Lecture 1

• The environment has a wide range of definitions, meanings, and interpretations. It is usually identified or defined as nature and is related to the notion of wilderness and pristine landscapes that have not yet been influenced by human activities.
• Globalization refers to the process in which all people and communities come to experience an increasingly common economic, social, and cultural environment.
• Globalization is a process that affects everybody throughout the world.
• Some recognize globalization as a continuing process that advances global technological development and communications and has also negative impacts on the balance.
• Globalization has improved the quality of life in several developing nations.
• Examples in which globalization has improved the quality of life of developing nations are: transportation system, and accessibility to services like education and healthcare.
• Globalization's negative effects on society: income inequality and substandard working condition.
• Globalization has a lasting impact on the environment.
• Globalization's impacts: Increased transport of goods, economic specialization, decreased biodiversity, and increased awareness.
• Increased transport of goods opens businesses which they can sell goods and source labor, raw materials and components.
• Because of the increased transport of goods finished products travel farther now, halfway around the world.
• The increased transport of goods has impacted the environment through increased emissions, habitat destruction, and invasive species.
• Increased emissions: the more fuel is consumed, the greater greenhouse gas emissions produced.
• Economic Specialization is one over-looked side effect of globalization which allows nations and geographical regions to focus on economic strength which often boosts productivity and efficiency.
• A drawback to economic specialization is over-specialization which can threaten forest health and lead to serious environmental issues such as habitat loss, deforestation, or natural resource overuse.
• Activities that are caused by economic specialization: illegal deforestation, overfishing in coastal areas, and overdependence on cash crops (coffee, cacao, and various fruits).
• Causes of decreased biodiversity: Increased greenhouse gas emissions, ocean acidification, deforestation, climate change, and the introduction of invasive species all contributed to the reduction of biodiversity around the globe.
• Global environmental politics deals specifically with environmental problems in a global context such as international treaties, climate change, the ozone layer, and international environmental NGOs.
• On September 2000 the UN General Assembly adopted the UN Millenium declaration which called for a global partnership to reduce extreme proverty.
• The Millenium Development Goals were the first ever quantifiable targets to be agreed upon by all UN member states.
• Former UN SecGen Kofi Annan established the eight (8) objectives for the Millennium Development Goals which had to be accomplished on its deadline set in 2015.
• The Millenium Development Goals: (1) Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, (2) achieve universal primary education, (3) promote gender equality and empower women, (4) reduce child mortality, (5)improve maternal health, (6) combat HIV/Aids, malaria and other diseases, (7) ensure environmental sustainability, and (8) develop a global partnership for development.
• The success of the MDGs is debatable.
• For supporters of MDGs, they spearheaded an unprecedented international movement against extreme poverty.
• For critics of MDGs, the specific targets set out by the MDGs have been both regionally and thematically unbalanced.
• The approach used by the UN to implement the MDGs is the piecemeal approach which means choosing some but not all.
• Critics of the MDGs attributed that the MDGs only applied to countries of the Global South.
• In contrast to the MDGs, the SDGs are uniformly applicable to all countries. This removes the developing versus developed dichotomy.
• The similarities between the MDGs and SDGs are their 15-year deadline and that SDGs expanded on the scale and content of MDG.
• The sustainable development goals focused on global development with and for sustainability and demonstrate an understanding that the environment is not an add-on oropposition to sustainable development but rather the base that underpins all other goals.
• The Sustainable Development Goals: (1) No poverty, (2) Zero hunger, (3) Good health and well-being, (4) Quality education, (5) Gender equality, (6) Clean water and sanitation, (7) Affordable and clean energy, (8) Decent work and economic growth, (9) Industry, innovation and infrastructure, (10) Reduced inequalities.
• The Sustainable Development Goals: (11) Sustainable cities and communities, (12) Responsible consumption and production, (13) Climate action, (14) Life below water, (15) Life on land, (16) Peace justice and strong institutions, and (17) Partnerships for the goals.
• To make SDGs successful, we should learn from the experience of MDGs that when presented with ambitious targets for development, nations opt to use their own goals as a benchmark for progress.
• To make SDGs successful empowering non-state actors (organizations and individuals not connected with the government) will be the key.
• To make SDGs successful monitoring should be focused at the national level, in cities and urban areas where a great amount of implementation and monitoring will occur.
• To make SDGs successful there must be collaboration between LGUs, states, and NGAs as well as involving otherstakeholders as well as the communities they serve.
• The challenges of SDGs are missing out on integration potential, data and monitoring, and financing and north-south divide.