Three Obstacles for Africa to Realize Sustainabel Development
THREE OBSTACLES FOR AFRICA TO REALIZE SUSTAINABEL DEVELOPMENT Author: Li Zhibiao
Date: 2003-5-13
________________________________________
In the contemporary economic development theories prevailing all over the world and in the policy practices pursued by every country, sustainable development of social economy is becoming a focus. What is sustainable development ? The United Nations defines it as " to satisfy the needs of this generation,without doing any detriment to the ability of the coming generations in satisfying their needs. "
According to the UN""definition, the balanced state of population growth, resource exploitation, and ecological protection is certainly the basic requirements for the realization of sustainable development. Africa is an area abounding in natural resources in the world ; however, a lot of African countries don""t realize the significance of the balanced state of this Kind in their economic development , and therefore this has not only become a cause of under-development, but also has evolved into main obstacles on the way to realizing sustainable development.
Obstacle One : Population Problems
Since human beings conduct all economic activities, the sustainable development of a social economy cannot be divorced from a balance in population growth. The balance between resources and environment cannot be realized unless population growth is brought under control. From national independence through the early 1990s, economic growth in African countries has continued to slide, while populations have leapt from 275 million in 1960 to 680 million in 1993. With the population explosion, a series of phenomena have emerged, such as a younger population, abnormal urbanization and the low quality of the work force and low education of the population.
A. Younger Population
Among the aggregate African population, nearly half are under the age of 15, and only 5% are over 65 years of age. Generally speaking, a younger population may provide
Date: 2003-5-13
________________________________________
In the contemporary economic development theories prevailing all over the world and in the policy practices pursued by every country, sustainable development of social economy is becoming a focus. What is sustainable development ? The United Nations defines it as " to satisfy the needs of this generation,without doing any detriment to the ability of the coming generations in satisfying their needs. "
According to the UN""definition, the balanced state of population growth, resource exploitation, and ecological protection is certainly the basic requirements for the realization of sustainable development. Africa is an area abounding in natural resources in the world ; however, a lot of African countries don""t realize the significance of the balanced state of this Kind in their economic development , and therefore this has not only become a cause of under-development, but also has evolved into main obstacles on the way to realizing sustainable development.
Obstacle One : Population Problems
Since human beings conduct all economic activities, the sustainable development of a social economy cannot be divorced from a balance in population growth. The balance between resources and environment cannot be realized unless population growth is brought under control. From national independence through the early 1990s, economic growth in African countries has continued to slide, while populations have leapt from 275 million in 1960 to 680 million in 1993. With the population explosion, a series of phenomena have emerged, such as a younger population, abnormal urbanization and the low quality of the work force and low education of the population.
A. Younger Population
Among the aggregate African population, nearly half are under the age of 15, and only 5% are over 65 years of age. Generally speaking, a younger population may provide