Inequality and Development in Climate Studies

This week has helped me see how climate change is a political issue as well as an environmental problem.  Barnes states, “They are concerned about changes in the water supply, but they link these not to shifting climatic parameters but to the political and technical decisions that act as intermediaries between the water falling from the sky as rain and them receiving it.”  This shows how there are other decisions that are in place that can determine how much water one person gets.  Also in this chapter there the three perspectives of Egypt’s water.  One of these depends on the actions of other countries that lie upstream within the Nile Basin and how this affects Nile flows to Egypt.  Therefore, the decisions of surrounding nations affect Egypt’s water supply.  Going along with this is the idea that the most politically connected and influential among Egyptians will always receive the water they need, this shows the inequality experienced there.  As for the development attempted with REDD+ in Vietnam, it is clear to see there are areas that seem to be lacking.  The checklist idea seems good in a way to make sure a country is ready for the implementation of a program.  However, this model might not be having the full impact on preparing an area because it is not very in depth and leaves out aspects.  An equality aspect in this chapter by McElwee was how ethnic minorities were often blamed for being agents of deforestation.  These chapters helped me see how important it to individualize an environmental plan for a specific nation or region because each area is unique in it’s need and with its differences in societal relations.