Forum for Environmental management and Research

Increase in human population due to poverty for some combined with higher "living standards" due to affluence for others, is exerting huge pressure on already dwindling natural resources of our planet. This has led some people to wonder, if we indeed have crossed the carrying capacity of our mother earth and are facing a scenario of wars, epidemics and inevitable famines that will level population with the food of the world, as predicted by Malthus.

Year	1830	1930	1960	1975	1986	1999
Population	1 billion	2 billion	3 billion	4 billion	5 billion	6 billion

Present day scenario is that the world is divided roughly into two groups, consisting of the developing and the developed nations. The developing nations possess natural resources while the developed nations have technology, knowledge, skill and financial resources. The developed nations are contributing to environmental problems through economic growth while the developing nations are contributing to it through population growth.

Some major global environmental problems we are facing today are: Air, Water and Land pollution, Loss of Biological diversity, Deforestation, Land degradation, Acid rain, Ozone layer depletion, Global warming and Climate change, etc. Most of these environmental problems do not respect the national boundaries drawn by us and some of them are in fact endangering the natural system, that support life on Earth.

The transboundary nature and the seriousness of these environmental problems give rise to possibility for conflict or cooperation, between the developed and the developing nations. Conflicts seldom resolve problems hence it is in our common interest that we cooperate with each other to solve these environmental problems.

One necessary ingredient to solve these environmental problems through mutual cooperation is to recognize and agree to the fact that we have a common responsibility to protect the environment. Another necessary ingredient is to recognize and agree to the fact that the contribution in creation of environmental problems and the ability to protect the environment may vary from nation to nation and as such application of differentiated responsibility is required.

Example of provision for common but differentiated responsibility for developing and developed nation is the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Whose major objective is to "Regulate levels of greenhouse gas (GHG) concentration in the atmosphere, so as to avoid the occurrence of climate change on a level that would impede sustainable economic development or compromise initiatives in food production"

Article 3(1) of the UNFCCC provides that the parties should act to protect the climate system 'on the basis of equity and in accordance with their common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities'. While mentioning common responsibilities like:

· Prepare national inventories on GHG emissions, and take actions to remove them

· Formulate and implement programs for the control of climate change with necessary policies in national plans

· Take special measures (by developed countries) to limit their anthropogenic emissions of GHGs and enhance capacity of sinks and reservoirs for stabilization of such gases

· Provide additional financial and technical assistance to developing countries and support research and systematic observation

And commits industrialized nations with the aim of returning by 2000 to the 1990 emission level of GHG. The rationale for differentiation is twofold. Firstly it recognizes that bulk of global emission of GHG originate from industrialized nations and that they should thus bear the main burden of combating climate change. Secondly, it recognizes that developing nations need access to resources and technologies in order to be able to achieve sustainable development.

Responsibilities of developing nations and the developed nations to protect the environment may be different not only because of difference in contribution and ability to prevent, reduce and control the environmental problems but also because the major sources of contribution to environmental problems may be of different nature.

To check population growth, as it is one of the main cause of environmental problems. Ironically, the most effective way of checking population growth seems to be economic growth. Unsustainable economic growth based on pollute first and treat afterwards as practiced by the developed nations in the past, may check population explosion but it will give rise to new environmental problems. Hence, it seems that the main responsibility of the developing nations should be to implement sustainable economic growth, that benefits all the present and future members of the society, checks population growth and helps in conservation, preservation and optimal use of natural resources.

To reduce consumption of natural resources per capita and reduce pollution, as it is the other main cause of environmental problems. Although checking population growth seems to be a huge task many argue that reducing consumption in developed nations might be even more difficult. Developed nations are running away from this solution and instead advocating for increase in consumption level of the developed nations, which in reality might be impossible due to the limits in carrying capacity of our planet.

Besides reducing consumption and pollution in their own countries developed nations have the responsibility of assisting developing nations practice sustainable development by sharing with them technology, knowledge, skill and financial resources.

Where ones stand is very much dependent on where one is sitting and as such, my views may be biased but I strongly believe that the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, where developed nations have to contribute more to protect the environment because they have contributed more to its degradation and have better capability to prevent, reduce and control the threats, is justifiable. I in fact believe that developed nations are to be blamed for most of the environmental problems we are facing today, including those related to population explosion.

We know today that the main cause of population explosion is poverty. We also know that the poverty faced by the majority of the human population is mainly due to the over consumption of natural resources by a small part of the population. In a closed environment as ours where natural resources are finite and being used to it's maximum, it is inevitable that some have to survive with less when others grab more than their fair share, of the cake. Hence, I believe that it is due to over consumption of natural resources by the population in developed countries that the majority of the population in developing countries face poverty and produce more children as survival means.

The principle of common but differentiated responsibility may sound just but like other principles and buzzwords, its implementation has sadly been negligible. The truth is, in many areas of cooperation to solve environmental problems through common but differentiated responsibilities. The developed nations have accused developing nations of lacking the will to implement sustainable development while the developing nations have accused the developed nations of failing to share technological, financial and technical knowledge as promised.

It seems, developed nations want the developing nations to conserve and protect their natural resources without having to sacrifice too much of their own welfare. While the developing nations although are aware that sustainable development is profitable in the long run wants the developed nations to take all the short term financial burden it has to bear due to it. In the mean time, protection of the environment, which is our common responsibility, is suffering because we disagree on the degree of our differentiated responsibilities. Maybe, it is the case of the tragedy of the commons as described by Garret Hardin, where not the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities has to give way for the principle of everybody's responsibility is nobody's responsibility.

COMMON BUT DIFFERENTIATED RESPONSIBILITY By Parag Bijukchhe

COMMON BUT DIFFERENTIATED RESPONSIBILITY
By Parag Bijukchhe