The World Reform Strategy by Kh. Atiar Rahman

There is no denying the fact that the affiliation as envisaged between escalation and the surroundings has recently been thought about for which the concerning authority has led innumerable efforts to establish reforms in different sectors virtually. In light of this, the cost-effective reform of the developing countries was one of the key issues in the world's early environmental convention, in Stockholm in 1972. The succeeding symposium has indicated in the sense that without taking into account the reforms issue of the developing countries ecological concern would not be resolved. The expansion issue of the South rallied round to expand the concept of ‘sustainable reforms'. This perception gives prominence on reforms while at the same time recognises its relationship with environment. Although there exists acknowledgement of the need to achieve a sustainable balance between environment and reforms, the perspectives of the North and South differs in this respect. The North gives more emphasis on environmental protection while the South on reforms in respect of trade, education and commerce. Although these different attitudes create some situations of conflict between the two sides, there are number of cases of some sort of co-operation also existing between them.

According to Ben ham, a famous economist ‘Sustainable reforms' means prop up reforms with preserving the environment for the interest of present as well as future generations. A sustainable reform gives emphasis on the fulfilment of the basic needs of the poor people. It aims at solving ecological problem and poverty simultaneously. In a simple phrase, it means economic reforms with low environmental pollution. According to Hartshorn ‘sustainable reforms' means to improve the quality of life of humans without depleting renewable and non-renewable natural resources. This contrasts with traditional reforms as a model that stresses the enhancement of Gross National Product through economic growth which is often based on rapid depletion of the natural resources. In this connection, if we consider the economic model, we will find under open and closed economic cycle, GDP has adequate influences over the injections where other factors like import, export, taxation create smooth ingredients for betterment of stabilisation in the field of a country's economy tentatively.

Suffice it to say that in the year 1987, Brundtland, a renowned economist specialized on Environment and reforms produced a unique milestone report which has been promulgated envisaging widespread economic features. Such report is widely known as the Brundtland report making a mammoth impact by linking environmental and reforms issue through the concept of ‘sustainable reforms'. This concept came down to us which reduced the intellectual and political gap on environmental issue between the North and South. At that time the South was arguing for economic growth and North was at loggerheads for environmental shield in respect of the developing countries on the environmental issue which differs to a large extent from that of the developed countries. According to the remarks passed by the South, as the Northern countries are the main beneficiaries of the process of economic growth so they are responsible for the world's environmental problem. As the South has no economic alternative, they utilize the most of their natural resources only for their economic reforms. They exploit their natural resources to deal with their poverty. For illustration, it is easier said than done to delineate a rural farmer in Brazil to stop cutting the rain forest where he must grow crops to feed his family. In the developing countries, forest clearance is not in effect for timber, domestic use or export, but rather for agricultural cultivation which is virtually important for better economic growth. It is evident that high population growth is a serious problem for the Southern countries. It increases pressure on natural resources and creates more environmental problems. For that reason it is not very easy for the developing countries to attain ‘sustainable reforms'. Nafis Sadik pointed out in one of her argument in respect of reforms economics that these developing countries understand the importance of protecting the environment, but is compelled to resort to environmentally unsound practices in order to survive. For sustainable reforms therefore, developing countries need technological and financial support from the developed world.

In view of the above discussion it is evident that, as the developed countries have previously attained their economic growth, so it is moderately easier for them to focus on environmental setback. They can use substitute technique which will be more environmentally reverberation for them. However, they also have their own predicament. For case in point, the people in the developed countries do not fancy to assume any new weigh down. There exists an unemployment problem in many developed countries. For these reason overseas aid is always under financial pressure in developed countries. Technology transfer is also a problem for the developed countries, as it is usually in the possession of private companies, which usually have their own priorities about the countries to what extent they should be expediently be abounding to. For that reason, they do not reassign their technology at a cost that the South can afford. On the other hand, an alternative of developed country still rebuff the correlation between economic reforms and environmental fortification. It is an inquiring feeling as to what is the problem and position taken by both the developed and developing countries; the transition of the developing countries to sustainability will require support from the developed countries. If the Northern does not help in the reforms needs of the South, then the environmental issue is bound to create conflict undoubtedly.