Developing countries should prioritize environmental protection over resource extraction.

This is a Lincoln Douglass topic, but since my opponent will not be arguing in the typical LD format, neither will I. Definitions and ObservationsDeveloping Country- a poor agricultural country that is seeking to become more advanced economically and socially (New Oxford American Dictionary)Developing Country- countries with a GNI of US $11,905 and less are defined as developing (World Bank 2012)I used two definitions. The first one describes what a developing country is aiming to do, and the second one explains what results in a developing country technically being considered "developing."Environmental Protection- environmental guardianship based on policies and procedures (Black’s Law Dictionary)1. the conserving of natural resources2. the preserving of the existing natural environment3. where possible, repairing damage and reversing trends Resource Extraction- the action of taking out a country’s collective means of supporting itself of becoming wealthier, as represented by its reserves of minerals, land, and other assets esp. using effort of force (New Oxford American Dictionary)Conflict- A serious disagreement or argument, typically a protracted one1. This debate is over only instances where environmental protection is in direct conflict with resource extraction. All the examples I provide are instances where resource extraction has substantially hindered environmental protection.2. My opponent cannot argue for holding both environmental protection and resource extraction equally since this debate is only over instances where the two cannot coexist.ArgumentsPoints 1 and 2 talk about how protecting the environment helps citizens of developing countries (as well as citizens outside developing countries) because environmental degradation in one country can obviously affect countries around it. Points 3, 4, and 5 talk about how protecting the environment will ultimately help the nation develop both economically and socially. 1. Developing countries have unstable environments due to resource extraction.Unclean water is responsible for approximately 3.1% of all deaths worldwide. 99% of these deaths are in developing countries (1). Highly toxic chemicals are used to separate metals from the ore, and at the end of operation, the resulting waste may threaten to poison the nearby soil, waterways, and wildlife (2).” So essentially, mining can result in unclean water. Farming (which fits my definition of resource extraction) can contribute to this problem if done incorrectly. The over fertilization of plants can result in unusable groundwater in poor countries (3). Another major issue is outdoor air pollution which results in around 800,000 deaths each year. “Resource extraction and processing industries, which are common in developing countries, emit dust or hazardous fumes at the worksite (4).”One billion people, worldwide, rely on forest based assets to live. This is about 1/7 of our population. Even though taking good care of our ecosystems is important, 15 out of the 24 essential services from ecosystems are currently being eroded (1). Look at this chart: Here we can see that security, basic materials, and health benefits come from ecosystem services. Excessive resource extraction interferes with all these things.2. Ensuring environmental stability through the prioritization of environmental protection over resource extraction will benefit developing countries.Achieving environmental stability has had many benefits for developing countries, as shown in the case of Albania. In 2005, Albania began to prioritize environmental protection over resource extraction due to all the damages done by excessive deforestation. According to the Global Environment Facility, when Albania prioritized environmental protection, within three years (by 2008), a large governmental staff in charge of forest extension was developed, natural forest habitats and scrub forest coverage were improved and increased, and 400,000 tons of erosion had been reduced, enabling citizens to farm. The country also began to work on stricter law enforcement (5).Another example would be Nepal. In 2001, Nepal began the process of reforestation. The forest coverage increased by 1.35 percent from 2001 to 2005. This may seem like a small amount, but there were a large amount of benefits. UNEP states, "The remarkable turnaround in forest management in Nepal is directly attributable to the benefits generated for community groups, in the form of environmental goods, services, and welfare enhancements (6)."3. The United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDG's) are best achieved through environmental protection.I will be as brief as possible with this point, but I aim to explain that the MDG’s are best achieved through environmental protection. I only covered the goals that I feel have direct environmental linkages (1).1. Eradicating extreme poverty and hunger.I’d like to go back to my point on the destruction of ecosystems. 15 out of the 24 essential services for life are being eroded. Also, impoverished individuals in developing countries often have to look to farming in order to obtain food. In cases such as Lesotho, resource extraction has rendered only 10 percent of their soil usable (7).2. Reduce child mortality:Most of the people who die from water diseases are under the age of five. Reference my point about water pollution above.3. Combat diseases:My OECD card notes that U33; of all diseases in developing countries is associated with environmental risk factors. Protecting the environment helps prevent such diseases. Obviously, prevention is more effective than treatment when it comes to combating diseases.4. Ensure environmental sustainability:1 billion people currently rely on forest based assets to live. “Current trends in environmental degradation that are caused by resource extraction must be reversed to sustain the health and productivity of the world’s ecosystems.” 4. Economic development is achieved by the prioritization environmental protection.According to the International Journal for Rural Development, 4-12% of Africa’s GDP is lost due to environmental degradation (8). OECD states that environmental wealth counts for 25% of the total wealth within low-income countries (1). If developing countries prioritize environmental protection they will increase their environmental wealth and obtain a higher GDP. So, in the end, money spent on environmental degradation will go towards achieving development while keeping the environment stable.5. Economic development is hindered by the prioritization of resource extractionThe resource curse takes place when countries begin to extract a large amount of nonrenewable resources. The resource curse, defined by the Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics from Ohio State University, says the natural resource curse refers to the paradox that countries and regions with an abundance of natural resources, like minerals and fuels, tend to have less economic growth and worse development outcomes than countries with fewer natural resources (9). Developing countries with low amounts of economic growth are often the ones with an abundance of natural resources. In addition to this, an article from The Atlantic emphasizes that the money provided from resource extraction goes only to the elite of society, and poverty is in no way being decreased (10). A study from MIT tech notes that in developing countries, corruption is much more prevalent, thus the resource curse and misuse of money from resources is a very large of problem (11). (1) http://www.oecd.org... If the link doesn't take you to the source, type this into Google, "OECD- Why a Healthy Environment is Essential to Reducing Poverty."(2) http://www.wupperinst.org... (page 10)(3) http://www.fao.org...(4) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov...(5) http://www.thegef.org...(6) http://www.unep.org...(7) http://www.irinnews.org...(8) http://www.rural21.com...(9) http://www.neaef.org...(10) http://www.theatlantic.com...(11) http://economics.mit.edu...