Environmental resource control is not just a local or regional issue; it has become an international matter of concern as well. Environmental resources, which include flora and fauna, are vital economic, political, and social growth drivers. These resources maintain crucial ecosystem services, namely supporting, provisional, cultural, and regulatory functions. Each of them serves a specific purpose in the local and global context. Cultural services promote scientific research and learning of the local and international communities. Other cultural functions include therapeutic values, cultural identity, and spiritual, recreational experiences (Maes et al. 35). Supporting services involve soil formation, nutrient cycling, as well as control of flooding, food stock, and water purifying. Besides, the provisional assistance from the environment encompasses availability of minerals, water, raw materials, ornamental resources and generic materials among others. Finally, the environment performs the regulatory services such as disease and pest control, carbon sequestration and detoxifications. Unfortunately, most of these resources face extinction or degradation because of poor management practices and overutilization. The need to enhance environmental sustainability require a collaboration of the local people, the state, private sector and international community to improve conservation of these vital resources (Huitema et al. 4).
Environment as a multidimensional subject
Environmental resources are a trans-boundary phenomenon. This implies that population growth, climate change, globalization, industrialization, and urbanization directly or indirectly have an impact on the wellbeing of the environment. Besides, scarcity or poor quality of environmental resources resulting from the mismanagement of natural resources affect the nature of diplomatic relations.
Role of Environmental protection in international relations
Environmental concerns are multidisciplinary and respect no territorial borders. The issues affect the main sectors of a national economy namely economic development and security. Therefore, the natural resource conservation has become an integral component of the local and international policy formulation to avert possible misunderstandings that emanate from mismanagement.
Individual level
As suggested, environmental resources support the core functions of human livelihood such as food and water provision. In addition, these resources facilitate industrial operations through the provision of the raw materials. In turn, these activities enhance employment opportunities for the local and international populace. As stipulated by the ‘Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA)’ quality and quantity of these resources affect the nature of human coherence. In that, equitable resource distribution results to improved living conditions while the lack of the same lead to confrontations or resource conflicts (Maes et al. 38). In view of this, protection of the environment commences at the individual level. Currently, there are various strategies used to implement environmental awareness and stewardship amongst persons. One of the widely used approaches is the integration of ecological concepts in the school curriculum. Colleges are playing a leading role in promoting ensuring that individuals acquire appropriate skills to solve local and international environmental challenges. The competitive courses at the prestigious colleges and universities are an innovative approach that attracts professionals from different places to learn the concepts of a sustainable environment. The first information is that environmental issues are common across the territorial borders. Therefore, equipping people with the knowledge is a strategy for promoting international cooperation and intelligence sharing.
The other strategy that I find appealing is the promotion of 3-Rs namely re-use, recycle and waste reduction by individuals. This approach is a global plan that aims to minimize the extent of resource wastage and environmental degradation. In addition, gives people from different nations a sense of unity when handling environmental issues because the practices are same (Huitema et al. 4). The international outlook implemented at the individual level is the adoption of alternative energy sources such as wind power and solar power. In addition, the shift from individual to public means of transport and car-pooling are other approaches nurture my perception to appreciate the individual role in the management of environmental resources.
Domestic
Environmental resource conservation surpasses the individual contribution because people exist in society. There are household and national values for enhancing protection environmental protection and management of the resources. Scramble for environmental resources has been a cause of civil wars amongst communities and nations (Braat and Groot 9). The conflicts usually arise from the inaccessibility of the natural resources by the perceived minority groups. Therefore, governments have established and implemented various strategies to save the environment. Some of the notable government approaches that are in line with the international frameworks include the domestication of relevant treaties and formulation of country-specific policies as follows.
First, the government is at the forefront to promote the implementation of ‘Ramsar Convention’ to safeguard the nation’s wetlands. As a commitment to enhance this practice, the state shares or joins the world every second of February to celebrate the world wetland day and educate the public on the best practices (Huitema et al. 1). This is a crucial step by the state to improve the appreciation of the role of wetlands in the national development. Besides, the state has domesticated other important treaties such as the ‘Basel Convention the Control of Trans-boundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal’ to minimize the contamination of the local and global environment. Up to this point, the state has embarked on a mission to improve the status of the local environment to comply with the international standards.
Other than the domestication of the international treaties, there other state-sponsored policies to safeguard the environmental resources from exploitation by the citizens and manufacturing firms. The major tactic by the state is the enforcement of sustainability principles like polluter pay in which a company or individual caters for the cost of restoring the degraded environment. The precautionary principle is another strategy to minimize adverse effects of projects on the quality of the environment (Braat and Groot 5). The government requires that feasibility studies are undertaken before project implementation to identify the irreversible effects, suggest project alternatives and provide mitigation measures. Frequently, these tactics help the state to improve and maintain the quality of the environment and prevent commonly called ‘tragedy of the commons.’ Furthermore, the state is directly involved in emission control by enforcing laws to curb the act and providing incentives for the eco-industries. The initiatives are aimed at attracting investors while popularizing the nation as a global leader in sustainable resource management.
Finally, the government promotes local initiatives such as school exchange programs to uplift understanding of the local populations to enhance protection of the resources. The establishment of protected areas, national parks, zoos, and reserves is another method for maintaining the national heritage while promoting conservation. The state also supports research in the critical areas of sustainable energy and plant protection to improve local industries and empower local communities to practice conservation. A basic understanding is that natural resources are the main pillars of sustain domestic development and international cooperation. Besides, the government encourages these initiatives to show commitment to protecting the global environment and heighten diplomatic relationships with other nations (Huitema et al. 1).
Interstate
Interestingly, states and other regional blocks join hands in the protection and management of the environmental resources. These ideologies derived from the interstate missionary approaches focus on the ecosystem services to enhance sustainable development in the regions. These multilateral treaties concentrate on hazardous wastes and chemical elements of the resources to enhance healthy and safe ecosystems in the areas. Such measures include continental interstate agreement as well as regional boundaries concerns.
The legalization and the campaigns in pursuit of environmental management are perhaps the most contentious aspect of developmental concerns. The current era of industrialization and development prompts the issues around waste management and environmental protection. Ideally, sustainable development and resource mobilization play the central theme among the state. Interstate treaties and policies adopted to help in resource sustainability in the development forum focus on the issues of local resources and regional benefits from the natural resources.
In the same manner, the African states adopted the Bamako Convention treaty to help in the internal management of chemical wastes among the member states. Predominantly, the treaty focused on the management of chemical wastes released in the production chains. This would not only strengthen the campaign against resource exhaustion but also promote sustainability in the local environmental resource management. Additionally, the focus on environmental resource management projected to the various issues surrounding economic development and human health.
The interstate factors affecting the environmental resources posit a general risk on the individual health of the societies. There is an increased perception on the rising cancer of illnesses and diseases caused by the environmental degradation practices. These methods involve industrialization and production practices affecting countries beyond their borders. Ideally, it shows that every member of the society is at risk of contracting the diseases. Such conditions include the rising cases cancer and cancerous impacts in developing nations. Cancer has become a common ailment in most regions of the world owing to the continuous rise in the environmental contamination and pollution across borders (Layzer, Judith, 79-200). Thus, the interstate agreements form the basis of international war against terminal illnesses that are liable to prevention if the resource management practices adhere to the safety measures.
In addition, the rise in the use of counterfeit products and carbonated products hugely affects the cases of environmental protection. Typically, various locomotives and industries existing for the benefit of the interstate relationships posit danger to both the local possessions as well as the global threats. Nevertheless, the concepts of managing regional resources in their natural status induce the discussion of international health concerns. Thus, regional pollution control becomes a major factor to consider in managing most of the environmental resources in their natural setups.
Hitherto, most of the environmental resources bear the potential of being shared across the borders of many countries. Water bodies are the most resourceful environmental ecosystems shared in interstates. Prominently, many countries struggle to secure the distinction in boundary creation and economic resources allocation. The use of water bodies across regions have been a matter of war and death between many nations. Many ruling powers execute their prowess in politics by imposing bans that only benefit their fellow citizens at the cost of international interests. As a result, the impact of such cases may go deeper into political warfare and negatively impact on the economic development of such regions in the world. Evidently, many of the African states suffer the burden of boundary misunderstanding and power influence.
Global
Globally, the sustainable development goals promote a fight for productive cohesive and sustainable management of environment to facilitate peaceful coexistence among nations. Several movements and treaties target the conception of a global practice on the management of environmental resource management. As pillars of environmental resource management, the conventions bear mega strength in the global movements. The application of these agreements imply efficient and strategic management of the very rare natural resources and struggle to satisfy human wants in the societies (Mitchell and Bruce, 50). Thus, they use the following principles to execute the contentious duties in the communities concerned.
Predominantly, the conventions bring together the world in environmental resource management. The principle of the common interest for all dominates most of the treaties and convention agreements. Ideally, the human races entirely rely on the ecosystems as the means to survival. This way, presenting such concerns related rising cases of wastes disposal posit a critical element of environmental resources management. One major challenge in the global phase in the growth in the environmental pollution in both the developing and the developed nations. These not only raise the aspects of climate changes but also initiate the fight against the health risk associated impacts.
Moreover, the conventions convey a clear message on how to narrow down on the various aspects of the broader field of environmental resources. Ideally, environmental resource management compels a junky ideology that bears a huge potential for misunderstanding. Consequently, each convention target a different aspect of the resources affected in most cases. Transportation, for instance, is only manageable through the treaties that focus on the critical aspects of the sector. These may include cases of leakages and potential threat caused by the environment by moving through the environment in such scenarios. Consequently, the global deals on the environmental resource management exemplify the comprehension in resource management.
In some other cases, the global bodies execute their mandates under the conventions focusing on regional balance in resource endowment. We should note that the treaties target the elimination of the environmental injustices and other practices. One major aim of the effective application of the universal policies channels the resources towards eliminating poverty and promoting justice to the affected environmental statutes. Consequently, several bodies offer surveillance in the universal approach towards protecting the scarce natural resources without endangering any generation in the world’s history.
Concisely, the discussion on environmental resource management may postulate the most dynamic aspect of the human management practices. We might tend to neglect the consequences of our actions today, but the long-term impacts of the daily activities are impeccable. Accordingly, not until the trees shall disappear, the water bodies lose their waters and the animal all dead then humanity will learn to respect the prospects of environmental resource management practices as ideal. Environmental resource management ideally plays the most crucial role of human beings in the societies. We have the task of taking care of the ecosystems. If we destroy the natural resources today, the next generations might become extinct due to lack of sustainability. Thus, the communities, states and the global bodies should focus on providing support to the sustainable development and effective environmental resource management to avoid the extinction of any species in the ecosystem.
Works Cited
Braat, Leon C., and Groot, Rudolf de. “The ecosystem services agenda: bridging the worlds of natural science and economics, conservation and development, and public and private policy.” Ecosystem Services 1.1 (2012): 4-15.
Huitema, Dave, et al. “Adaptive water governance: assessing the institutional prescriptions of adaptive (co-) management from a governance perspective and defining a research agenda.” Ecology and Society 14.1 (2009).
Layzer, Judith A. The environmental case: Translating values into policy. CQ Press, 2015.
Maes, Joachim, et al. “Mapping ecosystem services for policy support and decision-making in the European Union.” Ecosystem Services 1.1 (2012): 31-39.
Mitchell, Bruce. Resource & Environmental management. Routledge, 2013.
