustainable forest
management and uses;
4) Maintain carbon sequestration from the conservation of forests; and,
5) promotion or enhancement of forest carbon stocks through forest
restoration, forest or tree plantation.
Establish Standard of management of protected areas

 The establishment of protected areas is essential in any

effort to conserve biodiversity, but they are insufficient
unless part of a larger conservation strategy (Markandya,
2017).
 The minimum area of forest to be protected is generally
considered to be 10 per cent of total forest area.
Promote sustainable management
 Forest management must be supported by sustainable ecological,
economic, and social systems (Ferraro, 2001). In order to achieve
ecological sustainability, the forest's ecological values must be
preserved and, whenever possible, improved (Murray et al., 2017).
 Technological advances made to bring economic productivity, but
management for environmental services alone is not economically
and socially sustainable (UNEDSA, 2020).
Strengthen government and non-government institutions and
policies
 Strong and stable government is essential to slow down the rate
of deforestation. FAO (2010) considered that half of the current
tropical deforestation could be stopped if the governments of
deforesting countries were determined to do so (Anon., 2010).
 Environmental NGO’s contribution towards conservation
management has been enormous.
 Because they are not restricted by governmental bureaucracy and
inertia, they have an advantage over large international
organizations and government organizations (Okia, 2012).
Participatory forest management and rights
 Participatory forestry refers to processes and mechanisms
that enable those. people who have a direct stake in forest
resources to be part of decision- making in all aspects of
forest management, from managing resources to.
formulating and implementing institutional frameworks.
 E.g indigenous peoples of Latin America has a good
tradition to live cooperatively with nature. Secure their
right over the forest will enhance forest conservation.
Thank You