Globalisation and Environmental Health
- A.Joseph Thatheyus and *J. Delphine Prema Dhanaseeli
Zoology Department, The American College,
Madurai - 625 002. Tamil Nadu.
*Department of History, Jayaraj Annapackiam College for
Women, Periyakulam - 625 001, Tamil Nadu, India
E-mail: thatheyus@rediffmail.com
Eubios Journal of Asian and International Bioethics 13 (2003), 179-181.
Introduction
India, an ancient land is known for its resources and its
people who respected the soil, plants and animals. The rural societies, whether
agrarian or sylvian, were living in harmony with their environment. They
utilized the biodiversity and the natural resources judiciously. People were able
to coexist with other animals and plants even in practically inaccessible
tracts. They possessed abundant knowledge about their utility. India is 2% of
the global geographical area and has 1% of global forest area and 0.5% of
global pastureland. It has 18% of world population and 15% of world livestock
(Ali and Mohan, 1999). Intensive cultivation, rapid industrialisation and the
consequent urbanization which are the forces of gloablisation have marred the
quality of environment and the balance between man and his environment with
scant regard for the preservation of ecological balance and have brought forth
a proverbial, cart-before the horse situation.
Globalisation
Globalisation is the process of change resulting from a
combination of increasing cross-border activity and spread of information
technology facilitating worldwide communication. It relaxes the control on
quantitative restriction imposed on certain commodities. In developing
countries like India, market
oriented system cannot help to achieve the ideals, while it is possible with
the mixed system of economy. On April 1, 2001, the Indian government has lifted
quantitative restrictions on over 700 products. In the last year it had already
lifted such barriers on several hundred other items. Flooding of cheap goods
from other countries led to the delight of urban elite consumers class but
affected our environment, biodiversity, farmers, fisher folk, tribals and small
entrepreneurs. The forces of globalisation entail the free flow of imports and exports
between countries while it compels countries to ignore or weaken the controls
that are so essential to protect our environment.
Environmental quality
International trade encourages destructive shrimp culture
along the coastal regions, which reduces the agriculture lands and the
intrusion of saltwater. The effluents generated through these practices affect
the quality of our environment. For transporting the products, several changes
are made in different routes and especially in USA, for the transport of
soyabean, the ecology of Mississippi river was altered (Halweil, 2000). Natural
river meanders are straightened, locks and ports are built modifying wetlands.
When the lock and dam system expands in the rivers, the riverine ecology is
modified through the increase in large traffic. According to the U.S fish and
wildlife service, this kind of projects threaten the plant diversity and in
turn the fish, mollusk, bird and insect communities. 300 species of migratory
birds and 127 species of fish in the Mississippi river were threatened. The
least tern, the pallid sturgeon and other species that evolved with the ebbs
and flows, sandbars and depths, of the river are progressively eliminated or
forced away as the diversity of the river's natural habitats is removed to
maximize the large traffic (Halweil, 2000). When the river is dredged to
facilitate the navigation path, fish spawning grounds and bird nesting habitats
are altered suppressing the riverine species.
Herbicide intensive soybean monocultures are replacing the
diverse grasslands. Farmers in a competition to increase their production,
practice shortcut methods resulting in top-soil erosion. Gloablisation results
in the encouragement of monoculture practices like single species plantations
including flower, export-oriented cash crops and a few market-favored crop
varieties. To achieve increase in production, pesticides like roundup, agent
orange are applied on crops. Genetically engineered plants and terminator seeds
are applied more which will manipulate the gene pool and terminate the life
cycles. Introduction of transgenic food products under monopolistic markets
might make farmers vulnerable to exploitation. Chemicalisation of agriculture
with the application of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers have caused
the stress on agro ecosystems
resulting in a ecological breakdown. Most of these pesticides are xenobiotic
and are recalcitrant ie resistant to biodegradation. Unhindered dumping of
products, including polluting toxic chemicals and exotic species of organisms
wipe out the indigenous species (Kothari, 2001).
International trade has resulted in large scale industrial
agriculture including Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO). In livestock
production, more animals are concentrated and huge number of these animals are
slaughtered and marketed at rock-bottom costs. They generate large amount of
wastes which the surrounding soil can not assimilate. They are generally stored
in lagoons giving stench with the release of hydrogen sulfide, ammonia and methane.
Millions of animals are burnt as foot and mouth disease spreads due to
increased trade. Cattle are herbivores, but due to free trade, meat of infected
sheep and cow are ground into cattle feed resulting in Bovine Spongiform
Encephalopathy (BSE) (Shiva, 2001).Massive numbers of closely confined
livestock are more prone to infection and the overuse of antibiotics in the
diet resulted in the development of resistance in food-borne bacteria like
Salmonella and Campylobacter.
Globalisation supports large fauna and hence there is a
decline in small farms as it is put "get big or get out". There is an inverse
relationship between farm size and output which is attributed to the efficient
use of resources like land, water and the efficiencies of operation, intercropping
at multiple times and integrating crops and livestock (Halweil, 2000). Trade
liberalization practices have resulted in the structural adjustments, which led
to hunger and malnutrition in the third world. Denying food to the hungry and
feeding the markets is considered as genocidal. Monopolistic pharmaceutical and
biotech companies result in the denial of medicine to the ill through their
control over the production of low cost generic drugs. Multinational
corporations sell fast-food items containing food additive chemicals and
preservatives and drinks having brominated vegetable oils which affect the
health of each citizen who consumes them.
Biodiversity
Biological diversity is the variety and variability of life
on earth. Diversity in our genetic material provides the basis for continued
survival in the face of changing environments. India has diverse ecosystems
comprising forests, wetlands, agro-ecosystems, coast and inland waters. The
diversity of wild species includes about 47.000 plant and 89,000animal species
(Chellam, 2001). 80% of the world's population depends on substantially on
plant and animal based medicines and in many communities over 40% of food comes
from the wild. India has amazing diversity of rice with 50,000 varieties, mango
1000, sorghum 5000, pepper 500 varieties, cattle 27 breeds, goats 22, sheep 40,
poultry 18 and buffalo 8 breeds (Kothari, 2001). Biodiversity and health are
intrinsically linked. When biodiversity is destroyed, the health of ecosystems
and of their individual members is affected.
Globalisation has taken a heavy toll of biodiversity and the
livelihood of those directly dependent on natural resources. Global loss of
forest, fisheries and agricultural productivity is ever increasing. This leads
to greater loss by the destruction of natural habitats resulting in an
increasing cycle of droughts and floods with erratic rainfalls. Globalisation
causes the rapid erosion of crop and livestock diversity from the agricultural
fields and pastures. This inturn affects the stability of our farming systems
and soil fertility which made farmers more dependent on markets and outside
agencies. Excessive use of synthetic chemicals has affected the genetic
diversity on which the development of crops and livestock is used (Kothari,
2001).construction of dams and irrigation projects submerge large areas of
forests converting tribals as oustees and affect the downstream aquatic and
marine habitats. Rapidly growing tourism has resulted in deforestation, waste
generation and ecological damage.
The practice of monoculture results in low levels of
biodiversity leading to vacant niches in the fields including different root
depths and different nutrient preferences. Monoculture also results in nitrogen
pollution due to poorer nitrogen retention than that of a complex farm. This
leads to nitrogen runoff reaching seas leading to massive algal blooms. The
death of this algae causes the depletion of oxygen due to decomposition by
bacteria suffocating fish, shell fish and leaving the ecosystem biologically
dead. Agricultural biodiversity controlling the climate variations, pest out
breaks and threats to food security is under threat as the forces of
globalisation compel large farms and small farmers are left with the only
option 'get big or get out'. The small farms offer more productivity by growing
more crops utilizing different root depths, plant heights or nutrients
(Halweil, 2001). Global corporations want to own our biodiversity, Intellectual
Property Rights (IPR) on seeds and plants, animals and human genes are aimed at
transforming life into the property of multinational corporations who have a
scant regard for the preservation of life and health in our ecosystems. Western
corporations wanted to claim the products of our biodiversity like neem,
turmeric and pepper, which are used by us for a long time (Shiva, 2001).
Multinational companies Monsanto and Mahyco conduct field trials of Bt.cotton
cultivation in Gujarat. These varieties are genetically modified containing
pesticidal genes to produce toxic effects on nontarget organisms (Shiva, 2001).
Alternatives
In agriculture, enhancing biodiversity while increasing
productivity and employment generation is possible through organic farming. In
Andhra Pradesh, dalit women have demonstrated that biologically diverse farming
linked to PDS can enhance livelihoods, employment and the nutritional status of
poor people. Decentralized water harvesting by local groups can solve water
problems and boost agricultural production. In industries sustainable use of
natural dyes, medicinal plants and non-timber forest produce can be practiced.
Non-conventional energy sources can be utilised for the generation of power
(Kothari, 2001). As Halweil (2000) puts it, "Farmers are professionals, with
extensive knowledge of their local soils, weather, native plants, sources of
fertilizer or mulch, native pollinators, ecology and community. If we are to
have a world where the land is no longer managed by such professionals, but is
instead managed by distant corporate bureaucracies interested in extracting
maximum output at minimum cost, what kind of food will we have, and at what
price?". The government has to bring together public health officials focused
on environmental pollution, farmers following practicing organic farming in
small farms, supporters of nature conservation campaigns like animal rights
activists, labour unions, consumer rights activists, environmental and
religious groups to combat the forces of globalisation in order to have a
sustainable development.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank the authorities of their institutions for
the encouragements.
References
Ali, S.U. and Mohan V 1999 Rural biological resources-their
conservation and utilisation. In: Environment, Health and Food: A Futuristic
view. (Eds. S.John William and S.Vincent), Loyola College, Chennai, India. Pp
56-64.
Chellam, R. 2001 The age of extinction. The Hindu, Folio.
May 2001 pp 10-13.
Halweil, B 2000 Where have all the farmers gone?. World
watch, September / October 2000, pp 12-28.
Kothari, A 2001a. India's mega diversity The Hindu, Folio.
May 2001 pp 25
Kothari, A 2001b. Develop and perish?. The Hindu, Folio. May
2001 pp 34-37.
Kothari, A 2001c. WTO:A right denied. The Hindu, Folio. May
2001 pp 50
Shiva, V 2001a. Violence of globalisation. The Hindu,
25.03.2001.
Shiva, V. 2001b. Bio-Tech as bio-terror The Hindu, Magazine.
11.11.2001 pp 2-8
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