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Conservation key to attaining MDGs
2005-10-03 23:46:37
By Deodatus Mfugale
MDGs can be achieved if the stakeholders put in required efforts. Our staff writer Deodatus Mfugale testifies through practical examples in this article that this can be done. Reed on.
MDGs can be achieved if the stakeholders put in required efforts. Our staff writer Deodatus Mfugale testifies through practical examples in this article that this can be done. Reed on…
Some predict it will take at least half a century but achieving the Millennium Development Goals is a reality only if countries take conservation of environment seriously as a basis of tackling poverty, hunger and the rest of the MDGs.
Five years into the timeline, developing countries have seen little progress in the provision of health and in fact they are not on track to reduce by two thirds the mortality rate of children under the age of five.
The World Health Organization says that none of the poor countries is close to the target as 11 million children under five continue to die due to avoidable causes for instance, over 500,000 women die in their pregnancy and three million more die during child birth.
Regarding reducing hunger, there are views that the number of hungry children in Africa will increase by 3.3 million by 2025 (IFPRI) unless policy and investment trends change.
The Institute stresses that child malnutrition is on the rise in Africa and by 2025, hunger could be a daily reality for nearly 42 million children.
’’If current trends continue, child malnutrition in Africa is expected to grow from 38.6 million to 41.9 million by 2025.
This scenario reflects the situation of hunger in the continent and how efforts to address MDG number one have failed.
Even if one considers poverty reduction, recent reports indicate that more than fifty developing nations have become poorer in the past decade, what with devastation from HIV/AIDS and rampant civil strife in some of them.
Of course the developing countries have often held their developed counterparts responsible for their failure to achieve the MDGs- they have fallen back on their promises to increase aid and they have not opened up their markets for goods from the poor countries.
But there are arguments, and valid ones too, that the poor countries themselves have not done enough to use their natural resources for their development and have banked on grants and donations as major conveyors to attain the MDGs.
This notion is currently being faulted mainly because it places on developing the economy first and hoping that positive environmental changes would follow.
However, many people, particularly those in the fields of environment and development advocate that there must be a paradigm shift from that which stresses economic growth models of development to one that focuses on conservation of environment as a means to eradicate poverty and meet the other MDGs.
While it is true that development cannot be achieved without economic growth, the over emphasis on economic development has often undermined the environment in ways that affect the long-term benefits of development.
In a discussion with journalists from developing countries in New York ahead of the 2005 World Summit recently, Nobel Prize Laureate Prof Wangari Maathai wondered whether it is possible to achieve a certain level of development without destroying the environment.
It became apparent that it is possible to develop without destroying the environment as long as there is responsible and accountable management of the natural resources that are embodied in the environment.
The resources, if well managed are key to producing wealth which is essential for poverty eradication.
On the other hand, if the environment and natural resources are not managed responsibly then there is no hope of creating wealth and hence the MGDs cannot be attained.
The Vice President of the World Bank (Sustainable Development,) Ian Johson, said at the launching of The Wealth of Nations in New York, ’’ attaining MDGs is all about creating wealth for those who don’t have it and maintaining it for those who already have it,’’ by transforming natural capital (natural resources) into wealth.
It all amounts to one thing- attaining goal number seven, Ensuring Environmental Sustainability, is the basis of achieving all the other MDGs.
Currently there is a horrendous degradation and loss of ecosystems in developing countries that undermines efforts to eradicate poverty.
Some experts estimate the overall cost of environmental damage and degradation in the world to between 350m US dollars and 870m US dollars annually. Net forest loss stands at ten million hectares per year, wetlands continue to decline and the number of communities plagued by water shortage is increasing.
The local situation regarding the state of the environment does not paint a bright picture.
Many water sources, including rivers and lakes have dried up or can only discharge water during the rainy season. Mtera, Kidatu and Nyumba ya Mungu dams have not had the required level of water for the past five years.
Lake Jipe in the Northern part of the country will soon disappear due siltation.
Reduced fish catches have been reported in Kilombero and Rufiji Rivers as well as in Lakes Victoria and Tanganyika impoverishing households that depend on fishery for their livelihoods.
This is to say nothing about desertification that has encroached on large areas of Morogoro, Dodoma, Singida, Manyara and Shinyanga regions.
Residents in these regions are not among those who earn reasonable incomes.
While there could be many reasons for this situation environmental destruction seems to be the major one.
The tide of environmental degradation must now turn since sustainable development cannot be achieved without ensuring environmental stability. A stable ecosystem allows natural organisms to flourish and through responsible management, the same can be translated into wealth for communities.
In Usangu valley in Iringa and Mbeya regions, for example, efficient management of water has seen farmers get more water to irrigate their farms in the dry season and so earn more money. Rice grown through irrigation fetches a higher price than that grown during the rainy season.
Residents of Mapogolo village close to Kapunga rice farms have been able to build decent houses after they earned more income from irrigated rice.
The Great Ruaha now stops flowing in some parts for only about 20 days compared to 120 previously thanks to more rehabilitation of the environment upstream and responsible management of water downstream.
This is a typical example that shows how managing the environment can lead to creation of wealth and enable communities to attain development. The race to meet MDGs should start here.
Elsewhere in Africa, success stories of responsible management of the environment so as to ensure poverty reduction have started to emerge.
Mauritania, for example, has embarked on better management of fishery resources so as to raise income and attain a higher level of development.
Botswana has also made strides in development after using its diamond resources to finance education, health care and infrastructure resulting into a high rate of economic growth.
With the rise of incomes from the environment, poor families experience better nutrition and health and begin to ’’accumulate’’ wealth and thus begin the journey out of poverty.
When poor households improve their management of local systems whether pastures, forests or fishing grounds, productivity of their systems rises. And when this is combined with greater control over their assets, through stronger ownership rights, the poor can increase their incomes.
Yet this cannot happen if policy makers and decision makers still consider the environment as merely incidental and not a prerequisite for development.
Indeed healthy forests, marine, freshwater and other ecosystems are important for meeting the agreed development targets.
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