Global health. The current scenario and future perspectives

67 5.An integrative view on the relationship between globalization and the environment Karla Yohannessen Vásquez The environment, from a simple and anthropocentric perspective, can be considered as the external or what surrounds human beings; however, there are numerous definitions of the environment. The United Nations has defined the environment as the “totality of external conditions that affect the life, development, and survival of an organism,” considering the naturally produced physical environment, on which humanity fully relies for all its activities, in its context. Due to this dependence, the care of the environment is of vital importance for all organisms, living beings, and ecosystems, including human beings. On the other hand, globalization in its broadest sense can be understood as a process of global integration, which, in various ways, affects all areas of human activities. The process of globalization as a process of internationalization has several dimensions, such as economic, social, political, informational, and cultural, among others, which manifest themselves in greater interdependence between nations. The economic dimension of the globalization process is associated with the liberalization of economic relations linked to the growing importance of international trade and foreign direct investment. Society perceives the economic dimension of the globalization process as mainly related to macroeconomic indicators such as economic growth and employment; on the contrary, this dimension is rarely perceived as an essential factor that influences environmental quality and sustainable development of a country, as it leads to a greater use of resources and energy. This chapter is divided into 3 sections. The first section describes the factors that exert the main pressures on the environment in the globalization process, with emphasis on the economic dimension. The second section identifies the main environmental consequences linked to globalization, and the third discusses future challenges for a healthy and sustainable planet.