ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE AND BIODIVERSITY
Regional Views
Excerpt from "
2001 State of the Future"
Sustainable Development
How can sustainable
development be achieved for all? [Challenge 1]
Water
How
can sustainable development be achieved for all? [Challenge 1]
-- Regional Views --
AFRICA
Sustainable development has to be achieved against a backdrop of abject
poverty, low investment rate, biodiversity loss, and health service crisis
(spread of HIV)... Sustainable development can only be applied in a large
socio-economic-regional context: it implies increasing education levels,
awareness, involvement of all levels of administration, across the board
participation of usually separate administrative and governmental entities
and intra-national cooperation. It is impossible for this to be done unilaterally
by African countries, which usually focus on short-term issues. It has
to have the funding of an external organization and be seen either as having
immediate economic benefits or as compulsory because of international regulations
(like conditions on loans from IMF/World Bank).
We must focus on capacity mobilization, building social capital, increased
investment, and mass education.... Our agricultural and industrial efforts
should comply with ISO 14000 recommendations.... Birth rates have to be
reduced.
ASIA and OCEANIA
Structures exist for managing economic, social and environmental interactions
on a regional basis (e.g. various forums of the Association of South East
Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC).)
However, there is insufficient understanding of, and attention to, the
impact of urbanization and industrialization on environmental degradation.
Lacking is a coordinated approach to - indeed, impact assessment of - issues
such as natural resource and fossil fuel consumption, air and water pollution,
and health and sanitation. The challenge is to identify and use successful
models to guide regional as well as domestic policies.
United Nations University (UNU) will assess the overall state of the earth’s environment and its ability to provide a sustainable supply of goods and services for human welfare and development in the Asia-Pacific region. This four-year project is called the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA).
China is too big to develop first and clean up later. It's rapid industrialization, urbanization, and growth of market economy will affect the world. Nearly all the kinds of environmental pollution in newly industrialized countries and ecological deterioration in poor developing countries have emerged in China. The pace, depth, and magnitude of these changes, while bringing about benefits to local people, have exerted severe ecological stresses on both local human living conditions and regional life support ecosystems. Having no global resource supply and no unlimited time span to buffer the environmental impacts, China cannot pursue the newly industrialized countries’ way of development. The only choice is to find an ecologically sound, economically productive, and socially feasible way towards sustainable development.
Efforts to protect East Asia's forests and buildings from acid rain
will be bolstered by a new monitoring network supported by the UN Environment
Program. The network was founded at an intergovernmental meeting held in
October 2000 in Niigata, Japan.
Ten countries -- China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, the Philippines,
South Korea, Russia, Thailand and Vietnam -- agreed on a plan and institutional
structure for the Acid Deposition Monitoring Network in East Asia. Until
now, it had been difficult to gauge the state of East Asian acid deposition
because countries used differing monitoring methods. Now it will be possible
to create a “common understanding of the problem and help decision-makers
at local, national and regional levels to tackle it," said UNEP Director.
Because of East Asia's fast economic growth and rising energy demands,
acid rain is developing into a larger problem, UNEP says. The UNEP's Global
Environmental Outlook 2000 report showed that sulfur dioxide emissions
resulting from Asian coal burning could triple in the next 12 years if
current trends continue. Emission levels have already exceeded those of
the United States and Europe combined, areas that were troubled by acid
rain before control measures were put in place. (UNEP release, 27 Oct).
Delegates from fourteen South Pacific island nations (Cook Islands, Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu) attended a workshop in April 2001 in Cairns, Australia to examine legal frameworks that could protect the region from toxic chemicals and hazardous waste and to develop regional and national plans of action for implementing the Basel, Waigani, Rotterdam and the Persistent Organic Pollutants conventions. "Positive discussions and action need to be made soon to protect the Pacific's environmental future," said Bruce Graham, waste management and pollution prevention coordinator for the South Pacific Regional Environment Program (SPREP). "We want to map out the reasons why countries should consider ratifying these conventions, as well as provide a clear understanding of the resource implications, then ask what kind of support the island states need to implement the conventions."
The dust storm from northern China that reached the United States "blanketing areas from Canada to Arizona” in April was one of the earliest and strongest on record, “signaling a widespread deterioration of the rangeland and cropland in the country's vast northwest” reports Earth Policy Institute’s Alert 2001-2. “There are too many people, too many cattle and sheep, and too many plows,” says Lester Brown, President of Earth Policy Institute. Human pressure on the land in northwestern China is excessive. In addition to local pressures on resources, a decision in Beijing in 1994 to require that all cropland used for construction be offset by land reclaimed elsewhere has helped create the ecological disaster that is now unfolding.
Deforestation in southern and eastern China is reducing the moisture
transported inland from the South China Sea, the East China Sea, and the
Yellow Sea, writes Wang Hongchang, a Fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social
Sciences.
Several actions could help ameliorate the situation: stabilizing population
and planting trees everwhere possible to help recycle rainfall inland,
reducing the livestock population, and planting tree shelter belts across
the windswept areas of cropland, and even more interesting, the use of
wind turbines as windbreaks to reduce wind speed and soil erosion.
If the dust bowl continues to spread, it will not only undermine the
economy, but it will also trigger a massive migration eastward, and will
undermine “not just China's soil, but its future” warns Lester Brown.
Eastward moving winds often carry soil from China's northwest to North
Korea, South Korea, and Japan, countries that regularly complain about
dust clouds that both filter out the sunlight and cover everything with
dust. Responding to pressures from their constituents, a group of 15 legislators
from Japan and 8 from South Korea are organizing a tri-national committee
with Chinese lawmakers to devise a strategy to combat the dust.
(Earth Policy Institute)
China seeks to remove price distortion of natural resources and productive factors and to amplify necessary rules and regulations for resource management and environmental protection. The focus of sustainable development in China is therefore put on institutional reform from chain link to network coupling, technological innovation from profit orientation to function orientation, and behavioral inducement from man-centered to man-and-nature unified.
In its broad sense, sustainable development will have a direct effect on security of the region, and vice versa. All countries in the region are increasingly willing to move toward sustainable development. It seems hard with growing population to achieve sustainable development in the region; planning for sustainable development will help to bring stability to the region.
China’s forest coverage has increased 1% between 1985 and 1995 due to a large-scale reforestation campaign during this period.... Anhui Province, in China, has reforested the entire province in 8 years. It closed 475 enterprises that seriously polluted the Hui River in 1996. By the end of 1997, 229 of these had completed their pollution control, 49 were still constructing pollution control facilities, and 30 were permanently closed or switched to a new industry.
Increase the knowledge about the sustainable development and industrial ecology for cadres of policy-making institutions.
In collaboration, the U.S., China, and Japan should adopt internal policies to promote sustainable development and provide joint leadership to the rest of the region and the world.
Since 1978 an enormous labor force, natural resources, and capital have
sustained Chinese development, its productivity rate is relatively low.
This is not sustainable.
Although sustainable development has been recognized as the correct
direction for the future, there is little progress toward it. Our national
economy can develop at a high rate in the future if sustainable development
is being achieved. There are 1.3 billion people in China, a wealth of labor,
which can be used efficiently if sustainable development has been achieved.
If action is taken at a global level it will increase China’s learning
other countries’ methods and technologies. We must enforce and modify laws
and regulations, and improve planning, accounting, and forecasting in order
to achieve sustainable development.
China is the biggest developing country in the world. In past 50 years, a great deal of achievement has been obtained in China. For example, it is an arduous task to support over 22% of the world’s population with less than 7% of the world arable land. With the rapid development of the village and township enterprises, their production now accounts for over 30% of gross domestic industrial output. They are changing, in some extent, the backwardness of the rural areas. However, China’s development is confronted with a series of problems. These include shortage of natural resources (particularly water resources and land resources), desertification, pollution, and other ecological problems.
It should be pointed out that, to China and other developing countries, development, especially economic growth, are still the first task, but what economic development model to chose? It is obvious we cannot adopt the old model of “first development and then treatment”. Alternatively, it can be said sustainable development is the only effective development direction. Fortunately, the Chinese Central Government has taken sustainable development as one of the basic strategies together with environmental protection, improving development through education and science-technology, and family planning. At the same time, different levels of governments are making up their development plans based on the thoughts and principles of sustainable development.
There are two aspects which should be stressed as far as the implementation of the strategy of sustainable development goes. One is arousing and popularization of the thought and theory of sustainable development and the other is the development and introduction of advanced techniques, especially environmentally sound techniques.
Furthermore, sustainable development is not the responsibility only of any single region and/or country but also of all the people and every country throughout the world. Therefore, cooperation among regions and/or countries is very important. These include the exchange of information, techniques, and persons with ability, and so on.
India is not sustainable. We have damaged the environment, to a point where reversing things may be very difficult. Fortunately, people are becoming more aware of sustainable development, but what is lacking is political awareness, collective responsibility, and accountability.
India finds itself at a crossroad, a critical stage where environmental governance must be improved. If not, one will see serious harm that may never be reversed. In some ways, India is better off than China, which has smaller farmlands, bigger pollution problems, and a more rapid industrial development. There are old Indian traditions that give special emphasis to the environment. They need to be reemphasized.
India’s size and diversity means change must come from within the country rather than from other countries or regions. International conventions could help.
India wants to be a leading force in a global context, and global initiatives for sustainable development might give the nation responsibilities. The UN Human development report, ranking the development in various countries, is taken very seriously and is thoroughly debated in India.
It will to take the best part of the 21st century to stabilize climate change if we start today. The impact on tropical countries will be particularly bad as the sea level rises to swallow islands and cyclones like the one that devastated Orissa in 1999 will become more frequent and severe. Also, tropical countries are heavily dependent on agriculture and even a 20 Celsius change can impact heavily on a crop like wheat. To say developing countries will be emitting more pollutants in the future is to ignore present realities–for instance, the US consumes 800 kg of oil equivalent of energy per capita as compared to 40 kg in India.
India has to include pricing and costing of the environmental impacts to achieve sustainable development. These must be factored into our national income accounts. In our Green India project we found that 50 years after Independence, India was losing 10% of its GDP per annum because of natural resource degradation. So if we said we generated $400 billion annually, in actual fact it was $360 billion. This is economic opportunity lost. For example, high levels of air pollution make people sick and reduce worker-days even as medical costs rise.
Government structures have to change to monitor environmental impact at the local level. Our village panchayats (decisionmaking bodies) are powerless when it comes to such issues yet these people are far more sensitive to the use of the natural resources around them then someone sitting in the capital. Giving them more control over their destiny will help create sustainable development. The process of education has to change along with empowerment of women. Women are far more sensitive to environmental issues because they have to cope with the degradation in the home, farm, and water collection.
An important element is finding substitutes or recycling resources that are being depleted. At present estimates, our oil resources will last 70 years! Yet an average American moves 50 kg of material everyday to maintain his lifestyle. Clearly, everyone on earth can’t be doing that. We need to assume a pattern of growth in which we consume less. A throwaway society cannot provide sustainable development for all. But can we assume a model that excludes half of humanity?
However, in our effort to achieve Western standards of development, India may create a huge ecological disaster that the West will escape. I think sustainability and the leveling of inequality are really synonymous, which is why WTO has not been a success.
Sustainable development brings us back to our cultural roots. Sustainable development is that which fulfills the needs of the present generation without compromising the needs of the future generations. We’re talking, of course, of the capacity of a society to fulfill the needs of all, not just a few. You can’t have sustainable development if 10% of the population consumes 90% of global resources.”
More than 50 years of planning has taken place. Jawaharlal Nehru had a clear vision of making India a power industrial economy, but in the process agriculture has been neglected knowingly or unknowingly. Since India is a strongly agrarian country, if she had been given a main thrust in agriculture and agro-based industrial development, an overall development would have been achieved. The importance given to industrial development during successive 5-year plans has not made full use of agriculture development. Meaningful planning should be based on effective utilization of the resources available within the country. In this area we have not made much headway.
Traditionally the model of ‘development’ has been linked with indicators of industrialization and technological progress. The emphasis has now shifted to social indicators and the improvement of quality of life in terms of literacy, health, nutrition, safe and continuous water supply and availability of certain infrastructure facilities. However, there is a real threat from those who believe that development is linked to the acquiring of idols of consumerism.
The top-down approach to development has been replaced by a realization of the need for a more participatory system. Unless a person becomes a stakeholder in the development process it would difficult to ensure that the achievements of development are sustained.
With this background it is not possible to emphasis a single model of development. With diverse local conditions and multi-faceted challenges, it will be necessary to give room to allow for development of the community within its own conditions and constraints.
In India, the problem in ensuring the distribution of the fruits of development are compounded by the vast diversity in Indian society and the vertical and horizontal divisions based on caste, class, community and religion. The pressures of the growth in population on the achievements of development are also increasing. There are more and more demands for a slice from the cake of development. This leads to forming of interest and pressure groups in the Indian polity and society that can negate achievement by usurping it for particular groups. So a very real challenge is in ensuring that ‘development’ reaches all sections and strata of society.
The problem is particularly acute in India where “development” has not trickled down to a vast majority of the population. Conditions are also diverse and there cannot be a single approach adopted. The local conditions have to be analyzed so that a plan can be worked out for improving the quality of life of the population.
There is a realization that there is a strong need for decentralizing development initiatives. The emphasis on strengthening of the Panchayati Raj Institutions (village and district level governing bodies) and calling for involvement of members of the community is important. The increase in the support for local initiatives will give an impetus to a movement which could help the country move forward on the road to development.
With the industrial and now information revolution the world is becoming a global village. No country can remain immune to the changes in the international economy. In this the ‘first world’ will have to be more flexible and ensure that no restrictions are laid that would impede the development of a particular region/country. There has to be free exchange of knowledge and ideas and the setting up of meaningful networks to achieve the goals. There has to be a respect for individual identity and acknowledging and empathizing with local problems and for allowing the country/community to allow them to grow within the framework that they have defined for themselves.
In Japan there is a lack of political leadership and popular support to envision the future direction of the state. Corporate executives and middle level business managers, as well as junior workers are having hard time in re-engineering themselves. How to regain their lost confidence in their own future is the most vital challenge for the current state of Japan.
Japan has a vast resource of finance and technical talent that could be used to enhance social welfare and economic development of the world. Highly educated population and harmonious human relationship are unique assets of Japan. Economic recovery and new scientific breakthrough such as superconductivity and fiber optics will potentially contribute to the challenges faced by the world.
Japan has to establish a total material recycling system for daily life including low cost and safety chlorine cycling technology such as for dioxins and their related materials like PVC and to address education crisis. In the longer-term, Japan has to: 1) address the issue of population density control; 2) create flexible industrial and agricultural capabilities for the natural resources including foods dependent largely on external sources; 3) insure common moral standards in family, school and in society: and 4) achievement of creative, cultural, and artistic prosperity based on education, self-discipline, and morality.... The education system has to be reformed to match the future needs and values.
South Korea: The results of rapid industrialization of China have been disastrous: industrial wastes and regional environmental problems such as acid rain, air pollution, and the pollution of the Yellow Sea.... Recently Korean Ministry of Environment made efforts to render production processes and consumption patterns environmentally friendly and there are emerging civil movements attempting to enlighten peoples' awareness on the environment.
Southeast Asia is a vastly diverse region housing significant numbers of the world's rural poor. Brunei is oil-rich while Singapore is a regional financial and trading hub. Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand were fast growing, double-digit economies - until the economic crisis of 1997-98. The Philippines has largely unrealized potential. The nations of Indo-China remain amongst the poorest in Asia. Urbanization and uncontrolled industrialization have had grave environmental impact. Traditional political institutions are ineffective in administering the "global commons" - as witness the yearly trans-boundary haze enveloping the entire region, created by indiscriminate forest fires in Indonesia. The bursting of the "Asian Miracle" bubble has shaken confidence and affected prospects for sustainable development.
This region has been among the highest growth regions in the world in the past 25 years or so, and probably will remain so in the next 25 years. The region's adoption of sustainable development attitudes, as a whole, will be significant to the worldwide adoption of more sustainable development attitudes.
The region around Australia is marked by high population growth and economic crisis. Indonesia has tried to relieve population pressure by moving Indonesians into the regions of East Timor and Irian Jaya, leading to considerable bloodshed in those regions. With the economic collapse, unemployment grows and violence has erupted between competing groups there. Papua New Guinea is rich in minerals, but very poor, and suffered greatly in the recent drought, since much of their agriculture is subsistence, in remote and difficult to farm mountainous regions.
The Pacific Islands import large quantities of goods and pay for them by selling off their natural resources. The whole area is very highly fished, both by the populations nearby, and by fishing boats from Japan and elsewhere. There have been warnings about the fish populations, and many species are declared to be under threat.
Sustainable development is not a homogeneous concept across the region. Sustainable Development in Australia involves issues different to those in Small Pacific States.
If we treat all of the South Pacific as being composed of islands, with Australia being the biggest island of all, then the sustainable development issue for the smallest islands is that of survival as the result of a possible sea level rise from global climate change. Issues for the large islands of Papua New Guinea, Australia, and New Zealand relate more to finding a way to integrate equity, economic efficiency, and ecological integrity.
We are over-farming and using up the renewable resources. Australia has large reserves of mineral resources, but these are not particularly useful domestically, and commodity prices show a long-term decline.
Australia is a continent with little rainfall and old, low-grade soils. Much of its export income comes from the sale of agricultural, forest and mining products, though other sources are growing (tourism, financial services, and manufacturing). Its current account is continually in deficit, and the proportion of foreign investment and loans in its economy has been growing markedly in the past 20 years. It has depended for skilled labor on immigration, with both the government and private sector cutting back on education and training. The current government continues to emphasize the traditional industries and stood out in the Kyoto conference for proposing that it increase its emission of greenhouse gases in the future.
Australia is plagued by droughts and water shortages. Some political and economic commentators are advocating increased immigration (of skilled people) to build up the country, saying that Australia is so large it can always hold more, and the increased population would spur the economy. Australia imports about 50% of its oil, which is primarily used for road transport.
Industry needs to come on board to an even greater extent - and to recognize the value of the triple bottom line (economic, social, and environmental). Given the dominance of the resource and commodity sector in the local economies, Australia could demonstrate new ways forward for the rest of the world in these industries.
We need to recognize that this is really a productivity issue and that there are enormous financial as well as environmental benefits to be gained. There needs to be a clearer understanding of how much waste (physical and therefore financial) is actually occurring in industry. Once this is known, companies will see it as a logical step to become more efficient - as it will have a bottom line impact. The benefits of tools such as Cleaner Production and concepts such as Eco-Efficiency need to be actively promoted.
Near-East: Improve the policy and decision making process. Security
and stability are main factors to achieve sustainable development. Economic
infrastructures need to be redesigned to move towards sustainable development
relying on income from new material. A single product economy is a major
obstacle to achieving sustainable development
EUROPE
Unsustainable development is putting more than half of Russia, Sweden,
Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Iceland, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Georgia -
and in seven Canadian provinces and territories is at environmental risk.
Researchers evaluating data from 100 separate studies of environmental
factors reveal that parts of Alaska and Eurasia had warmed ``alarmingly''
- by as much as 11 degrees - during winter months during the last 30 years.
The report estimates that some species of vegetation would have to migrate
10 times faster than during the last glacial retreat, about 10,000 years
ago.
"The Danish example presented by Minister Auken shows that strong economic growth can be obtained with a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions”, said Mr. Klaus Toepfer, Executive Director of UNEP in his Statement on Climate Change, in May 2001.
The EU has made great advances by recognizing Agenda 21 and introducing sustainability policies in transportation, agriculture, energy, tourism, and industry. Italy has introduced occupational and economic benefits through the development of technological innovation and environmental policies such as the destruction of cars older than 10 years, recycling (paper, glass, and plastics, and protecting Natural Parks).... Europe can be considered as “on the route” to sustainable development. Innovative efforts to combine economic, environmental and social challenges in a dynamic balance and underway. One could argue whether these efforts make Europe as a model, but positive practical steps in the right direction can be capitalized on...Western Europe should be in the center of the sustainable development process.
Central focus in the region is to clarify the concepts and solve conflicts between ecologically, economically, socially, and culturally sustainable development goals. The development of arenas or forums for the discussion of values is crucial in this... High living standards and an awareness of the need for sustainability are widespread.
The Northern Countries may be a forerunner and initiator in this kind of development globally, because of the welfare state attitude, high education and science-technical culture and high material living standards, and political respect among other nations in the world. An International/UN center of sustainable welfare state development could be established in the Northern Countries. We already have UNU/WIDER in Helsinki. Its concept could be modified toward pragmatic analysis for sustainable development. We need to reach standards as high as those of the UK, Germany, and Scandinavia across all of Europe.... Southern Europe’s loss and overuse of arable land has resulted in floods and pollution.
Use all possibilities in bilateral, multilateral and international relations towards the same end.... The main efforts are directed towards generating sustainable links between new employment opportunities and sustainable technologies in the energy, resource management, and environmental protection fields. The logic of this approach is entirely defensible as it provides politicians at both central and local government levels with a rationale that connects the formation of public policy with the needs of future generations. Whether this is generally understood or not remains to be seen but it is increasingly used as an important lever for new initiatives, e.g., in the development of transport policy or environmental protection at a regional level.
Show the potential of conversion from industrial to modern knowledge and learning society with attitudes in concert with other living 'viewpoints' present examples/showcases for sustainable lifestyles…. This region is already paying a great deal of attention to the development of policies in support of sustainable development. The British Government has several standing advisory groups that report on an annual basis to the relevant Ministry of State and also publish their reports for wider consideration. This provides a very helpful window on the connection between domestic policies in this area and the links with other countries that are pursuing similar policy initiatives.
Europe is one of the major consumers of global natural resources. Reduction imperatives, however, are only achievable together with profound reform in socio-economic systems away from capitalism and growth. Sustainable development is to be defined as the ability of, first of all, the rich countries to introduce such reform.
Sharply reduce natural resource consumption by increasing resource productivity and enhance self-sufficiency, internalize waste treatment, reduce the role of financial institutions over economy and society.
Sustainable development does not necessarily only mean ecological sustainability. Our system's development on the present basis seems possible to many in Europe, of course and 'ceteris paribus': with no wars, increased technology based recycling capacity as well as factual recycling by the population (instead of present trashing habits). But this is not of 'unique significance' to Europe as a general system.
The significance is more universal than specific because the problems and challenges are global. From that it follows that the specific significance to the region (as well as to any other regions) is to think globally and to agree on global ethics as the basis for local decisions. Humans are occupying the same world but living in different realities that are strange to each other. The most demanding challenge is global ethos for sustainable development in a diverse world…. A theory of ecological sustainability and a pragmatic syllogism for how to attain the conditions learned from the theory are needed. We are working on such kind a weak theory of necessary conditions. The theory calls for constraining growth to the limits of sustainable economic growth and challenging technological development towards sustainability in ecological, social, and spiritual dimension.
Biodiversity is slowly disappearing in the region, but lately there has been a change in the decisionmaking atmosphere towards ecological sustainability. The area has potentials to become a forerunner in the sustainable use of renewable natural resources. The region also has potential to become forerunner in the fields of socially, economically and culturally sustainable development.
In some countries such as France, Spain, and Italy the contribution is at governmental level, as the interest of the citizenship is strong. There is a good understanding also from the private sector. At the academic level, France is the most advanced although Italy has some important contributors.
Change is occurring without domination of the one right model or view.... How far will sustainable development be the focus for preserving the status quo and reducing growth at the expense of redistribution of income/wealth?
In spring 2000 the Norwegian government has resigned as the result of an environmental dispute over whether to allow gas-fired power plants in Norway. The government position was to postpone gas-fired power plants until new technology makes it possible to decimate carbon dioxide emissions. (The proposed plants would produce about as much pollution as 1/3 of the Norwegian cars!)
In Central and Eastern Europe the focus is catching up with the rest of Europe.... Political change ten years ago and economic transformation has brought new opportunities and threats. Sustainable development can be considered as desirable scenario but unfortunately the region is following the mistakes done by western countries in the past (for example one-sided focus at individual transportation).
The Czech Republic–just as Central Europe as a whole–wasn’t dependent on colonies as Western Europe or Russia in the time of industrial revolution. It was a self-sufficient region in all levels of development, based on hard work and invention of its inhabitants. The main task for this region’s future is to continue this tradition and to avoid negative effects of globalization. After collapse of communism this region has a unique chance for a new kind of development, but this chance is endangered through globalization, agriculture, industry, local economies, and local traditions.... Politicians still have little awareness and interest in this.
Expansion of the EU to Central and Eastern Europe will help, but ultimately we must radically change our way of life in Central Europe. We must design an effective and respected legal framework with democratic, economic, and legislative rules and in parallel with the design regional, state, and local strategies for sustainable development with a pubic education campaign.
Easy access to education for all with feedback mechanisms is essential for our democratic civic society. Because these institutions and mechanisms are not well established in my region there is little trust a free system and citizens have become apathetic.... Sustainable development of our economy is perhaps on the lowest level of sustainability today, but the conditions are slight promising.
Referring to European Heritage of Enlightenment, which so profoundly changed the world, we should state that its great impetus had faded away. A new Enlightenment with active participation of Europe is required to forge underlying philosophies serving the needs of sustainable development. The present of environmentally benign artifacts does not suffice to bring about a decisive turn.
There should be some kind of "new" ethical game with rules for relations
and behavior as was the practice in older cultures. Perhaps our century
is speaking more about the values of life, than about the rules of life.
Did the notion of "freedom" change our point of view from rules to values
too much? Perhaps an absence of some real rules brings a lot of spurious
rules that pollute our life.
LATIN AMERICA
The World Bank approved a project financed by an $11 million Global
Environment Facility (GEF) grant to the Central American Commission on
Environment and Development to promote sustainable development and protection
of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System. The total cost of the project
is $24.2 million. "The countries of Belize, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico
recognize that as a regional public good, the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef
System warrants a concerted effort to safeguard the ecological integrity
and productivity of this shared ecosystem and the rich biodiversity it
supports," said Donna Dowsett-Coirolo, country director for Central America.
"This grant will harmonize their collective efforts to monitor and protect
coastal habitats and water quality, promote sustainable tourism, conserve
shared fish stocks and increase public awareness of the economic and environmental
benefits of conserving the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System."
To conserve areas threatened by biodiversity loss, the GEF grant will provide technical assistance and training to the public sector and nongovernmental organizations responsible for the planning, management and monitoring of marine areas. Funding will also be used to create an Internet-based environmental information system available in English and Spanish (World Bank release, 22 May 2001).
The decisionmaking progress has to be decentralized, while moving from a sectorial to an integrated development approach funded by international agencies.... Special attention has to be given to the development of sustainability-oriented infrastructure.
In Colombia this first requires peace and the eradication of drug dealers. Regional development planning should integrate urbane and rural plans. Spatial planning and the rural production should include adequate infrastructure for internal and export marketing.
The acceptance of limits to growth is a turning point in history.
Brazil can play a leadership role in promoting sustainable development, especially among the countries of the South, together with India, China and South Africa. Brazil is always associated with the Amazon and with environment. It also has the Atlantic Forest and the Cerrado, which Conservation International has classified among the world’s leading “hotspots” for biodiversity conservation. Less international attention is paid to urban environmental problems, which are the most important; 80% of Brazil’s population living in cities. Persistent poverty of some 40 million Brazilians and the world’s worst income distribution makes balancing environmental and social concerns the outstanding challenge.
In Brazil, the “brown” (urban) and “blue” (water resources) environmental agendas are nearly as important, if not more important, than the “green” (biodiversity) agenda. Actions of developed countries with regard to environment and particularly to structural adjustment policies and to trade have serious consequences for Brazil. Global action about sustainability within Brazil, if not negotiated and consensual, could provoke resentment and a nationalistic backlash. As developed countries change policies to become more sustainable, then these policies will become more acceptable in Brazil. Global recognition of the importance of brown and blue agendas and of local environmental concerns, not just biodiversity, climate, ozone and international waters, would also help induce local action.
We will fight to maintain 80% of Brazil’s environmental reserve area of the Amazon forest. A draft law would reduce it to 50%. Environmentalists say the bill would speed up the destruction of the world's largest tropical forest.
According to a coalition of business leaders, academics and environmental experts, Mexico needs to spend $620 million annually for 30 years to repair 163 million acres of forests. According to the G-25 group, which promotes sustainable development, Mexico loses about 1.5 million acres of forest each year.
Armed conflicts among governments, guerrillas, and paramilitaries and the related drug trade has disrupted agriculture which has forced farmers to urbanized centers, lead to irrational land use, deforestation, reduction of water tables, poor agro-technological applications, and low savings, rural investment rates, employment rates, and agricultural productivity. There are great urban-rural asymmetries.
Many countries have moved to tap into the booming international market
for organic produce. Mexico now has some 10,000 organic farms on 15,000
hectares of land; most of them run are by small farmers. While coffee is
their mainstay, Mexico's organic farmers also cultivate apples, avocados,
coconuts, cardamom, honey, and potatoes.
NORTH AMERICA
The US is the largest producer (24%) of the total carbon emissions;
China ranks second.
California’s Air Resources Board has reiterated its 2003 zero-emissions vehicle (ZEVs) mandate. The state is focusing efforts on commercializing fuel cell vehicles fueled by methanol or gasoline. Such vehicles could be commercialized in the California ZEV market as early as 2004. DaimlerChrysler, Ford, and General Motors, the three members of the Federal Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV), have made fuel cell hybrid vehicles powered by gasoline, methanol, or natural gas a research priority.
Self-selection and self-organization of volunteers around the world via Internet web sites is a new strategy for the environmental movement to increase transparency of public issues. For example, volunteers sign up on a web site to monitor specific parts of forests. They post any changes or damage to the forests they monitor. Special attention is given to the relationship of written agreements and actions in the forests.
We can demonstrate that the current social, economic, and environmental constraints to the quality of life can be managed by following principles of sustainability.... Reduced consumption does not mean a lower standard of living; it's not a "zero-sum" game. We focus on technology sharing and "dematerialization", a movement away from goods and services...and increasing efficiency.... Export information and technology with poorer regions.
Our region has the highest consumption in the World. North America is a role model for many in the developing world. We have state-of-the-art technology, and we depend on personal transportation.... Leadership espouses the concept of sustainability, but there is little application.
It's essential to begin to narrow the gap between the haves and have-nots. Ultimately, the result of failure to narrow this gap will end in revolts, political and social uprisings, increased urban violence, and potentially civil wars.
The key significance in the United States and Canada seems to be the conflict between corporations and the implications of sustainability to short term profits and the complacency of the masses with the issue. The key significance in Latin America lies in the conflict between the Catholic religion and population control, and the resolution of the huge have/have not gap that drives political unrest. The low level of living and ambition for better lives creates a barrier to the masses accepting the perceived sacrifices of sustainable policies.
North American has to reduce its over-consumption of luxury items and excessive energy and materials-intensive production, infrastructure, and goods and services. It has to close the poverty gap via fairer taxation, eliminate corporate subsidies, and re-charter corporations to serve all.
As the major world consumer, we will have to deal with a reduction in greed - in general and in the decisionmaking competitiveness of high business and government officials. We would have to make major value adjustments. We have more "fat" to tolerate consumption/quality reductions while sustainable changes are made than most of the world does. Each marginal "percent of sustainability" achieved in North America will disproportionately aid world sustainability.
Some people move to areas in the United States and Canada due to the natural beauty of the environment, taking lower paying jobs to live there. They are very committed to preserving the sense of community and inherent quality of life that goes with it. As a result, the people in these areas are more committed to build on a solid community foundation.
Shift toward intellectual, service, quality and social pleasures and rewards, as opposed to continued growth of material rewards and consumption.... Make this a reality at the state/provincial and local levels. Create an annual progress report.
Provide modem rail connections to reduce density of car traffic. Limit new highway construction. Relocate major airports to offshore locations to conserve land, reduce noise and pollution in adjacent towns, and improve access by hover-craft from a number of rail/subway connections.
Stakeholders (not exclusively stakeholders), employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), community re-investment, micro-credit, eco-labels, socially responsible investing in businesses.
According to David Tilman, ecologist at the University of Minnesota, another effect of population growth that could threaten the food supply - and biodiversity - is invasions by nonnative species. The United States alone loses about $136 billion each year to invasive species, through crop and timber losses, and the costs of controlling their spread. Experts estimate that at least 50%, and up to 70%, of declining and vanishing species may be linked to invasive species that out-compete, infect or devour native species. "Not a very largePercentage of our threatened and endangered species are recovering," said Carla D'Antonio, associate professor of integrative biology at the University of California, Berkeley. "A lot of them will probably go extinct." About 80% of invasive species arrive through some form of international trade. Asian gypsy moths may travel on the outsides of cargo containers. Asian longhorned beetles, which now cost the U.S. millions of dollars in damages to trees from New York to Boston, arrived in the wooden pallets surrounding rocks imported from China.
Water
How can
everyone have sufficient clean water without conflict? [Challenge 2]
-- Regional views --
AFRICA
Most Africans do not have access to safe, sanitation, and suffer from
one or more water-related diseases. Salinization, recurrent drought,
desert encroachment, and high population growth play havoc with Africa's
water resource. One-third of the fresh water in Africa comes from
a single river, the Congo, making distribution difficult. More than
50 rivers are shared by two or more countries and few have joint management
agreements. The SADAC protocol on shared watercourses and the Africa
2000 Initiative of WHO have made some progress.
Water for domestic and industrial consumption is rather adequate in urban Southern Africa, but not sufficient for agricultural purposes. Conflict in North Africa is not avoidable in many places and it is difficult to have water in the future without conflict even in the form of increasing prices.
Southern Africa has to focus on improving agricultural irrigation to get more crop per drop. Northern Africa has to focus on implementation of water distribution treaties for the Nile countries. The whole of Africa has to improve watershed management, combat land degradation, and control soil and water erosion.
Within the next ten years, Kenya, Morocco, Rwanda, Somalia, and South
Africa are projected to join the ranks of the water-scarce. Tension has
been expected between Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia over the Nile (“The World
in 2000” The Economist).
ASIA and OCEANIA
According to the World Water Vision Project of UNESCO, Central Asia
is already using 85% of available water resources; South Asia is using
48%, and northern China and Mongolia are using 25%. About 737 million people
in rural areas and 93 million in urban areas have no access to safe drinking
water.
China with 21% of the world’s population has to survive on only 7% of the world's total fresh water resources. The uneven spatial and seasonal water distribution makes this picture even worse. In 1950 China had 5,979 cubic meters per capita, 2,248 in the 1990s, and if current population and economic trends continue, per capita water resources will drop to 1,717 cubic meters in 2030. Water has been becoming the most fatal factor in limiting the sustainable development of China, especially for less developed marginal areas where water is life, money, and fortune.
In ten years the water situation in China will be worse even in the best case scenario and [will] not improve until another five to ten years later according to the Chinese Academy of Natural Sciences in cooperation with the World Water Vision Project of UNESCO.
Some 300 cities and 50 million people in rural areas in China are facing water crises now. With rapid economic development and a growing population, the country's shortage is threatening to hinder its overall development. According to U.S. satellite information thousands of lakes in the North have disappeared over the past 30 years.
Eighty percent of China's major rivers are so degraded they no longer support fish. Most people in China are ill because of polluted water. If water pollution is not controlled, health costs will go up and hinder our national economy growth. Many people do not know pollution is serious. It will take a long time to clean polluted water in China.
Ismail Serageldin, Chairman of the World Water Commission says that “future wars will be fought over water.” It is true that the water shortage is the one of the main obstacles to many countries' development and so it is in China. As we know, China is a country with a serious shortage of fresh water and environmental pollution makes the shortage of water much more threatening. It is estimated that the water resource per capita is only one quarter of that of the world average. Furthermore, the distribution of water resources is very uneven in space and time: about 93% of water resources are in the southeast part which is only 53% of the total territory of the country; most precipitation is concentrated in the three months from June to August. It is reported that roughly 80% of raw sewage is directly drained to lakes or rivers and about 50% of wastewater from industries is under the drainage standard.
According to Geoff Holland’s futurists newsletter <igfr@igfr.org> China is drawing up plans to use nuclear explosions, in violation of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, to blast a 10-mile tunnel through the Himalayas in order to build the world's largest hydroelectric plant. Work on the project, which is expected to produce more than twice as much power as the Three Gorges Dam currently under construction, would begin after 2009. China has to divert water from its wet south and west to its drought-stricken north and has constructed more dams in the past 30 years than the rest of the world combined.
In the face of the serious situation, how everyone can have sufficient clean water without conflict is the urgent problem. The key point is to strengthen the management of the limited water resources. The main countermeasures are as follows:
First, pay much attention to economizing on water. The main approaches include raising the cycle use ratio and reuse ratio of water in agriculture and industry; developing clean production techniques so as to raise the use ratio of raw materials; improving the management level in agriculture and industry so as to reduce water consumption; to intensifying the implementation of relevant laws and rules; and adopting the necessary hortative measures such as the establishment of rational price system etc.
Second, intensify the prevention and control of water pollution. The main approaches include control of the pollution sources so as to reduce the release of wastes; and treatment of water pollution with both economic incentives and the improvement of related laws and rules.
Last, emphasize the environmental protection of basins. The main approaches include establishing synthetic decisionmaking mechanisms for environment and development so as to integrate other plans with environmental plans of basins; carrying out the integrated development of the whole basin; adopting the controlling techniques of the section pollution of the basin; establishing the regional environmental compensatory mechanism; to foster a new mechanism for economic growth by the technical and educational input; and establishing integrative management agency for environmental protection of the basin. It should be pointed out that for the promotion of the environmental protection of basins, there are some relations need to be dealt with: the relation between short-term effect and long-term effect, the relation between upper reach and lower reach, the relation of harmonious development between different industries, and the relation between economic development and environmental protection.
The measures mentioned above are positive and effective for the solution of the water resources crisis in China. We should take care to use the clean production techniques that can reach the goal of high-efficiency use of water resources and the decrease of water pollution. Experiences from both inside and outside the country show that clean production techniques are the most important approaches for sustainable development.
We should analyze and consider this issue individually, at the community level, and the governmental level.
First, individually, the water problems in rural areas and in urban areas are different. For example, for people who live and work in big cities, like my colleagues and I who live in Beijing, the biggest water issue is the shortage of the water resource. Because of heavy industry, the quantity of clean and drinking water in the cities of China decreases very rapidly. It is urgent for us to raise the citizen's awareness of the storage of water. On the other hand, in the poor areas, people should pay more attention to the sanitation and hygiene of the water resource. We cannot deny that they also have the problem of shortage of water resource. However, to increase the sanitary quality of the water is the most important task there. Providing everyone sufficient clean water without conflict should be the next step at the community level.
Second, at the community level we should mainly focus on how to save water and how to improve the sanitation of the water. In this process, both men and women should be involved in the policymaking steps at the community level. The participation of the community can provide people with strong incentives for collective action. The strength and wisdom of collective decisionmaking could work out better solutions for saving and protecting water resources. The community should play a significant role as an information accumulator and a feedback channel.
Third, at the government level, government can play the role of macro-coordination and strategic policy making, which may provide sufficient water resources for rural areas. Relevant programs for water facility construction should be established by the government. China has to combine individual, community, and government actions to effectively provide sufficient clean water to everyone.
Water shortages in China could cause rising food prices worldwide, according to the Worldwatch Institute. With the country struggling to meet the water demands of a growing population, the strain could disrupt world grain markets. The northern part of the country, which produces 40% of China's grain, is drying out because demand for water is outstripping supply. While less than 15% of the US grain harvest comes from irrigated land, in China it is close to 70%. Meanwhile, as China's economy expands at a projected annual rate of 7%, as it adds 12 million people a year, and as Chinese eat more grain-fed meat, the country's need for grain will continue to grow. This, coming at a time when grain production will be falling in key producing regions as water shortages intensify, could quickly make China the world's leading grain importer, overtaking even Japan. China is not alone in facing water shortages. Other countries where water scarcity is raising grain imports or threatening to do so include India, Pakistan, Iran, Egypt, Mexico, and dozens of smaller countries. But only China-with nearly 1.3 billion people, a fast-growing economy, and a $40-billion-plus trade surplus with the United States has the potential to disrupt world grain markets. In short, falling water tables in China could soon mean rising food prices for the entire world, observes the same Worldwatch Institute report.
In the competition for water between cities, industry, and agriculture, the economics of water use do not favor agriculture. In China, a thousand tons of water produces one ton of wheat, worth perhaps $200. The same water used in industry will expand output by $14,000-70 times as much. In a country that is desperately seeking economic growth and, even more, the jobs it generates, the gain in diverting water from agriculture to industry is obvious. In 1999 the water table under Beijing fell by 2.5 meters (8 feet). Since 1965, the water table under the city has fallen by some 59 meters or nearly 200 feet, warning China's leaders of the shortages that lie ahead as the country's aquifers are depleted.
China has to focus on re-planning the agricultural and industrial production and products structure, changing people's behavior in water and water-related goods consumption, new eco-technology for water recycling and saving, ecosystem restoration and watershed conservation, plus new incentives included in policy and planning.
According to Worldwatch Paper 154, "Deep Trouble: The Hidden Threat of Groundwater Pollution," by Payal Sampat all the farmers in China's Yunnan Province have eliminated their use of fungicides since 1989, while doubling rice yields, by planting more diverse varieties of the grain.
We must create water drainage standards and permits, reach alliances, agreements and treaties between factories and government environmental protection branches, and create economic sanctions and incentives.
In India water tables are falling 1 to 3 meters per year in many locations, as the natural replenishment of water is running some 50% less than annual withdrawals. About 80% or rural India gets their drinking water from this ground water, as does the majority of water for agriculture… some households spend 25% of their income on water. The availability of water in India is dependent on local initiatives. The Gram Panchayats (village governing bodies) have to be involved to ensure adequate water supply and rejuvenate traditional methods of water harvesting. “Waste not, want not, and pollutants pay the people,” should be our motto in India.
The basic cause of the water problems in Pakistan seems to be water wastage and loss due to mismanagement, poor infrastructure and maintenance, leakage, and even theft.
Generally, Japan’s water condition is very satisfactory. Sufficient clean water is available from rainfall filling reservoirs in up-stream areas of mountain sites even in the summer season except for the western region during dry, hot years. However, some regions are faced with industrial pollution. Local governments are trying to resolve the conflicts between citizens and industries.
Japan changes seawater into drinking water, and exports that technology to Middle Eastern nations. Local governments of these regions are able to prepare, if they want, equipments and facilities for desalination of seawater by investing in sufficient clean water supply issues instead of an auditorium or a music hall.
Singapore has no shortage of water per se, given that tropical rainfall averages 80 to 100 inches a year, but the problems are with portability and allocation of the resource. The rural poor lack ready access to drinkable water. It is not uncommon for water to be drawn for consumption from the same river or pond used for bathing, washing of clothes, and even defecation.
Tiny Singapore faces a unique situation, which can be a source of potential conflict with its larger neighbor: Half of the water needed each day to sustain its 3 million people comes from Malaysia, under a water agreement that has been highly politicized. Whenever there is serious disagreement with its larger neighbor, there would be calls to "turn off the tap" or to renegotiate the terms of the agreement. Singapore is turning to desalination and other alternative sources in further-away Indonesia. We also need education to change behavior, more wells and pumps to provide potable water; better pollution prevention measures especially against toxic contamination from industrial waste.
South Korea has both shortages and water pollution problems. It needs to establish regional water quality management bodies, basic environmental facilities, and enforcement of regional emissions standards.
South Pacific Regional Environment Program (SPREP) and UNEP’s Global Environmental Facility launched a regional initiative, the International Waters Program, at the end of March 2001 with the Cook Islands, Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga and Tuvalu. The program combines coastal and oceanic components, and under the initiative community-based pilot projects in coastal fisheries, marine protected areas, waste management and freshwater resources.
Australia uses enormous amounts of water for agriculture, mining, and manufacturing, which pollutes it. Until recently there were few controls, and these are difficult to enforce. Because of a large aquifer in the central area, and farsighted planning in the city areas, there are still adequate water supplies. But if the current trends and shortsighted policies continue, the water will become in short supply.
The number and frequency of droughts in past years give cause for some concern. Interestingly, many Australians use water with more abandon than I observed in water-rich places. The low population has allowed this in the past, but, with population growth and increasing dependence on selling exports overseas to support an increasingly expensive lifestyle, water problems will increase. Australia and New Zealand have to focus on reducing the wastage of water through pollution, urban runoff, and water hungry industries or cash/export crops like cotton.
In the Near East, water problems can lead to full-scale war, which would further destroy water resources and planning water programs (sharing procedures, saving, education, etc.). Iran's drought, continuing into its third year, could lead to widespread water shortages as well as losses in agriculture, livestock and wildlife. Deputy Energy Minister Rasoul Zargar predicted water crises for 12 of the country's 28 provinces. The UN Information Center in Tehran said that precipitation figures suggest the drought will continue in eastern, southern and central provinces. The drought is affecting fewer regions in 2001, but its impact is expected to be more powerful in communities that have not had any chance to recover from the two previous years of drought. Iran is setting aside more than $300 million in preparation for the extended drought; water shortages of year 2000 cost the country an estimated $3.5 billion in damages (Agence France-Presse/ReliefWeb, 30 April 2001).
The dry nature of the region and shared water sources among two or more countries makes the potential conflicts serious. Due to the political alliances these could develop into serious global conflicts or even wars. Each country has to consider the others’ situation and consult with them through regional water conferences and working committees. New technologies for water transfer, irrigation, and distillation, as well as artificially induced rain and double pipe systems can help. The public must be educated to form a more desirable water usage pattern.
The Mesopotamian Marshlands has shrunk by 90% since 1970. The UNEP says that dams and drainage projects have been the two main causes of the loss of the marshes, which used to cover 5,800 to 7,700 square miles where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers meet in southern Iraq. "The Tigris and the Euphrates are amongst the most intensively dammed rivers in the world…. In the past 40 years they have been fragmented by the construction of more than 30 large dams, whose storage capacity is several times greater than the volume of both rivers.… The immediate cause of marshland dewatering, however, has been the massive drainage works implemented in southern Iraq in the early 1990s, following the second Gulf war. UNEP analysis, it says, "graphically documents the stunning scale and speed at which the wetlands have disappeared, confirming the most pessimistic scenarios….Recent satellite images provide hard evidence that the once-extensive marshlands have dried up and regressed into desert, with vast stretches covered by crusts of salt." The report says about a fifth of the estimated half-million Marsh Arabs are now living in refugee camps in Iran, with the rest displaced in Iraq.
Turkey has said that because of a serious drought it cannot give Syria as much water as it wants from the rivers which the two countries share. Under an informal agreement between the two countries, Syria is supposed to receive 500 cubic metres of water per second, but this month the average flow has been less than one-third of that amount and next month it could be even lower. Syria, and its neighbor Iraq, blame Turkey's huge network of dams on the Tigris and the Euphrates for threatening their water supplies. <www.news.bbc.co.uk/low/english/world/europe/newsid_943000/943002.stm>
By 2025 there will not be enough water to supply the basic needs of
18 nations, including Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel, Jordan and Palestine
area. Tension is expected between Turkey, Syria, and Iraq over the Euphrates,
warns “The Economist”.
EUROPE
Water is not a problem in Western Europe as the climate more or less
guarantees that there is sufficient clean water available at fairly low
cost all the year round. Water utilities in Germany pay farmers to
switch to organic operations because it costs less than removing farm chemicals
from water supplies.
There are water scarcity problems in Southern Russia, Poland, Hungary, and around the Mediterranean. There is a tendency to introduce a higher scale of charges for water following the privatization of the water industry in England and Wales and this can cause problems for some poor families, particularly if the water is metered and charged on a competitive tariff. Politicians are watching this carefully to ensure that there is no loss of social justice or equity but it could become an issue early into the next century.
Water involves coordinated politics at the level of EU.... A question of utmost relevance! Southern Europe has some problems. Northern or Central Europe is not so bad off, but in some regions, due to soil and climate conditions, problems can be bad in the summer... the issue is sensible use.
Pollution taxes in the Netherlands have helped the country slash discharges of heavy metals such as mercury and arsenic into waterways by up to 99 percent between 1976 and the mid-1990s.
Much of the current installation dates back to the middle of the last century and needs to be replaced systematically over the coming decades. Considerable new investment is required to achieve this, resulting in privatization of the water supply industry by national governments.... Modernize waterworks especially in the south of Italy and in the entire Mediterranean basin.
Droughts do appear regularly. During the last one on the Iberian Peninsula, clean water was shipped from Finnish lakes by former oil tankers to Cadiz.
Some Nordic countries have the potential to be a clean water reserve for other parts of Europe.
There are large sources of clean water in Central and Eastern Europe, but the danger of pollution is still high.
Although the Russian Federation has 20% of global renewable water resources, it also has unsustainable water use in agriculture and the household, pollution of many river basins, sharp decrease in the capacity of water recycling facilities as well as the quality of drinking water in some cities and rural areas. Financial problems have moved these problems to the background.
At the same time Russia has some opportunities. First of all novel technology for improving drinking water quality, implementation of plasma technology for save storage of wastes, including toxic ones to prevent surface and groundwater pollution.
Second, some federal level long- term programs are developed for the rehabilitation of river basins. Local communities also initiated some programs for rehabilitation of river basins and flooding protection programs. Key problem is a lack of investments and system of value. Increasing water tariffs are planed to be implemented with improving economic conditions in order to not suppress the competitiveness of industry and agriculture. Investment for modernization of irrigation systems and improving soil fertility for more sustainable agriculture is the most complicated problem. Russia has developed plans for different climatic zones, food security, soil fertility, reforestation, giving hope that the trends will change for better.
Russia shares river basins with many countries: China, Ukraine, Byelorussia and others. The contribution of Russia to river basins pollution is much less than the contribution of other countries. Although bilateral agreements exist to govern these relationships, conflict is possible if these trans-border pollution trends continue. An international river basin organization should be established to finance and manage an integrated approach for water, land, and forest rehabilitation in the basin.
All actions listed in this questionnaire are important for Russia too; and some of the listed actions we have already started to implement; but progress is too slow.
The underground water is not sufficiently preserved.... Eastern European countries have destroyed water resources over decades during the communist times. There are problems with forestlands, because ownership of the land is still not clear since the 1989 revolution. As a result the maintenance and service of forests and mountains is bad (Poorly managed mining and timber operations).... There is an attempt, to make clear property relations and agricultural rules. On the one side, some villages have no access to their forests because the forests are still owned by large companies derived from the state. On the other side, some villages have done their own mining of timber and no maintenance.... Some countries, like Poland, may in the future experience an insufficient amount of water. Other countries, except the Balkan states, are in a better position... Water treatment facilities are to be finished in all cities, towns, and industrial enterprises.
Russia abolished its Environmental Protection Agency and its reservoirs have been damaged by mismanagement. The problem is not significant but requires, however, responsible and good management of the resources also in the future... the Czech Republic is quite self-sufficient in water... The quality of surface water has improved considerably in last 10 years; quality of underground water remains a serious problem... We need to enlarge our forest area.... Low pricing, bad state of infrastructure, and absence of environmentally oriented culture are making matters worse.... It is sufficient to respect existing legal protection of the environment and harmonize it with the European Union.
The water situation in Central Europe characterized by variety of problems:
1) enormous waste of water by industry, power supply, agriculture, and
transport; 2) a lack of domestic investments for principal change of state
policy; 3) dependence on a small number of great global firms; 4) practice
of double environmental standards for different countries.
LATIN AMERICA
Although some areas of Latin America are quite dry such as Bolivia,
Chile, Peru, and some parts of Brazil and Argentina, there are great resources
in the Amazon, Magdalena, Orinoco, Paraguay, Parana, and Sao Francisco
rivers. Rapid urbanization will increase the pressure on these resources.
The lack of water is a significant limitation to economic development and
quality of life in the region. Significant infrastructure/repopulation
may be necessary to achieve reasonable results.
In Columbia, indiscriminate cutting of forests and illegal drug cultivation effects reduce potable water. The laws are not effective and there is no culture of water efficiency. To reach peace in Colombia is very important for the regulation of use of water, and for the eradication of illicit cultures of drugs. The action to preserve the environment must be strengthened in order to be included as a key element of the national culture. It is fundamental to maintaining up-to-date water balances and projections, and necessary measures to enhance policies and programs.
In Mexico, 80% of the population lives where 20% of the water is, and 20% of the population lives where 80% of the water is available. 80% lives at 1100-2800 meters above sea level.
Conflict seems unavoidable. Megacities such as Mexico, Bogota, Sao Paulo, or Buenos Aires could implode in 20 years. Moving population to middle size cities will provide a better quality of life and avoid conflicts, but this is not likely to be done. Nevertheless migration to the coasts in Mexico with electricity, telecommunications, education, and health, will be less risky than the conquest of the West during the 19th century in the U.S.
Poor residents in Lima, Peru, pay private vendors as much as $3 per cubic meter for buckets of often-contaminated water while the more affluent pays 30 cents per cubic meter for treated municipal tap water. In the maquiladora zones of Mexico, water is so scarce that babies and children drink Coca-Cola and Pepsi instead, notes a report of the International Forum on Globalization.
Biotechnology and applied sciences will provide a new approach to solving
food, health, and environmental problems. Our salvation is science and
technology.
NORTH AMERICA
pproximately 15% of the world’s renewable fresh water is in North America.
Aquifers in the southwest United States are being drained and fertilizers
have an accumulative effort on ground water safety. According to the National
Research Council, initial cleanup of contaminated groundwater at some 300,000
sites in the U.S. could cost up to $1 trillion over the next 30 years.
The EPA estimates that cutting agricultural pollution could eliminate the
need for at least $15 billion worth of additional advanced water treatment
facilities.
About 35 billion liters per year of solvents, heavy metals, and radioactive materials are injected directly into deep groundwater via thousands of "injection wells," according to the EPA. Although, the EPA requires that these effluents be injected below the deepest source of drinking water, this agency says that some have entered underground water supplies in Florida, Texas, Ohio, and Oklahoma.
Government-subsidized water programs for agriculture encourage waste. In specific locales such as Las Vegas people have to change their attitudes about water.... Major metropolitan areas with political influence are drawing water from the less developed and less politically active areas. People are not fully aware of the environmental changes that are being caused through redirecting available water resources.
The problem is getting worse in some areas; e.g., Western Canada and U.S., and Florida.... Water pollution must be stopped at the sources in agriculture, industry, and municipalities. Water should be priced at full cost (with minimum amount or free for the poor.).... Clean water is spotty in the western U.S. Land costs vary greatly depending on the quality of water and water supply.
Most people in the US will view this as someone else's problem. Most people in the US are reasonably well served; EXCEPT, it can be seen as a class problem. Poor people will be the first hurt in free market distribution, when resources begin to get tighter in several sub-regions. Certain agricultural water resources are already seriously "mined" and declining rapidly. There could be internal and international economic, political, and physical conflict with two major neighbors. Some frictions already exist.
This region has the potential to serve as a 'sink' for water and other resources that cannot be captured by other regions due to lack of economic power.
Key focus should be on the American West and Mexico for quantity, all Latin American cities for purification. An interesting wrinkle here is the fact that drugs, hormones, and pesticides are beginning to show up in some water supplies with unknown impacts.
The U.S. needs to make progress in the control of water supply and control, reduction of water pollutants, effective water recycling and low use alternative technologies, and to build new water storage reservoirs...Allow economic forces to act, generally unfettered.
The U.S. should stop mining aquifers and stop building subdivisions in desert and other environmentally inappropriate areas, increase efforts to protect existing supplies from overuse and contamination, forestall pathological competition between agricultural, industrial, and domestic users, reform water rights traditions and law, and rationalize land use to fit water resources. Contain development within bounds of clean water availability... technology should be equitably shared to allow access to resources such as water, knowledge, and food.
Only 2% of the U.S.’s rivers and streams remain free-flowing and undeveloped; the continental U.S. has lost more than half of its wetlands. In the U.S., the epicenter of freshwater diversity in the world, 37% of freshwater fish are at risk of extinction, 50% of crayfish and 40% of amphibians are imperiled, and 67% of freshwater mussels are extinct or vulnerable to extinction.
In many arid regions of the U.S., increasing demand for fresh water exceeds the ability of water supply agencies to provide an unlimited supply, especially during periods of drought. Some cities restrict water use for landscaping, washing cars, and other non-essential uses. In response, more and more people are recycling their household wastewater, commonly called greywater, both in the house and for landscape irrigation. This conserves valuable water, lowers household demand and expenses, and helps to preserve landscaping vegetation. Greywater recycling also helps reduce septic system loading and sewage treatment costs for municipalities.
The Economist warns that water conflicts may begin in the rich world. Canada is getting upset about losing its water to the U.S. And within the U.S. quarrels between the states will grow more acute.
Last Updated: October25, 2001