OUR PRESENT COURSE IS UNSUSTAINABLE
-
POSTPONING ACTION IS NO LONGER AN OPTION'
UNEP LAUNCHES DEFINITIVE STUDY OF GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL
CRISIS
NAIROBI, 15 September 1999 - Today, the United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)launches
its Global Environment Outlook 2000 (GEO-2000)
report - the most authoritative assessment
ever of the environmental crisis facing humanity
in the new millennium.
Based on contributions from UN agencies,
850 individuals and more than 30 environmental
institutes, GEO-2000 outlines progress in
tackling existing problems and points to serious
new threats. It concludes by setting out recommendations
for immediate, integrated action.
GEO-2000 analyses both global and regional
issues. Its key finding is that: "The
continued poverty of the majority of the planet's
inhabitants and excessive consumption by the
minority are the two major causes of environmental
degradation. The present course is unsustainable
and postponing action is no longer an option."
"Despite successes on various fronts,
time for a rational, well-planned transition
to a sustainable system is running out fast",
said Klaus Toepfer, UNEP's Executive Director.
"In some areas, it has already run out.
In others, new problems are emerging which
compound already difficult situations.
"UNEP welcomes the trend towards increased
public concern for the environment. Until
recently, few individuals cared about or even
knew of the environmental issues facing the
planet. Today, popular movements in many countries
are forcing authorities to make changes",
said Mr. Toepfer.
According to GEO-2000, full-scale emergencies
now exist in a number of fields. The world
water cycle seems unlikely to be able to cope
with demands in the coming decades, land degradation
has negated many advances made by increased
agricultural productivity, air pollution is
at crisis point in many major cities and global
warming now seems inevitable.
Tropical forests and marine fisheries have
been over-exploited while numerous plant and
animal species and extensive stretches of
coral reefs will be lost for ever - due to
inadequate policy responses.
In a survey conducted by the Scientific Committee
on Problems of the Environment for GEO-2000,
200 scientists in 50 countries identified
water shortage and global warming as the two
most worrying problems for the new millennium.
Desertification and deforestation at national
and regional levels was also a frequently
cited concern.
While most issues raised by the survey are
well-known, GEO-2000 also identifies new threats
such as:
- nitrogen's harmful impact on ecosystems
- increased severity of natural disasters
- species invasion as a result of globalization
- increased environmental pressures caused
by urbanization
- decline in the quality of governance in
some countries
- new wars which impact on both the immediate
environment and neighbouring States
- the impact of refugees on the natural environment
At the core of GEO-2000's recommendations
is a reinforcement of the Earth Summit Agenda
21's call for environmental integration. The
report states that: "The environment
remains largely outside the mainstream of
everyday human consciousness and is still
considered an add-on to the fabric of life."
Institutions such as treasuries, central
banks, planning departments and trade bodies
frequently ignore sustainability questions
in favour of short-term economic options.
"Integration of environmental thinking
into the mainstream of decision-making relating
to agriculture, trade, investment, research
and development, infrastructure and finance
is now the best chance for effective action",
says GEO-2000.
National Governments, international organizations,
the private sector, community groups, NGOs
and ordinary citizens all have a role to play
in putting the environment at the forefront
of the political agenda. "Environmental
education, like mathematics, (should be) part
of the standard educational curriculum",
says GEO-2000, adding that we must "encourage
the media to devote as much attention to environmental
issues as they do to crime, politics, sport
and finance".
GEO-2000 was edited by Robin Clarke - and
published by Earthscan Publications on behalfof
UNEP. E-mail earthinfo@earthscan.co.uk Telephone:
+44-171 2780433; Fax: +44-171 2781142. It
is available from Earthscan at a cost of US$40.
It is also accessible on http://www.unep.org/geo2000
Note to journalists: For more information,
please contact: Marion Cheatle, Officer-in-Charge,
Stateof the Environment Assessment Unit, Division
of Environmental Information, Assessment &
Early Warning (DEIA&EW), UNEP, Nairobi,
Tel.: (254-2) 62-3520, Fax: (254-2) 623944;
E-mail: geo@unep.org;
or Jim Sniffen, UNEP Information Officer,
New York, Tel: (1-212) 963-8094; Fax: 963-
7341, E-mail: uneprona@un.org.
UNEP News Release 1999/103
