The Concept of Sustainable Development Robs the Poor World of Any Possibility of Convergence With the Rich World

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Discussion
Sustainable development and poverty; Environmental issues
The Role of Sustainable Development in Converging the Poor and the Rich
Solution
Conclusion
Bibliography
Footnotes

Introduction

In every economy, the main objective of the policy makers is to achieve development within the country. Many countries have employed various ways in order to achieve their development goals. In their efforts, the main target of the public policy makers is to bridge the gap between the poor and the rich.

The gap between the poor and the rich is the major criterion that is used to measure the position of an economy in terms of development. The more the disparities among the poor, the high is the level of poverty in an economy. Despite of the efforts employed by many organizations in promoting development, disparities among the poor still remains extremely high.

Many policy makers have been advocating for sustainable development as the best way to promote development within an economy. However, this has been opposed on the ground that sustainable development robs the poor world of the possibility of convergence with the rich world.

Discussion

Sustainable development can be viewed as the process where the resources are utilized in such a way that it promotes preservation of the environment while meeting the present as well as the future needs¹. The advocates of the sustainable development are determined to realize the economic environment where development efforts include environment protection, social progress, and economic growth. The main concern here is to avoid environmental degradation for the sake of the present as well as the future generation.

In the contemporary world, the question of globalization has raised critical issues on environment raising the need for a sustainable environment. The rate of environmental degradation has increased significantly, the fact which has raised the concern of the policy makers.

Although sustained development has paved way for convergence between the poor and the richer world, it has in some cases resulted in increased inequalities among the people. It has led to increased gap between the poor world and the rich world. This is because majority from the poor countries over rely on the natural capital as their main source of livelihood.

Sustainable development and poverty; Environmental issues

As already noted, the main goal of the policy makers in every economy is to promote development. Many economies have employed sustainable development policies in order to achieve their development goals effectively. However, sustainable development may contribute to increased difference between the poor and the rich².

Sustainable development can be seen to increase disparities at various levels. First, it creates disparities at the personal level where some individuals get richer. Sustainable environment also increases disparities at regional level as well as at the national level.

According to the international trade arrangements and specifications, more emphasis is given to the protection of biodiversity, ozone layers and desertification through adoption of sustainable growth³. However, these international arrangements have paid very little attention on the strategies of harmonizing trade as well as environment trade and development⁴. As a result, these policies have led to increased disparities among the poor and the rich countries.

Most less developed economies relies on the debts from the developed organizations in order to meet most of their needs. In most cases, the lending economies tend to be pushed in adoption of the strategies promoting sustainable development⁵. Such pressure denies the developing countries the power to make independent decisions. As result they may end up being forced to adopt strategies that do not maximize their benefits.

Strategies of sustainable development require a significant amount of both institutional and human resources⁶. Therefore, a poor country is adversely affected if it chooses to use some of these funds in implementing sustainable development strategies. In most cases, these economies are faced with difficulties in their effort to meet the basic need of its citizens. Therefore, shifting fund to sustainable development may therefore lead to increased poverty within a country.

According to the principles of sustainable development, countries are required to replenish their natural resources faster than they are used⁷. Most developed countries are able to achieve this because they have diversified economy. On the other hand, poor or developing countries over rely on their natural resources as the backbone of their economies⁸.

Therefore, it is very difficult for the poor countries to replenish their natural capital at a higher rate because they have not diversified on their economic activities. This implies that these organizations will adversely be affected by the policies of sustainable development. The poor countries will become poorer because they over rely on the natural resources. One of the most important roles of sustainable development is to facilitate economic growth within an economy. However, this does not guarantee equitable distribution of resources.

There are no significant linkages between poverty and natural capital. However, some people are inclined to the conclusion that the poor are more destructive to the environment than the rich. This implies that we can still have sustainable growth or the growth that does not lead to environment degradation and still have majority of the people living in poverty.

Therefore, the government must not only facilitate sustainable development, but also emphasize on equitable distribution of resources. In most cases, economic growth is only felt by the rich in the society. This increases the disparity among the people.

Many people have argued that there is a need to have a development process which focus more on the institutional and cultural development, where more emphasis is granted to the stakeholders who include family, individual, community and both private and public sectors⁹.

All these groups must be given the opportunity to give their views on development issues. In such a case, each group will be represented in the decision making process. As a result, this will facilitate the convergence of the rich and the poor in the society. On the other hand, sustainable development will not always guarantee equity in the distribution of resources.

As already noted, sustainable development leads to economic growth. Since different places have different types of resources, this encourages disparities between different regions. As a result, the differences among the people from various regions increase¹⁰. For instance, some regions may have more resources than others.

Therefore, there is a need to have more strategies that will promote equitable distribution of resources across the regions. This will help in bridging the gap between the poor and the rich in the society. For instance, the government can promote social equity by using the tax charged on resources to provide social services.

In order to bridge the gap between the poor and the rich in the society, there is a need for a shift in the development strategy¹¹. For instance, more emphasis must be put on the formal and informal institutions that brings together public sector, private sector, community, individual and family¹².

However, sustainable development should be used in providing the direction for this strategy. This strategy must also ensure that the family, individual and the society are at the centre of these issues. Therefore, the problem at hand will be handled from the people’s perspective. Therefore, the stakeholders will be in a position to come up with appropriate policies that promotes equity and well being in the society.

The Role of Sustainable Development in Converging the Poor and the Rich

Sustainable development has helped to bridge the gap between the poor and the rich. As already noted, sustainable growth helps an economy to maintain its natural capital as it realize its development goals.

In most cases, when there are natural disasters resulting from natural capital degradation, the most affected people are the poor in the society¹³. In this case, sustainable development contributes in promoting the convergence between the rich and the poor in the society.

Sustainable development plays a significant role in tackling some of critical global issues like inequality, poverty, hunger and environmental degradation¹⁴. These are the main goals under which sustainable development is based. All these strategies have a significant contribution in bridging the gap between the rich and the poor.

Sustainable development advocates have been arguing that it leads to increase in employment levels. Low employment level is one of the main problems that have been facing a number of organizations in the contemporary world. High unemployment levels leads to increased discrepancies between the poor and the rich¹⁵. Poverty can significantly be reduced by increasing the level of unemployment in the society.

Sustainable development also leads to significant economic growth. In most cases, economic growth goes hand in hand with high living standards.¹⁶ Therefore, sustainable developments will help to improve on the living standards of the poor in the society. Consequently, every person will be better of through the economic growth. This has significantly helped in bringing convergence between the rich and the poor.

Solution

As already noted, the main issue that is facing many economies in the world today is to bridge the gap between the poor and the rich. However, differences between the rich and the poor persist to increase. There is therefore a need to come up with a sustained development plan that promotes the equity between the rich and the poor.

In order for the sustainable growth to facilitate equity within the society, it is advisable to ensure that there is close partnership with all the parties involved in promoting sustainable development strategies in order to ensure that they develop development programs at the local level. When the local people are involved in making critical decisions that touches them, it is easier to come up with the best measures that does not affect the well being of the local society.

As noted earlier, most of the poor people depend on the natural resources as the source of their livelihood. As a result, they are more likely going to be affected if the use of these resources is restricted. Therefore, it is necessary for the policy makers to solve the problems of such families before putting restriction measures on the use of natural resources. By so doing, the gap between the rich and the poor will be bridged.

While promoting sustainable development policies across the world, it is advisable for the parties responsible to consider the economic positions and environment and then come up with appropriate policies. Poor countries cannot do without exploitation of their natural capital. Therefore, it is advisable to consider the feasibility of various sustained development policies before implementing the same. This will ensure that the strategies applied do not lead to more poverty but rather reduction in the gap between the rich and the poor.

Conclusion

This discussion has clearly revealed the position of sustainable development in convergence between the poor and the rich world. Although sustainable development has contributed to economic growth, it does not guarantee equitable distribution of these resources.

In order to achieve equitable distribution, there is a need to integrate appropriate strategies that will facilitate equitable distribution of resources among the people from different regions. It is also advisable to include individuals and the society in the decision making process. This will ensure that all development strategies reflect the needs of the society. This will promote equitable distribution of the resources.

On the other hand, sustainable growth advocates argue that sustainable development has significantly contributed in reducing the gap between the rich and the poor in the society. Through sustainable development, an organization is able to reduce the level of unemployment in the economy. High level of employment helps in bridging disparities among the people.

Bibliography

Anonymous, Summary of the Workshop on Poverty Alleviation and Sustainable Development: Exploring the Links. 2001. Web.

Elliott, J., An Introduction To Sustainable Development, New York, Routledge, 2008.

Faucheux, S., O’Connor, M. and Straaten, J, Sustainable Development: Concepts, Rationalities, and Strategies, New York, Springer, 1997.

Gechev, R., Sustainable Development: Economic Aspects. U.S.A., University Press, 2005.

Mawhinney, M., Sustainable Development: Understanding the Green Debates. Wiley-Blackwell, 2002.

Nomani, Z., Environment, Sustainable Development and Globalization. 2007. Web.

OECD, Sustainable Development: OECD Policy Approaches for the 21^st Century..U.S.A., OECD Publishing, 1998.

Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, Sustainable Development: Critical Issues. Danvers, MA, OECD Publishing, 2001.

Rao, P. K., Sustainable Development: Economics and Policy. Wiley-Blackwell, New York: Wiley-Blackwell. 2000.

Riley, J., Macroeconomics / International Economy. 2011. Web.

Rogers, P., Jalal, K., and Boyd, J., An Introduction To Sustainable Development, Earthscan, London, 2008.

Shah, A., Sustainable Development. Web.

South African Development Community, Environment and sustainable development. 2009. Web.

Stokke, O., Sustainable development, Routledge, New York, 1991.

Sustainable Africa, Environment. 2001. Web.

Footnotes

¹ Z., Nomani, Environment, Sustainable Development and Globalization, 2007.
² J. Riley. Macroeconomics / International Economy. 2011.
³ Anonymous. Summary of the Workshop on Poverty Alleviation and Sustainable Development: Exploring The Links. 2001.
⁴ South African Development Community. Environment and sustainable development. 2009.
⁵ A. Shah, Sustainable Development.
⁶ A. Shah, Sustainable Development.
⁷ S., Faucheux, M. O’Connor, and J. Straaten, Sustainable Development: Concepts, Rationalities, and Strategies. Springer, New York, 1997.
⁸ Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Sustainable Development: Critical Issues. OECD Publishing, Danvers, MA, 2001.
⁹ Sustainable Africa, Environment. 2001.
¹⁰ P. K.. Rao, Sustainable development: economics and policy. Wiley-Blackwell.New York, 2000.
¹¹ P. Rogers, K. Jalal, and J. Boyd, An introduction to sustainable development. U.K: Earthscan, 2008.
¹² R. Gechev, Sustainable Development: Economic Aspects. University Press, U.S.A., 2005.
¹³J., Elliott, An introduction to sustainable development. Routledge, New York, 2008.
¹⁴ M., Mawhinney, Sustainable development: understanding the green debates. Wiley-Blackwell, 2002.
¹⁵ O., Stokke. Sustainable development. New York: Routledge, 1991.
¹⁶ OECD. Sustainable Development: OECD Policy Approaches for the 21st Century, OECD Publishing, U.S.A, 1998.

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