ENV311H5 • Environmental Issues in the Developing World
The Earth is one, but the world is not. We all depend on one biosphere for sustaining our lives. Yet each community, each country, strives for survival and prosperity with little regard for its impact on others. These are the opening words from the report of the UN World Commission on Environment and Development, which first popularized the concept of sustainable development. In this course we examine 'environment' and 'development' and 'human well-being' as inseparable challenges. We consider global, regional, and local environmental problems from the perspectives of developing nations, and investigate the economic, social, and political roots of these problems.