From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Informally, a global issue describes any social , economic, political or environmental problem that has already arisen or can arise from global change or globalization , e.g. overpopulation , or water scarcity .[1]
In their book "Global Issues ," Hite and Seitz emphasize that global issues are qualitatively different from international affairs and that the former arise from growing international interdependencies which makes the issues themselves interdependent.[2]
UN list
The UN has listed issues that it deems to be the most pressing as of 2015:[3]
Top Level Issue
Issues
Relevant UN Directives/Initiatives
Africa
poverty , diseases , desertification , malnutrition , regional conflict
Office of the Special Adviser on Africa , African Union , New Partnership for Africa’s Development , United Nations–African Union Mission in Darfur
Ageing
ageing population , demographic transition
Vienna International Plan of Action on Ageing , United Nations Principles for Older Persons , Proclamation on Ageing , International Year of Older Persons
Agriculture
sustainable agriculture , food security
Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO)
AIDS
Prevention of HIV/AIDS , HIV and pregnancy , HIV/AIDS denialism
Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS , The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
Atomic Energy
nuclear weapons , nuclear waste
International Atomic Energy Agency , Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons , Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty
Children
Child poverty , Child labour , Child abuse , Child mortality , Global education
Education First , United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Food Programme , Global Education First Initiative[4]
Climate Change
Climate change mitigation , Climate change denial , Adaptation to global warming
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
Decolonization
exploitation
United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization , United Nations Trust Territories , International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism
Demining
land mines
Mine Action Coordination Center , Ottawa Treaty
Democracy
democratization
Universal Declaration of Human Rights , International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights , UNDP , UNDEF , DPKO , DPA , OHCHR , UN Women
Development
social transformation , economic development
Social protection floor
Disarmament
weapons of mass destruction , chemical and biological weapons , conventional weapons , landmines and small arms
United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs
Environment
pollution , deforestation , desertification ,etc., see Environment below
United Nations Conference on the Human Environment , World Environment Day , United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Framework Convention on Climate Change , Montreal Protocol , Convention to Combat Desertification , Convention on Biological Diversity
Family
socialisation of children, s.a. Ageing, Children
UNFPA , UNICEF , International Year of the Family
Food
missing food security and safety , food riots , world hunger
FAO
Governance
lack of equity , participation , pluralism , transparency , accountability , rule of law
Health
maternal health , extreme poverty
Millennium Development Goals
Human Rights
human rights violations
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Human Settlements
slums , urbanization , sanitation
UN-HABITAT , Millennium Development Goal
Humanitarian Assistance (s.a. Refugees)
humanitarian crisis , human migration , displacement
World Food Programme , Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs , International Organization for Migration
International Law
war crimes , discrimination , state-corporate crime
International Law Commission , Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948), International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (1965), International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966), International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966), Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (1979), United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982), Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (1996), International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism (1999), Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006)
Oceans / Law of the Sea (s.a. Water)
marine pollution , ocean governance
United Nations Conference on the Human Environment , Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter
Peace and Security
United Nations peacekeeping , List of United Nations peacekeeping missions , Peacebuilding Commission
Persons with Disabilities
discrimination , lack of universal design
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Population
overpopulation, world population
UNFPA
Refugees (s.a. Humanitarian Assistance)
United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA),
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
Terrorism
Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism
Volunteerism
United Nations Volunteers
Water (s.a. Oceans)
water scarcity , water conflict , water privatization , water pollution
UN-Water , System of Environmental and Economic Accounting for Water , Water for Life Decade , International Recommendations on Water Statistics , United Nations Water Conference , Millennium Development Goals , International Conference on Water and the Environment (1992), Earth Summit (1992)
Women
women's rights , gender equality
Commission on the Status of Women , International Women's Year
Global issues
Theories like the world-system theory and the Gaia hypothesis focus on the inter dependency aspect of environmental and economic issues. Among the most evident environmental problems are
overpopulation ,
resource depletion ,
pollution ,
water pollution ,
waste and waste disposal ,
ocean acidification ,
acid rain ,
ozone layer depletion ,
global warming /climate change ,
loss of biodiversity and habitat loss ,
deforestation , and
urban sprawl .[5] [6] [7] [8]
No single issue can be isolated. For example, habitat loss and climate change adversely affect biodiversity. Deforestation and pollution are direct consequences of overpopulation and both, in turn, affect biodiversity. While overpopulation locally leads to rural flight , this is more than counterbalanced by accelerating urbanization and urban sprawl.
See also
References
Literature
External links