Environmental Development: Between Future Necessities and Current Reality

Abstract

One of the fundamental principles of the progress and advancement of nations and states is their ability to preserve their natural resources for the longest possible period, along with the added capabilities of creating a livable environment free from pollution, desertification, and scarcity of life's necessities. Laws, government departments, or organizational structures of institutions alone, without the individual and society having a fundamental role to play, cannot achieve this. This role will certainly rise or fall according to the accumulated awareness of these tools—the individual, then the family, and society as a whole—of the importance of the environment and the duty to preserve it. In any case, the rise of environmental awareness and awareness of environmental risks requires what is scientifically called "environmental culture," which is one of the pillars of environmental development. Therefore, we have attempted here, through this analytical reading, to arrive at the essence of this culture, along with a scientific understanding of the concept of environmental development and its goals. This understanding remains incomplete without a precise knowledge of the risks surrounding the environment, starting with desertification and pollution, moving on to water scarcity, global warming, severe climate changes, and the increasing quantities of non-degradable materials. Certainly, the science of anthropology and the findings of research ecology in this field can be a tributary and helpful in arriving at a scientific vision of what environmental development should be.