ABSTRACT
It is apparent that the world faces a global crisis that cannot be ignored. Recognizing the urgency of the global environmental problems, therefore, strict international cooperation and vigilance should be advocated amongst all the nations of the world-even amongst those with conflicting agendas. The protection of the global environment against pollution and deterioration has indeed become a very important international policy issue in recent years. For most developing and newly industrializing nations, environmental degradation has become a particularly serious problem-especially over the past decade or two. Part of the degradation in the emerging economies can be attributed to the rapid industrialization in some countries, and to hazardous wastes dumped from elsewhere onto some others that are usually in economically deprived regions. The problems of the emerging economies should not necessarily be ignored by the developed countries (some of which may have, directly or indirectly, contributed to some of these very problems) as the developing nations’ problem; rather, it should be seen as a critical global environmental issue to be addressed now, and with much urgency and concerted international efforts-albeit such efforts are likely to be hampered by sovereignty concerns.
