Madagascar is one of the countries that has the most
abundant varieties of natural resources and richest biodiversity, as it
is also among the poorest
country worldwide, people’s daily survival mostly depend upon natural resources
use. However, as Madagascar is increasingly reinforcing its economic development in order to
better fit in the world market, its biodiversity and ecosystems are severely threatened. Specifically, some major
environmental problems Madagascar is facing are deforestation, soil erosion,
overexploitation of living resources and agricultural fires. These problems
have not only posed threats on the environment, but also aggravated hunger and poverty. The Madagascar government has made efforts to solve environmental
problems and improve people’s wellbeing by implementing several conservation strategies.
To list a few, the dominant form of land use is shifting cultivation by the
slash-and-burn method, also known as tavy. The idea is to cut down smaller
trees and bushes and leave them to dry, then burn them before rainy seasons.
Then they get a cleared area that would allow cultivation again. Tavy has evolved
as the most efficient agricultural strategy for given environments in
Madagascar. Another important strategy Madagascar is taking to preserve environment
is known as ecotourism. It is a form of tourism that involves visiting fragile
and protected natural areas, intended as a low-impact and small scale alternative
to standard commercial tourism. By promoting ecotourism, local Malagasies are
given a direct incentive to conserve the environment around them. Also, ecotourists
are willing to pay for preservation in the form of park entrance fees and
hiring of local tour guide. According to a Madagascar conservation group, “ecotourism
may be the best hope for Madagascar to improve the standard of living for its
people.”
(An ecotourist guide in Andasibe, Madagascar)
According to my research,
a number of human rights violations still exist in the Malagasy society, especially
strict media censorship, human trafficking, gender inequality and unlawful killings.
Although human rights in Madagascar are protected under the country’s constitution,
the extent to which such rights are reflected in practice is questionable. In
recent years, one of the most appalling human rights abuses in Madagascar was a
mass killing happened in September 2012. In an effort to catch a group of
cattle thieves, Madagascar’s rampaging security forces indiscriminately set
fire to villages as part of the military operation, leaving many elderly people,
children and the disabled burned alive because of their inability to flee their
homes. An organization dedicates to promote human rights, Amnesty
International, investigated this mass killing and several other raids on
villages in Madagascar, they said that authorities in Madagascar were informed
about these mass killings as well as civilian casualties, but did nothing to
prevent it. From my other researches regarding human rights abuses in
Madagascar, I found that the Malagasy government’s attitude towards dealing
with human rights issues did seem to be generally indifferent. But I believe
the Malagasy government should really start taking practical efforts to protect
human rights of their people and maintain its social justice.
(Security officers in Madagascar setting fire to village )
There is a connection
between climate change and human rights. All humans have the rights to live
freely in a safe and habitable environment, or as the Environmental Justice
Foundation puts it, “We consider environmental security to be a basic human
right.” However, climate change can damage such rights of human, especially of those
who live in an underdeveloped region. Because of climate change, people’s basic
needs for survival, such as air, water and food will face scarcity and reduction
in quality, posing direct threats to human’s wellbeing. According to the EJF,
each year, millions of people are forced to move because of rapid-onset
climate-related hazards and slow onset environmental degradation. Apparently,
climate change deprived these people of their right to live safely. In addition,
a study done by researchers at Princeton University and the University of
California found that “a hotter, more unstable climate exacerbates three
specific types of violence: personal violence, intergroup violence/political
instability and institutional breakdowns.” This proves that climate change can
also harm human’s rights to live safely by creating disturbance to social
order. Dr. Elizabeth Lindsey’s TED speech—Ancient Wisdom—also somehow referred
to the connection between environmental change and human rights. My interpretation
of her talk is that, people who live in an indigenous community have the right
to live as who they are and the freedom to live however they want. The free and
wild environment they live in offers them the privilege of living without burden.
They don’t have to worry about being productive, accomplished or successful
like those who live in a modern environment do. They only care about finding happiness
in their heart, and that’s a right people living in the modern environment do
not always possess.
(Indigenous people being forced to relocate as their traditional lands become uninhabitable)
In Farish A. Noor’s
article Beyond Eurocentrism, he
emphasized the need for a multicultural understanding of human rights. He made
a few key arguments in this article. First of all, he explained that
“Eurocentrism denotes the emerging perception within the European cultural,
historical experience and European identity as good and all other forms as less
good or less advanced.” Although the notion is called eurocentrism, Noor
believes it applies to most of the Western countries. There is no doubt that
the Western world dominants in politics and economics, but he disagrees with
such dominance being mistakenly interpreted as a cultural and ideological
ascendancy. Noor made the point that Europe cannot force other cultures to
accept its value because liberal democracy in the West has flaws in itself,
including racism, class divisions, economic oppression and socio-cultural
inequalities. It is obvious that these false values cannot serve as example for
the rest of the world. Also, even if we don’t take these negative aspects into
consideration, Western-style liberal democracy may simply not fit in other
countries’ social and historical context. When Noor talked about going beyond
eurocentrism, he said the first step is “to attempt to understand and appreciate
the way different societies and cultures have developed their respective
understanding of human dignity and values and to try to identify the specific
local traditions and thought systems that should be elaborated to ensure that
the goals are achieved.” This is also an important way to defend the rights and
freedoms of all people. People from every region, including Asian, Europeans,
Africans and Americans must use their own cultural resources to solve their
socio-political problems in their own societies. Noor concluded that, while we
speak different languages, we all snore in the same one. Therefore, all
cultures and people ought to be treated equally.
References:
Farish A. Noor. Beyond Eurocentrism: The Need for a
Multicultural Understanding of Human Rights.
