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IV. ASSESSING INTEGRATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL MEASURES INTO DEVELOPMENT PLANNING
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A. Development and environmental protection: a contradiction?
The term "environment" conjures up different meanings for different people, depending on the emphasis that is placed on one or more aspects of the environment. Many people consider environmental issues from the viewpoint of air pollution (e.g., exhaust fumes and open burning), and water pollution (e.g., sewage or industrial waste). However, the environment is more than mere air and water. A wider interpretation allows policy makers and the public to consider the disparate components that would otherwise be considered outside the proper ambit of environmental management. An all-compassing definition would also include land, air, living organisms, and organic and inorganic matter. Accordingly, environmental management issues must necessarily encompass air, water, land, endangered species, chemicals, various forms of waste, management of natural resources (mining, forestry, fisheries, and oil exploration and production), ecosystems (forests, wetlands and scenic sites), global commons (the high seas, atmosphere, the Antarctic and space). In addition to those natural elements, there are also human elements of the environment including human settlements, various cultural, historical and religious aspects, human activities, population, minorities, indigenous peoples and women. By including those issues in the definition of environment the magnitude of environmental problems becomes clear. Those problems include overpopulation, rapid urbanization, biological diversity, unsustainable land-use practices, desertification, toxic waste dumps, air and water pollution, noise pollution, deforestation, global warming and the destruction of the ozone layer (Azmi, 1996).
Such an inclusive definition of the environment and environmental management brings he realization that environmental damage can be as much the result of underdevelopment as it is of development. For example, underdevelopment and consequent poverty leads to deforestation as the affected population forages for firewood to be used for cooking and warmth. Given the lack of pastures, overgrazing at the periphery of agricultural land leads to desertification. Inadequate sewage treatment and garbage collection results in a lack of potable water. Inadequate education cripples the national pursuit of a cleaner environment. Development, on the other hand, attacks the environment in another way. Economic gains motivate the destruction of forests and the displacement of tribal communities, and the maximal exploitation of natural resources. Industrialization pollutes the air, water and atmosphere through toxic and chemical discharges during production and consumption, all in the name of development.
That short-term economic gain at the expense of the environment has fostered a (mis) perception that environmental protection and development are inherently contradictory and that environmental damage is an inevitable price of development (Azmi, 1996). While there is some merit in that view, it denies the importance of development to environmental protection in the broader sense. More importantly, it ignores the issue of sustainable development.5Sustainable development offers a conceptual solution for reconciling those apparently conflicting objectives or even for integrating environmental concerns into development planning at all levels of decision-making. As a reflection of the practice of sustainable development, and given the importance of environmental protection, it is imperative that environmental concerns be incorporated into development planning. Such a view also finds a resonance in the principle of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, which proclaims that "in order to achieve sustainable development, environmental protection should constitute an integral part of the development process and cannot be considered in isolation."
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