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CONTENTS
Initiator's Foreword: Kinne O (2001)
Contribution 1: Benards O (2001)
Initiator's Foreword
The relations between First- and Third-World countries are characterized by ethical concepts and political actions that require re-assessment. This ESEP Discussion Forum provides a stage for evaluating the present status, for discussing old mistakes and new approaches, and for paving the road towards more historical truth and fair partnership.
Kenya — this is the area on Planet Earth where millions of years ago the first human life began to evolve. In fact, in Africa existed highly developed cultures long before the recorded history of First-World countries began. We should not forget that when we now speak of the First and Third World.
While most First-World countries are rich, in the country of Okeyo Benards, the founder and Chairman of the first Kenya Chapter of the 'Eco-Ethics International Union' (EEIU), nearly 2 out of 3 of the almost 30 million people living there have to get by on US $2 or less per day, more than 1 out of 4 on $1 or less. Of 100 children more than 12 die before they reach age 5. Average total life expectancy is 51 years (World Bank 2000*, pp 274, 276, 280).
In the growth-oriented Western world increasing productivity, insatiable consumption and high living standards have led to destructions in the environment. In contrast, in Third-World countries it is poverty, more than anything else, that causes environmental damage. The indifference of people who have little to live for and nothing to lose, and insufficient education have promoted practices that tend to harm local ecosystems. Thus, following the original deep-rooted respect for nature, the new disrespect for life in poor countries has causes very different from those that have produced disrespect in the West.
Convinced that our economic success documents overall superiority, we in the West tend to believe that our values provide generally applicable guidelines, and we are insufficiently aware that, in the process, we diminish not only our own ethical values but also much of our humanity.
Benards knows both worlds. He realises that if we want to stop and reverse our course of self-destruction, we need to develop more respect for life and for all human cultures. The new ethical constructs presented by the Eco-Ethics International Union (www.eeiu.org) provide a common conceptual denominator for both First- and Third-World countries and for re-assessing the relations between them.
As always with contributions to ESEP Discussion Forums, Benards' article is intended to be thought-provoking. Responses, whether endorsements, supplements, or critiques, are welcome. Please mail to EEIU Headquarters, Nordbünte 23, 21385 Oldendorf/Luhe, Germany; fax to (49)4132-8883; or e-mail to eeiu@eeiu.org).
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* World Bank (2000) World document report 2000/2001: attacking poverty. Part 1. Oxford University Press, New York, p. 13-41 (www.worldbank.org/poverty/wdrpoverty)
The dilemma of developing countries: backgrounds of poverty, social disruption and environmental destruction,
and ways for improvement
Okeyo Benards
Chairman, EEIU Chapter Kenya
PO Box 83, Sare, Kenya
(E-mail: Okeyo@yahoo.com)
Editorial responsibility: Nicola Barnfather
Published September 24, 2001
© Inter-Research
Developing countries comprise the major population components of such big continents as Africa, Asia and Latin America. The countries suffer from poverty (per capita consumption is often below 1 US-per day), illiteracy and high levels of mortality (Rao 1998). While several attempts have been made and theories developed to trace where things started to go wrong with these countries, no conclusive suggestions are available.
In my view, colonialism supported economic exploitation, suppressed indigenous people's own initiatives and thus caused stagnation in our technological evolution. The dominance of Western technologies plays a major role in this very unfortunate situation.
Most developing countries practiced and evolved, in the course of their long history, nature-compatible technical skills (described in current ethno-sciences; IUCN 1997). These were adequate for the situation, practicable, adjusted to the people's needs, sustainable and passed on from generation to generation.
Dismissing the relevance of these achievements, disparaging them in the quest to gain dominance over them, belittling them as primitive and barbaric, and preparing the scene for an erosion of endemic cultural and religious roots: all this adds up, in my perception, to the worst and largest crime ever committed in human history. Here grew the roots of poverty, social disruption and environmental destruction in the developing countries.
Poverty cannot be overcome by rigorously enforcing the implementation of modern technology, or by simply insisting on augmenting the level of local production, but by furthering the ability of the people concerned to develop their own initiatives and to assist them in realizing their own performance potentials - taking into account their own historical roots, specific ways, means and abilities. Such situation-specific help can open up great chances for sustained success. Not only words, but deeds are required and this in a spirit compatible with the people and their history. It also is necessary to help our people find access to markets and to make them aware of today's world-wide environmental challenges. The international community, which of late seems a lot more interested in helping the poor countries, should move in the directions outlined above.
Local technological initiatives, like the Kenyan 'jua kali' concept (pers. obs.), where groups of young people come together to identify tools needed in their vicinity and attempt to make these tools using locally available resources, is one of the best illustrations of the concept of 'self-help'. Financial assistance provided to such groups and help with the marketing of their products in other countries of equal standing, as well as favorable tax exemptions, would boost these developments. We should not forget that the 'advanced' technologies may still have something to gain and to borrow from these 'crude' technologies. We would appreciate assistance in making the latter more perfect and in refining our 'indigenous technologies'.
The social dimension is another important aspect in the eradication of poverty and environmental conservation. The World Bank Commission on Environment and Development (World Bank 2000) reports that even if environmental goals are strictly pursued, the social dimension cannot be ignored, because ecologically sustainable policies which induce social stress and thus ignite resistance lead to insurmountable implementation hurdles and have little future except on institutional shelves.
Realizing the intricate and intimate interrelationships between humanity and environment, not only is more knowledge required about living and non-living environmental ecosystem components, but also on situation-specific social aspects. In poor countries with some traces of traditional knowledge, it is inspiring to learn how man from the onset had made attempts at being in harmony with his environment. The current concept of sustainability was implicit in all historical actions, and the environment remained in a healthy state.
Disruptions in our social life and attempts to embrace the Western culture reduced our peoples' determination and left them without direction, inspiration and competitive drive. It also promoted the feeling that life is a big dream with essential controls from outside. Today, the reliance on foreign aid has deepened the feeling of dependency and eroded the struggle for excellence. It should never be forgotten that it is difficult to live without some traditional beliefs, taboos and norms.
The continued erosion of our cultural systems with little improvements in infrastructure is a major cause of poverty. The feelings of human worth, pride and adequacy are vital ingredients in the promotion of ingenuity, innovation and invention. Cultural values, rather than the amount of foreign aid, are likely to decide on our long-term future. In their absence and that of innovativeness, attempts to overcome poverty will remain illusive.
The awareness of poverty becomes even stronger when I visit developed countries. Such visits underline the paramount differences in living conditions. Human resilience is heavily tested as our children go hungry and become subject to a variety of diseases and infections and many of us suffer from the effects of untreated water. At the same time the Western world is building five-star accommodations in our countries in order to satisfy the often extreme tastes of tourists, who find our countries to be much cheaper in terms of costs. While it is true that tourists bring foreign exchange, which is urgently needed, the money rarely trickles down to the impoverished and malnourished. Most tourist establishments are owned and managed by citizens of the developed world and much of the returns from their investments are used to import luxury cars, balloons and camping facilities for tourists. In my view these kinds of investments, besides being more often than not environmentally destructive, are hurting more than helping. It is a question of ethics rather than of socio-economics to achieve improvements of this situation.
The concept of eco-ethics as developed by Otto Kinne (1997, 2001) is one of the best approaches among a myriad of others, such as the PRA (participatory rural appraisal) and the empowerment of the local people. The recognition of the indigenous peoples as expressed in the ILO 169 Convention on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples (IUCN 1997) is yet another step in this direction. Eco-ethics advocates respect, feeling, and compassion between man and man, and man and environment.
Summary
Poverty, social disruption and environmental destruction in developing countries have their main roots in the sudden disruption and destruction of historically grown cultures, loss of traditional identities and values, and in the resulting cultural, religious and economic disorientation and lack of motivation. We need no foreign domination, but more fairness and knowledge transfer and the application of ethical principles. We criticize attempts toward monopolization and the tendency to 'kill' our tender plants of newly built business ventures and local economies. In my view, the implication of eco-ethics principles offers more chances to compensate for the disadvantages from which the poor countries presently suffer than the provision of financial support without respect for and insight into local situations.
LITERATURE CITED
IUCN [International Union for Conservation of Nature] (1997) Indigenous peoples and
sustainability: cases and actions. IUCN Inter-Commission Task Force on Indigenous Peoples. International Books, Utrecht (I-books@antenna.nl)
Kinne O (1997) Ethics in ecology: eco-ethics. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 153:1-3
Kinne O (2001) EEIU: further developed text (www.eeiu.org)
Norgaard RB (1994) Development betrayed: the end process and a coevolutionary revising of the future. Routledge, London
Rao JM (1998) Development in the time of globalization. The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Working Paper Series
Ruddle K (1992) Traditional resource management and knowledge. South Pacific Commission Information Bulletins
