Environmental issues in international business

1. ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES IN
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
- Jitin Kollamkudy

2. Environmental issues in India
• The rapid growing population and economic
development is leading to a number of environmental
issues in India because of the uncontrolled growth
of urbanization and industrialization, expansion and
massive intensification of agriculture, and the
destruction of forests.
• Major environmental issues are forest and agricultural
degradation of land, resource depletion (water, mineral,
forest, sand, rocks etc.), environmental degradation,
public health, loss of biodiversity, loss of resilience in
ecosystems, livelihood security for the poor.

3. • It is estimated that the country’s population will increase
to about 1.26 billion by the year 2016. The projected
population indicates that India will be the first most
populous country in the world and China will be ranking
second in the year 2050. India having 18% of the world's
population on 2.4% of world's total area has greatly
increased the pressure on its natural resources. Water
shortages, soil exhaustion and erosion, deforestation, air
and water pollution afflicts many areas.
• India's water supply and sanitation issues are related to
many environmental issues.

4. Major environmental issues
• Forest and Agricultural land degradation.
• Resource depletion-water, minerals, forest, sand, etc.
• Public health
• Loss of biodiversity
• Poor water supply and sanitation issues
• Natural hazards like floods, annual rainfall due to
deforestation.
• Poor agricultural practices

5. ..Cont’d
• Civil conflicts involving natural resources---coal, forest
land for cultivation.
• Increasing pollution have led to an increase in air
pollution, shifting precipitation patterns and declining
intervals of drought recurrence
• Unequal distribution of resources.

6. Water pollution
• There is no proper sanitation in India which is one of the
major concerns India faces today.
• Statistics conducted by UNICEF have shown that only
31% of India’s population is using improved sanitation
facilities as of 2008.
• It is estimated that one in every ten deaths in India is
linked to poor sanitation and hygiene.
• Diarrhea is the single largest killer and accounts for one
in every twenty deaths.
• The high level of contamination of the river by human
waste allow diseases like cholera to spread easily,
resulting in many deaths, especially among children who
are more susceptible to such viruses.

7. Deforestation
• Population explosion- The cutting of trees for
agriculture, factories, road and rail tracks, industries,
mining and quarrying have seriously affected the forest.
• Forest fires destroy trees, seeds and the animal life.
• Pests can destroy forests by eating the shoots and
spreading diseases.
• Bad Weather such as storm & snow damage the forests.
• Shifting cultivation-In certain parts of India, forests are
burnt and the ash is mixed with the soil and the land
used for cultivation.

8. Population and economic growth
• These are contributing to many serious environmental
calamities in India.
• Heavy pressure on land
• Land degradation
• Habitat destruction
• Changing consumption pattern has led to rising demand
for energy
• The final outcome of this are air pollution, global
warming, climate change, depletion of natural resources,
water scarcity and water pollution.

9. Air pollution
• Indian cities are polluted by vehicle and industrial
emissions
• Road dust due to vehicles contribute up to 33% of air
pollution
• In cities like Bangalore around 50% of children suffer
from asthma
• One of the biggest causes of air pollution in India is from
the Transport system
• The air pollution in the big cities is rising to such an
extent that it is now 2.3 times higher than the amount
recommended by WHO.

10. Land Pollution
• The pressure to modernize, since India's freedom have
only increased the rates of deforestation, which
ultimately leads to Land Pollution
• Land pollution in India is due to pesticides and fertilizers
as well as soil erosion
• In March 2009, the issue of Uranium poising in Punjab
came into light, caused by fly ash ponds of thermal
power stations, which reportedly lead to severe birth
defects in children in the Faridkot and Bhatinda districts
of Punjab

11. The disadvantaged developing countries
• Relocation of polluting industries from the developed
countries to the developing countries.
• Dumping of nuclear & hazardous wastes in developing
countries.
• Exploitation of natural resources of the developing
countries to meet the global demand causes ecological
problems.
• Marketing and sale of banned products of the developed
countries in the developing countries. Eg: Endosulfan
• Raising of environmental issues as a trade barrier or a
coercive measure without any genuine reasons by
developed countries against developing countries.

12. Trade & Environment
• Arguments:
– Critics argue that trade liberalization which
encourages trade in products creating global pollution
is undesirable.
– Trade liberalization promotes environmental
degradation and pollution and hence is a “race to the
bottom” in environmental standards.
– Opposition of environmentalists against products that
encourage practices like dolphin hunting, catching
tuna etc.

13. Positive points
– Improve quality of environment rather than promote
degradation.
– Can encourage the development and use of eco –
friendly products.
– Practice and use of appropriate environmental
policies can be a solution in solving problems of
pollution & environmental degradation.

14. THANK YOU!