Unfortunately, in the West this led to exploitation rather than stewardship; greed and the desire for economic growth have driven development, and it has been likened to “the ideology of a cancer cell.” In practice, the US had been experimenting with development since the 1930s – with the state stepping in to 'steer', rather than relying on unlaissez-faire progress. At the risk of repeating another cliché: roughly three-quarters of the world's population (approximately 6,200 million) lives on about a quarter of the total income, and lives mainly in 141 developing countries - the South or the Third World.
Environmental management is unlikely to be completely dispassionate - the practitioner's politics, ethics and outlook necessarily have an influence. Phillimore and Davidson (2002) provided a fascinating case study of the application of the precautionary principle - the 'millennium bug' (Y2K) experience. Developing countries import grain and manufactured goods from developed countries, and developed countries buy food and fuel from developing countries - the world's people are interdependent.
Thin and compacted soils can allow precipitation to run off without infiltrating – the result can be severe erosion, flash flooding and reduced groundwater recharge. The hope that desalination can provide a widespread alternative to water supply is unlikely to be met with currently available technology in developing countries, except for prosperous cities, areas where lucrative tourism exists or wealth is generated from trade, oil or other minerals – the costs are high. too high. The latter is of concern because it can go largely unnoticed until a threshold is reached – the minimum depth to sustain crops or natural vegetation – and then a sudden disaster can occur (Crosson, 1997).
However, soil and water conservation efforts may not seem particularly attractive to many poor farmers – the gains may not be readily visible or obvious, and may appear to benefit others rather than those who pay for them. However, this could be seen as a trade restriction under WTO rules - the US has argued that these are EU restrictions since 1998. Efforts should be made to promote the use of organic composts and green manure - plants that are grown and then excavated to provide nutrients to the soil - using treated sewage and garbage (garbage) from cities (as long as they do not contain heavy metals, disease organisms and other harmful pollutants).
The main initiative aimed at protecting wetlands is the 'Ramsar Convention', the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat. A recent development - extractive reserves - generally seeks to involve local people to combine conservation and sustainable use with the provision of local livelihoods (Stolton and Dudley. Warning of a threat may not be enough - the UK has has long been aware of the dangers of foot and mouth – the problem is for people and administrators to act appropriately to reduce the risks, and global monitoring to get early warnings.
Considerable resources have been devoted to predicting the likely impacts of global environmental change, most of which is believed to be human-caused warming - the "greenhouse effect". Some argue that human impacts are now so great that a new current geological era – the Anthropocene – must be recognized. Another risk is that warming will alter the thermohaline circulation of the oceans, and in the Atlantic this could "turn off" the Gulf Stream and cause a sudden worsening of climate conditions in western Europe and possibly the eastern United States.
Paleoecology shows that during the postglacial period – the last 13,000 years or so – there have been sudden thermo-haline circulation shifts in the Atlantic Ocean, leading to sudden cold phases in Europe.
HIV/AIDS
However, this group can also be a valuable resource that should be used to support environmental management. they can be used to help staff various initiatives, to educate children in green issues, or simply to provide vocal support if recruited to the cause. There will continue to be unexpected threats, no matter how good environmental management may be. Environmental management decisions should ideally be based on data obtained from more than one source, using a number of methods, and decision-making should also rely on more than one method.
Identify and organize the people with skills and knowledge, and find the funds to carry out environmental management;. It is not possible to provide in-depth coverage or critique of all environmental management tools in an introductory text; the following is a brief overview. Given that the world is governed by economic forces, and that companies are already very powerful and some look like they will become more powerful than many countries in the future, it is crucial that environmental management understands and works with economics.
With a green economy, it is possible to guide development, finance environmental management and develop accounting methods to track progress. The Journal of Environmental Management and Policy Management covers this area (available at http:// . www.worldscientific.com/journals/jeapm/jeapm.html). By the 1990s, the use of LCA had expanded to support environmental management in general; for example, by helping to identify the stages in production or service provision where environmental measures are necessary and most effective.
Monitoring and evaluation techniques used by the social sciences are valuable for environmental management because they show people's needs, vulnerabilities and strengths and can uncover useful knowledge (Save the Children, 1995; Barrow, 2000). Gender analysis is an important component, vital because many environmental management issues are strongly gendered. Environmental management accounting is used in several different contexts, including management accounting, financial accounting and national accounting.
It is seen in some quarters as a useful tool in the pursuit of sustainable development (International Environmental Management Accounting Research and Information Center, available online at http://www.emmawebsite.org/about_ema.htm, accessed February 2004). Cost-benefit analysis (CBA) predates most environmental management tools, dating back to the 1830s and possibly even the 1860s. Despite the increasing global use of EIA, SIA and Environmental Management Systems (EMSs) (see later in this chapter), and the common ground they share, their relationship is often ill-defined and should be strengthened.