Transcript Document 7507265

Population and Resources
All is not lost
Prophets of doom have regularly
predicted global disaster.
“Population, when
unchecked, increases in a
geometrical ratio.
Subsistence increases only
in an arithmetical ratio.”
Thomas Malthus
In fact, food production
has more than kept up with
population increases.
All is Not Lost II
The 1972 Club of Rome
publication Limits to
Growth predicted that at
current rates of use,
reserves of minerals would
be used up by the turn of
the century.
We have not reduced
consumption, yet reserves
are still adequate.
All is Not Lost III
We have already
passed the human
population Earth
can sustain.
Paul Ehrlich, author of The
Population Bomb, has
regularly predicted massive
global famines - yet more
people are better fed today
than at any time in history.
Environmental Problems
Environmental Problems
are Very Real
The prophets of doom
may have exaggerated,
but their warnings
should still be heeded.
We must address
ecological and economic
problems to avoid
disasters.
Industrial Waste
in the Danube River
Environmental Problems
are Very Real II
Our water and air quality is stressed in
the developed and developing world alike.
What is Being Done?
Huge progress has been
made in fixing problems in
the developed world.
London, England, no
longer experiences the
killing smog of the 1950’s
and earlier.
The Thames River is
cleaner than it has been in
centuries.
Aid
International Aid
We all have a vested
interest in solving
problems in the
“global village.”
Those of us in the
developed world have
the financial
resources to pay for
remedies.
Solutions to problems
may be global or
local.
Multilateral Aid
Aid directed from
many sources to one
or more recipients is
known as multilateral.
Organizations like the
World Bank or
UNICEF frequently
dispense such
assistance.
Bilateral Aid
Aid directed from one country directly to
another is known as bilateral assistance.
Canada
Tied Aid
Sometimes aid is
given with strings
attached.
Recipients may have
to buy goods or
support donor
countries politically in
return for aid.
Military Aid
Much “foreign aid” is
given in the form of
military equipment.
Donors see their
equipment in action.
They can also dispose
of surplus goods.
Military Aid II
Military assistance may
hinder, rather than
assist, development as
regional arms races
spiral out of control,
drawing an increasingly
large portion of
developing countries’
budgets.
Grassroots Aid
Development experts agree on
one thing: For development
aid to work, it must get into
the hands of those in need.
Too often, corrupt officials skim
a portion of the money.
Sometimes little is left by the
time aid reaches people at the
lowest and neediest levels of
society.
Grassroots Aid II
“We need to be clear; corruption is not the
grease that oils the economy. Corruption
undermines economic stability, deters
foreign and domestic investment, and
erodes support for development
assistance. Above all, corruption imposes
a disproportionately heavy burden on the
poor.”
James D. Wofensohn
President, World Bank,July, 1998.
Non-Governmental
Aid
Independent relief agencies are often best
placed to ensure the delivery of grassroots aid.
Click for hyperlink
NGO’s
Doctors from around the world volunteer
their professional abilities to help in
developing countries.
NGO’s
Oxfam provides technical assistance to
help at the grassroots level.
Oxfam’s cheap and effective
water bucket has been lauded
as an outstanding example of
British practical design.
Oxfam designed, but locally
made, these latrine covers
markedly improve sanitation.
NGO’s
Operation Eyesight Universal
 Founded by Dr. Ben
Gullison, in 1947, OEU
sends volunteers to
developing countries to
perform vision-restoring
procedures.
Dr. Gullison & his wife
NGO’s
Operation Eyesight Universal II
Cards are
sent to
donors,
informing
them of what
their specific
donation has
accomplished
Emergency Aid
 When Michael Buerk’s televised
report from Ethiopia was
broadcast, the response to his
horrific images was astounding.
 British rock stars formed Band
Aid, recording first a charity
single, then initiating the Live
Aid fund raising concert. Artists
elsewhere followed suit including a Canadian effort Northern Lights - and a BC
effort by the West Coast
Recording Artists.
Emergency Aid II
Food, water, medicine and shelter were
needed immediately and the overwhelming
response saved the lives of many.
However, once the emergency had passed,
priorities shifted to long-term assistance in
constructing roads and infrastructure.
To continue delivering goods would have
harmed the local economy.
Free food drives local farmers out of
business!
Long Term Aid
Grassroots recipients know
what they need.
Aid donors can assist by
providing funding and
technical assistance with
appropriate technology.
The key is to help people
to help themselves.
Technology
Appropriate
Technology
In many instances, western
technology is inappropriate.
Engine driven machinery
requires fuel and spare
part; pedal drives might be
more applicable in lowincome areas.
Solar or wind power may
provide all the energy
required for small
enterprises.
Click on logo for hyperlink
Appropriate Technology II
Inexpensive &
locally
produced,
a Zimbabwean
Scotchcart can
lighten a rural
worker’s load.
The concept of using intermediate
technology, first championed by E.F.
Schumacher, is now widely accepted as the
best development option for poorer parts of
the world.
Appropriate Technology III
It is in the developed world
that technological change is
fastest.
In the past such developments
as fuel injection greatly
increased fuel efficiency in
internal combustion engines.
Future innovations - like fuel
cell engines or fusion power
may bring revolutionary
changes for the better.
Finance
Micro-financing
E.F. Schumacher’s
comment that “small is
beautiful” applies not only
to technology.
Dr. Mohammad Yunus
pioneered small business
loans to the very poor.
 His Grameen Bank concept
has since been copied
around the world, even in
developed countries.
Dr. Yunus
Micro-financing II
Grameen Banks lend to individuals who
must be part of a group of people who all
hope to obtain loans.
For the second loan to be obtained, the
first must be paid.The group has a great
incentive to help out if need be.
Grameen bank loans go to women in low
gender-equity countries. This improves
the status of women.
Micro-financing II
The Grameen experiment has been a
huge success and it now provides loans
to more than 2 million low-income
people.
Loan repayment rates are better than
those of conventional banks.
This is grassroots aid at its best helping the poor help themselves.
The Future
The Future
The Club of Rome’s doomsday predictions
were wrong.
As crises loom, we have always pulled
back from the precipice.
Emerging problems stimulate the
discovery of new solutions.
The Future II
Solutions, like problems, know no
boundaries.
Automakers scramble to meet
California’s tough emission
standards and the whole world
reaps the benefits.
Intermediate Technologies’ web pages
are open to all.
Perhaps the 21st century will see us
begin to clean up our global village.
Image Credits
Image Credits
Every effort has been made to credit images used in this presentation.
All images not otherwise credited have been obtained from clip art
collections or are believed to be in the public domain. The authors
would be pleased to correct any omissions.
Slide #5 – Courtesy of Dr. Paul Ehrlich from
http://www.stanford.edu/group/CCB/Staff/paul.htm
Slide #6 – Courtesy, UNOPS project related photo gallery “Sampling of Industrial
Waste”
Slide #9 – Private collection, K. J. Benoy (Both London)
Slide #19 - Images courtesy of Oxfam
Slide #20 - Images courtesy of Operation Eyesight International and Mrs. Gullison.
Slide #21 - Image courtesy of Operation Eyesight International.
Slide #26 - Images courtesy of the Schumacher Centre for Technology
Development
Slide #28 – Private collection, K.J. Benoy and Grameen Communication