ADB_book_18 April.qxp - Himalayan Document Centre - icimod

subsidies (Mason 1996). All these are differentaspects of institutional failures which if not resolvedin a timely fashion, can lead to conflicts overresources.Human activities tend not to take into accountthe true costs to the environment. This may be due togovernment subsidies, lack of knowledge of impacts(especially if these are ex situ), the absence of lawsand regulations to control environmental damage,undefined access rights to natural resources, conflictsituations where both parties do not observeenvironmental safeguards, poorly developedmarkets for environmental goods and services, and alopsided development that forces large numbers ofpeople to depend on limited natural resources fortheir livelihood. Market failure occurs whenresources are not used efficiently based upon marketsignals or because of externalities (Mason andSwanson 1996). In many instances, markets areunable to put a price on outputs or the impacts ofactivities. This situation pertains to manyenvironmental problems such as disposal of waste inwater bodies, dumping toxic substances, or pollutingthe atmosphere. This happens either becausepolluters think they can get away with it, or the costsof proper disposal are too high. The social costs inthis case can be much higher than the costs to aprivate producer.Solutions to the problem lie in making the pricesignal work more effectively by taxing the producerfor the pollution. Permits provide permissible quotasof pollution beyond which fines can be imposed. Insome cases, when pollution levels are lower than thepermitted levels, the industry can also sell part of apermit to another polluter (EPA 2005).Examples of policy distortions include subsidiesand protections given to certain industries thatdamage the environment. Many public sectorindustries with high degrees of pollution continue tooperate only because of the huge subsidy andprotection provided by governments (UNEP 2002).Other distortions arise because of the hugeadministrative and transaction costs involved ingetting government approvals, licenses, export andimport permits, and so on.Conflicts here may be more implicit thanexplicit. But as societies realize the long-termconsequences of environmental damage, affectedgroups are playing a bigger and bigger role.Other Theories Regarding EnvironmentalConflictAnother explanation holds that the inequities of theworld’s economic systems and the process ofglobalization are responsible for the increasingnumber of violent environmental conflicts (Matthewet al. 2004). The world’s trade system has alwaysbeen biased against natural resources export fromthe developing countries (Khor 1996). Timberexports have uprooted many indigenouscommunities from their traditional homes anddamaged their livelihoods. Many have had to fightagainst these companies.Having plentiful resources is a curse for somecountries as it provides a favorable base forenvironmental conflicts (Gleditsch 2004). Whereresources are abundant, there is a tendency tomisuse them. Slow economic growth despiteplentiful resources, skewed distribution ofdevelopment benefits, and weak institutions providea set of factors that encourages political instabilityand armed conflict for control over resources. Thesehave also been referred to as the “greed andgrievance” theories (Gleditsch 2004). The motivationfor conflict in the grievance theory is the opportunityto right past wrongs, while in the greed theory themotivation is for seizing the resource through violentmeans. It is also necessary to distinguish differenttypes of natural resources. The more valuable theresource, the more likely that it could become asource of conflict.Efforts are being made to examine ways toresolve conflicts through promoting cooperation andpeace building (Dabelko and Carius 2004; Conca andDabelko 2002). There is little value in explainingconflicts if those explanations do not identify or leadto a peaceful resolution of the problem. So far mostconflicts have affected rural areas, but there may alsobe conflicts that affect urban areas in the future,especially with the growing scarcity of fresh waterand clean air (Matthew et al. 2004). Conflicts neednot always be negative. They may provide valuableexperience for innovative solutions to naturalresources management.As increasing competition for valuableenvironmental resources becomes the cause ofconflict at a larger scale than at present, there isgrowing interest in “ecological security” (Conca andDabelko 2002). Increasingly, developed countries arecarefully tracking the availability of critical naturalresources, assessing the chances for eco-violence,and urging their governments to develop ecologicalsecurity guidelines and policies. Developingcountries, on the other hand, see this as anotherhurdle being put before them by the developedcountries in their efforts to promote sustainabledevelopment. Any limitations on harnessingavailable environmental resources could jeopardizetheir prospects for improving the wellbeing of theirpeople (Conca and Dabelko 2002).158 Environment Assessment of Nepal : Emerging Issues and Challenges