Global issue

Informally, a global issue describes any global social, economic, political or environmental problem that has already arisen or can arise from global change or globalization, e.g. overpopulation, or water scarcity.[1]

In their book "Global Issues", Hite and Seitz emphasize that global issues are qualitatively different from international affairs and that the former arise from growing international interdependencies which makes the issues themselves interdependent.[2]

UN list

The UN has listed issues that it deems to be the most pressing as of 2015:[3]

top level issue issues relevant (UN) divisions/initiatives
Africa poverty, diseases, desertification, malnutrition, regional conflict Office of the Special Adviser on Africa, African Union, New Partnership for Africa’s Development, United Nations–African Union Mission in Darfur
Ageing ageing population, demographic transition Vienna International Plan of Action on Ageing, United Nations Principles for Older Persons, Proclamation on Ageing,International Year of Older Persons
Agriculture sustainable agriculture, food security Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO)
AIDS Prevention of HIV/AIDS, HIV and pregnancy, HIV/AIDS denialism Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
Atomic Energy nuclear weapons, nuclear waste International Atomic Energy Agency, Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty
Children Child poverty, Child labour, Child abuse, Child mortality, Global education Education First, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Food Programme, Global Education First Initiative [4]
Climate Change Climate change mitigation, Climate change denial, Adaptation to global warming United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
Decolonization exploitation United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization, United Nations Trust Territories, International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism
Demining land mines Mine Action Coordination Center, Ottawa Treaty
Democracy democratization Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, UNDP, UNDEF,DPKO, DPA,OHCHR,UN Women
Development social transformation, economic development Social protection floor
Disarmament weapons of mass destruction, chemical and biological weapons, conventional weapons ,landmines and small arms United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs
Environment pollution, deforestation, desertification,etc., see Environment below United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, World Environment Day, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Framework Convention on Climate Change, Montreal Protocol, Convention to Combat Desertification, Convention on Biological Diversity
Family socialisation of children, s.a. Ageing, Children UNFPA, UNICEF, International Year of the Family
Food missing food security and safety, food riots, world hunger FAO
Governance lack of equity, participation, pluralism, transparency, accountability, rule of law
Health maternal health, extreme poverty Millennium Development Goals
Human Rights human rights violations Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Human Settlements slums, urbanization, sanitation UN-HABITAT, Millennium Development Goal
Humanitarian Assistance (s.a. Refugees) humanitarian crisis, human migration, displacement World Food Programme, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, International Organization for Migration
International Law war crimes, discrimination, state-corporate crime International Law Commission, Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948), International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (1965), International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966), International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966), Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (1979), United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982), Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (1996), International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism (1999), Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006)
Oceans / Law of the Sea (s.a. Water)marine pollution, ocean governance United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter
Peace and Security United Nations peacekeeping, List of United Nations peacekeeping missions, Peacebuilding Commission
Persons with Disabilities discrimination, lack of universal design Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Population overpopulation, world population UNFPA
Refugees (s.a. Humanitarian Assistance) United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA),

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

Terrorism Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism
Volunteerism United Nations Volunteers
Water (s.a. Oceans)water scarcity, water conflict, water privatization, water pollution UN-Water, System of Environmental and Economic Accounting for Water, Water for Life Decade, International Recommendations on Water Statistics, United Nations Water Conference, Millennium Development Goals, International Conference on Water and the Environment (1992), Earth Summit (1992)
Women women's rights, gender equality Commission on the Status of Women, International Women's Year

Global issues

Among the most evident environmental problems are Overpopulation, (Natural) Resource Depletion, Pollution, Water Pollution, Waste and Waste Disposal, Ocean Acidification, Acid Rain, Ozone Layer Depletion, Global Warming / Climate Change, Loss of Biodiversity and Habitat Loss, Deforestation, and Urban Sprawl.[5][6][7][8] No single issue can and should be addressed separately. Habitat loss and climate change adversely affect biodiversity. Deforestation and pollution are direct consequences of overpopulation, both in turn affect biodiversity. While overpopulation locally leads to rural flight, this is more than counterbalanced by accelerating urbanization and urban sprawl. The intricate interdependencies between the above most harmful issues can best be untangled by first addressing the primary causes, such as overpopulation. Concentration on remedying secondary effects such as acid rain, however, will not lead to lasting success. It is questionable whether the climate change can be held up by particular countermeasures such as carbon capture and storage when the trend towards increasing energy consumption on the basis of non-renewable energy sources is not stopped or even reversed.

The interdependency aspect of environmental and economical issues is focused on in theories like world-system and the Gaia hypothesis.

In an attempt to fight world hunger, the then so-called "green" revolution lead to increased exploitation of natural resources, which again had negative consequences for the environment and thus the general well-being and livelihood of mankind. Today it is mostly agreed that a general deceleration in growth (degrowth or steady-state economy) and sustainable development can be keys to a non-destructive future.

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.globalissues.org/
  2. ↑ "Global Issues (2012), Forword"
  3. ↑ http://www.un.org/en/globalissues
  4. ↑ http://www.globaleducationfirst.org/
  5. ↑ http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/15-current-environmental-problems.php
  6. ↑ http://inhabitat.com/why-we-need-earth-day-7-most-pressing-environmental-problems-we-need-to-solve/
  7. ↑ http://www.nrdc.org/issues/
  8. ↑ http://www.globalissues.org/issue/168/environmental-issues

Literature

External links

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