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Creating sustainable
futures depends on making change happen by concentrating on the opportunities and reducing
the threats |
"The future of our
planet is in the balance. Sustainable development can be achieved, but only if
irreversible degradation of the environment can be halted. The next 30 years may be
crucial."
Joint statement
by The Royal Society and the United States National Academy of Sciences, 1992.
In addition to the threats there are many opportunities to find new solutions
that contribute to sustainable futures.
Threats to the global community include:
- A widening gap between rich and poor,
especially the extremes of wealth and poverty
- Poverty: 1.3 billion people live in absolute poverty
with incomes of $1 a day or less, according to the World Bank
- Malnutrition affecting
the physical and mental development of some 840 million people, according to the
UN FAO
- World population reaches 6 billion on 12
October 1999, see www.y6b.org and www.undp.org/popin/popin.htm.
- The world economic system came near to
collapse in 1998 and remains turbulent, how will it cope with y2k?
Five hundred companies control 42 per cent of the world's wealth- The turnover of the world's ten largest companies exceeds
the combined GDP of its 100 smallest countries
- Oil company Shell alone controls 160 million hectares of
land - 146 countries in the world control a smaller area
- Ten companies effectively control the world's food chain
- Refugees
receiving United Nations assistance has exceeded 20 million each year since 1994
- Global warming and climate
change - the 1990s is the hottest decade since record keeping began
- The effects of El Nino and La
Nina on climate
- Inability of the natural environment to absorb and reprocess
mounting quantities of toxic waste
- Pollution which is damaging the habitat on
land, at sea and in our backyards; all life depends on habitat quality
- Air traffic is identified as a major cause of greenhouse gases
and a contributor to climate change
- Russia and the Ukraine have many nuclear power plants. Safety
risks increase when nuclear workers' cannot be paid
- Demand for clean, fresh water worldwide is doubling every 21 years;
most USA States have water resources web
sites
- The hole in the ozone layer, which endangers
life, is bigger than ever in 1998
- Over
fishing of the oceans which is now threatening the whole web of marine life
- The world's
seas are threatened by disputes, destruction, piracy, pollution and sewage
- World grain production
struggles to maintain reserves and remains sufficient for less than 60 days use
- One quarter of the Earth's fisheries, forests and fresh
water have been destroyed since 1970
- Belief that economic recovery can be achieved by increasing
demand for goods and scarce resources
- Ageing becomes an
increasing problem in many countries as people over 65 represent more than 20% of the
population
- Apathy and short term thinking is
frequently the most serious threat of all
- Fears that the spread of genetically modified organisms
(GMOs) will endanger ecosystems and human health
- Fears that Companies marketing GMOs will patent the seeds
and preclude the use of free, non-GMO seeds
- Fears that bio-engineers of big business are seeking control
of the evolutionary process
- Failing to realise that companies don't transform, people
can and some do.
Opportunities arise from
tackling economic, social and ethical development together. With imagination, creativity
and perseverance many solutions can be and are being found:
- Growing recognition that community development is the best way to find
lasting, fair solutions that will be implemented
- Initiating over 2,000 'Local Agenda 21'
plans around the world and encouraging others, then implementing them
- Economic success does not have to destroy resources as responsible companies
demonstrate
- Reducing carbon emissions can
ease the threat of climate change and can save money
- Accepting that a healthy natural environment
improves the quality of life for all
- It is in the interest of businesses of all kinds
to get involved with sustainable development
- Recognising that it is in all our interests for poor people to meet
basic needs and achieve sustainable livelihoods
- Reducing resource and energy usage, by
factors of 4, 10 and even 50, are now possible
- Agreeing that water conservation and avoidance
of waste is a priority everywhere
- Conserving fish
stocks is now widely accepted as difficult but essential for maintaining the
world fish catch
- Producing healthier
and tastier food, grown using minimal quantities of chemical fertiliser and
pest control
- Encouraging organic
farming - the Soil
Association in the UK aims for 50% per annum increase
- Building on the success of organic farming in countries like
Austria, Sweden, Cuba and India
- Stimulating more widespread ethical investments by screening out and
screening in relevant companies
- Encouraging sales of Fairtrade goods and green
consumerism
- Harnessing renewable energy - the power of
the sun, wind and water to provide non-polluting future energy resources
- Demand for wind
energy, solar cells and compact fluorescent
light bulbs are surging ahead
- Sustainable development applying industrial ecology and establishing
eco-industrial parks is increasing in the USA
- Identifying and using technology that achieves improvements
in resource usage by a factor
of ten
- Developing telecommunications
in new areas using mobile phones that require no cables
- Ethical investments
for savings, insurance, mortgages, pensions and life policies are increasingly rapidly
- Banking with organisations that have no Third World
debts no non-ethical business accounts
- Developing strategic learning partnerships to
accelerate the learning about sustainable development
- Educating people to help them change their
behaviour and break outmoded habits
- Working with people who are showing a willingness to transform
their thinking and their behaviour.
NB The Worldwatch Institute's annual
publications State of
the World and Vital Signs
provide regularly updated, useful sources of information and are available in many
languages. In the USA both books are published by W. W. W. Norton. Which World? by Allen
Hammond, published by Earthscan, March 1999, explores three scenarios: Market World,
Fortress World and Transformation World and is based on five years research in a
collaborative project involving the Brookings Institute, the Sante Fe Institute and the
World Resources Institute. It is an excellent, very readable book that leaves the reader
to decide which scenario makes best sense. See also the latest report from the United Nations Environment Programme,
which has an impressive, up-to-date summary of the state of the world including regional
summaries.
These threats and opportunities form the basis for
applying sustainable development:
.Return to top of page or go agenda for change
Last modified 24 November 1999