By Abdullah Zamad
Pakistan
Environmental sustainability defined as, the use of resources and services to meet the needs of present and future generations without harming the ecosystem. It is a term refer to programs, initiatives, and actions that target to conserve a particular resource. It consists of four pillars which includes:
Human
Social
Economic
Environmental
Environmental sustainability is necessary to improve human well-being. Natural resources e.g. air, land, water, and minerals, etc. used by humans to survive. There are many factors which affect the sustainability includes, climate change, waste management, unsustainable water use, unhealthy cities, deforestation, desertification, diseases, agricultural issue, etc. These challenges should be addressed but due to lack of long- term strategies it is difficult at the global, national, and local scale. Numerous nations have not gotten the worldwide help that has been guaranteed. Pockets of chronic craving, rural areas with no access to medicinal services, and unfulfilled promises of financing remain a scar on the world.
In developing countries, there are many issues for environmental sustainability. I am living in Pakistan which is a developing country. In Pakistan, poverty is the main problem which leads to environmental unsustainability. Poor people put relatively more pressure on the environment which leads to improper human waste disposal and causes unhealthy living conditions.
Based only on consumption, 29.5% of Pakistanis are below the poverty line, valued at 3,030 rupees (25 euros) per adult per month. The government of Pakistan issued its Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), which considered living standard as well as education and health. 39% Pakistanis are poor of the total population and majority live in rural areas.
Image Provided by: Abdullah Zamad
In Pakistan, poverty caused by many factors e.g. lack of awareness to use natural resources, unemployment, lack of modern technology, poor agricultural system, lack of resources, overpopulation, low wages and increased expense, inequality of resources between rich and poor people, poor education system, etc. Insufficient knowledge about agricultural practices can also lead to a decline in crop yield and productivity. Poor people also experience problems due to the environment e.g. climate change floods and storm etc. affect them adversely.
There is a connection among globalization, poverty, and environmental deprivation along with other socio-economic and demographic influences, such as education, industrialization, and agriculture productivity, urbanization, and population. To improve environmental sustainability and poverty reduction it is important to improve the environmental condition by using natural resources which include land, air, water, and minerals, etc. These natural resources can be used effectively through awareness of modern technology.
Following are the factors which are considered to improve sustainability and poverty:
Globalization improves sustainability because of trading. Exchange of modern technology and trading of resources help to improve economic growth which reduce poverty.
Rapid growth of industrialization supports the economic growth. It produces industrial products, services, and prospects for economic development. Industrial development has been enhanced to accelerate economic development. According to New Mayer (2003), the industrial sector is normally denser than the services sector.
Urbanization affects the development of the economy becauseit utilizes both direct and indirect advantages in the struggle towards global sustainability and human development. Urbanization also adversely affect the environmental condition because of pollution. The source of numerous worldwide natural issues identified with air and water contamination are situated in urban areas.
The population of any country also contributes in economic growth and sustainability and it directly connected to the available resources of earning. As we know that Asia is biggest continent of the world in population density and still expanding rapidly. Considering the current annual growth rate in Asia, it is effective in deepening the context and development practices.
Agricultural development also plays a vital role for sustainability and decreasing the poverty in Pakistan because Pakistan is an agricultural country. The use of modern technology can improve the agricultural system and the use of fertilizers also enhance the production. But it also causes water pollution because of using chemicals and fertilizers. This issue is not just in developing countries but also in developed counties because water goes underground and in the rivers which cause many health issues. Therefore, for improvement in environment condition and development of agricultural system it is necessary to overcome these problems.
The development is also linked to the level of education in our country. There is a fact that higher education is essentially more demanding than a clean environment and it promotes human development, which plays a vital role in economic development.
There are many other factors that influenced the environmental sustainability and reduce poverty includes recycling, waste management, improvement in transportation and foresting etc. Poverty can be reduced by justice between rich and poor, by providing health care facilities and giving reasonable wages to the laborers to fulfill their needs.