Global Environment Outlook 3 (GEO 3)

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STATE OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND POLICY RETROSPECTIVE: 1972–2002

UNEP, S. Yoh, Topham Picturepoint

Socio-economic background

Global overview Over the past 30 years, the world has undergone unprecedented social, economic, political and technological change. These interlinked components provide the backdrop against which to view changes in the state of the environment over the same period because they serve a dual purpose as some of the most forceful drivers of that environmental change. Human development There have been some impressive gains in human development, particularly in the developing world: incomes and income poverty have improved, people are living longer, are healthier, more literate and better educated than ever before. Average annual incomes in developing countries have mostly risen: in real terms (constant US$1995) they rose during 1972- 99 by 13 per cent in Africa, by 72 per cent in Asia and the Pacific and by 35 per cent in Latin America and the Caribbean; in West Asia they fell by 6 per cent (compiled from World Bank 2001). Nevertheless, the challenges remain daunting in the 21st century, with high levels of deprivation persisting across the world.

Approximately 1.2 billion people, or one-fifth of the world’s population, still live in extreme poverty on less than US$1 a day, and 2.8 billion people, or almost half the world’s population, on less than US$2 a day (UNDP 2001). Three-quarters of those in extreme poverty live in rural areas (IFAD 2001), and the majority are women. Poverty is not limited to developing countries: more than 130 million people in the developed countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) are considered income-poor (UNDP 2001). Ill health is related to environmental factors (WHO 1997, Murray and Lopez 1996) and poverty. Medical innovation, progress in basic health care and enabling social policies have resulted in dramatic increases in life expectancy and declines in infant mortality (UN 2000). Overall, a child born today can expect to live eight years longer than one born 30 years ago (UNDP 2001). However, poverty rates in both urban and rural areas, as well as major infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria are a threat to health successes over the past few decades. Tremendous progress has also been made in terms of education in the past 30 years, and adult literacy