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ENVIRONMENT

World Scientists Warning to Hum anity

The following

statement was

eleased by the Unionof Concerned

Scientists on November18,1992.Accord-

ng to theUnion, itwas signed by over

1,500

members

ofnational regional an d

ntemationalscienceacademies...Sixty-

'.ightnations from allpartsofEarth are

^presented includingeacho fthe twelve

nost

populous nations

an d

the nineteen

argesteconom ic powers. The fulllistin-

cudes a majorityofthe scientists who

iave been awarded theNob el Prize.

INTRODUCTION

Human beings and the n atural w orld

ire on a collision course. Hum an ac-

ivities inflict harsh and often ir re-

versible damage on the environment

ind on criticalresou rces. If not check-

ed

many of our curren t practices put at

lerious risk the future that

we

wish for

luman society and the plant and animal

cingdoms and maysoalter the living

vorld that it will be unable to sustain

ife in the manner that

weknow.

Fun-

lamental changes are urgent if we are

o avoid the collision ou r pre sent course

villbring about.

THEENVIRONMENT

The

environment is suffering critical

itress:

[ he

Atmosphere

Stratospheric ozone depletion threatens

is

with enhanced ultra-violet radiation

it the earth's surface, which can be

lamaging or lethal to many life form s.

\ir pollution near ground level and acid

precipitation are already causing

videspread injury to hum ans, forests

uid crops.

Vater Resources

Heedless exploitation of depletab le

ground

water supplies endangers food

>roduction and other essential human

iystems. Heavy demands on the w orld's

mrface waters have resulted in serious

hortages in some

80

countries, contain-

ng 40percent oftheworld's popula-

ion. Pollution of rivers, lakes and

ground water further limits the supply.

Dceans

Destructive pressure on the oceans is

:evere, particularly in the coastal

regions which produce most of the

world's food fish. The total marine

catch is now at or above the estimated

maximum sustainable

yield.

Some

fisheries have already shown signs of

collapse. Rivers carrying heavy burdens

of eroded soil into the seas also carry in-

dustrial, municipal, agricultural, an a

livestock wastesome ofittoxic.

Soil

Loss of

soil

productivity, which is caus-

ing extensive land abandonm ent, is a

widespread byproduct of current prac-

tices in agriculture and animal hus-

bandry. Since

1945,11

percent of the

earth's vegetated surface has been

degradedan area larger than India

and China combinedand per capita

food production in many parts of the

world is decreasing.

Forests

Tropical rain forests, as well as tropical

and tem perate dry forests, are being

destroyed rapidly. At present rates ,

some critical forest typeswillbe gone in

a few years, and most ofthetropical

rain forest

will

be gone before the end

of the next century. With them will go

large numbers of plant and animal

species.

Living Species

The irreversible loss of species, which

by

2100 may

reach one third of all

species now living, is especially serious.

benefits,;

genetic diversity of life forms gives to

the robustness oftheworld's biological

systems and to the astonishing beauty

of

the earth

itself.

Much of

this

damage is irreversible

on a scale of centuries or perman ent.

Other processes appear to pose addi-

tional threa ts. Increasing levels of gases

in the atmosphe re from hum an ac-

tivities, including carbon dioxide

released from fossil fuel burning and

from deforestation, may alter climate on

a global scale. Pred ictions of global

warming are still uncertainwith

projected effects ranging from tolerable

to very severebut the potential risks

are very great.

Our massive tamperingwiththe

world's interdependent web of life

coupled with the environmental damage

inflicted by deforestation, species loss,

and climate changecould trigger

widespread adverse effects, including

unpred ictable collapses of critical

biological systems whose interactions

and dynamics

we

only imperfectly un -

derstand.

Uncertainty over the extent of these

effects cannot excuse complacency or

delay in facing the threats.

POPULATION

The earth is finite. Its ability to absorb

wastes and destructive effluent is finite.

Its ability to provide food and energy

is

finite. Its ability to provide for growing

numbers of peop le is finite. Andweare

fast approaching many of

the

earth's

limits. Curre nt economic practices

which damage the environment, in both

developed and underdeveloped nations,

cannot be continued w ithout the risk

that v ital global systems

will

be

damaged beyond repair.

Pressu res resulting from un-

restrained population growth put

demands on the natural world that can

overwhelm any efforts to achieve a sus-

tainable future. If

we

are to halt the

destruction of our environment, we

must accept limits to thatgrowth.A

World Bank estimate indicates that

world population will not stabilize at

less than

12.4

billion,

while the U nited

Nations concludes that the eventual

total could reach14

billion,

a near tri-

pling of today's 5.4

billion.

But, even at

this moment, one person in five lives in

absolute pove rty without enough to eat,

and one m ten suffers serious malnutri-

tion.

No more than one or a few decades

remain before the chance to avert the

threats w e now confrontwillbe lost and

the prospects for humanity immeasurab-

ly

diminished.

WARNING

We the undersigned, senior members of

the world's scientific community, hereby

warn all humanity of what lies ahead. A

great change in our stewardship of the

earth and th e life on it is required, if

vast human m iseryisto be avoided and

our global hom e on this planet is not to

be irretrievably m utilated.

WH T WEMUST DO

Five inextricably linked areas must be

addres sed simultaneously:

January-April 1993

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ENVIRONMENT

1.

Wemust bring environmentally

damaging

activities under control to re-

store and protect the integrity of the

earth's

systemswedepend on.

We must, for example, move away

from fossil fuels t o m ore benign, inex-

haustible energy sources to cut green-

house gas emissions and the po llution of

our air and

water.

P riority m ust be given

to the development of energy sources

matched to third world needssm all

scale and relatively easy to implement.

We must halt deforestation, injury

to and loss of agricultural land, and the

loss of terrestrial and m arine plant and

animal species.

2.

Wemust manage resources cru-

cial

to

human welfare more effectively.

We m ust give high prior ity to effi-

cient use ofenergy,water and other

materials, including expansion of con-

servation and recycling.

3.Wem ust stabilize population.

This will be possible only if

all

nations

recognize that it require s improved so-

cial and econom ic conditions, and the

adoption of effective, voluntary family

planning.

4.We

must reduce and eventually

eliminate

poverty.

5.Wemust ensure sexual equality,

andguaranteewomencontrol over

their ownreproductive decisions.

The developed nations are the

largest polluters in the world today.

They must greatly reduce their overcon-

sumption, if we are to reduce pre ssures

on resources and the global environ-

ment. The developed nations have the

obligation to provide aid and suppo rt to

developing nations, because only the

developed nations have the financial

resources and the technical skills for

these tasks.

Acting on this recognition is not

altruism, but enlightened self-interest:

whether industrialized or not, we all

have but one lifeboat. N o nation can es-

cape from injury

when

global biological

systems are damaged. No nation can es-

cape from conflicts over increasingly

scarce resources. In addition, environ-

mental and econom ic instabilities will

cause m ass migrations with incalculable

consequences for developed and un-

developed nations alike.

Developing nations must realize

that environmental damage is one of the

gravest threats they face, and that a t-

tempts to blunt it

will

be overwhelmed if

their populations go unchecked. The

greatest peril is to becom e trapped in

spirals of environmental decline, pover-

ty, and unrest, leading to social,

economic and environmental collapse.

Success in this global endeavor will

require a great reduc tion in violence

and

war.

Resources now devoted to the

prepa ration and conduct of war

amounting to over 1trillion annually

will he badly needed in the new tasks

and should be diverted to the new chal-

lenges.

A new ethic

is

requireda new at-

titude towards discharging our respon-

sibility for caring for ourselves an d for

the ear th. We must recognize the

earth's limited capacity to provide for

us.

We must recognize its fragility. We

must no longer allow it to be ravaged.

This ethic must motivate a great move-

ment, convincing reluctant leaders and

reluctant governments and reluctant

peoples themselves to effect the needed

changes.

The scientists issuing this warning

hope that our message will reach and af-

fect peo ple everywhere. We need the

help of many.

We require the help of the world

community of scientistsnatural, so-

cial, economic, political;

We require the help of

the

world's

business and industrial leaders ;

We require the help of

the

world's

religious leaders ; and

We require the help oftheworld's

peoples.

We call on all to join us in this task.

U.S. Agen cy for International

Development s Environmen-

tal Strategy (Excerpt)

1

Environmental degradation

is

a sig-

nificant and growing threat to develop-

ment throughout the world, and its

effects are fe lt most acutelybypoor

families in developing countries.

Economic

growth,

as well

as the poten-

tial for such growth, is endangered by a

natural resource base declining in

quality and quantity, while deteriorating

economies exacerbate and accelerate

degradation oftheenvironment. The

rapid and poorly managed growth of

cities in many developing countries has

led to a serious deterioration in urban

environmental conditions, adversely af-

fecting human health and the urban in-

frastructure necessary for efficient

economic development.

USAID has identified five major en-

vironmental problems that most directly

affect the developing world and the

Agency's developmental objectives:

1. Loss of tropical forests and other

habitats c ritical for biological diversity,

2.

Unsustainable agricultural prac-

tices;

3.

Environmentally unsound energy

production and use;

4.

Urban and industrial pollution;

and

5.Degradation and depletion of

water and coastal resources.

Each of

these

threatens economic

progress, biological and other natural

resources, and the health and quality

of

human life. Each also has impacts well

beyond national boundaries, often with

global consequences.

This strategy focuses specifically on

those activities designed primarily to en-

hance o r protect the environment. How-

ever, USAID recognizes that other

issues, such as rapid population growth,

also affect the environment significantly,

although in complex and often indirect

ways.

Therefore, U SAID 's environment

programiscoord inated closely with the

agency's family planning program to en-

sure an integrated approach to address-

ing the complex relationship between

population growth rates and natural

resources management.

Strategic allocation of resources is a

basic requirement for an effective pro-

gram, because USAID simply cannot

address every problem in every country

it assists. USAID, therefore, is focusing

its resources on environmental

problems that most constrain develop-

ment and on those that, if

not

acted

upon immediately,willlikely resu lt in

significant th reats to hum an health or ir-

reversible damage to the natural

resource base and the

economy.

Th e

agency concen trates on problems that

host countries are committed to,

capable of addressing and have iden-

tified as priority issues.

1 Excerpt from the Executive Summary of

the U.S. Ag ency for International Development s

1992 Environmental Strategy. Public distribution

of this strategy began in January 1993. Individual

copies can be obtained by contacting the Office of

Policy Analysis and Resources Policy D irectorate,

Agency for International D evelopment, 320 21st

Street N.W., Room 3947, Washington, D. C 20523.

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