Third World Pollution

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Third World pollution

As the countries of the Third World struggle with population growth , poverty, famines, and wars, their residents are discovering the environmental effects of these problems, in the form of increasing air, water, and land pollution . Pollution is almost unchecked in many developing nations, where Western nations dump toxic wastes and untreated sewage flows into rivers. Many times, the choice for Third World governments is between poverty or poison, and basic human needs like food, clothing, and shelter take precedence.

Industrialized nations often dump wastes in developing countries where there is little or no environmental regulation, and governments may collect considerable fees for accepting their garbage .In 1991, World Watch magazine reported that Western companies dumped more than 24 million tons (22 million metric tons) of hazardous waste in Africa alone during 1988.

Companies can also export industrial hazards by moving their plants to countries with less restrictive pollution control laws than industrialized nations. This was the case with Union Carbine, which moved its chemical manufacturing plant to Bhopal, India , to manufacture a product it was not allowed to make in the United States. As Western nations enact laws promoting environmental and worker safety, more manufacturers have moved their hazardous and polluting factories to less developed countries , where there are little or no environmental or occupations laws, or no enforcement agencies. Hazardous industries such as textile, petrochemical , and chemical production, as well as smelting and electronics, have migrated to Latin America, Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe.

For example, IBM, General Motors, and Sony have established manufacturing plants in Mexico, and some of these have created severe environmental problems. At least 10 million gal (38 million L) of the factories' raw sewage is discharged into the Tijuana River daily. Because pollution threatens San Diego beaches, most of the cleanup is paid for by the United States and California governments. Although consumers pay less for goods from these companies, they are paying for their manufacture in the form of higher taxes for environmental cleanup.

Industries with shrinking markets in developed countries due to environmental concerns have begun to advertise vigorously in the Third World. For example, DDT production, led by United States and Canadian companies, is at an all-time high even though it is illegal to produce or use the pesticide in the United States or Europe since the 1970s. DDT is widely used in the Third World, especially in Latin America, Africa, and on the Indian subcontinent.

Industrial waste is handled more recklessly in underdeveloped countries. The New River, for example, which flows from northern Mexico into southern California before dumping into the Pacific Ocean, is generally regarded as the most polluted river in North America due to lax enforcement of environmental standards in Mexico.

Industrial pollution in Third World countries is not their only environmental problem. Now, in addition to worrying about the environmental implications of deforestation , desertification , and soil erosion , developing countries are facing threats of pollution that come from development, industrialization, poverty, and war.

The number of gasoline-powered vehicles in use worldwide is expected to double to one billion in the next 40 years, adding to air pollution problems. Mexico City, for example, has had air pollution episodes so severe that the government temporarily closed schools and factories. Much of the autoindustry growth will take place in developing countries, where the automobile population is rapidly increasing.

In the Third World, the effects of water pollution are felt in the form of high rates of death from cholera , typhoid, dysentery, and diarrhea from viral and bacteriological sources. More than 1.7 billion people in the Third World have an inadequate supply of safe drinking water. In India, for example, 114 towns and cities dump their human waste and other untreated sewage directly into the Ganges River. Of 3,119 Indian towns and cities, only 209 have partial sewage treatment , and only eight have complete treatment.

Zimbabwe's industrialization has created pollution problems in both urban and rural areas. Several lakes have experienced eutrophication because of the discharge of untreated sewage and industrial waste. In Bangladesh, degradation of water and soil resources is widespread, and flood conditions result in the spread of polluted water across areas used for fishing and rice cultivation. Heavy use of pesticides is also a concern there.

In the Philippines, air and soil pollution poses increasing health risks, especially in urban areas. Industrial and toxic waste disposals have severely polluted 38 river systems.

Widespread poverty and political instability has exacerbated Haiti's environmental problems. Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, suffers from deforestation, land degradation, and water pollution. While the country has plentiful groundwater , less than 40% of the population has access to safe drinking water.

As 117 world leaders and their representatives met at the United Nations Earth Summit in 1992, some of these concerns were addressed as poorer Third World countries sought the help of richer industrialized nations to preserve the environment . Almost always, environmental cleanup in the Third World is an economic issue, and the countries cannot afford to spend more on it.

Another issue affecting Third World pollution control is the role of transnational corporations (TNCs) in global environmental problems. A Third World Network economist cited TNCs for their responsibility for water and air pollution, toxic wastes, hazardous chemicals and unsafe working conditions in Third World countries. None of the Earth Summit documents, however, regulated transnational corporations, and the United Nations has closed its Center for Transnational Corporations, which had been monitoring TNC activities in the Third World.

There is a growing environment awareness in Third World nations, and many are trying to correct the problems. In Madras, India, sidewalk vendors sell rice wrapped in banana leaf; the leaf can be thrown to the ground and is consumed by one of the free-roaming cows on Madras' streets. In Bombay, India, tea is sold in a brown clay cup which can be crushed into the earth when empty. The Chinese city of Shanghai produced all its own vegetables, fertilizes them with human waste, and exports a surplus.

Environmentalists worldwide are calling for a strengthened United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to enact sanctions and keep polluters out of the Third World. It could also enforce the "polluter pays" principle, eventually affecting Western governments and companies that dump on the Third World. Already, UNEP and the World Bank provide location advice and environmental risk assessment when the host country is not able to do so, and the World Health Organization and the International Labor Organization provide some guidance on occupational health and safety to developing countries.