LESSON 9 THE GLOBALIZATION OF RELIGION

Objectives:
Explain how globalization affects religious practices and beliefs.
Analyze the relationship between religion and global conflict, conversely,
global peace.

Religion and Globalization

Prominent psychologists such as Sigmund Freud trained his student to view

religion as the “greatest of all neurotic illusions” and that it ends would be upon the
therapist’s couch. According to Peter L. Burger, the core idea of secularization lies with
the complete understanding that “Modernizations necessarily leads to a decline of
religion, both is society and the mind of individuals.”-the dawdling death of religion.

Globalization denotes the chronological development by which all the world’s

people gradually came to live in a social unit. In this lesson, we will look into two
possibilities that religion and globalization presents to the contemporary period. One of
these possibilities emphasizes the role of religion in globalization and the other being
the effects of globalization to religion.

Importance of Religion and Globalization

Religion and globalization persistently engage in a flexible relationship in which

the former relies on the latter in order to thrive and flourish while at the same time
challenging its (globalization’s) hybridizing effects. Globalization–due to the advent of
communication and transportation technology and the roles played by the media–has
contributed to the deterritorialization and the blurring of geographical spaces and
boundaries. This has resulted apparently in making the world a small village where
people, cultures, and identities come in daily face-to-face contact with each other.

Undoubtedly, religion is not immune from these changes and their burgeoning
effects brought about by globalization. However, religions still have their respective
homes in specific territorial spaces where they originally appeared and where their
respective shrines exist. The inner nature of religions and the purpose to be embraced
and practiced by people all over the world prompts it to spread throughout all the world’s
geographical spaces. In order to emerge and spread, therefore, religions make good
use of the technologies of globalization. Having geographical boundaries and frontiers
blurred and dissolved, religions find it easy to spread and reach every part of the world.
 Since globalization, according to many scholars, is aimed at the hybridization of
the world cultures around the pattern of the Western culture; and since it entails liberal
values and norms, religion (particularly Islam) constitutes a challenge to it. This is
because Islam’s norms and values are incompatible with the liberal values of
globalization.

Globalization has played a tremendous role in providing a context for the current
considerable revival and the resurgence of religion. Today, most religions are not
relegated to the few countries where they began. Religions have, in fact, spread and
scattered on a global scale. Thanks to globalization, religions have found a fertile milieu
to spread and thrive.

Information technologies, transportation means, and the media are deemed

important means on which religionists rely in the dissemination of their religious ideas.
For instance, countless websites providing information about religions have been
created. This makes pieces of information and explanations about different religions
readily at the disposal of any person regardless of his or her geographical location. In
addition, the internet allows people to contact each other worldwide and therefore hold
forums and debates that allow religious ideas to spread.

According to Rodney stark in his Sociology of religion there are five features of
the imminent death of religion following the rise of globalization, these are as follows:

• Modernizations is a casual engine dragging the goods into retirement;

• Secularization theory not only predicted the end of religion in terms of religious
institution as expressed in the separation of church and state and the decline of
authority of religious leaders, but also in the sphere of individual piety and
religiousness;
• It is explicit that science has influenced mostly the death of religions in modern
secular society;
• Secularization is an unstoppable and irreversible social force;
• Secularization as a process is not only limited to Christianity or Christendom, but
also to other world religions and the global world.

It is good to note that processes of change involving religion ang globalization has a
mutual effect on one another. In this lesson will also focus on the three religious
responses to globalization.
• Resurgence of religion in the Global Society
Berger further disputes that in many parts of the world, “people are as
furiously religious as they ever were”. He recognizes that although
secularization movements are active in some parts of the world, other
areas are not as influenced by the movement. According to research
conducted in 44 countries in 2002, religion in the USA is regarded vital by
59% of the population.
• Emergence of Religious Fundamentalism
Religious fundamental movements are regarded with three essential
factors (1)It is strongly founded on religious ideology, philosophy, goals,
and leadership is grounded on religious beliefs and practices, (2)
 Fundamentalism serves as a stronghold against the invasive cultural
dramatic changes brought about by globalization, and (3) Fundamentalism
is a self-protective mechanisms which seeks to preserve or re-establish
former social order and return to the traditional sources of religious
authority.
• New Roles and Identities of Religion
Religion and globalization have always had a stake with regard to notions
of struggle and conflict, one winning triumph over the other is some
instances. In the field of international politics, religion has been regarded
as a new source of clash between and among people with different and
even similar beliefs.

Religious association and faiths arouses communities and policy makers to

advocate and campaign for peace-related acts and dogmas. Other religious perspective
believe that religion has a supreme role of influencing the creation of global positive
ethics that will combat the negativities arising from globalization like terrorism,
marginalized humanity and environmental degradation.

Advantages of Religion

• Religion gives strength

In difficult times, it is convenient to be able to turn to something or someone.
• God is always at hand, and your friend
It can be very comforting to be accompanied by someone that is always there
(for he is in your head), who is your friend, and who you can talk to.
• God is a great metaphor for 'good'
It is nice to have something at hand that stands for 'good', and to what you
can relate to in daily life.
• Religion brings together
Religion brings people together. Not only metaphorically speaking, but
physical at well (in church). That is good; so they can stand together.
• Rules bring some kind of structure
Most religions have rules, and they bring structure in people's lives, especially
the not very well educated people. 'You shall not steal' is very clear.
• Religion can change people
If people have been leading a 'bad' life, religion can help them change for the
better.
• Religions give answers to intriguing and difficult questions.
Examples: where do we come from / who created mankind, what is the
purpose of life, is there life after death, does god exist.

Disadvantages of the

• Rules don't match up with feelings

This can be really very destructive; it destroys lives of people. For
instance, think about the hundreds of thousands of homosexuals, who cannot
live the life they would like, because of the rules of some kind of religion.
• 'Beliefs' don't match reality
Some religions deny important and well proven pieces of science, for
instance the dinosaurs.
• Strict following of principles can stand in the way of common sense
• Religions separate
As religions are able to bring people together, it can create a huge gap
between them – of different religions. For they all 'believe', but they still see only
the differences, and not the similarities.
 • Co-responsibility for (bad) government
If you supported in any way the government of a religion, you are
responsible for their actions (be it a tiny bit). If you only sympathy with the
religion, many will treat you as if you are responsible for the actions of the
government of the religion.

Factors Affecting Religion

Family

Family One of the factors affecting religious development is family. The reason of
the search for clues about religious development in the family is that the family has a
network of relationships and interactions influencing and determining the formation of
the personality and behaviors, attitudes and perceptions, and social skills and
judgments.

Religious Socializaton

Religious development has an individual characteristics in terms of living and

feeling, and also has a social qualification in terms of its effects. Religious development,
which has a subjective character in terms of individuality, has an objective and
observable structure in terms of its social manifestations.

Religious Identification

Identification based upon the facts that the individual similarizes himself/herself
with another occurs by taking his/her parents as examples for himself/herself in
childhood and a child enters this process beginning from the moment that he/she is
born. Thus, the behavior of the parents or the person performing their duties sets a
strong imitation example for the child.

Crudelity

One of the important factors of religious development is that children have high
degree of credulity. This situation creates an environment in which the child believes
what he/she is said about religion without any question and accepts the things he
believes faithfully, too. Credulity in children and devoting to what they believe is a
spiritual condition which is peculiar to them. Because the child’s feelings are more
dominant and more prominent than their thoughts at this period, he/she accepts the
belief that is tried to be provided for himself/herself as a natural result of these
dominance and prominence.
 LESSON 10 THE GLOBAL CITY

Objectives:
Identify the attributes of a global city.
Analyze how cities serve as engines of globalization.

Global City

A global city, also called a power city, world city, alpha city or world center, is a
city which is a primary node in the global economic network. The concept comes from
geography and urban studies and rests on the idea that globalization can be understood
as largely created, facilitated, and enacted in strategic geographic locales according to
a hierarchy of importance to the operation of the global system of finance and trade.
The most complex of these entities is the "global city", whereby the linkages binding a
city have a direct and tangible effect on global affairs through socio-economic means.

A global city is a city that has the power to effect global issues and change the
global outlook. They can do this through a varied set of systems from politics to military
and economics, controlling and adapting the route the global economy takes. Different
cities have a different amount of power and how this power and influence develops can
stem from small changes in geography, climate, language, culture and technology.

The use of "global city", as opposed to "megacity", was popularized by

sociologist Saskia Sassen in her 1991 work, The Global City: New York, London, Tokyo
though the term "world city" to describe cities that control a disproportionate amount of
global business dates to at least the May 1886 description of Liverpool by The
Illustrated London News. Patrick Geddes also used the term "world city" later in 1915.
Cities can also fall from such categorization, as in the case of cities that have become
less cosmopolitan and less internationally renowned in the current era.

What makes a city “global”?

Nowadays globalization occurs in places where a mass of people work and live
in cities. However, for a city to achieve the title of being global, it must have values and
ideas that will have an impact of the rest of the world. “ Global city is a term that raises
an understanding for the cognoscenti” (Low, 2005: p218). Low (2005) further says that a
global city is a city that is well thought out to be an important node in the world’s
economic system.

A global city has wealth,

power and influence to other
countries as well as hosts the
largest capital markets.
Moreover, a city that has
wealthy multinational
companies, good
infrastructure, better economy,
well-educated and diverse
populations and powerful organizations as well as a good political structure that are
linked to the other parts of the world like nowhere else is considered to be global
(Badcock, 2002: p31).

A global city, therefore, is the world’s most important and influential city that covers
the dimensions of the globalization. These dimensions are cultural experience, business
activity, human capital as well as political engagement. London, New York, Paris, Rome
and Tokyo are one of the most well-known global cities as it provides global
competitiveness for its citizens and companies.

Some Of The World's Best-Known Global Cities

According to the A.T. Kearney’s Global Cities Index 2017, New York outsmarted
London as the world’s best-performing city while the latter ranked second. Paris, Tokyo
and Hong Kong followed respectively. The city of San Francisco topped the Global
Cities Outlook Index ahead of New York, Paris, London, and Boston respectively. New
York was ranked the best city for business activities, and human capital. Paris topped
the best cities for information exchange while London was rated the best city for a
cultural experience. Washington, D.C. the best city for political engagements. Hong
Kong boasts of being a global leader in air freights while Brussels boasts of being the
best place to set up an embassy.

Significance and Roles of the Global Cities

A. World Economy

The roles global cities (also known as world cities) perform in the world economy
is very complex and can vary from city to city but there is a general overview of how
certain cities effect the economy. This is why there are different classes of world cities
ranging from cities which have relatively low global influence to ones with a huge
amount of power to effect the systems of the global economy (Knox and Taylor, 1995).
The economy itself plays a large part in how much influence individual cities have.

In the 1970s to 1980s, the economy of the world transitioned from a largely
international economy to a truly global economy, production lines where spread across
the world by globalization and the growth of the global banking system along with
dropping of many economic regulations by western nations such as the UK helped
create a truly global economy. There are many different ranking systems for world cities
(Economist Intelligence Unit, 2012) which take into account different information,
although this may provide a small amount of variation there seems to be a recurring
pattern of the top ten cities in the rankings. New York seems to be the top in all of the
systems except economics. This maybe because although New York has a large
amount of influence on the global economy such as being the centre for the world`s
largest stock exchanges which when combined have a market cap of 38 trillion
(Relbanks, 2010).

The reason though why New York does not lead the table in economics is because
there is very little change of financial development because it is already so highly
developed meaning there is very little real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) development
in the city. This means that on the economic scale the Asian cities and even in a more
local scale mainly Chinese and Indian cities, rule the table. They have the most
flexibility as they are still developing and there are still a large amount of people moving
into these cities meaning there is an extended work force.

The power Western cities like New York, London, Frankfurt and Paris have is more
based on political blocks and political influence as they nations are very powerful in
already developed markets and military states, this means they can influence other
markets such as China (Feenstra and Wei, 2010) who want to export to them because
their economy would collapse if these nations stopped trading with them. Also because
the western nations are where many banks grew and developed there have been an
expansion of the westernization of the global economy until it has fit into an already
similar western ideal. This is generally why the top world cities are either from the
western world or are nations or areas highly influenced by the western world such as
Hong Kong or Singapore.

The way a city develops can affect how much influence they have greatly. Such as
in Brazil where they wanted to develop a new capital which would be the centre of the
Brazilian economic sphere and political sphere. Instead of trying to redevelop an
already excising city it was decided that building a completely new capital from scratch
in a geographical location was would be most beneficial and would be the best idea as
they could develop the city how they wished without the constraints of mountains or the
ocean. This is why certain cities such as Lagos which are large and have many
industries do not have enough area to develop as they are stopped on one side by
swamps and on the other by the ocean (Ogunbambi, 2010) meaning they even though
they are expanding in terms of human population the more the human population
expands they lower the living standards in general area and because of this many upper
industries like banking and retail sectors do not think it viable to develop links to the city.

B. Worldwide Networks and Central Command Functions

The geography of globalization contains both a dynamic of dispersal and of

centralization. The massive trends towards the spatial dispersal of economic activities at
the metropolitan, national, and global level that we associate with globalization have
contributed to a demand for new forms of territorial centralization of top-level
management and control functions. Insofar as these functions benefit from
agglomeration economies even in the face of telematics integration of a firm’s globally
dispersed manufacturing and service operations, they tend to locate in cities. This
raises a question as to why they should benefit from agglomeration economies,
especially since globalized economic sectors tend to be intensive users of the new
telecommunications and computer technologies, and increasingly produce a partly
dematerialized output, such as financial instruments and specialized services.

There is growing evidence that business networks are a crucial variable that is to be
distinguished from technical networks. Such business networks have been crucial long
before the current technologies were developed. Business networks benefit from
agglomeration economies and hence thrive in cities even today when simultaneous
global communication is possible. Elsewhere, I examine this issue and find that the key
variable contributing to the spatial concentration of central functions and associated
agglomeration economies is the extent to which this dispersal occurs under conditions
of concentration in control, ownership, and profit appropriation (Sassen 2001, ch. 2 & 5).

This dynamic of simultaneous geographic dispersal and concentration is one of

the key elements in the organizational architecture of the global economic system.
While there is no space to discuss it here, this systemic feature also enables particular
types of struggles and implementations linked to environmental sustainability (Sassen
2006b; Marcotullio and Lo 2001). Let me first give some empirical referents and then
examine some of the implications for theorizing the impact of globalization and the new
technologies on cities.

Advantages of a Global City

1. Significant growth in the economy - both localized and as a whole

Global City’s economy grows faster as it is the center of trading. Moreover, it has
varieties of things to offer, from food, clothing, accessories, etc.

2. Better infrastructure

Global City has advanced technologies,

knowledge, and diverse advancement in
architecture and engineering that can create a
new and modern infrastructures.
3. Higher levels of tourism

Considering the diversity of global cities in terms of its food, clothing, and
accessories, etc., tourists often visits them to learn, have, or experience varieties of
things.

4. Better public transport

The more advanced science and

technology in a global city is the main
reason of it having a better transportation
for its rising population.

5. More Work Opportunities

Global cities have rising population and advanced way of living. Therefore, it needs ore
people to work and to contribute to the development of that particular city.

Disadvantages of a Global City

1. Pollution/Smog

Rising population in a global city results to more wastes and more irresponsible
citizens. Also rising numbers of factories contributes to so much pollution. A dangerous
form of pollution specially to go hand in hand with urbanization caused mainly due to
chimneys, factory stacks, vehicles and others smoke releases making the air toxic.

2. Over population

A global city usually considered by many as a “place/city of dreams” as it offers a lot

of great things to live for. Hence, many people dreamed of living in a global city.

3. Slums/ housing problem

Due to overpopulation, people face housing problem. Thus, making it hard for them to
live.
4. PovertyGlobal city is considered home of the richest and the poorest. This is due to
the intense competition in a global city that caused by the rising population. If you are a
weak or a negative-thinking person you are prone in living a poor life.

5. Cost of living

The higher cost of living is the first disadvantage that people typically think of when
considering moving to a city.
6. Noise

In general, the noise level in major cities is higher than in the suburbs. Cities have
more people and more traffic that contribute to the noise, as well as trains and nearby
airports with loud planes flying in and out. Special events such as concerts and ball
games can also make a neighborhood louder and more congested. Downtown areas in
some major cities like New York are loud and busy almost 24 hours a day.

7. Lack of Space

Moving from the suburbs to the city almost always involves downsizing your living
space. Most people in major cities live in apartments and in some cities, the apartments
can be very small. It is also rare to have an outside space like a yard or patio. There
are homes in major cities, some with decent sized yards, but they are much more
expensive than in the suburbs. If you want to move to the city, you must accept that
you will be living in an apartment building with neighbors on the other side of your walls.

8. Lack of Parking

The parking situation in a major city is a huge hassle compared to the suburbs. In
the suburbs, people can park in their driveways or on their residential streets and most
businesses have parking lots for their customers to use.

Five (5) Big Challenges Facing Big Cities of the Future

The UN estimates that 55% of the global population lives in urban areas – a
figure that is projected to rise to 68% by
2050. With few exceptions, cities are
expected to become bigger and more
numerous.

As urbanization speeds up, particularly

in Asian and African countries, here are five
of the biggest challenges confronting the future of cities:

1. Environmental threats

Rapid urbanization, which strains basic infrastructure, coupled with more frequent
and extreme weather events linked to global climate change is exacerbating the impact
of environmental threats. Common environmental threats include flooding, tropical
cyclones (to which coastal cities are particularly vulnerable), heat waves and epidemics.

Owing to the physical and population density of cities, such threats often result in
both devastating financial loss and deaths. Making cities more resilient against these
environmental threats is one of the biggest challenges faced by city authorities and
requires urgent attention.

2. Resources

Cities need resources such as water, food and energy to be viable. Urban sprawl
reduces available water catchment areas, agricultural lands and increases demand for
energy. While better application of technology can boost agricultural productivity and
ensure more efficient transmission of electricity, many cities will continue to struggle to
provide these resources to an ever-growing urban population.
Beyond these basic requirements, haphazard growth will see the reduction of
green spaces within cities, negatively affecting live-ability. As fresh water becomes
scarce and fertile lands diminish, food prices may escalate, hitting the poorest hardest.

3. Inequality

When it comes to both the provision of basic resources and resilience against
environmental threats, the forecast is uneven for different groups of urban inhabitants.
As the number of urban super-rich grows, many cities will also see increased numbers
of urban poor.

The widening gap between the haves and have-nots will be accentuated in the
mega cities of the future. Such inequalities, when left unchecked, will destabilize society
and upend any benefits of urban development. There is a critical need for policy-makers
to ensure that the fruits of progress are shared equitably.

4. Technology

Technology will be increasingly used in the development and running of cities of the
future. Smart planning used in Singapore can harness solar energy for use in housing
estates and create man-made wetlands for ecological balance. Smart mobility
technology can alleviate traffic gridlocks which plague many cities.

The use of environmental technologies which can cool buildings more efficiently
or run vehicles that are less polluting
will also lead to better future cities.
Installing sensors in the homes of
ageing seniors living alone can
connect them to the community and
summon help when they are unwell or
hurt.

However, technology can exclude urban inhabitants who cannot afford it or lack
the capability required for its adoption. As future cities become more digitized, care
must be exercised to prevent the emergence of a new form of social divide rooted in the
technological.

5. Governance

Future cities offer immense possibilities to enrich the lives of their inhabitants even
as the challenges are stark. To make the best out of inevitable urbanization, good
governance is imperative. Cities will increase in size and their populations become more
diverse. Governing these cities will, therefore, be progressively complex and require the
most dedicated of minds.

Increasingly, cities around the world are learning about the best governance and
planning practices from one another, even as they remain accountable to their
respective national governments. The broad goals of urban governance should address
issues of equity, live-ability and sustainability in cities of the future.

Characteristics/ Factors in Considering a Global City

1. A variety of international financial services, notably in finance, insurance, real

estate, banking, accountancy, and marketing.

2. Headquarters of several multinational corporations.

3. The existence of financial headquarters, a stock exchange, and major financial

institutions.
4. Domination of the trade and economy of a large surrounding area.

5. Major manufacturing centers with port and container facilities.

6. Considerable decision-making power on a daily basis and at a global level.

7. Centers of new ideas and innovation in business, economics, culture, and politics.

8. Centers of media and communications for global networks.

9. Dominance of the national region with great international significance.

10. High percentage of residents employed in the services sector and information
sector.

11. High-quality educational institutions, including renowned universities, international

student attendance, and research facilities.

12. Multifunctional infrastructure offering some of the best legal, medical, and
entertainment facilities in the country.
High diversity in language, culture, religion, and ideologies.

LESSON 11 GLOBAL DEMOGRAPHY

Objectives:
Explain demographic transition as it affects global population.
Describe the concept of global demography.
GLOBAL DEMOGRAPHY

In the past 50 years, the world accelerated its transition out of long-term
demographic stability. As infant and child mortality rates fell, populations began to soar.
In most countries, this growth led to falling fertility rates. Although fertility has fallen, the
population continues to increase because of population momentum; it will eventually
level off. In the meantime, demographic change has created a ‘bulge’ generation, which
today appears in many countries as a large working-age population. This cohort will
eventually become a large elderly population, in both developed and developing
countries. Population growth has been the subject of great debate among economists
and demographers. Until recently, most have agreed on a middle ground, in which
population growth per se has no effect on economic growth. New evidence suggests
that changes in the age structure of populations – in particular, a rising ratio of working-
age to non-working-age individuals – leads to the possibility of more rapid economic
growth, via both accounting and behavioral effects.
 The rate of global population increase was at its highest between 1955 and 1975
due to the very reason that nations were finally able to return to normalcy after the
devastation brought by the scourge of war.

In 1950 there were 2.5 billion people on the planet. Now in 2019, there are 7.7
billion. By the end of the century the UN expects a global population of 11.2 billion. This
visualization of the population pyramid makes it possible to understand this enormous
global transformation.

Population pyramids visualize the demographic structure of a population. The

width represents the size of the population of a given age; women on the right and men
to the left. The bottom layer represents the number of newborns and above it you find
the numbers of older cohorts. Represented in this way the population structure of
societies with high mortality rates resembled a pyramid – this is how this famous type of
visualization got its name.

In the darkest blue you see the pyramid that represents the structure of the world
population in 1950. Two factors are responsible for the pyramid shape in 1950: An
increasing number of births broadened the base layer of the population pyramid and a
continuously high risk of death throughout life is evident by the pyramid narrowing
towards the top. There were many newborns relative to the number of people at older
ages.

At a country level “peak child” is often followed by a time in which the country
benefits from a “demographic dividend” when the proportion of the dependent young
generation falls and the share of the population in working age increases.

This is now happening at a global scale. For every child younger than 15 there
were 1.8 people in working-age (15 to 64) in 1950; today there are 2.5; and by the end
of the century there will be 3.4.4

Richer countries have benefited from this transition in the last decades and are
now facing the demographic problem of an increasingly larger share of retired people
that are not contributing to the labor market. In the coming decades it will be the poorer
countries that can benefit from this demographic dividend.

The change from 1950 to today and the projections to 2100 show a world
population that is becoming healthier. When the top of the pyramid becomes wider and
looks less like a pyramid and instead becomes more box-shaped, the population lives
through younger ages with very low risk of death and dies at an old age. The
demographic structure of a healthy population at the final stage of the demographic
transition is the box shape that we see for the entire world for 2100.

IMPORTANCE OF DEMOGRAPHY:

The importance of demography lies in its contribution to helping government and

society better prepare to deal for the issues and demands of population growth, aging
and migration. The statistics and predictions resulting from demographic studies can, for
example, aid in the development of adequate school systems, estimate the required
funding for senior services and develop workable healthcare systems. A wide variety of
social outcomes are impacted by demographic processes and distributions.

The importance of demography is clear for its scope. Since its scope is
increasing which already leads to it importance. Demography is concerned with the
growth and distribution of population in less developed countries as well as
underdevelopment and developed countries. The importance of demography is clear
from the following points.

Health Planning
Due to high fertility rate, health problems are created both for mother and child.
In most of the developing countries, married women are facing pregnancies problem
due to malnutrition. Also due to ill health of mother, infant mortality rate is high in our
country. High fertility is connected to the child development. So, demography is
concerned with the fertility and mortality and studies the birth and death rates. These
health problems are solved by the demographer in the establishment of health planning
of the country. All the problem related to health and its causes as well as its possible
solutions is the work of social demography.
Planning for Food Supply
Planning for food supply means availability of adequate food for the total
population. The inadequate food results in the poor health, low growth, high mortality
rates and low physical activity. Food supply grows with the growth of population. The
undeveloped and underdeveloped countries are unable to meet the demands of food
supply. They depend on other countries for fulfilment of their basic food needs. So,
population study is important to meet the demands of food of the poor countries through
the aid of national as well as international agencies.

Housing Planning
When the size of population is increasing, the demand for housing is also
increasing. Therefore, data collected about fertility, mortality, migration, urbanization
and family formation gives basis for the estimation of housing planning. Demography is
concerned that how the problem of housing of a large population should be solved
according to the estimates prepared by the Economic and Social Commission for Asia
and the pacific (ESCAP). The number of persons in the age-group 15-24, in 1970 are
likely to increase from 379 million to 469 in 1980. So, the population increasing rapidly
which creates. So many problems of housing and these are undertaken by the field of
social demography.

Employment Planning
Unemployment is a social and international problem. From developed to
underdeveloped as well as undeveloped countries, the unemployment problem growing
rapidly. A demographic factor is the high dependency ratio in less developed countries.
For example; In Pakistan, four or five persons depends on the income of one person.
So, for employment planning, population study and dependency ratio must be studied.
Therefore demography studies all aspects of population where it make planning for
employment and unemployment problem.

Educational Planning
Today every nation is concerned with providing proper education to children. The
numbers of children are constantly increasing which creates educational problems. The
demographers are interested to make planning for these children of a specific area or
the whole country. Due to educational planning by demographers, these children should
be provided proper educational facilities. Abdul education is also provided to a large
number of population and demography has estimated the future plan for education.

Migration Planning
 Most of the people are migrated to western countries. It is necessary to estimate
the trends of migration, the immigrants, the emigrants and the heavy burden on other
countries. It is the study of social demography to make plans, to stop the problem. A
large number of emigrants from a country affects a population adversely and a
qualitative change occur. Because these emigrants may be experts as well as skilled
and qualified persons which affects the economy of a country very badly. Due to
immigration to a country, the population growth takes place which is a hurdle for the
development of a country. For example; A large number of people who are illiterate and
poor are coming from Bangladesh to India which creating difficulties particularly in the
states of west Bengal and Assam. So, the migration planning is made by the govt. as
well as non-governmental organization and agencies to overcome the problem of
migration. It is the main study of social demography.

It has been concluded from the above discussion on the “importance of

demography” that, demography studies all aspects of the people’s population. The data
about population is gathered and collecting by the UN agencies and other local
organization. So, that data show the problems regarding to population are pointed out
by the demography.

ADVANTAGE AND DISADVANTAGES:

Crude birth and death rates

One of the simplest ways to consider population growth is through crude birth
and death rates. These are the number of births and deaths per 1,000 people. On a
worldwide basis, the difference between these rates is the rate of population growth.
Within regions or countries, population growth is also affected by emigration and
immigration.

Total fertility rate

The total fertility rate, that is the number of children born per woman, fell from
about 5 in 1950 to a little over 2.5 in 2005 (see Figure 5). This number is projected to
fall to about 2 by 2050. This decrease is attributable largely to changes in fertility in the
developing world. In 1950, the total fertility rate among developed countries was already
below 3 children per woman; the rate among developing countries was over 6. Fertility
in the latter is now below 3 children per woman. The fertility decline in low-income
countries can be ascribed to a number of factors, including declines in infant mortality
rates, greater levels of female education and increased labour market opportunities for
women, and the provision of family planning services.
Life expectancy and longevity

For the world as a whole, life expectancy increased from 47 years in 1950–1955
to 65 years in 2000–2005. It is projected to rise to 75 years by the middle of this
century, with considerable disparities between the wealthy developed countries, at 82
years, and the less-developed countries, at 74 years (see Figure 8). As a result of the
global decline in fertility, and because people are living longer, median age is rising (see
Figure 9). The proportion of the elderly in the total population is rising sharply. The
number of people over the age of 60, currently around half the number of those aged
15–24, is expected to reach 1 billion (overtaking the 15–24 age group) by 2020. It is
projected to reach almost 2 billion by 2050. The proportion of individuals aged 80 or
over is projected to rise from 1 per cent to 4 per cent of the global population by 2050.
(Figure 10 shows the history and projections for the actual number of individuals aged
80 or above.) Population ageing is occurring in both developed and developing
countries, although more rapidly in the former. In the developed world, the proportion of
people aged 60 or over will increase from 20 to 32 per cent by 2050. In the developing
world, it will rise from 8 to 20 percent. There are gender differences in life expectancy.
Figure 11 shows that life expectancy for women tends to be around 4 to 6 years longer
than for men, although there is considerable variation across countries.Age
distribution: working-age population

Baby booms have altered the demographic landscape in many countries. As the
experiences of several regions during the past century show, an initial fall in mortality
rates creates a boom generation because high survival rates lead to more people at
young ages than in earlier generations. Fertility rates fall subsequently, as parents
realize they do not need to produce as many children to reach their desired family size,
or as desired family size diminishes for other reasons. When fertility falls and the baby
boom stops, the age structure of the population then shows a ‘bulge’ – the baby-boom-
age cohort – created by the nonsynchronous falls in mortality and fertility.

Migration

Migration also alters population patterns. Globally, 191 million people live in
countries other than the one in which they were born. On average, during the next 45
years, the United Nations estimates that over 2.2 million individuals will migrate annually
from developing to developed countries (see Figure 13). (The UN estimates regarding
future migration are not very informative, a reflection of the inherent difficulty of
constructing accurate projections of migration flows.) According to the UN Population
Division, the United States will receive by far the highest number of immigrants (1.1
million a year), and China, Mexico, India, the Philippines and Indonesia will be the main
sources of emigrants.

FACTORS AFFECTING DEMOGRAPHY:

Suicide and Self-directed Violence

Demographic factors, including gender, age, race, and ethnicity, provide a
general indication of those groups in the general population that are at the highest risk
of suicide. As indicated, in almost all countries the risk of suicide is greater among
males than females, and globally for both genders the suicide risk increases with age.
The prevalence of suicide varies across racial and ethnic groups. In the United States in
2010, the prevalence of suicide among Caucasians was almost three times higher than
that observed in all other races, and American Indian and Alaska Natives had the
highest suicide rates of all ethnic groups in the country. In Australia, suicide among
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people has increased dramatically from low rates
in the late 1980s to levels substantially higher among young indigenous males than
among their nonindigenous counterparts (Hunter and Milroy, 2006). In 2011 in Australia
the suicide rate among the Indigenous population was 2.5 times higher than in the
general population (25.7 per 100 000 vs 9.6 per 100 000), with the suicide rate in
Indigenous males as high as 36.6 per 100 000 (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2013).

Pathological Gambling and Gambling Disorder:

Demographic Correlates
Several demographic factors appear to be associated with a higher risk of PG
(see Petry, 2005 for a review). Age, for example, appears to be inversely related to
gambling problems, as indicated by prevalence studies cited above that find higher
rates of PG among younger individuals. Gender is also a contributing factor, as men
have traditionally been at substantially higher risk for developing PG than women,
although there is also some evidence that the gap between men and women has been
narrowing with the proliferation of legal gambling venues.
Cyber bullying:
Gender
Another demographic factor that has been examined in relation to cyberbullying
prevalence rates is gender. Gender differences in experiences with cyberbullying, either
as perpetrator or victim, are currently fervently debated. Males are typically thought to
engage in more direct forms of aggression, whereas females may prefer to engage in
more indirect forms of aggression (Kowalski et al., 2012b). Because cyberbullying has
been identified as a form of indirect aggression, the finding in several studies that
females are more likely than males to engage in cyberbullying behavior is relatively
unremarkable (Kowalski and Limber, 2007; Robers et al., 2010; Tokunaga, 2010).

Injuries and Accidents:

Psychosocial Aspects and Demographic Factors
Age is a demographic factor associated with accident liability. Both older
(>64 years) and younger (<30 years) age-groups have greater frequency of accidents
and injuries compared to middle-aged people. It is a common assumption that younger
people are accident-involved because they are immature risk-takers, while older people
are more accident-involved because of the decline in their mental faculties. However,
research suggests that both views may be stereotypes and not fully supported by
research.

As we grow older, our liability to suffer accidents and injuries tends to increase.
For example, older drivers experience an increased probability of accidental injury of up
to 45% compared to other drivers. This increased injury liability is not necessarily linked
to a loss of driving skills, but may be related to other psychological mechanisms
associated with aging, such as changes in circadian and sleep systems. For example,
older drivers tend to have more accidents in afternoons due to drowsiness than younger
drivers (Smolensky et al., 2011). Moreover, the effect of higher accident liability is
reduced if driving distance is taken into account.
Higher accident rates among younger drivers (<30 years) are often viewed as
resulting from reckless behavior, which tends to be outgrown as individuals mature.
Indeed, research indicates that younger drivers and young men, in particular, commit
the highest levels of driving violations. However, overtly risky behaviour only accounts
for a small proportion of young people's accidents, which occur largely as the result of
errors (McKnight and McKnight, 2003). Higher crash rates tend to disappear rapidly with
increasing experience, suggesting that the majority of accidents are caused by
inexperience rather than dangerously risky behaviour.
Judaism:
5.1.1 The Holocaust
First let us consider the demographic factor. The most productive sector of world
Jewry perished, and the social and political and cultural conditions that put forth the
great systemic creations vanished with the six million who died. Judaic systems in all
their variety emerged in Europe, not in America or in what was then Palestine and is
now the State of Israel, and, within Europe, they came from Central and Eastern
European Jewry. We may account for the systemopoia of Central and Eastern
European Jews in two ways: (a) the Jews in the East, in particular, formed a vast and
coherent population, with enormous learning and diverse interests; (b) the systems of
the nineteenth and twentieth centuries arose out of a vast population living in self-aware
circumstances, not scattered and individual but composed and bonded. The Jews who
perished formed enormous and self-conscious communities of vast intellectual riches.

Assumptions, Research Gaps and Emerging Issues: Implications for Research,

Policy and Practice:
INCREASING IMMIGRATION AND WORK-FAMILY INTEGRATION
One of the major demographic factors that is changing social structures in the
21th century is international migration. According to McGovern (2007), the number of
people living outside their usual country of residence has increased from 75 million in
1960 to more than 191 million in 2005. The number of countries hosting more than half
a million immigrants has also doubled to more than 64 countries and there is greater
diversity and visibility among recent waves of immigrants. While immigrants are seen as
a welcome source of new citizens and new labor force participants in countries like
Canada where fertility rates are low, immigration can also be problematic, especially
when newcomers have difficulty finding appropriate employment, securing a stable
income, and settling into their new community. Immigration is a central concern among
policy-makers who recognize the greater prevalence of poverty and stress among
recent immigrants, incidents of racial discrimination and hostility, and the likelihood of
significant social exclusion reflecting an underclass of immigrants with accompanying
social problems. It is also a concern of larger cities, especially when municipalities are
responsible for providing appropriate health, education, social services, and settlement
supports with limited funding.

LESSON 12 GLOBAL MIGRATION

Objectives:
Demonstrate an understanding of the global migration.
Discuss the causes and effects of global migration.
Analyze the political, economic, cultural and social factors underlying the
global movements of people.
Display first-hand knowledge of the experiences of OFWs.
 Nowadays, many people decide to migrate to have a better life. Employment
opportunities are the most common reason due to which people migrate. Except this, lack
of opportunities, better education, construction of dams, globalization, natural
disaster (flood and drought) and sometimes crop failure forced villagers to migrate to cities.

Migrants

\https://blogs.icrc.org/law-and-policy/2018/05/09/new-issue-review-migration-and-
displacement/
People who move from one place to another in search of work or shelter are
called migrants. Most of the times migrants people are not skilled or educated therefore
they usually employed as daily wagers (workers who are paid at the end of each day, for
their services). Daily wagers do not get enough money for the survival of their families and
suffering from many problems such as they do not have enough food to eat,
sanitation, hygiene, a proper place to live etc

History of Migration
Human society is founded on a long history of migration. Concurrently, migration is
one of the most widely studied topics in the social sciences. It garners interest from its
basis in human development, livelihood and existence. Migration is often studied from a
sociological and theoretical point of view, or through geographical examinations of an
empirical nature. Yet despite political leaders longstanding obsession with invading
countries on one hand – and building walls to protect their own sovereignty on the other
– politics and understanding the drivers to control migration been divorced until recently.

The unprecedented nature of global flows in goods, services, and people today
which is most markedly embodied under the term ‘globalization’ has also resulted in a
growing attention to the issues arising from this process in relation to concerns over
economic and human development in both immigration and emigration countries. In an
age of growing international flows there has been a surge in control over human
migration – particularly in migrant receiving states.
A Brief History of the Republic of the Philippines

➢ The Philippines is an archipelago composed of 7,107 islands in Southeast Asia. The

capital of the Philippines is Manila, which is located on the mainland Luzon.

➢ The estimated population of the Philippines is 94,013,200 according to the mid-2010

census conducted by the National Statistics Office. This figure makes the
Philippines the world’s 12th most populous country.

➢ The official languages of the Philippines are Filipino (Tagalog) and English.

➢ The Philippines was colonized by Spain in the sixteenth century.

➢ After the Philippine Revolution and the Spanish-American War, the Philippines was
ceded by Spain to the United States in the 1898 Treaty of Paris

➢ After the 1899 Battle of Manila, the Philippine-American war broke out resulting in
the United States taking control over the Philippines which was then administered
as an ‘insular area.

➢ In 1942, the Japanese invaded the Philippines. During World War II, the Japanese
occupied the Philippine islands.

➢ In 1946, the Philippine attained its independence.

➢ The Philippine Government is Unitary Presidential Constitutional Republic.

➢ The current President of the Philippines is Rodrigo Roa Duterte

A Timeline of Important Dates in Philippine History

http://www.mtholyoke.edu/~baron22p/classweb/briefhistory.html

A Brief History of Philippine Emigration

The long history of Philippine emigration can be divided and discussed in different
waves:
The Prehistoric Period
Historians believe the first inhabitants of the Philippines descended from various ethnic
groups from across Southeast Asia, the nearby islands and the mainland, in waves of
migration starting over 300,000 years ago. No historical documentation exists of these
early migrations. However, scientists have found distinct similarities between the
fossilized remains of the Philippines and that of their neighboring countries.
The earliest found human remains in the Philippines is that of a metatarsal of Callao
Man, which was dates to be around 67 thousand years old using uranium series
ablation. Henry Otley Beyer, a noted social scientist, believed:
“The first migrants were the “Dawnmen” (or “cavemen” because they lived in caves.).
The Dawnmen resembled Java Man, Peking Man, and other Asian Home sapiens who
existed about 250,000 years ago. They did not have any knowledge of agriculture, and
lived by hunting and fishing. It was precisely in search of food that they came to the
Philippines by way of the land bridges that connected the Philippines and Indonesia.
Owing perhaps to their migratory nature, they eventually left the Philippines for
destinations unknown.”

The Spanish Period

The Philippines was a colony of Spain for 333 years. During the Hispanic rule, Filipinos
frequently migrated along the Spanish trade and exploration routes – to Guam,
Indonesia, other nearby islands and Mexico. Filipino seafarers were recorded to have
ridden trading ships going down the Manila-Acapulco galleon route. But seafarers were
not the only ones who immigrated. The migrant wave of 1565-1815 included slaves,
prisoners, soldiers, adventurers as well as refugees. The few privileged individuals
migrated to Spain – mostly to get an education. The national hero, Jose Rizal, is the
epitome of such an individual.

The American Period

The first Filipinos came to North America as sailors on the Spanish-Filipino-Mexico
Galleon trade of the 14th century. The Filipino sailors landed in what is now California
and Louisiana, where they jumped ship and established colonies by the water in as
early as 1565. In 1903, the first documented group of Filipinos arrived. The second
major migrant wave to America began after the Spanish-American War in 1899, when
the Philippines officially became a colony of the United States. They were mostly farm
workers and students (Pensionados). In 1940, over 98,000 Filipinos were documented
to have lived in the United States.
After attaining it’s independence on July 4, 1946, Filipinos continued to immigrate to the
United States. The United States had become the ‘golden land’ for most aspiring
immigrants. From 1946 up until 1965, Filipinos immigrants were able to become
naturalized U.S. citizens. This marked the arrival of various Filipino professionals. The
1970 US Census documented the population of Filipinos to be at “336, 731.”
Two other events that caused waves of immigration were the elimination of national
origin quotas in 1965 and the Immigration act of 1990. Between 1980 and 2006, the
number of Filipino immigrants tripled.

Impacts of Migration

Migration is becoming a very important subject for the life of cities. Many
opportunities and attraction of big cities pull large numbers of people to big cities.
Migration can have positive as well as negative effects on the life of the migrants.
Famine, High Unemployment Rate, and Minimal Income are push factors of migration.

Positive Impact
⚫ Unemployment is reduced and people get better job opportunities.
⚫ Migration helps in improving the quality of life of people.
⚫ It helps to improve social life of people as they learn about new culture, customs,
and
languages which helps to improve brotherhood among people.
⚫ Migration of skilled workers leads to a greater economic growth of the region.
⚫ Children get better opportunities for higher education.
⚫ The population density is reduced and the birth rate decreases.
Negative Impact
⚫ The loss of a person from rural areas, impact on the level of output and
development of rural areas.
⚫ The influx of workers in urban areas increases competition for the job, houses,
school facilities etc.
⚫ Having large population puts too much pressure on natural resources, amenities
and services.
⚫ It is difficult for a villager to survive in urban areas because in urban areas there is
no natural environment and pure air. They have to pay for each and everything.
⚫ Migration changes the population of a place, therefore, the distribution of the
population is uneven in India.
⚫ Many migrants are completely illiterate and uneducated, therefore, they are not only
unfit for most jobs, but also lack basic knowledge and life skills.
⚫ Poverty makes them unable to live a normal and healthy life.
⚫ Children growing up in poverty have no access to proper nutrition, education or
health.
⚫ Migration increased the slum areas in cities which increase many problems such as
unhygienic conditions, crime, pollution etc.
⚫ Sometimes migrants are exploited.
⚫ Migration is one of the main causes of increasing nuclear family where children
grow up without a wider family circle.

Factors Affecting Global Migration

Economic Factors

Economic factors relate to the labour standards of a country, its unemployment

situation and the overall health of its economy. If economic conditions are not
favourable and appear to be at risk of declining further, a greater number of individuals
will probably emigrate to one with a better economy. Often this will result in people
moving from rural to urban areas while remaining within the confines of their state
borders. As the low- and middle-income countries of today continue to develop and the
high-income countries experience slower economic growth, migration from the former
could decline.

Economic migrants are drawn towards international migration because of the

prospect of higher wages, better employment opportunities and, often, a desire to
escape the domestic social and political situation of their home country. These migrants
are most likely to come from middle-income countries where the population is becoming
increasingly well educated. Salaries and wages, however, are likely to remain relatively
low compared to those of individuals with a similar educational background in other,
higher-income countries. This disparity has the potential to lead to some highly-skilled
individuals from developing countries migrating to more developed countries. This form
of migration is known as south-north migration and has historically been the main form
of economic migration.

Political Factors

According to the Organization for International Migration there are approximately

192 million people who live outside their place of birth. A majority of these people are
migrant workers and they make up 3 percent of the world’s population. Human beings
have always migrated from one place to another in search of better economic
opportunities. But apart from economic factors, there are political factors that cause
people to move from their home country to another country. War, persecution and the
absence of political rights are the predominant political factors in migration.

State Persecution
 State persecution involves the harassment, discrimination and torture of people who
disagree with their government, have minority religious beliefs or ethnic backgrounds.
Because conditions in their country are unsafe, these people are forced to migrate to
safer countries. Asylum seeking is a direct result of the outflow of political migrants from
an oppressive state to a more democratic country. For example, the Migration Policy
Institute indicates that the United Kingdom received the highest asylum applications:
555,310 or 15 percent of the total global asylum applications in 2002. These numbers
which remain roughly the same, reflect the rise in claims of persecutions in countries
such as Iraq, Zimbabwe, Somalia, Afghanistan and China.

Lack of Political Liberties

The lack of political liberties and rights, and endemic corruption act as push factors
for migrants seeking greater freedoms. Even though they are not persecuted in their
places of birth, concerns that limit people’s freedoms causes them to leave. If the
political environment is hostile, then the economic situation is likely to be poor. This
triggers migration for political and economic reasons. Most migrants leave for more
democratic countries where they can pursue better careers, education and freedom.

War

According to the National Geographics’ Earth Pulse there are approximately 42

million people worldwide who have been forced to migrate due to war. War and armed
conflict have diverse causes but all these factors are influenced by political issues. War
migrants not only migrate to the usual countries such as United States, United Kingdom,
Canada and Australia, they also migrate within their own geographical areas such as
within their continent. Most war migrants become refugees or asylum seekers.
Refugees International indicates that in 2009, there were 15.2 million refugees globally.

Socio-Cultural Factors

Social push factors can include ethnic, religious, racial, and cultural persecution.
Warfare, or the threat of conflict, is also a major push factor. In the Australian context,
most asylum seekers arriving by boat in the last decade have come from Afghanistan,
Iran, Iraq and Sri Lanka. All of these countries, apart from Iran, have undergone
extremely destabilizing conflicts in recent years. On the other hand, while it is free of
violent conflict, Iran has one of the worst human rights records in the world leading
many of its citizens to seek asylum outside of its borders.

The politicization of religious and ethnic identities has the potential to cause
significant levels of conflict within states. Empirical evidence suggests that states
undergoing a political transition from authoritarian rule to democracy are at greater risk
of instability and internal conflict. Often these states lack the ability to properly respond
to social instability. Several states within the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), including
Burma, have recently begun to democratize while failing to simultaneously develop a
shared national identity capable of tying together the various groups within their
borders. In socially diverse states the potential for conflict may be greater than in more
homogenous or inclusive societies. The future level of migration from these countries is
wholly dependent upon the longevity and severity of any conflict that could arise from
social grievances.

Individuals migrating due to social or cultural conditions are more likely to do so as

humanitarian migrants. This will have an impact upon where they settle as some
countries have more liberal approaches to humanitarian migrants than others. In the
first instance, these individuals are likely to move to the nearest safe country that
accepts asylum seekers. This does not, however, prevent them from undertaking a
second migration to a country that provides a broader range of legal rights to asylum
seekers and refugees.

Migration may assist or hinders development

The issue: The relationship between migration and development and the possible
role of policy.
There has been increasing recognition during the last few decades that migration
can be a factor in the promotion of international development. Migrants typically do not
cut ties with their country of origin and their interaction with the household back home
and the home community is the main channel by which migration could benefit
development. There can be an important exchange of money, knowledge and ideas
between host and home countries through migrants.

Remittances, the most concrete consequence of international migration for

developing countries, have reached a significant dimension at global levels. In 2010,
remittances to developing countries reached over USD 320 billion (World Bank 2011) –
and this is just those officially recorded. These flows have become an important source
of foreign exchange and financing for many developing countries. These international
flows are arguably less volatile than other capital flows such as portfolio investment,
foreign direct investment and official foreign aid (Ratha 2003, Vargas-Silva 2008).

Not every aspect of migration is beneficial for developing countries. Migration may
impose a high cost for developing countries by leaving the country without the human
capital necessary to achieve long-term economic growth. This human capital flight may
impose a significant economic burden for developing countries as migrants take with
them the value of their training, which is often subsidized by governments with limited
resources.

While migration impacts development, economic conditions are important drivers of

migration. People migrate for a variety of reasons including the search for better
economic opportunities, education, family reunion and escaping violence. People often
migrate for a combination of these and other reasons. However, the expected income
gap between developed and developing countries is a strong incentive for people to
migrate (Czaika and de Haas 2011a). As such, migration affects development, but
development also affects migration.

As explained below, these are not simple relationships. Development does not
always lead to less migration; the brain drain may not be bad for the human capital
levels of the migrant-sending countries and remittances may not always be beneficial to
the receiving economies.

Poverty and underdevelopment as a driver of migration

Differences in income and in living standards in general are important drivers of

migration. Yet not everyone in developing countries migrates to developed countries,
even when migration would imply a significant income gain for a large majority. Africa,
the poorest continent on the globe, has generated relatively small migration flows
considering the massive gain that migration would bring to its inhabitants (Hatton and
Williamson, 2002). An explanation for this puzzle is found in the constraints on the
migration of people. One such limitation is immigration policy restrictions in developed
countries. With varying degrees of success these policies limit the level of migration
flows globally (Czaika and de Haas 2011b).

While immigration restrictions could potentially be a limiting factor, there is another

constraint that is likely to be even more important: money. Migration is not free and
whatever the reason for moving, migrants need a certain minimum level of resources in
order to finance their move. A simple economics model would suggest that people
migrate for economic reasons if expected lifetime income in the host country, less the
cost of migrating, exceeds expected lifetime income in the home country. However, if
the individual cannot access the funds necessary to finance the move, the expected
income gap becomes irrelevant.

There are several implications of this cost restriction for migration. First, the desire
to migrate is higher than actual migration levels, especially among those with fewer
resources. Gallup’s Potential Net Migration Index suggests that several developed
countries would be extremely overcrowded and some developing countries would be
almost empty if all the people in the world who would like to migrate were actually able
to move where they wanted (Esipova et al. 2009).

Second, increases in GDP per capita in many developing countries may lead to an
increase rather than a decrease in migration (Hatton and Williamson 2002). As income
rises, those who have a lot to gain from moving but were not previously able to move
will be able to migrate. This is likely to continue until the home country reaches a certain
level of income, migration stabilizes and potentially decreases thereafter.

The third implication of the cost restriction on mobility is that those who migrate are
not likely to be the poorest. Therefore, development related policies designed to assist
migrants and their families back in the home country do not necessarily benefit the
poorest.

Brain drain or brain gain?

People who leave developing countries are not randomly selected among the
population. It is often the case that those who migrate from developing countries are
among the most educated people. This has caused great concern about a “brain drain”
process in developing countries, where the brightest minds leave for other countries.
Developing countries complain that scientists, nurses, doctors, engineers and other
professionals, who were educated with the limited resources available, go to work in
and benefit developed countries. There are arguments that developed countries should
compensate developing countries for the migration of their most educated professionals
(House of Commons 2004).

Other evidence has dismissed the brain drain theory and has instead adopted the
notion of a brain gain (Gibson and McKenzie 2011). The main idea is that acquiring
human capital (i.e. getting an education) is not free. Individuals have to forgo earning
income (or at least some portion of their income) while they are in school, and in many
cases they have to pay significant tuition fees, study hard and put much personal effort
into their education. Many individuals will make the sacrifice necessary to acquire
human capital only if they are able to be rewarded financially in the future. Salaries for
educated people in developing countries are often low and not sufficient to encourage
the acquisition of an education.

The possibility of migrating abroad increases the expected salary in some

professions. In this case, individuals also look at the salary expectations in other
countries when making human capital investment decisions. The fact that some may be
able to migrate encourages more people to become educated. Not all people who
acquire an education will migrate. As such, the possibility of migrating may result in a
brain gain for the country (Stark et al. 1997). Beine et al. (2011), for instance, present
evidence that in countries where the skilled emigration rate is not overly large (i.e. 20 to
30%), the net effect of skilled emigration on the country’s human capital level is positive.

The departure of the most educated individuals from a country may also result in the
creation of a brain bank that provides locals access to knowledge built up abroad
(Agrawal et al. 2008). Previous studies also suggest that migrants are in a superior
situation to invest in their home countries because they have specific knowledge that
other foreign investors lack. Non-migrant locals also have this knowledge, but they often
lack the valuable business expertise that can be acquired abroad.

Finally, it is often the case that migration is a two-way occurrence, with many
migrants returning back home after a few years abroad. The return of highly skilled
migrants with specialized knowledge and skills (e.g. engineers and scientists) can help
improve research and development programs in the home country. These migrants may
include, among others, those who obtain additional education abroad and return back
home.

The impact of remittances

Remittances are transfers of money from an individual in one country to an

individual in another country. The majority of these transactions involve small amounts
of money. However, for households in receiving countries these money flows may
represent an important share of their budget.

Migrants send money for many reasons. In some cases migrants are behaving
altruistically toward the household back home. In other cases, migrants have some self-
interested reason for remitting, such as maintaining their household status for
inheritance or other purposes. There is evidence that some migrants also remit for
investment purposes. Finally, some migrants may be paying loans and other debts to
the household, potentially including the money they used to finance their move abroad.

It has also been argued that remittances could serve as a risk-sharing mechanism
for household members who are separated by international borders (Yang and Choi
2007). By leaving the household and moving to another region or country, the migrant
will be subjected to risks that are mostly uncorrelated to those that the household faces;
hence, the migrant and the household are able to diversify their risks.

The jury is still out on the overall impact of remittances in remittance-receiving

countries and on receiving households. Some of the evidence suggests that remittances
have beneficial impacts on receiving countries and households. For instance, at the
household level there is evidence that remittances increase human capital acquisition
(Cox and Edwards 2003). Receiving remittances may relax the budget constraint of the
receiving household potentially allowing the household to send children to school.

Remittances may also provide the capital necessary to start a small business
(Woodruff and Zenteno 2007) or may simply cover household expenses during the
period when the business is not generating profits. Receiving remittances may allow the
household to enter more profitable but riskier businesses, given that remittances can be
used as a source of support for the household. This role of remittances is especially
important in those countries where credit markets are not well developed.

One the negative side, there is evidence that many remittance-receiving households
decrease their labour market participation. People may tend to rely on these flows and
reduce their participation in the labour market, which ultimately could create
dependency on these flows similar to some type of international “welfare” system.
Nonetheless, in many instances a reduction in the labour supply can lead to a
significant increase in quality of life and allow some members of the household to
acquire additional human capital. Hence, the potential reduction in the labour supply is
not necessarily a negative aspect of remittances.

One of the arguments of those suggesting that remittances may harm receiving
economies is that remittances can generate inflationary pressures or appreciate the
receiving country’s currency. The latter impact may potentially have a negative effect on
the country’s export sector. For more information about remittances see our briefing on
‘Migrant Remittances to and from the UK‘.

Making migration more development friendly

Evidence from different studies suggests that migration results in significant global
welfare increases (e.g. Clemens 2011, Rodrik 2002, Winters 2003). As such, developed
countries could simply increase global welfare by opening their doors to more
immigration. However, development is not a key factor (and in most cases not a factor
at all) when developed countries determine the “desired” level of immigration. In most
cases, including the UK, the government takes immigration policy decisions based on
based on social, cultural, political and economic impacts on the host country. However,
for any given level of immigration (flow or stock) and some given characteristics of
migrants (e.g. skills, origin, etc.), there are policies that host country governments can
adopt in order to maximize developmental benefits.

these policies could include initiatives such as programmes that match funds collected
by migrant organizations for social investments in home countries. The contribution of
governments in host countries does not have to be limited to monetary support but
could include helping these organizations to better define their goals and implement
strategies. Collecting and providing information on members of the diaspora from a
certain country and their skills relevant to development could also support the initiatives
of home countries. Finally, it is possible to include the perspectives of migrant
organizations into the host countries policy planning on development issues. These are
just a few examples of ways in which governments can affect development through
migrants without increasing immigration levels.

An idea that has been popular in recent times is the creation of government
sponsored websites where migrants can compare prices on remittances services from
different providers and select the best deal to maximize the amount of money received
by their families. An example is the websitewww.sendmoneypacific.org created as a
joint initiative by the Australian and New Zealand Governments. The website provides
information on remitting choices for migrants living in Australia and New Zealand and
remitting to Fiji, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu
and Vanuatu. These types of websites do not require a major monetary investment on
the part of host country governments, but can have a major impact on the remittances
market.

LESSON 13 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENTObjectives:

Differentiate stability from sustainability.
Articulate models of global sustainable development.
.
Sustainable Development
Sustainable development. This concept refers to economic and environmental
changes that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs. The concept of needs goes beyond simply
material needs and includes values, relationships, freedom to think, act, and participate,
all amounting to sustainable living, morally, and spiritually.

Sustainable development is the search for progress in quality of life, development

services, and enough provision of supply and goods. Sustainable development refers to
the changes that meet the needs of the present generation without jeopardizing the
future generation. Sustainability is a multidimensional response that involves economic,
political, and technological aspects. It is bridging the environmental gaps and societal
damage to ensure global fairness.

The 30-year journey of four World Summits from Stockholm to Nairobi to Rio and
to Johannesburg has put the world on notice that achieving sustainable development in
the twenty-first century is not an option but an imperative.
The 1972 UN conference in Stockholm highlighted the concerns for preserving
and enhancing the environment and its biodiversity to ensure human rights to a healthy
and productive world. The developing countries argued that their priority was
development, whereas the developed countries made a case for environmental
protection and conservation as the prime issue.
 The 1982 Nairobi Summit reviewed the progress in the decade since the
Stockholm Conference and called upon national governments to intensify efforts to
protect the environment and stressed the need for international cooperation. However,
the tensions between Western Governments and the Soviet Union marred progress and
commitment toward a Nairobi action plan.
In 1983 the United Nations Commission on Environment and Development was
created and in 1987, the Commission issued the Brundtland Report. This report
highlighted that equity, growth, and environmental maintenance are simultaneously
possible and that each country is capable of achieving its full economic potential while
at the same time enhancing its resource base. It emphasized three fundamental
components to sustainable development: environmental protection, economic growth,
and social equity.
During the period 1972–92, over 200 regional and international agreements and
conventions for environmental protection and conservation were adopted. However,
most of these agreements were negotiated individually and treated as ‘separate
entities’, with many lacking systemic integration within the social, economic, and
environmental framework of sustainable development.
In 1992, the Earth Summit brought the world’s governments to deliberate and
negotiate an agenda for environment and development in the twenty-first century. At a
parallel Global Forum, nongovernmental organizations from around the world also
discussed and deliberated strategies for sustainable development. While there was little
formal interaction between these two meetings, the world’s civil societies succeeded in
having their voices noticed. It was an important step toward future dialog and active
participation of civil society in sustainable development regimes from local to global
levels.
The first principle of the Rio Declaration states “human beings are at the centre
of concerns for sustainable development.” The declaration also highlighted the ‘polluter-
pays-principle’ and the ‘precautionary principle’, as important considerations for the
protection and conservation of nature.
Whether addressing vulnerability to environmental change, responsibility for
environmental degradation and loss of biodiversity, or policy priorities, careful
consideration of the particular groups of people involved, and their social, economic,
and environmental conditions, is essential. Focusing on people – their rights,
capabilities, and opportunities – has multiple benefits for individuals, society, and their
relationship with the environment.
Consumption per se is not something to be avoided since it is one important
aspect of improving human well-being. Equally important is the recognition that the
relationships between well-being, levels of consumption, and environmental impacts
depend on the value systems, the effectiveness of institutions, including forms of
governance, as well as science, technology, and knowledge.
Prior to the Johannesburg Summit, in September 2000, political leaders from
around the world took an unprecedented step of setting concrete 2015 targets for
millennium development goals (MDGs) related to the priority challenges of sustainable
development, namely, poverty, hunger, education, gender, health, environmental
sustainability, and a global partnership for development. All these issues are
interrelated; one cannot be solved without tackling the others. The progress up to 2007
indicates that many of these MDGs are unlikely to be realized by 2015.
Education comprises a lifelong learning system to cope with the changing needs
and aspirations of society. The United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable
Development, starting in 2005, lays the foundation to reform and mobilize education at
all levels, from schools to universities, in support of sustainable development.
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
ADVANTAGES OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Among the pros of sustainable development, obviously its objective, perhaps
utopian, but at the same time necessary to save the planet from a major crisis, must be
cited. To do this, it proposes a feasibility solution by harmonizing the economic, social
and environmental aspects.
Considering any of these issues separately will lead us to a dead end sooner or
later. On the other hand, taking care of the environment, its resources, without
renouncing social and economic progress is synonymous with sustainability and avoids
a disastrous outcome.
The proliferation of sustainable products and services has the advantage of
creating a better world for all, not only more sustainable but more ethical. In an
environment that tends to sustainability, governments must be responsible and citizens
are more aware and ask important questions in their role as consumers.
LOWER ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
The main pillar on which all this is sustained and where ideas take shape to develop
the economy without compromising nature. As it involves reducing the emissions of
gases that create phenomena such as acid rain or global warming, it directly causes the
search for alternative, clean and equally effective forms of energy.
In the same way, as a large part of human activities are responsible for the
deterioration of the environment, adopting this ideology entails doing something to
reduce pollution, which can bring positive results such as better air quality, more green
areas, the preservation of biodiversity of the planet, the subsistence of more species,
etc.
GUARANTEE OF A BETTER FUTURE
 With the current situation of the delicate environment, the fact that actions are taken
to reduce the effect of the warming of the land or other events such as the melting of the
poles or changes in such an abnormal climate, guarantees that the Next generations of
people can have an adequate life in the future.
This also means ensuring that the planet’s natural resources are not exhausted
and there is enough to be renewed or, if not, that they last for a good number of years,
as in the case of oil or natural gas.

DISADVANTAGES OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

One of the main obstacles that the application of sustainable policies finds itself
in is the duality that exists between the need for solutions and strategies that transcend
borders , since it is a cooperation that today is not being produced, much less there are
visors of a hopeful future.
Currently, unfortunately, global patterns of production and consumption go in the
opposite direction to that required by a sustainability policy. However, everything that
glitters is not gold, and there are also numerous negative elements in sustainable
policies.
Governance itself has to face a constant uncertainty, because there are many
aspects that must be married to achieve a result that achieves that desired
sustainability. And, in the same way, even the tools considered more sustainable, such
as organic farming or renewable energy sources have a host of drawbacks that need to
be tackled intelligently in order to really help that sustainability.
Thus, although sustainable development can help to end poverty in the world and
adjust social inequalities, addressing human needs in a fairer way and reorienting
technology to respect the planet and ensure its long-term viability, there are also
negative consequences.
Among others, that change of mentality that is demanded would hurt the big
capitals, which means that a radical transformation of society would be necessary so
great that it is difficult to trust that it will happen.
Do not abuse nature, the human being or turn the economy into an instrument
that enriches only a few is the goal of sustainable theory, a paradigm that today invites
you to dream and, of course, also to fight to do so reality. A better world is possible.
COSTS
Although intentions are good, carrying them out costs work because it is about
reducing or completely dispensing with energy that already supplies part of the
population with a new one, changing infrastructure, consumption habits and this whole
transition can be very expensive
 In this sense, the perspective also influences from the point of view, because the
countries of the first world would not have much difficulty in adopting new forms of
energy, but in the developing nations, it would not be possible to assume these
expenses.
UNEMPLOYMENT IN SOME AREAS
Changes to preserve and care for ecosystems and biodiversity can cause
several industries to reduce their activities or, in the last case, stop them altogether.
This can bring unemployment for many people who have dedicated their whole lives to
work in a single sector, such as the coal industry.
Although in sustainability a better quality of life is contemplated in the future, it
does not take into account the collateral effects for the population in the present.
FRAGILE COMMITMENT
As the transition to a more environmentally friendly industry is more costly and
difficult to meet because of the points mentioned above, there is a risk that the
commitment made with society is not so serious. This inconvenience would occur
because the results obtained are generally long-term, but in places that are just
developing, it may not be possible to wait so long.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

The sustainable development goals (SDGs) are a new, universal set of goals,
targets and indicators that UN member states will be expected to use to frame their
agendas and political policies over the next 15 years.

The SDGs follow and expand on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),
which were agreed by governments in 2001 and are due to expire at the end of this
year.

There is broad agreement that, while the MDGs provided a focal point for governments
– a framework around which they could develop policies and overseas aid programmes
designed to end poverty and improve the lives of poor people – as well as a rallying
point for NGOs to hold them to account, they were too narrow.
The eight MDGs – reduce poverty and hunger; achieve universal education; promote
gender equality; reduce child and maternal deaths; combat HIV, malaria and other
diseases; ensure environmental sustainability; develop global partnerships – failed to
consider the root causes of poverty and overlooked gender inequality as well as the
holistic nature of development. The goals made no mention of human rights and did not
specifically address economic development. While the MDGs, in theory, applied to all
countries, in reality they were considered targets for poor countries to achieve, with
finance from wealthy states. Conversely, every country will be expected to work towards
achieving the SDGs.
As the MDG deadline approaches, about 1 billion people still live on less than $1.25 a
day – the World Bank measure on poverty – and more than 800 million people do not
have enough food to eat. Women are still fighting hard for their rights, and millions of
women still die in childbirth.

17 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

➢ This is a bold commitment to finish what we started, and end poverty in all forms
and dimensions by 2030.

➢ This goal aims to end all forms of hunger and malnutrition by 2030, making sure all
people, especially children and the more vulnerable – have access to sufficient and
nutritious food all year round. Solutions for food and agriculture issues are the
fundamental concerns of this sustainable development.

➢ This provides an ambitious, comprehensive plan of action for people, planet and
prosperity and for ending the injustices that underpin poor health and development
outcomes. Ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all fall under this
sustainable development.
This goal ensures that all girls and boys complete free primary and secondary schooling
by 2030. Obtaining quality education for improving people’s lives fall under this
sustainable development. 21st century education is not just about technology, but also
include cultural awareness, problem solving and productivity.

➢ This goal aim to build on these achievements to ensure that there is an end to
discrimination against women and girls everywhere.

➢ This goal states that ensuring universal access to safe and affordable drinking
water by 2030 requires to invest in adequate infrastructure, provide sanitation
facilities and encourage hygiene at every level. Clean and accessible water for all
fall under this sustainable development.

➢ This goal states that ensuring universal access to affordable electricity by 2030
means investing in clean energy sources such as solar, wind and thermal.
Affordable clean energy is the primary concern of this sustainable development.
➢ This goal aims to encourage sustained economic growth by achieving higher levels
of productivity and through technological innovation

➢ This goal states technological progress is also key to finding lasting solutions to
both economic and environmental challenges, such as providing new jobs and
promoting energy efficiency.

➢ This goal states that income inequality is a global problem that requires global
solutions.

➢ This goal states that extreme poverty is often concentrated in urban spaces, and
national and city governments struggle to accommodate the rising population in
these areas.
This goal states that the efficient management of our shared natural resources, and the
way we dispose of toxic waste and pollutants, are important targets to achieve this goal.

➢ This goal aims to mobilize $100 billion annually by 2020 to address the needs of
developing countries and help mitigate climate-related disasters.

➢ This goal creates a framework to sustainably manage and protect marine and
coastal ecosystems from land-based pollution, as well as address the impacts of
ocean acidification.

➢ This goal aims to conserve and restore the use of terrestrial ecosystems such as
forests, wetlands, drylands and mountains by 2020.

➢ This goal aims to significantly reduce all forms of violence, and work with
governments and communities to find lasting solutions to conflict and insecurity.
➢ This goal aims to enhance North-South and South-South cooperation by supporting
national plans to achieve all the targets.

Within the goals are 169 targets, to put a bit of meat on the bones. Targets under
goal one, for example, include reducing by at least half the number of people living in
poverty by 2030, and eradicating extreme poverty (people living on less than $1.25 a
day). Under goal five, there’s a target on eliminating violence against women, while goal
16 has a target to promote the rule of law and equal access to justice.
Unlike the MDGs, which were drawn up by a group of men in the basement of UN
headquarters (or so the legend goes), the UN has conducted the largest consultation
programme in its history to gauge opinion on what the SDGs should include.
Establishing post-2015 goals was an outcome of the Rio+20 summit in 2012, which
mandated the creation of an open working group to come up with a draft agenda.
The open working group, with representatives from 70 countries, had its first
meeting in March 2013 and published its final draft, with its 17 suggestions, in July
2014. The draft was presented to the UN general assembly in September last year.
Member state negotiations followed, and the final wording of the goals and targets, and
the preamble and declaration that comes with them, were agreed in August 2015.
Alongside the open working group discussions, the UN conducted a series of “global
conversations”. These included 11 thematic and 83 national consultations, and door-to-
door surveys. The UN also launched an online My World survey asking people to
prioritize the areas they’d like to see addressed in the goals. The results of the
consultations were fed into the working group’s discussions.
The majority seem to be, but a handful of member states, including the UK and
Japan, aren’t so keen. Some countries feel that an agenda consisting of 17 goals is too
unwieldy to implement or sell to the public, and would prefer a narrower brief. Or so they
say. Some believe the underlying reason is to get rid of some of the more
uncomfortable goals, such as those relating to the environment. Britain’s prime minister,
David Cameron, has publicly said he wants 12 goals at the most, preferably 10. It’s not
clear, though, which goals the UK government would like taken out if they had the
choice.
 Amina Mohammed, the UN secretary general’s special adviser on post-2015
development planning, said it had been a hard fight to get the number of goals
down to 17, so there would be strong resistance to reducing them further.
Some NGOs also believe there are too many goals, but there is a general
consensus that it is better to have 17 goals that include targets on women’s
empowerment, good governance, and peace and security, for example, than fewer
goals that don’t address these issues.

The indicators are still being thrashed out by an expert group. Each indicator is being
assessed for its feasibility, suitability and relevance, and roughly two for each target are
expected. The indicators are due to be finalized in March 2016.
That’s the trillion-dollar question. Rough calculations from the intergovernmental
committee of experts on sustainable development financing have put the cost of
providing a social safety net to eradicate extreme poverty at about $66bn (£43bn) a
year, while annual investments in improving infrastructure (water, agriculture, transport,
power) could be up to a total of $7tn globally.
In its report last year, the committee said public finance and aid would be central to
support the implementation of the SDGs. But it insisted that money generated from the
private sector, through tax reforms, and through a crackdown on illicit financial flows
and corruption, was also vital.
A major conference on financing for the SDGs, held in the Ethiopian capital Addis
Ababa in July, failed to ease concerns that there will not be enough cash to meet the
aspirational nature of the goals. The UN said the Addis Ababa action agenda (AAAA for
short) contained “bold measures to overhaul global finance practices and generate
investment” for tackling the challenges of sustainable development. It included a
recommendation to the UN target on aid spending – 0.7% of GNI – set more than 40
years ago and pledges to collect more taxes and fight tax evasion. But civil society
groups were less impressed, saying the summit had failed to produce new money to
fund the goals, or offer ways to transform the international finance system. Calls for a
new international tax body fell on deaf ears.
The SDGs will be officially adopted at a UN summit in New York in September, and will
become applicable from January 2016. The deadline for the SDGS is 2030.
 LESSON 14 GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY

Objectives:
Define global security and its elements.
Analyze how climate change and other factors distresses global food
security.

Global Food Security

Food security is defined as the availability of food and one's access to it. A
household is considered food secure when its occupants do not live in hunger or fear of
starvation. Stages of food insecurity range from food secure situations to full-scale
famine. The World Food Summit of 1996 defined food security as existing "when all
people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy
and active life". Africa has the worst food security.

The World Food Summit of 1996 defined food security as existing "when all
people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy
and active life". Commonly, the concept of food security is defined as including both
physical and economic access to food that meets people's dietary needs as well as their
food preferences. Household food security exists when all members, at all times, have
access to enough food for an active, healthy life. Food security incorporates a measure
of resilience to future disruption or unavailability of critical food supply due to various
risk factors including droughts, shipping disruptions, fuel shortages, economic instability,
and wars.
 As cited by International Food Policy Research Institute, Food security, as
defined by the United Nations’ Committee on World Food Security, means that all
people, at all times, have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and
nutritious food that meets their food preferences and dietary needs for an active and
healthy life.

Over the coming decades, a changing climate, growing global population, rising
food prices, and environmental stressors will have significant yet uncertain impacts on
food security. Adaptation strategies and policy responses to global change, including
options for handling water allocation, land use patterns, food trade, postharvest food
processing, and food prices and safety are urgently needed. IFPRI’s work on food
security includes analysis of cash transfers, promotion of sustainable agricultural
technologies, building resilience to shocks, and managing trade-offs in food security,
such as balancing the nutritional benefits of meat against the ecological costs of its
production.

To put it more simply, Food Security is when families are able

to afford and obtain enough nutritious food. A family is food secure when its members
do not live in hunger or fear of hunger. Both in the United States and in developing
nations, food insecurity is often linked to poverty. Shifts in the global economy, including
rises in global food and oil prices, can affect food security throughout the world, with
especially severe effects in low-income countries.

Many of the world’s major challenges – climate change, instability in financial

markets, food and water insecurity, infectious diseases, migration, war and terrorism are
Complex, interdependent and borderless.

Elements of Food Security

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines three main aspects of food
security. The first is food availability, having a sufficient supply of food available on a
consistent basis. This food can be either locally produced or imported from other places.
In some cases, communities may be unable to produce their own food locally because
of inappropriate agricultural technologies or practices; lack of natural resources or
productive land; climate constraints; emergency situations like natural disasters; or
health constraints, such as HIV/AIDS, that prevent people from engaging in labor.
Communities may be unable to import food from other places because of issues like
lack of foreign exchange, political unrest, or lack of transportation.

The second aspect of food security is food access, having sufficient resources to
obtain appropriate foods for a nutritious diet. Even when a sufficient supply of food
exists to feed everyone, food may not always be accessible to everyone. People need
 to have sufficient incomes and resources in order to obtain food. There are a number of
factors that can affect a person's economic access to food, including lack of job
opportunities that can provide sufficient income, or lack of training or business
knowledge for success with income generating activities.

The final aspect of food security is known as food utilization, or consuming a

nutritious diet. This means that people make appropriate use of food, based on
knowledge of basic nutrition and care, and have access to water and sanitation for
preparing food and maintaining proper hygiene. Nutrition education can be an important
part of improving food utilization-making sure people are aware of the variety of foods
their bodies need to maintain good health. In many parts of the world experiencing food
insecurity, people may consume sufficient quantities of starchy staple foods like
potatoes, rice, maize, and cassava, but insufficient quantities of protein, oils, dairy, fruits
and vegetables that make up a balanced diet. Changing this may not only require
nutrition education, but also increasing food availability through improved agricultural
practices and resources.

Disease prevention and management, including proper sanitation and hygiene

practices, are also important for proper food utilization. Undernourished human bodies
are more susceptible to illnesses like diarrheal disease and pneumonia. But with proper
nutrition, sanitation, and hygiene, many diseases-especially those caused by food and
waterborne contaminants-are less likely to occur.

IMPORTANCE OF GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY

Growth in the agriculture sector has been found, on average, to be at least twice
as effective in reducing poverty as growth in other sectors. Food insecurity – often
rooted in poverty – decreases the ability of countries to develop their agricultural
markets and economies.

Access to quality, nutritious food is fundamental to human existence. Secure

access to food can produce wide ranging positive impacts, including:

• Economic growth and job creation

• Poverty reduction
• Trade opportunities
• Increased global security and stability
• Improved health and healthcare
Why is there food insecurity?

Poverty

Poor people lack access to sufficient resources to produce or buy quality food.
Poor farmers may have very small farms, use less effective farming techniques, and/or
be unable to afford fertilizers and labour-saving equipment, all of which limit food
production. Often they cannot grow enough food for themselves, let alone generate
income by selling excess to others. Without economic resources and a political voice,
poor farmers may be forced on to less productive land possibly causing further
environmental deterioration. Addressing poverty is critical to ensuring that all people
have sufficient food.

Health

Without sufficient calories and nutrients, the body slows down, making it difficult
to undertake the work needed to produce food. Without good health, the body is also
less able to make use of the food that is available. A hungry mother will give birth to an
underweight baby, who then faces a future of stunted growth, frequent illness, learning
disabilities and reduced resistance to disease. Contaminated food and water can cause
illness, nutrient loss and often death in children.

The HIV/AIDS pandemic has reduced food production in many affected countries
as productive adults become ill or die. Lacking the labour, resources and know-how to
grow staples and commercial crops, many households have shifted to cultivating
survival foods or even leaving their fields, further reducing the food supply. Addressing
health issues will improve utilization and availability of food.

Water, land degradation and the environment

Food production requires massive amounts of water. It takes one cubic metre (1000
litres) of water to produce one kilogram of wheat and 3,000 litres of water to produce
one kilogram of rice. Producing sufficient food is directly related to having sufficient
water. Irrigation can ensure an adequate and reliable supply of water which increases
yields of most crops by 100% to 400%. Although only 17% of global cropland is
irrigated, that 17% produces 40% of the world’s food. Increasing irrigation efficiency and
limiting environment damage through salinization or reduced soil fertility are important
for ongoing food availability.

Where water is scarce and the environment fragile, achieving food security may
depend on what has been called ‘virtual water’, that is, importing food from countries
with an abundance of water. This may be a more efficient use of a scarce resource.
Water sufficiency does not pose a threat to Global food security.

Mankind has mastered that art of exploiting the land for maximum profit without
thinking twice about the real cost for all these advancements. This is called land
degradation. Agrarian lands are converted to concrete structures rendering farmers
powerless to utilize land for its primary purpose is descriptive greedy land deals. Fertile
lands become exhausted because of an unending cycle of production is characteristic of
land degradation.

Gender equity

Women play a vital role in providing food and nutrition for their families through
their roles as food producers, processors, traders and income earners. Yet women’s
lower social and economic status limits their access to education, training, land
ownership, decision making and credit and consequently their ability to improve their
access to and use of food. Food utilization can be enhanced by improving women’s
knowledge of nutrition and food safety and the prevention of illnesses. Increasing
women’s involvement in decision making and their access to land and credit will in turn
improve food security as women invest in fertilizers and better seeds, labor-saving tools,
irrigation and land care. Gender equality is a fundamental human right, but a necessary
foundation for a peaceful and sustainable world.

Disasters and conflicts

 Droughts, floods, cyclones and pests can quickly wipe out large quantities of food
as it grows or when it is in storage for later use. Likewise, seeds can be destroyed by
such environmental dangers.

Conflict can also reduce or destroy food in production or storage as farmers flee
to safety or become involved in the fighting. Previously productive land may be
contaminated with explosive debris and need to be cleared before it can again be used
for food production. Stored food, seeds and breeding livestock may be eaten or
destroyed by soldiers, leading to long-term food shortages. Government spending
needs to prioritize food security in the aftermath of conflict.

Population growth

Population growth increases the demand for food. With most productive land
already in use, there is pressure for this land to become more productive. Poor harvests
and higher costs lead many poor farmers to migrate to cities to look for work. Expanding
cities spread out across productive land, pushing food production further and further
away from consumers. This increases the cost of all the activities associated with
producing and transporting food, and decreases the food security of the poor in cities.

Trade

Many poor countries can produce staples more cheaply than rich nations but
barriers to trade, such as distance from markets, quarantine regulations and tariffs
make it difficult for them to compete in export markets against highly subsidized farmers
in rich countries. This deprives poor farmers of income and entire countries of the
agricultural base they need to develop other sectors of the economy. In addition, trade
imbalances prevent poor countries from importing agricultural products that could
enhance their food security.

What is being done?

Improving food production

Increasing the amount of food available is necessary to feed the growing

population. The Green Revolution of the 1970s and 1980s led to huge increases in
output, largely due to the cultivation of high-yielding varieties of rice and wheat, the
expansion of land under production and irrigation, greater use of fertilizers and
pesticides and greater availability of credit. In many countries these gains have reached
their limit, and social and environmental issues must now be addressed. Further
increases in food production depend on better integration of traditional knowledge with
research; improving farming practices through training and the use of technology to
increase outputs from current land without further loss of productive land; land reform to
provide secure access to land for more people; and the provision of low-cost finance to
help farmers invest in higher quality seeds and fertilizers and small irrigation pumps.

Economic growth and trade liberalization

Increasing food production leads to greater availability of food and economic

growth in the domestic and/or overseas markets. Generating income can provide
access to more and varied foods and provide cash for use in other areas of the
economy, such as small enterprise and manufacturing, which in turn helps reduce
poverty. Trade liberalization is opening up markets slowly, but there are costly barriers
to overcome. Work is underway through the Doha Round of multilateral trading
negotiations in the World Trade Organization to make trade rules fair, encourage trade
liberalization and assist developing countries to participate in the global trade
environment.

Distribution

While there are sufficient resources in the world to provide food security for all,
policy and behavioral changes are necessary to guarantee a fair share for all people,
especially the poor. Building on a series of global conferences, in particular the 1992
International Conference on Nutrition and the 1996 and 2002 World Food Summits,
countries have developed national nutrition plans and policies in nine major strategic
action areas that:

• include mainstream nutrition goals in development policies and programs

• improve household food and nutrition security
• protect consumers through improved food quality and safety
• prevent and manage infectious diseases promote breastfeeding
• care for the socioeconomically deprived and nutritionally vulnerable
• prevent and control specific micronutrient deficiencies
• promote appropriate diets and healthy lifestyles

Food aid

The need for food during emergencies such as drought, disaster, population
displacement and conflict is addressed by the distribution of basic food supplies and
fuel. Early warning systems can predict problem areas, allowing action to be taken to
keep people in their homes and help them back to food self-sufficiency as quickly as
possible. Food sourced locally rather than internationally minimizes the costs and
disruption to local markets. In severe situations feeding may be necessary but often
food aid is linked with work, health or education to avoid dependency and address the
long-term causes of food insecurity.

Challenges to Global Food Security

1. Rising incomes, changing diets

Today, with incomes rising fast in emerging economies, there are at least 3
billion people moving up the food chain toward Westernized diets. They consume more
grain-intensive livestock and poultry products. Today, the growth in world grain
consumption is concentrated in China. It is adding over 8 million people per year, but
the big driver is the rising affluence of its nearly 1.4 billion people.

As incomes go up, people tend to eat more meat. China’s meat consumption per
person is still only half that of the United States. That leaves a huge potential for future
demand growth.

2. Falling water tables

In India some 190 million people are being fed with grain produced by over
pumping groundwater. For China, the number is 130 million. Aquifer depletion now
threatens harvests in the big three grain producers — China, India and the United
States—that together produce half of the world’s grain. The question is not
whether water shortages will affect future harvests in these countries, but rather when
they will do so.

3. Slowing irrigation

Water supply is now the principal constraint on efforts to expand world food
production. During the last half of the 20th century, the world’s irrigated area expanded
from some 250 million acres in 1950 to roughly 700 million in 2000.

This near tripling of world irrigation within 50 years was historically unique. Since
then, the growth in irrigation has come to a near standstill, expanding only 10% between
2000 and 2010.

4. Increasing soil erosion

Nearly a third of the world’s cropland is losing topsoil faster than new soil is
forming. This reduces the land’s inherent fertility. 
Future food production is also
threatened by soil erosion.

The thin layer of topsoil that covers the earth’s land surface was formed over
long stretches of geological time as new soil formation exceeded the natural rate of
erosion. Sometime within the last century, the situation was reversed as soil erosion
began to exceed new soil formation.

Now, nearly a third of the world’s cropland is now losing topsoil faster than new
soil is forming. Soil that was formed on a geological time scale is being lost on a human
time scale. Peak soil is now history.

5. Climate change

The generation of farmers now on the land is the first to face manmade climate
change. Extreme changes in temperature results to massive fish kills is an effect of
climate change.

Agriculture as it exists today developed over 11,000 years of rather remarkable

climate stability. It has evolved to maximize production within that climate system. Now,
suddenly, the climate is changing. With each passing year, the agricultural system is
more and more out of sync with the climate system.

Typhoons, tornadoes and similar catastrophes destroy rice fields and destroying
crops rendering them inedible for humans is caused by climate change.

6. Melting water reserves

At no time since agriculture began has the world faced such a predictably
massive threat to food production as that posed by the melting mountain glaciers of
Asia.

Mountain glaciers are melting in the Andes, the Rocky Mountains, the Alps and
elsewhere. But nowhere does melting threaten world food security more than in the
glaciers of the Himalayas and on the Tibetan Plateau that feed the major rivers of India
and China.

Ice melt helps sustain these rivers during the dry season. In the Indus, Ganges,
Yellow and Yangtze river basins, where irrigated agriculture depends heavily on rivers,
the loss of glacial-fed, dry-season flow will shrink harvests and could create potentially
unmanageable food shortages.
 LESSON 15 GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP

Objectives:
Articulate a personal definition of global citizenship.
Appreciate the ethical obligations of global citizenship.

Global Citizenship

A global citizen is someone who is aware of and understands the wider world -
and their place in it. They take an active role in their community, and work with others to
make our planet more equal, fair and sustainable. Global Citizenship is restricted to
jetsetters, socialites, and influential people only. A global citizen is someone who
understands that individual conduct and behavior is the basis of a community’s culture.
The four main parts of global citizenship are civic responsibility, cultural awareness,
global economy and environment

An active global citizen takes responsibility for their actions, and can also help
people, wildlife and plant life. Active global citizens cannot describe by the way they
look the other way when they see injustice, don’t value cultural diversity, and they only
care about the global, not local communities. Global citizenship is also related to the
Sustainable Development Goals. Global Citizens are not sentinels of social unjustness
and inequalities.

For Oxfam, global citizenship is all about encouraging young people to develop
the knowledge, skills and values they need to engage with the world. And it's about the
belief that we can all make a difference. Global citizenship is the idea that everyone is a
part of a worldwide community.

Education for global citizenship is not an additional subject - it's a framework for
learning, reaching beyond school to the wider community. It can be promoted in class
through the existing curriculum or through new initiatives and activities.

The benefits are felt across the school and beyond. Global citizenship helps young
people to:

• Build their own understanding of world events.

• Think about their values and what's important to them.

• Take learning into the real world.

• Challenge ignorance and intolerance.

• Get involved in their local, national and global communities.

• Develop an argument and voice their opinions.

 • See that they have power to act and influence the world around them.

What's more, global citizenship inspires and informs teachers and parents, too. But
above all, it shows young people that they have a voice. The world may be changing
fast, but they can make a positive difference - and help build a fairer, safer and more
secure global-citizenship.

Global Citizenship

It is a way of living that recognizes our world is an increasingly complex web of

connections and interdependencies. One in which our choices and actions may have
repercussions for people and communities locally, nationally or internationally.

Global Citizenship nurtures personal respect and respect for others, wherever
they live. It encourages individuals to think deeply and critically about what is equitable
and just, and what will minimize harm to our planet. Exploring Global Citizenship
themes help learners grow more confident in standing up for their beliefs, and more
skilled in evaluating the ethics and impact of their decisions.

Global citizenship as a choice and a way of thinking. National citizenship is an

accident of birth; global citizenship is different. It is a voluntary association with a
concept that signifies "ways of thinking and living within multiple cross-cutting
communities—cities, regions, states, nations, and international collectives…" (Schattle
2007, 9). People come to consider themselves as global citizens through different
formative life experiences and have different interpretations of what it means to them.
The practice of global citizenship is, for many, exercised primarily at home, through
engagement in global issues or with different cultures in a local setting. For others,
global citizenship means firsthand experience with different countries, peoples, and
cultures. For most, there exists a connection between the global and the local.
Whatever an individual's particular "take" on global citizenship may be, that person
makes a choice in whether or how to practice it.

Global Citizen

"An ethic of care for the world." Hannah Arendt.

There is a great deal of debate and discussion around this, as there is around the
whole concept of globalization. A useful working definition, however, is offered by
Oxfam:

A Global Citizen is someone who:

 ▪ Is aware of the wider world and has a sense of their own role as a world citizen

▪ Respects and values diversity

▪ Has an understanding of how the world works

▪ Is outraged by social injustice

▪ Participates in the community at a range of levels, from the local to the global

▪ Is willing to act to make the world a more equitable and sustainable place

▪ Takes responsibility for their actions.

To be effective Global Citizens, young people need to be flexible, creative and

proactive. They need to be able to solve problems, make decisions, think critically,
communicate ideas effectively and work well within teams and groups. These skills and
attributes are increasingly recognized as being essential to succeed in other areas of
21st century life too, including many workplaces. These skills and qualities cannot be
developed without the use of active learning methods through which pupils learn by
doing and by collaborating with others.

A global citizen is someone who identifies with being part of an emerging world
community and whose actions contribute to building this community’s values and
practices. Such a definition of global citizenship is based on two assumptions which this
article explores: (a) that there is such a thing as an emerging world community to which
people can identify; and (b) that such a community has a nascent set of values and
practices.

Historically human beings always have organized themselves into groups and
communities based on shared identity. Such identity gets forged in response to a variety
of human needs - economic, political, religious, and social. As group identities grow
stronger, those who hold them organize into communities, articulate shared values, and
build governance structures that reflect their beliefs.

Today the forces of global engagement are helping some people identify themselves
as global citizens, meaning that they have a sense of belonging to a world community.
This growing global identity in large part is made possible by the forces of modern
information, communication, and transportation technologies. In increasing ways these
technologies are strengthening our ability to connect to the rest of the world: through the
internet; through participation in the global economy; through the ways in which world-
wide environmental factors play havoc with our lives; through the empathy we feel when
we see pictures of humanitarian disasters, civil conflicts and wars in other countries; or
through the ease with which we can travel and visit other parts of the world.

Those who see ourselves as global citizens are not abandoning other identities;
such as allegiances to our countries, ethnicities, and political beliefs. These traditional
identities give meaning to our lives and will continue to help shape who we are.
However, as a result of living in a globalized world, we find we have an added layer of
responsibility. We have concern and a share of responsibility for what is happening to
the planet as a whole, and we are members of a world-wide community of people who
share this concern.

The values being proposed for the world community are not esoteric and obscure.
They are the values that world leaders have been advocating for the past 100 years.
They include human rights, religious pluralism, gender equity, the rule of law,
environmental protection, sustainable worldwide economic growth, poverty alleviation,
prevention and cessation of conflicts between countries, elimination of weapons of
mass destruction, humanitarian assistance, and preservation of cultural diversity.

Since World War II efforts have been undertaken to develop global policies and
institutional structures that can support these enduring values. Such efforts have been
made by international organizations, sovereign states, transnational corporations,
NGOs, international professional associations and others. They have resulted in a
growing body of international agreements, treaties, legal statutes, and technical
standards.

Yet, despite such efforts, we have a long way to go before there is a global policy
and institutional infrastructure that can support our emerging world community and the
values it stands for. There are significant gaps of policy in many domains, large
questions about how to get countries and organizations to comply with existing policy
frameworks, and issues of accountability and transparency. Most importantly, from a
global citizenship perspective, there is an absence of mechanisms that enable greater
citizen participation in the growing number of institutions practicing global governance.

Governance at the global level, for the most part, is in the hands of the
representatives of sovereign states and technocrats. Global governance organizational
leaders are usually distant and removed from those that their institutions serve.
Therefore, most people feel disconnected and alienated from the global governance
arena, making it difficult to build a sense of grass-roots community at the global level.

There is an urgent need for a cadre of citizen leaders who can play activist roles in
forming world community. Such global citizenship activism can take many forms,
including: advocating, at the local and global level, for policy and programmatic
solutions that address global problems; participating in the decision-making processes
of global governance organizations; adopting and promoting changes in behavior that
help protect the earth’s environment.

Global Citizenship education

"Education must be not only a transmission of culture but also a provider of

alternative views of the world and a strengthener of skills to explore them", Jerome S.
Bruner.

Global citizenship education best implies a set of value and attitudes to improve the
world and its inhabitants, engage with diverse groups in the locality, and interconnect
with people an issue of the world. Global citizenship education does not only belong
exclusively to tertiary education. It can also be applied in all levels of education. Global
citizenship education is always adapted to local contexts. It is relevant today because it
is warranted in light of contemporary challenges, and it is a way to understand, connect,
relate and share with other cultures. Citizenship education & knowledge of issues are an
imperative in the world of globalization.

With the interconnected and interdependent nature of our world, the global is not ‘out
there’; it is part of our everyday lives, as we are linked to others on every continent:

• Socially and culturally through the media and telecommunications, and through
travel and migration

• Economically through trade

• Environmentally through sharing one planet

• Politically through international relations and systems of regulation.

The opportunities our fast-changing ‘globalized’ world offers young people are
enormous. But so too are the challenges. Young people are entitled to an education that
equips them with the knowledge, skills and values they need in order to embrace the
opportunities and challenges they encounter, and to create the kind of world that they
want to live in. An education that supports their development as Global Citizens.

The active, participatory methods of Education for Global Citizenship and

Sustainable Development help young people to learn how decisions made by people in
other parts of the world affect our lives, just as our decisions affect the lives of others.
Education for Global Citizenship and Sustainable Development also promotes pupil
participation in the learning process and in decision-making for the following reasons:
 • Everything done in school sends out messages, so we need to exemplify the
values we wish to promote. If we wish to affirm beliefs about the equality of all
human beings and the importance of treating everyone fairly and with respect,
we need to ensure that learning processes, and relationships between pupils and
teachers, reflect and reinforce these values.

• Research shows that in more democratic schools pupils feel more in control of
their learning, and the quality of teaching, learning and behavior is better.

• The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child affirms the right of children to have
their opinions taken into account on matters that affect them.

While the world may be increasingly interconnected, human rights violations,

inequality and poverty still threaten peace and sustainability.

Global Citizenship Education (GCED) is UNESCO’s response to these challenges. It

works by empowering learners of all ages to understand that these are global, not local
issues and to become active promoters of more peaceful, tolerant, inclusive, secure and
sustainable societies.

GCED is a strategic area of UNESCO’s Education Sector program and builds on the
work of Peace and Human Rights Education. It aims to instill in learners the values,
attitudes and behaviors that support responsible global citizenship: creativity,
innovation, and commitment to peace, human rights and sustainable development.

UNESCO’s work in this area is grounded in its own Constitution which aims to ‘build
peace in the minds of men and women,’ the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the
Education 2030 Agenda and Framework for Action, notably target 4.7 of the Sustainable
Development Agenda, the Recommendation concerning Education for International
Understanding, Co-operation and Peace and Education relating to Human Rights and
Fundamental Freedoms (1974), and the World Program for Human Rights Education
(link is external) (2005-ongoing).

Under the GCED umbrella, UNESCO has several special themes: Preventing violent
extremism through education, Education about the Holocaust and genocide, Languages
in education and the promotion of the rule of law through global citizenship education.

UNESCO collaborates with an extensive global network to disseminate GCED

including its own Category 1 institutes, other UN agencies and inter-governmental
organizations, including regional organizations, most notably: the UNESCO Mahatma
Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP), the
International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa (IICBA), the UNESCO Institute for
Statistic (UIS), the Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding
(APCIEU), the UNESCO Associated Schools Project Network (ASPNet) and
UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs.

What does it look like in the classroom?

"Education is not a preparation for life, it is life itself." John Dewey

Education for Global Citizenship deals with issues of global interdependence,

diversity of identities and cultures, sustainable development, peace & conflict and
inequities of power, resources & respect.

These issues are addressed in the classroom through a wide and evolving
variety of participatory teaching and learning methodologies, including structured
discussion and debate, role-play, ranking exercises, and communities of enquiry. Such
active methods are now established as good practice in education, and are not unique
to global citizenship. Curriculum for Excellence has at its core a commitment to
improved student participation in order to develop the four capacities: successful
learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens and effective contributors