Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
agriculture, with output falling as the interior of most continents became
drier, (2) sea levels rising and l ooding coastal communities, (3) other
ef ects, such as greater need for the use of air-conditioning, loss of forests
and possible increase in the frequency of storms. Third, the serious local
environmental problems in developing countries; these problems included
supply of safe drinking water, access to decent sanitation, deterioration of
air quality and urban degradation, which had damaging ef ects on health
and human welfare (Brundtland, 1987 and IBRD, 1992).
It was recognized that alleviation of poverty would not be accomplished
by ceasing economic development or by redistribution of wealth from
rich to poor countries, but by reviving economic growth in developing
countries. Also, due to the interdependence of the world economy, the
prospects of the developed countries would depend on the economic
growth of the developing ones. Finally, economic growth had to be based
on policies that would sustain the resource base of the biosphere and such
growth would alleviate the problems of poverty and underdevelopment
(Brundtland, 1987).
The economic-growth-environment relationship is one of the promi-
nent debates of the international community at the present time. At one
extreme, some social and physical scientists argue that, despite the rise
in income, higher economic growth exhausts natural resources, causes
higher accumulation of waste and increases pollution (Meadows et al.,
1972). This, in turn, results in environmental degradation and thereby,
decline in a human welfare. At the other extreme, some social and eco-
nomic environmentalists argue that higher income increases the demand
for better environmental quality (Beckerman, 1992). In other words, eco-
nomic growth and environmental improvements follow the same path. In
between these two views, some economists and environmentalists argue
that the relationship between economic growth and the environment is not
i xed over time. They argue that environmental quality deteriorates with
economic growth until it reaches a certain threshold, after which improve-
ments in environmental quality take place. In other words, the relationship
follows an inverted U-shaped path, known as the Environmental Kuznets
Curve - EKC (Kuznets, 1955; Grossman and Krueger, 1991; Shai k and
Bandyopadhyay, 1992; Panayotou, 1993; Selden and Song, 1994).
Determining the relationship between economic growth and the envi-
ronment is crucial as it has serious policy implications. A positive
relationship between economic growth and environmental degradation
requires strict environmental policies in order to limit economic growth
to a level within the carrying capacity of the environmental base (Arrow
et al., 1995). On the other hand, a negative relationship requires policies
that accelerate economic growth, rather than restrictive environmental
