Operational Levels of Environmental Management
Environmental management must plan what is appropriate and co-ordinate stakeholders. This may be done at a local, regional, as well as at global scale.
At micro level, individual farmers, slum-dwellers and single or small businesses are few to quote. Individuals with a multiplicity of interests and diminutive powers are most hardly seen to be managed along with the environment. Only in the last few decades has this group really been regarded as well as allowed to participate in environment management. There are groups of companies or institutions with similar interests.
The environmental managers use eco systems, natural landscapes, and economic units as regions. Many developing countries have used community that have successfully adopted regional approach. To adopt national level approach, we see some states are liberal than others. Also, some are poor while others can exert power for strategic reasons.
At global level, environmental threats as well as global pressures and trade-related issues have huge impact. Multinational companies and powerful governmental focus money and skilled manpower for lobbying to influence any situation if fit and suits their vested interests. No doubt, there are companies that operate with strong corporate social responsibility and keen environmental concern.
International Opinion for Environmental Management
Most international bodies expected to work for environment management are not wholly neutral toward interests of developing countries. Though, they have resources and high standards to influence. A few are underfunded and others are either bureaucratic or inefficient and to be harsh to say, even corrupt. Many international Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) working for environment cause, work in developing countries.
In the era of Internet, NGOs often liaise closely worldwide. These NGOs have considerable influence to world media or relevant authorities. They have sufficient fund and resources to hire top environmental and legal experts at the time of need. There are individuals or small groups able to exert pressures to get their own way. They may be a significant section of state or a powerful community/ minority group.
Further, many environmental management concerns are the sum of mass individual choices. Public opinion is always a crucial factor in controlling an environmental problem. Public opinion may be indecisive or selfish but can form opinion once take up by the media and through education.
It is not in the capacity of a single environmental manager or any single unit to cover all sectors. A pecking order of environmental management bodies can be effective. Even in developed countries, environmental management must manage with uncertainty. In developing countries too, there tend to be even more surprises. One solution which has been advocated is an adaptive environmental management approach which can be slow and costly but yield variable results.
Planned environmental management could be another way to deal with the challenge. Planed environmental management approach basically seek a longer-term overview. Such type of approach of environmental management in developing countries has limited application.
There are many other possible approaches to environmental management in different regions and countries. Some are sensitive in nature and encourage involvement from bottom. Others are dominant in nature and applied in command.
Developed country’s academicians value participatory approaches or advocate for empowerment. It does not essentially mean a welcome elsewhere. Most of the developing countries sincerely follow environmental management and have made significant contributions to its development. Some do so mainly to satisfy their donors on the issue and a some are active only when forced by treaties. This is also due to the lobbying of NGOs, media, or citizen action groups.
Environmental Management Situation in Developing Countries
In some cases, developing countries can make relatively a fresh as per their prevailing situations and they are free to acquire the newest technology. There are a few countries where colonial legislations were either inadequate or have been neglected since independence. Special interest groups are frequently powerful in developing countries. It is quite common for illicit interests to exploit resources.
International corporate houses are already very powerful. They have budgets which overshadow many a poor country’s economies. While people may spontaneously lobby for environmental reforms, these are often orchestrated by international NGOs or other interested bodies.
There is urgent need for training and sensitization of civil servants as well as professionals in developing countries. They are very important in spreading environmental management awareness and execution. Expansion and evolution of environmental management must take place at state level. Once started to happen, new approaches will start appearing in developing countries.
Another promising area is the discovery of traditional farming strategies of the developing countries. In some cases, the ideas may come from the poorer nations and then be upgraded or adapted for use elsewhere, wherever applicable suitably. There is a rich store of biodiversity in developing countries. Rapid urban growth and accelerating industrialization is causing natural resources exploitation.
Over the last five to six decades, most of the development effort has proved inappropriate and ineffectual, particularly in developing countries. In some cases, schemes have been inflexible and sometimes the management has been weak. There are cases when planning and engineering has been faulty. This may be the result of the moderate environment outlook of many experts which was unsuitable for subtropical or tropical conditions as most standards and techniques still come from the non-temperate regions. The environmentalists are now aware of environmental and social conditions in non-temperate areas.
The spread of the modern telecommunications including Internet has helped overcome most of the problems. Information can be shared and issues can be solved easily by tapping expertise remotely. There is a widespread fear of global environmental change. It may affect differently the rich and the poor countries.
There is a need for global efforts to act collectively and comprehensively to face environmental challenges. It is seen that large populations all over the world are much inclined to global changes. It will become difficult to cater in case there are serious environmental upsets.
At present, even most developed countries are not self-sufficient in food and energy. They depend on long supply chains. The recent Russian Ukraine war has much exposed the misconception of self-sufficiency in food grains and energy of most of the European nations. They are on the brim of economic explosion of rising prices due to sanctions of NATO. Due to war, supply chain has broken.
In general, developing countries import grain and manufactured goods from developed countries and developed countries buy food and fuel from developing countries.
We, the people on planet earth, are interdependent.
