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Environmental problems are serious in many countries. It means that the only?possible way to protect the environment is at an international level.?

To what extent do you agree?or disagree on this hypothesis?

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Globally, environmental degradation has been recognised as one of the main challenges that people have to overcome in the 21st century. The rapid deterioration of environment is believed to impose a severe threat?on people's survival in the years ahead, if not solved effectively. In addressing this issue, countries worldwide should join forces and make a concerted effort, instead of working individually for inconsistent targets.

The first point to support international cooperation is that the impact of an environmental problem can be on the global scale. Common knowledge is that people live in a global environment and share natural resources and survive on the same biosphere. The interdependencies of ecosystems and the transport of pollutants are the main characteristics of the world. For instance, a stream or lake in a country can be affected by pesticides released?from neighbouring croplands, lawns and gardens and by pollutants emitted thousands of miles away. Likewise, the deprivation?of a natural resource (such as deforestation) in one nation can have environmental and economic ramifications in many other countries.

Another benefit obtained from international cooperation is facilitating the exchange of goods, technology, know-how and capital. It is crucial to hammering out the best and quickest solution to the problem. Environmental problems are mainly found in underdeveloped countries, where industrial or agricultural developments are placed ahead of environmental protection. With a clear intent to restore the damaged environment, those countries have difficulties in making headway, in the absence of?facilities or technologies. They need the support from the global community, especially those industrialised countries that have achieved remarkable progress in this field. By sharing experience in environmental management, countries can tackle problems with greater efficiency and at lower costs.

To summarise, cooperation between countries is inevitable in this global campaign, not only because the ecosystem is a unified mechanism but also because international engagement can make optimal use of financial and human resources. By collaborating with each other, countries are able to protect the global environment with using the least amount of resources.