Rapid urbanisation, poverty & environmental degradation will remain the greatest sustainability challenges in 21st century

Green agenda are spearheading discussions on resource management, global climate change and biodiversity issues, while the environmental problems known as 'brown agenda' in the urban areas are still being neglected in the developing countries although the planning and development professionals around the world are striving tirelessly for the greatest outcome possible. It is well accepted that rapid urbanisation has aggravated problems like sanitation and drainage, improper disposal of solid and hazardous waste, degradation of soil and land, uncontrolled emissions from the domestic and industrial activities, traffic congestions etc. resulting in poor public health.

Cities and towns have been hubs of economic development but a good question to be asked - do the rapid industrialisation, urbanisation and development of communication network have been impetus for economic development at the cost of environment? The root causes of environmental degradation in urban areas are unplanned and hardly coordinated inter-play of socio-economic, institutional and technical activities. There are many factors, which may have greater impacts on the urban environment but poverty still remains at the root of several environmental problems. Let us try to understand urban poverty and environmental degradation before blaming each other.

Urbanisation and industrialisation have provided livelihood and opportunities to the millions of people, but at the same time they have brought in the accompanied problems such as waste disposal, environmental degradation, disease-causing agents and pollutants, contamination of air, soil and surface water etc. The more we achieved rapid growth of industrial production, the more we experienced problems related to industrial pollution.

Urban environmental degradation in the developing countries is associated with households and businesses; those are not served by sewers, drains and waste collection facilities. Lack of or improper sewage treatment plants are contributing to the water pollution problems. Sources of air pollution are uncontrolled emissions and it is coming from the industries. Also, increasing number of motor vehicles which are often without catalyst converters and these vehicles has poorly maintained engines. In the urban areas, answers to the reasons for persistence of poverty can be traced back to environmental degradation. The urban poor are usually the most exposed to weather and thus most affected by environmental pollution. Therefore, attempt to tackle environmental problems without addressing poverty is likely to fail. Poverty reduction and effective environmental management in the urban areas are mutually dependent. Poverty is both cause and effect of environmental degradation.

This relationship between poverty and environmental degradation is of course an extremely complex phenomenon. Inequalities and lack of opportunities, social exclusion, lack of access to essential utilities that foster un-sustainability among a section of population, which results in environmental degradation because they do not find any other way but to using the available alternatives e.g. drains for toilet, live in a place which is already polluted, use contaminated water, generate waste and subsequently pollute the environment further.

It is well accepted that large population put stress on the environment, society and resources. Just imagine the current world population which is 7.2 billion and it is projected to increase up to 9.6 billion by 2050. Over population not only requires destruction of more and more natural resources but also generates large number of waste, which is associated with environmental stresses like loss of biodiversity, water pollution, air pollution and increased pressure on arable land. Over-consumption and unsustainable development may have the greater impacts and that is why the choices of how to use the resources and for what purposes are very important.

Furthermore, economic opportunities in the urban areas and their absence in the rural have created a huge urban-rural gap. Lack of opportunities for employment and associated stresses, impacts of climate changes are leading to ever-increasing migration of rural poor families to the towns. Urban slums are expanding due to increasing population in the cities. This rapid and unplanned expansion of the cities has resulted in the degradation of urban environment. The city of Dhaka is a classic example of this. Huge pressures have been created on the infrastructure and utilities such as energy, housing, transport, education, water supply, sewerage system and recreational amenities. These in turn speed up the deterioration of urban environment and the proliferation of slums contributes further to urban poverty.

If we look for some of the desirable improvements e.g. improved provision for water and sanitation, less crowded places, better quality housing, improved provision for storm and surface water drainage, avoidance of hazardous sites for settlements, promotion of cleaner household fuels and improved provision for solid-waste management, then probably financial needs would stand in the front row and one could argue that due to lack of money the poorer countries cannot build these infrastructures. In that case, poorer counties are bound to choose the model of economic growth, which requires exploitation of natural resources for expanding production. In rich countries, mass production and consumption is a major cause of environmental degradation and destruction of natural resources. In the poor countries, the creation of value and access to subsistence are typically linked to sacrificing environmental quality for short-term economic gain (Goodman and Redclift, 1991).

Poorer nations are introducing the neo-liberal policies, which turn rich people even richer, while the poor become poorer. Neo-liberal policies increases the material consumption, therefore more resources will be used and money will be diverted to produce and purchase these goods, hence poor people will be left behind. This has further led to ‘blaming the victims’ for their poverty. Blaming poverty as the main cause of urban environmental degradation will be one-sided narrowly focused conclusion. If poverty is a major concern in urban environment, conversely environmental degradation needs to be of great concern as well for further ill-being of the poor. It’s a vicious cycle and the poor are definitely caught in the middle.

High-income groups are far worse than low-income groups contributing to the environmental degradation by generating more waste and green house gas emissions. Improving urban poverty and preventing further environmental degradation or vice versa, the governments need to focus on sustainable urban infrastructure development with urban environmental management.