Environmental protection is often viewed as being at odds with development and wealth creation; sometimes it is even looked at as being "anti-people." Litigate against an aluminium smelter or protest against a highway through a mangrove swamp and an environmentalist will quickly be accused of robbing the unemployed of job opportunities, or limiting mobility.
However, environmental degradation due to unsustainable development or poor governance is often one of the root causes of poverty, crime, poor health and even societal collapse. Let's look at a few examples, some from around the world, some from right here in T&T.
Somalia: failed state, pirate haven. Important shipping lanes connect the Suez Canal with the Horn of Africa. World trade passes through here. From time to time a news blurb reaches us: another ship has been hijacked, and the crew is held hostage. Somali fishers turned pirates demand millions in ransom. Foreign navies patrol the waters seeking pirates, with as many as 40 warships. Costs run into the billions.
http://www.guardian.co.tt/digital/new-members