Environment and Natural Resources

Lesson

Part 1 — why the environment became global, the global commons, and who should do what.

In this lesson you will

Explain why the environment became an issue of world politics
Trace the milestones from Stockholm and the Brundtland Report to the Rio Earth Summit
Explain the global commons and why they are hard to manage
Explain common but differentiated responsibilities and compare Kyoto and Paris

Part 1 at a glance

Concept

Why the environment became global

From the 1960s, damage to land, water, forests, oceans and the ozone layer was seen as a problem no single state could solve.

Table of global environmental concerns: shrinking and degraded farmland, lack of safe drinking water, loss of forests and biodiversity, overfishing and coastal pollution, and the thinning ozone layer
Concern	Why it worries the world
Farmland	Little new land to cultivate; much existing land losing fertility
Water	Safe drinking water still out of reach for very many people
Forests	Loss of natural forests reduces biodiversity and harms climate
Oceans	Overfishing and coastal pollution
Ozone layer	Thinning exposes life to harmful radiation

Concept

Environmental issues became political because they raise questions of who pays, who benefits and who decides.