UNDP says human index on sustainability may reduce drastically by 2050

The Human Development Index (HDI) may be lower than 8 per cent by 2050 given the prevailing environmental challenges, says the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in its 2011 sustainability report on HDI.

 This, UNDP said could be obvious looking at the baseline in an environmental challenge scenario which will capture the adverse effects of global warming on agricultural production and access to clean water by 2050.

The Human Development reports for 2011 by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) focused on sustainable, equitable progress and how environmental degradation intensifies inequalities through adverse impacts on already disadvantaged people.

The 2011 annual report made available to NaijaAgroNet affirmed the need to address sustainability - locally, nationally and globally in ways that are equitable and empowering order to promote human development.

The 2011 report also revealed that there is a potential future deterioration in environmental degradation as there are increasing points to widespread environmental degradation around the world.

NaijaAgroNet gathered that the United Nations Development Programme is trying to ensure that poor people's aspirations for better lives are fully taken into consideration in moving towards greater environmental sustainability.

There are also ranges of predictions and insight of human development which also points that the extent of future changes is uncertain.

The simulations for the report also gave the impression that the Human Development Index would be 8 per cent lower than in the baseline in an environmental challenge scenario which will capture the adverse effects of global warming on agricultural production and access to clean water by 2050.

UNDP also affirmed that the environmental disaster scenario will lead to a turning point before 2050 in developing nations if nothing is done to halt or reverse the current trends.

Part of the projections of the present trend as gathered by NaijaAgroNet is that the most disadvantaged people will bear the repercussions of environmental deterioration even though they contribute little to the problem.

 'Yinka Awosanya

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