The main purpose of this research study is to understand the impact of social issues in the development of human beings. Combating poverty and social exclusion remain high on the policy agenda in all countries within and outside the OECD (Madriz, 2007). But fostering individual and social development requires more than that. A wide range of issues from employment, trade and labour standards, health, family, gender-equity to education and population ageing are included in social issues (Madriz, 2007).
Discussion
Nature and environment provide essential goods and services for human development. Human well-being and quality of life depend crucially on the quantity and quality of food, water, energy and biodiversity available to man (Jensen, 2003). Reaching the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) will be highly dependent on environmental conditions (Jensen, 2003). However, this crucial role of environment is only partly reflected in the MDG-framework (Jensen, 2003). Often there will be direct conflicts between human development and environment. Further elaborating MDG 7, including quantified objectives would help ensuring environmental sustainability.
Malnutrition, inadequate water supply and environmental pollution pose serious problems to human health. From an environmental perspective shortage of arable land and water stress are important drivers for food vulnerability (Jensen, 2004). Unsafe drinking water and indoor air pollution are the most serious environmental culprits, in view of current loss of human health.
Biodiversity, crucial for delivering ecosystem services, is deteriorating at an unprecedented rate. Africa and Asia face the highest loss rates currently (Jensen, 2004). The most important pressure factor is agricultural expansion. In the future, climate change could be a very important pressure on biodiversity as well. Further increasing protected areas, reducing land conversion by intensification of agriculture and putting a halt to piecemeal encroachment along roads may be helpful actions (Jensen, 2004). This is effecting the human development in a very bad way.
Meeting the Millennium Development Goal on hunger and preventing further biodiversity loss seems incompatible. Agriculture puts an upward pressure on the demand for arable land. This demand may even further increase if the international market for biofuels further develops (Hutton, 2002). Moving to more intense practices may offset, at least in part, the need for expansion of agricultural land. This is for the purpose that the human development is being affected by the poverty and hunger (Hutton, 2002). As we can easily see that poverty and hunger restricts a person in order to work hard and work for the development.
Improving supply of safe water is on track in many developing regions, but some African and Asian countries lag behind (Gray, 2009). Promoting water supply and sanitation seems to be the most effective direct environmental measure to be taken to enhance human health.
Human induced climate change poses an increasing risk to the achievement of the MDG and sustainable development in the longer term (Gray, 2009). Developed countries will need to provide financial and technical support to developing countries to deal with this threat. Main streaming climate change concerns in developing planning and climate proving of development programs and development aid ...