Retrospection of Globalisation Process and the Sustainability of Natural Environment in Developing Countries

Globalization is an inevitable integrating process and vital to the world economy but it generates many challenges towards the integration of “economic independence” of the nation states like (a) economic integration through investment/trade and capital flow, (b) initiating multilateral political interaction between the countries, and (c) diffusion of dominant cultural values and beliefs over other cultures. globalization accelerates structural change, which alters the industrial structure of host countries, for instance the excessive use of natural resources and contributes to the physical environmental deterioration. Further, globalization transmits and magnifies market failures and policy distortions if not properly addressed. The chapter attempts to (a) identify the key links between globalization and environment deterioration, (b) identify some issues in multilateral economic agreements in trade, finance, investments, and intellectual property rights that affect environmental sustainability, (c) identify and review priority policy issues affecting multilateral economic agreements on environment issues.