DEFINITION OF RURAL AREAS AND RURAL ENVIRONMENTS Rural areas are defined as areas where mainly agricultural activities are performed by farming communities Food and cereals are produced in the rural a[.]
Trang 1DEFINITION OF RURAL AREAS AND
RURAL ENVIRONMENTS
Rural areas are defined as areas where mainly
agricultural activities are performed by farming
communities Food and cereals are produced in the
rural areas of the world to feed a growing global
population which nowstandsat about 6billion These areas m relatively free from the congestion, overcrowding, air pollution, industrialisation, etc
of urban areas Rural areas are also characterised by low-intensity infrastructure for road traffic, utilities (electricity, water supply, sewerage, etc.) and housing
SUMMARY
Rural areas are important parts of any territory on almost every continent of the planet They supply most of the cereals and food Rural areas have their specific characteristics of spatial and territorial distribution of farmers’ production, their living activities and of society organisation These specific characteristics continuously affect the existence and development of the rural environment.
Rural environments are distinguished from urban and industrial environments by their characteristics, methods
of study and the measures required to solve specific problems such as agricultural production, daily life, social and cultural standards, problems of soil, water and air pollution, the problems of use of nature and natural resources
in rural areas.
The socio-economic development and cultural standards determine in each community, in each government,
in each territorial region different impacts on the natural environment As a consequence, mitigating measures and the ways to solve problems of rural environments are different too.
The problems of rural environments are diverse Some of them need management at a global scale (starvation, squalid poverty, illiteracy, diseases, wars), while others need to be solved at the national or regional level or may require macro- or micro-activity strategies However, the management of the rural environment and development needs to be paid attention by governmental and international organisations, and society as a whole.
ACADEMIC OBJECTIVES
After completion of this chapter, students should be able to recognise the main characteristics, to exchange ideas and to discuss problems of rural environments, resulting from human activities, production, economic and social developments The research objectives of rural environmental studies are:
• to contribute to the general concept of rural environments;
• to reveal basic differences, both in methodological approach and in solving problems of rural environments in developed, developing and less developed countries;
• to study problems emerging from agricultural production, forestry, industry, transport, water supply, tourism and other socio-economic pressures in rural environments;
• to put forward measures and strategies for countries and for the world to conserve rural environments as well
as for their sustainable development.
10 RURAL ENVIRONMENTS Pham Hoang Hai and Nguyen Ngoc Khanh
Trang 2Farms and villages are the fundamental
microeconomic units of rural areas where local,
regional or national tradition and culture are
preser ved and passed on from generation to
generation Both family ties and community spirit
are stronger in rural areas than in urban areas
Moreover, rural people have an innate attachment
to land that is ver y characteristic of farming
communities everywhere
The standard of living in rural areas is generally
lower than in urban areas, especially in developing
countries where it can be ver y low in the
mountainous rural areas And this relatively lower
standard of living in the rural communities often
translates into greater social inequality, illiteracy,
poverty, disease and a lower cultural standard
The rural environment essentially entails an
agro-ecosystem and a rural organisation whose
characteristic problems emanate from the way in which
natural resources are used for agricultural production
Problems can also arise from economic development,
lifestyle and social evolution Natural conditions have
a substantial impact on specific aspects of agricultural
production and on the formation of different
agro-ecosystems For example, agro-ecosystems in plains
are flat, such as rice-fields on alluvial soils, while they
are sloped, with different characteristics, in
mountainous terrains These characteristics can affect
both crop production and agro-biomes of the
ecosystem The more favourable the ecological
conditions (near the equatorial regions, for example),
the greater the capacity for crop rotation and intensive
farming In general these examples show that rural
environments are more closely connected to natural
conditions than urban environments
The condition and quality of the soil are the prime
resources of rural areas Quality of both air and water
has an important effect on agricultural productivity
and on the quality of agricultural products
The main rural environmental problems result
from soil structure and soil quality; availability of
adequate water sources; favourable climatic
conditions; sources of agricultural crop genes; use
of fertilisers and insecticides; methods of cultivation;
and problems associated with quality of life such as
educational and cultural attainments of farmers,
availability of health care of acceptable quality,
availability of adequate sanitation, etc
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN RURAL ENVIRONMENTS IN DEVELOPED AND DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
In developing countries agriculture is a significant (or even the most important) segment of the national economy, and the countryside generally accounts for a considerable part of the common social life of the nation Farms are small in size, often divided into even smaller individual units measuring only 0.2– 0.5 hectares (Tran, 1995), while methods of cultivation are mainly traditional, non-mechanised and rely on animal power and manual labour In developed countries, on the other hand, farms are large or very large, often measuring thousands of hectares Agriculture is mechanised and industrialised, and, most often, it is not the dominant sector of the national economy
Of particular concern in the rural areas of developing countries is infrastructure, which is generally very weak In particular, roads connecting villages are often unpaved and made of earth They are subject to erosion and are at risk of being washed away, even by regular rain Most of these roads were built for the exploitation of forests and mineral resources, and not planned to connect villages or settlements In developed countries rural transport networks are generally built or upgraded according
to a planned, overall infrastructure development programme
While ready access to electric power is taken for granted in the rural communities of industrialised countries, electricity is lacking in most rural communities in developing countries It is encouraging to note, however, that in Asia and elsewhere many of those communities are now increasingly generating their own electric power using micro-hydro, biogas and other methods (Ngoc Khanh, 1992)
In developed countries, social problems of rural communities such as public health, sanitation, cultural and educational needs, medical care, etc are addressed by local or national governments In many cases humanitarian and charity organisations also contribute substantially But rural communities
in developing countries enjoy such benefits to a much lesser extent, mainly because of the limited resources
of local and national authorities Moreover, farmers’
Trang 3income in the poor developing countries amounts
to a fraction of that of their counterparts in developed
countries In many African countries, for example,
the annual income of a farmer is still less than US$
500 (Statistical Yearbook, 1995).
Environmental problems in developed countries
are also different from those in developing countries
In industrialised countries the use of chemicals to
increase crop productivity causes pollution of both
soil and water, as well as the destruction of organic
matter in soil; in developing countries excessive
exploitation of soil without adequate scientific
knowhow leads to the depletion of nutrients An
estimated 6–7 million hectares of agricultural land
has been lost in this way due to erosion, leading to
desertification, while another 15 million hectares
have lost their productivity for other reasons Thus
the world has lost about 20 per cent of its fertile
land in the last 40 years (UNEP/IRSK, 1990) The
current trend in developed countries is to ban the
use of more harmful insecticides while gradually
reducing the use of the less harmful ones But these
harmful chemicals are still widely used in the
developing countries where they are causing local
ecological and health damage
RURAL ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS
Agricultural production and environmental
problems
Problems of hunger, poverty and food shortage are
indeed pressing, especially in some of the developing
countries, and appropriate solutions are urgently
needed (FAO and IIRR, 1995)
However, problems of low food security and
starvation occur unequally among different countries
and often among different regions of the same
country Such problems are now concentrated in the
developing countries around the Sahara Desert in
Africa, and in parts of South-East Asia, South America
and the Caribbean The world agricultural growth
rate is declining, with a present value of only 2 per
cent compared with 3 per cent in the 1960s Its
expected value in 2010 is estimated at 1.8 per cent
Meanwhile, the world population is increasing at a
rate of 1.5 per cent per year, and at a much higher
rate in some regions and in some developing countries
In sub-Sahelian Africa, for example, it is 3 per cent per year Given this scenario, a food crisis appears to
be inevitable in the near future (FAO and IIRR, 1995) The large demand for food, and the economic structure of the market have pushed up agricultural production through intensive farming and increased use of fertilisers, insecticides, etc However, this trend
is likely to cause (indeed is already causing) a wide range of pollution problems with serious adverse impacts on the natural environment, especially in the rural areas of developing countries For example, excessive exploitation of agricultural soils by continuously rotating cultivation without fallow diminishes, and can even destroy, their self-restoring ability This, combined with the relatively low level of applied scientific know-how in developing countries
to deal with such problems, is a serious threat to the future of agricultural productivity in those countries
So far, about 15 per cent of the world soil has been degraded by human activities, while about 66 million hectares (representing about 30 per cent of total agricultural land area of the world) of irrigated land have been salinated by intensive cultivation (WRI, 1988) Every year an estimated 6–7 million hectares of agricultural land loses its productivity because of erosion and degeneration, while about 1.5 million hectares are waterlogged, acidified and salinated (Ngoc Chau, 1996) Soil degeneration, often leading to desertification, is a matter of serious concern in the dry regions of south Asia and around the Sahara Desert where an estimated 5.5 million hectares of agricultural land has been affected, representing a loss of tens of billions of US dollars per year (Ngoc Chau, 1996)
Besides cultivation, intensive animal husbandry practices and the use of agricultural machinery also influence soil degeneration, reduce the self-restoring ability of soils, and make pasture lands unsustainable The problem is being compounded, especially in the tropical forest regions, by deforestation whereby forests are removed to provide grazing land for farm animals or for expanding agriculture In particular, the ecological stability of millions of hectares of natural forests has been disturbed by the ‘cut-and-burn’ practice This method of agriculture is especially damaging when it is carried out on the sides or tops of hills or mountains, or on the upstream areas of rivers The result is that soil is washed out
by erosion
Trang 4Application of science and technology to improve
or increase agricultural production can also have
adverse impacts on the environment Excessive
irrigation has already exhausted the available water
resources in many relatively dry regions of the world
Also, excessive application of insecticides and
chemical fertilisers with residual toxicity has polluted
both soil and water in many parts of the world and
influences the quality of agricultural produce
Perhaps more importantly, these practices have
caused, and continue to cause, loss of biodiversity
and increased risk of plant diseases Humans have
also been placed at risk of poisoning, diseases (such
as encephalitis), lymph abnormalities, etc by the
excessive and improper use of pesticides
In conclusion, agricultural activities and practices
in developing countries can have serious adverse
impacts on nature and on the environment The
major impacts are degradation and loss of agricultural
soils, exhaustion of water resources, especially in
relatively dry areas, loss of biodiversity, pollution of
soil and water, and impacts on human health
Most of these adverse environmental impacts also
occur in the developed countries of Europe and North
America However, those countries are generally much
better equipped to deal with such impacts, thanks to
their advanced scientific and technological know-how
and resource base Moreover, regulations, directives
and their enforcement machinery are in place to ensure
that environmental impacts are minimised Major
problems arising in those countries are economic in
nature, emanating from the over-production of cereals
and foodstuffs which is a major problem in the
European Union Problems also arise from the need
to subsidise farmers, for example, under the Common
Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the European Union
Overproduction in developed countries often has
important economic implications for developing
countries: stringent conditions are sometimes
attached to bilateral aid involving the export of
foodstuffs, and this can depress the prices of local
products to the detriment of farmers in the recipient
developing countries
With the support of international organisations and
through bilateral aid programmes, significant progress
has been made in developing countries in the last few
decades towards increasing agricultural production
and, at the same time, reducing the adverse impacts
of agriculture on the environment Farmers are now more skilled in important issues such as land management, conservation of soil productivity, plant protection, maintenance of natural genes, conservation of traditional plant and animal species, and protection of soil and water against pollution Much still remains to be done to promote sustainable agriculture and sustainable development in the rural areas of practically all countries of the world Particular attention needs to be given to the following, especially
in the developing countries:
• Strategic plans for land use in agriculture
• Concrete measures to raise the level of technology
in cultivation and animal husbandr y for controlling the use of pesticides and chemical fertilisers and for the preser vation of the traditional natural sources of genes
• Social and economic encouragement and support
to promote agricultural production with due attention to environmental protection
Forestry and rural environmental problems
Forests are a valuable natural resource Forest products such as wood command a high value in the construction of dwellings, furniture, ships, etc., and
as charcoal Other forest products such as animals, flowers and fruits, medicinal herbs, etc are equally important Every year forests supply millions of cubic metres of wood and tens of millions of units of other products with a total value of several billion dollars Perhaps more importantly, forests play an important role in determining the climate and in ensuring natural circulation of moisture in the biosphere As a rich source
of carbon, they also perform the following major functions: limiting the spread of water flows; protecting soil against erosion and preventing the loss of the fertile surface; limiting sedimentation; and preserving earth’s temperature regime
Forests vary a great deal in both form and structure, extending as they do from coastal regions
to the mountains, and from the tropics to the boreal regions They can be evergreen or deciduous, small
or broadleaved, humid or dry, dense or open The total area of primary forests of the world, together with grasslands with trees and shrubs, is estimated
Trang 5at 53 million km2, which amounts to about 40 per
cent of the earth’s land area (WRI, 1988)
However, excessive (and often mindless)
exploitation of forests to date, especially of tropical
forests, is a matter of much concern In spite of this
the destruction of forests, and more worryingly the
destruction of tropical forests, continues unabated
It is estimated that each year a tropical forest the
size of Denmark is destroyed, mainly for timber,
mining and ranching Other forests are being lost
or degraded for firewood, cultivation, urbanisation,
road construction, etc
The cumulative impact of deforestation is very
serious, especially for the rural communities and the
rural environment: deforestation leads to loss of
biodiversity, loss of habitat of flora and fauna, loss
of water retention capacity of soil, erosion and loss
of the fertile topsoil, and changes in microclimate
unfavourable to agriculture Moreover, a reduced
or degraded forest means a permanent loss of a
natural source of wood, fruits and vegetables, meat,
plants, herbs and other forest products
There is clearly an urgent need for a strategic policy
aimed at sustainable forestry management to ensure
that forest products of economic value are exploited
without damaging the essential integrity of forests,
and that their natural biological capacity is preserved
Such a policy for sustainable management needs to
be international Moreover, the policy must have the
full support of national authorities that are also
responsible for its maintenance
Soil degradation, pollution and land
management in rural areas
While air and water pollution, and general
environmental unsustainability caused by human
activities are major problems in rural areas, the
pollution of soil assumes particular attention in
farming communities The major causes of soil
pollution and degradation are as follows:
(a) Inappropriate land use in agriculture,
overexploitation of land to maximise
productivity, lack of technical know-how,
inappropriate methods of cultivation, and
insufficient attention to soil preparation and
restoration
(b) Excessive and inappropriate use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides which cause high levels
of toxicity in both water and soil
(c) Airborne pollution, as well as untreated or improperly treated solid and liquid wastes from industrial plants in and around rural areas, or from neighbouring industrial zones
(d) Mining activities
(e) Irrigation and multi-purpose hydroelectric works
(f) Transportation including road construction (g) A wide range of natural and human causes such
as drought, floods, inundation, cultural standards and level of socio-economic development
(h) Degradation and removal of forests through excessive exploitation for short-term financial gain, and absence of effective measures to prevent soil erosion and surface washing, especially on slopes of mountains and hills
In many places soil pollution is high, especially in some regions of Europe, Asia, and in North, South and Central America where untreated or partially treated industrial wastes, as well as the use of chemical fertilisers, pesticides and other man-made products without adequate technical safeguards, are responsible for the contamination and degradation
of agricultural land
Soil contamination or degradation has serious economic implications for rural areas where agriculture is the main activity Moving towards sustainable agriculture and sustainable forest management is based upon an effective programme
of action which addresses the major causes of soil pollution and degradation listed above
Water supply and freshwater usage in rural areas
Water is a unique dissolving substance that is instrumental to the nutrient cycle of all living organisms and plays an important role in maintaining and combining ecosystems
At present, the world’s water resources are facing what is little short of a crisis With growing demand for water and electric power, enormous efforts and large amounts of capital are being invested in the
Trang 6construction of dams and dikes to collect and
conserve water, and to transport it to drier areas
There are notable examples of successful projects of
this kind which bear testimony to technical
achievements of the highest order Multi-purpose
hydroelectric projects in particular bring enormous
benefits in terms of power generation, flood control,
river flow moderation, water transport and irrigation
The Hoa Binh hydroelectric plant on the Da river in
Vietnam, for example, supplies 40–50 per cent of
the total power demand of the country; it also
controls floods of the Da river, provides water for
irrigation and facilitates water transport (Nguyen
Thuong Hung et al., 1995).
Agricultural areas of the world, irrigated by dams,
dikes and multi-purpose hydroelectric projects, have
increased nearly threefold since 1950; today they
account for about one-third of the world’s
agricultural production (Ngoc Chau, 1996)
Although constrained by shortage of funds at
present, the world’s agricultural land under artificial
irrigation is nevertheless expected to increase to 23
million hectares by the year 2010
Such projects bring economic benefit In many
cases, however, serious and unexpected or unpredicted
damage to both national economy and the
environment also occurs One economic impact,
which can sometimes be serious, is increased national
debt; such large projects are usually financed with
loans from the World Bank or with bilateral loans
that have to be repaid with interest Environmental
damage can be caused by removal of, or disturbance
to, the natural habitats of estuarine fishes and marine
organisms; erosion of river banks and of coastal lines;
reduced deposition of alluvial matter in the
downstream areas; removal and resettling of
population to make way for the impounding reservoir
and the environmental consequences thereof; loss of
agricultural land; salinisation of estuaries; and the loss
of entire farming communities together with their
traditional way of life, customs and practices
In artificial irrigation only about 40 per cent of
the surface water is used effectively, while the
remainder is lost due to evaporation and seepage
This evaporation leaves a polluting saline layer on
the soil surface which affects about 25 per cent of
the irrigated area (Pescod, 1992) The use of
low-efficiency irrigation systems without adequate
technical know-how has led to salinisation and degradation of once fertile agricultural land in many parts of the world Moreover, the depletion of water resources and declining availability of water is also a matter of increasing concern In India, for example, the average per capita water consumption has declined from 5,000 m3 in 1955 to 2,500 m3 in
1990, and it is expected to reduce further to 1,500
m3 by the year 2010 (Pescod, 1992) Furthermore, diversion of rivers in central Asia in the 1960s to increase the production of cotton has led to the halving of the size of the Aral Sea (Ngoc Chau, 1996), and to serious and irreversible contamination
of a large area of land there This is a typical example
of the massive damage that can be inflicted on the environment through ignorance, inadequate knowhow and the rush for short-term profit Intensive farming and intensive use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides to increase crop productivity are the main reasons for water pollution in agriculture It is interesting to note in this context that in some of the newly industrialised Asian countries, such as Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia and the Philippines, the level of fertiliser and nitrate pollution of water has already reached that of the industrialised countries
The quality of the world’s water is generally declining through pollution and overuse This is a matter of particular concern in the low income countries where nutrients from wastewater and manure continue to pollute water sources, sometimes causing eutrophication of water bodies In Thailand, for example, raw manure from cattle breeding farms
is discharged into rivers This leads to rapid and abundant growth of water hyacinths and different types of algae (Ngoc Chau, 1996) Fish and other aquatic animals are adversely affected, and the diversity of aquatic ecosystems is reduced The productivity of fisheries on rivers, lakes and ponds,
on which many in the low income countries depend,
is also reduced Discharge of untreated or partially treated waste into rivers and lakes by nearby industrial plants also compounds the problem considerably
As a result of shortage and pollution of surface waters, groundwater is now being depleted through increasing abstraction, and this is a cause for concern For example, groundwater in Jordan is expected to
be exhausted in the next 40 years, while a source
Trang 7beneath cereal fields in the mid-east region of the
USA can only be used for the next 20 years (Ngoc
Chau, 1996) Also, over-exploitation of groundwater
sources using pumps depresses the groundwater level
as wells are dug deeper and deeper In India for
example, this causes serious salinisation In Tay
Nguyen, which is the central plateau of Vietnam,
the level of groundwater has been so lowered by
over-abstraction with suction pumps that many local
farmers have had to abandon their coffee plantations
(Hoang Niem, 1995)
Increasing shortage and pollution of fresh water
in the rural areas of developing countries is of great
concern This is mainly because traditionally, people
in the farming communities collect water from
streams, rivers, lakes, wells or ponds; it is then used
without any treatment for all purposes including
drinking and cooking Maintenance of an acceptable
water quality at the source is very important But
unfortunately the waters of streams, rivers, lakes and
ponds are polluted by human activities to an extent
that impacts on human health Moreover, water
quality at source varies seasonally too, and often
depends on the stretch (upstream or downstream)
of the river or stream, extent of vegetative cover of
the watershed, physical and chemical characteristics
of watersoil, and on the type and intensity of
anthropogenic activities on the watershed
Traditional cultivation practices and customs (such
as bathing and washing in streams and ponds) can
also contribute to water pollution
Also of much concern is the increasing shortage
of fresh water in high mountainous regions, especially
in the dry seasons, and salinisation of water in the
rural plain and coastal areas Sometimes water has
to be imported from other regions, as in some of
the coastal districts near Ho Chi Minh City in
Vietnam for example, because much of the drilled
water in those districts has been seriously salinated
(Hoang Niem, 1995) Furthermore, the relatively
large population growth rate in the rural areas of
the developing countries of south Asia and Africa
makes the problem even more serious
Problems of urbanisation in rural areas
Urbanisation of rural areas is a current developmental
trend found in many countries of the world This
creates problems emanating from the relocation or expansion of production and service industries in the rural areas These problems are of particular importance in the developing countries of Asia and South America Although urbanisation tends to be efficient in terms of land use, it nevertheless puts agricultural land under pressure of urban development In contrast, in many cities of Africa there is a growing trend of ‘ruralisation of cities’, arising from the fact that many of the poor city dwellers are obliged to grow as much food as possible for their own consumption or for sale
The world’s overall rural population is about 80 per cent of the total, although this share may be more than 90 per cent in some of the low income agricultural countries The development of new urban centres offers, at least theoretically, the opportunity to concentrate populations in urban areas equipped with necessary social organisation and infrastructure (e.g roads, housing, utilities) But this kind of urbanisation often reflects the traditional rural structure, that is the village structure: each element of the structure comprises a house for living
in, a garden and a pond (or a swimming pool) The size of each element is only about 0.2–1.0 hectares
in low income developing countries, while it is much larger in the developed countries
Such planned and new urban centres require capital investments This is often a problem in low income developing countries, especially for rural communities in the mountainous regions, and can only be solved by improving the prosperity of the entire national community Furthermore, due attention must be given to the proper management
of the characteristic urban environmental problems
of wastewater, solid waste, public health, etc in the planning of cities
High population growth rates, which can reach
3 per cent in the rural areas of low income developing countries and more than 4 per cent in the mountainous regions of those countries (Cleaver and Schreiber, 1992), are a serious problem In particular, high population growth rate is putting agricultural land in both mountainous and delta regions under increasing pressure because of growing demand for cereals and food There is also growing demand for water, education, health care, and cultural and social facilities The creation of new, well-planned urban
Trang 8centres might address these problems Wider access
to education and family planning, which these
centres would make possible, would help curb the
current high population growth rate
Industrialisation of rural areas
Industrialisation of the rural areas of low income
developing countries is a relatively recent
phenomenon The need to increase both agricultural
productivity and farm efficiency provides the impetus
for rural industrialisation Application of technology
for hoeing, manuring, sowing, transplanting and
har vesting has led to the mechanisation of
agriculture, even in remote areas Agricultural
mechanisation has created a whole range of service
industries, such as for cattle food processing and
distribution, fertiliser processing and distribution,
preparation of special soils for high-productivity
cultivation, micro-organic manure production and
distribution, etc
Food processing industries constitute the other
major element of industrialisation of rural areas
These diverse industries, which process meat, fish,
milk, fruits and vegetables, produce finished or
semi-finished products from local raw materials In
addition to adding value to local produce in this
way, these industries make full use of both local
labour and farmers’ free time The rural community
as a whole benefits as a result
The processing of semi-finished goods,
development and production of handicrafts, and
the production of traditional local commodities
continue to contribute significantly to raising
farmers’ incomes in many of the rural communities
in low income developing countries Both
out-of-school children and retired people continue to
benefit from such activities, and all these activities
contribute to decrease poverty and starvation in
many of the poor regions of low income developing
countries
Nevertheless, there is an urgent need for the
developed countries to support the poor in the
developing countries in this process of rural
industrialisation by supplying necessary capital and
technical know-how Aimed primarily at increasing
the food fund, such support would alleviate poverty
and hunger
Rural transport and communication
Together with population growth, industrialisation and modernisation, the provision of adequate transportation and communication facilities is now becoming increasingly important to meet the growing demands of travel, transportation of goods, recreation and tourism, and for ser vicing the economy in general Rural transportation and communication facilities are developing rapidly The result is that the provision of infrastructure for the development of transportation and communication facilities, such as construction of new roads and extension or upgrading of old roads, bridges, airports, etc and increasing volumes of traffic, are creating a whole range of environmental problems that were either absent or of little concern hitherto
in many of the rural areas, even in the mountainous rural areas
Apart from the loss of agricultural land to road-building and road upgrading which improved transportation entails, exhaust from motor cars, trucks and motorcycles containing harmful gases such as CO
2, NO
x, hydrocarbons, airborne lead (from petrol) and volatile organic substances pollute the air Pollution resulting from this sector contaminates soil, water and air, thus degrading the overall quality of the environment
However, the impact of transport on the environment depends on the level of economic development in the country in question While these impacts are limited in poor, developing countries, they are much more marked in the industrialised countries of Europe and North America And even
in developing countries, such impacts are becoming increasingly serious, due to the rapid development
of transport and communication infrastructure World-wide, an estimated half a million hectares of agricultural land is being lost each year to the provision of transportation and communication infrastructures Data on environmental impact are, however, scarce and often unreliable in many developing countries Systematic research and monitoring is needed, to establish how and to what extent environmental impacts of transportation and communication development are impinging on the quality of life, so that appropriate remedial measures can be undertaken
Trang 9Tourism and rural environmental problems
Tourism is an important sector of the economy which
is growing fast in many countries of the world As
yet unexplored areas and regions of outstanding
scenic beauty, picturesque lakes and landscapes, rich
forests, natural mineral springs, beaches, etc in many
of the developing countries offer much potential for
development as holiday resorts and tourist sites
However, like other productive industries,
expansion of tourism also has adverse impacts on
the environment Construction of holiday resorts
and tourist facilities has resulted in the loss of forests
and agricultural lands Tourism, which is
characterised by high seasonal concentrations of
tourists, often degrades the surrounding
environment through the cutting or removal of
forests, by making further demands on agricultural
lands, and through pollution caused by solid and
liquid waste generated by tourists Moreover, tourist
sites and objects, which attract tourists in the first
place, are in danger of being damaged or even
destroyed by the sheer number of tourists visiting
them This is an increasingly serious problem in many
countries such as Greece, Turkey and India
When new tourist sites and facilities are developed
this should be compatible with the requirements of
sustainable tourism Only in this way can national
heritage be preserved for posterity, thus securing the
long-term economic benefits of tourism But this
can only be done with determination and a clear
focus on the long term It also needs public education
on matters of environmental protection, together
with strong arguments to convince the operators of
tourist sites that it is in their long-term interest to
aim for sustainable tourism development, even
though it might not appear attractive to them on a
short-term basis
Living conditions, education and culture in
rural areas
At present there are some 200 million ethnic people,
accounting for about 4 per cent of the world
population, living in communities with their own
culture and their own historic versions of land
possession rights (Pacey, 1980) In general these
communities are small and remote from major
population centres People living here have their own world-view, often live in harmony with nature, and derive their livelihood from hunting, fishing, gathering and grazing
The income of people in rural communities in developing countries, especially ethnic communities, tends to be low as compared with their urban counterparts As a result, the caloric value of their daily diet, consisting mainly of vegetables, is about
8,500 kJ (Statistical Yearbook, 1995) which compares
with more than 14,500 kJ per day per person in developed countries, where people in the rural communities enjoy far greater incomes with a much higher standard of living The quality of life of rural people in developing countries is also low because
of problems of nutrition, water supply, health care, housing, sanitation, employment, education, etc., and these problems are becoming increasingly more serious because of the high population growth rates Their difficult situation is often aggravated by foreign debt and civil wars which sometimes erupt from local, regional or national rivalries, as in parts of south Asia, and in Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Liberia among others
The impact of these deprivations is obvious in the rural communities of many developing countries Expenditure of much manual labour to earn less than
a living wage, coupled with low-energy diet, translates into low life expectancy—less than 45 years
in many instances, as in Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique
or Guinea Educational deprivation is reflected by high illiteracy rates, as in Sierra Leone (79 per cent), the Central African Republic (77 per cent), Burkina Faso (82 per cent), Guinea and Somalia (76 per cent), Zambia (73 per cent) and in parts of Asia and South America
Provision of adequate community health care presents a problem that is difficult to solve, as will
be seen from typical data presented in Table 10.1 (Pacey, 1980) The cause of the problem is that qualified medical doctors prefer to work in urban areas, where earnings are more lucrative, than in poor rural areas A workable solution to the problem entails targeted community programmes with emphasis on primary and preventive care, together with family planning advice Traditional remedies using herbs and medicinal plants also have an important role to play
Trang 10Less than 20 per cent of the rural population in
many parts of Africa, Asia and South America has
access to drinking water, which is a major problem
in the rural communities of developing countries
In some of the more developed countries this
proportion rises to about 50 per cent, which
compares with 75–80 per cent in the developed
countries of Europe and North America (Pacey,
1980)
The problem of rural electrification in developing
countries is gradually being solved Whereas rural
communities in developed countries are connected
to the national electricity grid, their counterparts in
developing countries enjoy access to electricity only
if they are located in the low regions or in the plains
Supply of electricity to rural communities in the
mountainous regions is still a problem Increasingly
these communities are using mini-generators and
sometimes micro-hydro and other methods to
produce their own electricity
Traditional culture and religions are preserved and
practised in the rural communities of developing
countries, and passed on from generation to
generation The debit side of this is that superstitions
and unhygienic habits and practices still persist,
especially on matters relating to health As a result
of this and of scarcity of modern medicine and
medical advice, large numbers die each year from
malaria, typhoid and tuberculosis, mainly in rural
communities in the mountainous regions Life is
especially difficult for women, and for children who
also suffer from malnutrition The quality of life of
these communities is further diminished by natural
calamities such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions,
typhoons, avalanches, floods, droughts, etc
MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT OF RURAL ENVIRONMENTS
The formulation and implementation of an appropriate agricultural policy aimed at increasing productivity, with minimal or preferably no damage
to the environment, is central to the overall development of rural communities in developing countries Only in this way can living standards be raised and quality of life enhanced, in accordance with the requirements of sustainable development
It is proposed that the aforementioned policy should contain the following major elements:
1 Agricultural production and increased productivity should be given priority, and cultivation should be restricted to best available agricultural land
2 Crops for cultivation should be selected carefully for their perceived demand, and with attention
to the extent to which they could be harmonised with local ecological conditions Crop cultivation should be combined with cattle-breeding where possible, to promote biological productivity
3 Forests should be planted on degraded and deforested areas to prevent or reduce soil erosion
4 Agroforestry and agro-industries should be encouraged with due attention to environmental considerations
5 Biological pest control methods should be adopted, and crop species resistant to pests should
be selected for cultivation
6 Application of chemical fertilisers and pesticides should be strictly controlled and minimised They should be applied strictly according to manufacturers’ instructions
7 Participation in international programmes aimed
at preserving genetic materials of both crops and farm animals should be encouraged
8 Farmers’ knowledge and understanding of water resources and their management for ensuring sustainable supplies of acceptable quality should
be upgraded Collaboration for water use and management with relevant organisations in countries sharing waters of the same river(s) should be strengthened
9 Rural communities should be encouraged to adopt modern agriculture without deforestation Table 10.1 Number of patients per medical doctor in
some developing countries