Jun 05, 2013

UNPO Celebrates World Environment Day


Prepare to celebrate, because the 5th of June marks World Environment Day. Established in 1972 and first observed in 1973, World Environment Day is one of the United Nations Environment Program’s proudest creations. Every year a different country hosts the celebrations built to illuminate specific environmental plagues. This year, Mongolia will lead the festivities to raise awareness for food waste. The Think.Eat.Save campaign, as it is called, will highlight the global dichotomy of excessive waste on one hand and starvation on the other, and will urge people to be conscious of their foodprints. This is of immense importance, since global food production absorbs 25% of all habitable land, accounts for 30% of greenhouse gas emissions, 70% of fresh water consumed, and 80% of deforestation. Yes, this issue undoubtedly needs addressing. However, World Environment Day is not just about creating cognizance for one particular issues; it is also for reflecting on all the other environmental troubles afflicting our planet and its inhabitants. So, in honor of World Environment Day, let us examine some of the environmental issues facing some of our members.

 

Oil extraction has delivered devastating consequences to the Ogoni people of the Niger Delta. In addition to being highly exploitive, the extraction of oil in the region has severely damaged the environment, and along with it, the Ogoni way of life. Oil spills and gas flares that go unattended subsequently seep into the waterways that the Ogoni depend on for fishing and drinking. The air has become heavily polluted from the burning of natural gases, a byproduct of oil extraction, and the smoke has been blamed for myriad of ailments, ranging from asthma to cancer. Perhaps most worrying is that nearly 85% of Nigerian total government revenue comes from the oil industry, so there is little hope that problems will clear up anytime soon.

 

Unregulated and poorly-regulated logging can be responsible for a multitude of environmental problems: soil erosion, landslides, flooding, and even decreases in precipitation. The Mapuche in Chile have been hit particularly hard by this environmental blunder, which has been perpetrated by profit-driven multinationals. Mapuche attempts to limit the deforestation of their lands generally lead them to further political repression and do nothing towards halting the environmental degradation.

 

Mineral extraction is another endeavor that destroys environmental harmony along with the livelihoods of the indigenous peoples in proximity to the operations. In particular, the Cordillera people, who reside in the northern part of the Philippines, have suffered greatly from the environmental ramifications of gold mining. An enormous amount of water from local sources is used in the extraction of gold, whilst much of the water that is not directly used becomes contaminated with toxic chemicals, such as cyanide. It goes without saying that this severely affects the agricultural prospects of the Cordillera people, who depend heavily on the land for their survival.

 

The list of assaults against the environment continues with the construction of dams. Increased demand for energy has cultivated the construction of massive dams in the world’s major waterways, on which many indigenous peoples rely. The construction process of these dams compromises vast amounts of natural resources, together with the populations that have relied on these resources for hundreds of years. Dam construction normally commences with little prior consultation with local populations, so uncompensated displacement of indigenous communities is a common result. The Sindh and Gilgit-Baltistan peoples of Pakistan, the Oromo of Ethiopia, the Cordillera, and the Mapuche have all suffered from the shocks of dam construction.

 

And finally, climate change is an environmental issue that affects all of us. However, for the purpose of this article, we will examine how it is threatening the people of Tibet. Tibet is often referred to by geologists as the ‘Third Pole’, due to its nearly 50,000 glaciers. Short of the North and South Poles, Tibet has more fresh water than any other location on Earth; more than one billion people in ten nations drink water that flows down from the Tibetan plateau. Therefore, the fact that climate change threatens to obliterate these glaciers in a matter of decades is worrying to not only Tibetans, but to all of humanity. The Tibetan people inhabited this region for thousands of years, creating a nonviolent and simple culture that champions synergy with the environment. In spite of this, due to its high altitude, Tibet absorbs huge amounts of the world’s CO2, causing this mountainous country to heat up and wash away the livelihoods of those who depend on it.

 

The examples above help to paint a picture of the environmental struggles that face the world today, but they do not paint the complete picture. Needless to say, this issue is far too expansive to address in only a few hundred words. However, acknowledgement is the key to initiating change. So, on World Environment Day, while you are thinking about reducing your foodprint, also think about the environmental challenges facing the less-talked-about parts of the world. After all, the publicity of an issue does not always correlate with severity.  

 

Photo from Sharon Drummond @ Flickr