Sustainable development standards and political-economic obstacles in developing states

Sustainable Development: An Analysis

Development refers to the progressive transformation of society, and the economy[footnoteRef:1]. Sustainable development is "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs"[footnoteRef:2]. Some consider sustainable development an oxymoron, arguing that it is impossible to achieve development without causing harm to the environment through pollution[footnoteRef:3]. Fortunately, there is proof that a country could actually achieve development in a sustainable manner. This is only possible if social and environmental factors are integrated into the economic component of development[footnoteRef:4]. [1: The World Bank, "What is Sustainable Development?" The World Bank, http://www.worldbank.org/depweb/english/sd.html (accessed February 21, 2014).] [2: Ibid.] [3: Ibid.] [4: Ibid.]

Certification in the Developing World

Certification is one way through which sustainable development could be achieved[footnoteRef:5]. It seeks to ensure that companies all over the world comply with the international standards governing sustainable development[footnoteRef:6]. The developing world is, in my opinion, the greatest beneficiary of such certification. This is because although developing economies rely, to a great extent, on foreign direct investment, they are usually characterized by poorly developed and inefficient sustainability-governing national laws[footnoteRef:7]. Certification ensures that all companies operating in such economies meet certain standards, and prevents situations where foreign companies invest in a country, and then take advantage of loopholes in the national laws to pursue their own economic interests at the expense of the population's rights[footnoteRef:8]. [5: HREA, "Sustainable Development" Human rights Education Associates, http://www.hrea.org/index.php?base_id=166 (accessed February 21, 2014).] [6: Ibid.Ibid.] [7: ] [8: HREA, "Sustainable Development" Human rights Education Associates, http://www.hrea.org/index.php?base_id=166 (accessed February 21, 2014).]

Measuring Sustainable Standards

The measurement of sustainability standards is based on the economic, environmental, and social characteristics of the community in question[footnoteRef:9]. Take, for instance, the Turkana people of Kenya (a country in East Africa), who live around the recently-discovered oil mines that have attracted the interest of the entire world. These people lack proper housing, food, electricity, have very high illiteracy levels and mortality rates, and levels of activity that are probably too low to cause pollution. Sustainable development, in this case, would not be measured by the degree to which pollution has possibly been reduced, but by the degree to which the community's basic necessities have been met[footnoteRef:10]. [9: Ibid.] [10: Ibid.]

Part Two

Factors Hindering Development

Environmental Factors

This sub-section examines the effects of natural hazards on economic and social development.

Climatic Hazards: Countries that are highly prone to drought, floods, and hurricanes usually incur massive losses, and are often forced to rely on foreign aid in the form of loans, some of which are very expensive and likely to impact negatively on the country's financial base in the long run[footnoteRef:11]. The 2011-2012 famine that hit the Horn of Africa was highly detrimental to the Somali, Kenyan, Eritrean, and Ethiopian economies[footnoteRef:12] It not only caused body weakness and death, thereby impeding on potential manpower, but also brought forth a refugee crisis in the East African region, forcing economies to divert valuable resources from worthwhile development goals[footnoteRef:13]. [11: Rob Gamesby, "Environmental, economic, Social and Political Factors Affecting Development" Cool Geography, http://coolgeography.co.uk/GCSE/AQA/Development_Gap/Factors_affecting_inequalities/Factors_affecting_development.htm (accessed 21 February, 2014).] [12: Ibid.] [13: Ibid.]

The Natural Resource Curse Theory: Whereas the lack of natural resources is an impediment to development, an affluent availability of the same does not guarantee economic success[footnoteRef:14] According to the natural resource curse theory, if a country possesses one very valuable natural resource, it tends to direct all its efforts and a bulk of its resources in the exploitation of that particular resource, limiting the potential of all other industries[footnoteRef:15]. The situation is even worse if the resource is controlled by a few elite, because then, the profits that accrue are not shared equally amongst the citizens. [14: Ibid.] [15: Ibid]

Being Landlocked with Unfavorable Neighbors: This has an environmental, as well as a political inclination. 'Unfavorable neighbors' in this case refer to countries that either have frequent periods of political instability, or that expect very large payments[footnoteRef:16]. A landlocked country whose economy depends on such a neighbor is likely to remain significantly underdeveloped and underutilized. [16: Ibid.]

Economic Factors

The Vicious Cycle of Poverty: This derives from the fact that poverty would naturally give rise to poverty. This implies that inadequate investments in the core areas of education and infrastructure would translate to underdevelopment; lack of education brings forth a workforce that would literally be unproductive, especially with the high levels of technological advancement associated with globalization[footnoteRef:17]. Poor infrastructure, on the other hand, increases costs of doing business, scaring away potential investors. Such factors worsen a country's poverty situation, keeping it mired in underdevelopment. [17: Rob Gamesby, "Environmental, economic, Social and Political Factors Affecting Development" Cool Geography, http://coolgeography.co.uk/GCSE/AQA/Development_Gap/Factors_affecting_inequalities/Factors_affecting_development.htm (accessed 21 February, 2014).]

The World Trade System: This is significantly controlled by the rich countries. This could be disadvantageous to the poor states with regard to i) subsidies ii) import tariffs iii) the global 'race to the bottom'[footnoteRef:18]. Import tariffs put an upward pressure on imports from poorer states, making them less competitive in the international market. Richer countries are in a better position to offer quality subsidies to their producers, making their goods cheaper and highly competitive. In the 'race to the bottom' strategy, buyers from rich economies take advantage of the insufficient demand problem in poorer states and drive world prices down. Since poor countries are in no position to set up technical manufacturing industries of their own, they end up exporting raw materials, which are of low value, and importing expensive technical machinery from the developed world. [18: Ibid.]

Social Factors:

Inhibiting social factors such as the lack of motivation to achieve success and skills as a result of inadequate education, retrogressive cultures such as drinking and gambling, and unproductive traditions such as those linking large family sizes to wealth, are detrimental to development[footnoteRef:19]. Poor quality of water and the lack of skills to efficiently address this solvable problem has seen India lose a significant proportion of its manpower to bilharzia, malaria, cholera and yellow fever. This manpower loss impacts negatively on production, and thus on economic development. [19: Rob Gamesby, "Environmental, economic, Social and Political Factors Affecting Development" Cool Geography, http://coolgeography.co.uk/GCSE/AQA/Development_Gap/Factors_affecting_inequalities/Factors_affecting_development.htm (accessed 21 February, 2014).]