Inhabitable planets are hard to find

By Julia Marton-Lefèvre, Director General of the World Conservation Union (IUCN)

5 June 2007

World Environment Day 2007 provides us with an occasion to reflect on some issues that will shape the future of our planet. Environmental concerns are now part of our daily news. They are increasingly integrated in the way we see and think about the world. But we are fast approaching a defining moment of our history, where we will either show the courage, imagination and commitment to protect our planet or we will fail future generations by lacking the determination to act forcefully now.

As we are all becoming aware of the perils of inaction, here are four ideas that might guide concrete and needed actions:
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First, time is not on our side. More than any other environmental issue, climate change illustrates that point. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has demonstrated that impacts are not only occurring, they are accelerating, faster than most scientists expected just a few years ago. We also know that we have the existing technologies and knowledge to advance greatly in reducing our production of greenhouse gases. That more and better technologies will become available should not be an excuse to procrastinate. Decision-makers cannot put their head in the sand, hoping for techno-fixes to bail them out, keeping them from having to make tough choices now. An informed citizenry will also have to start making different personal choices and act to push for new collective ones. For their part, environmentalists will have to be pragmatic, as many already are, rather than preaching for ascetic lifestyles in order to save the planet, a stand that can be morally comfortable but not very efficient to bring about changes in behavior and consumption patterns. While we can see a lot of efforts already happening, it is quite clear that we will need to accelerate the greening of our economy if we want to avoid major disruptions in the near future.

Second, environmental sustainability cannot be an afterthought. It has to be a prism through which we look before taking any decision. It has to be a priority and be fully integrated into our decision-making processes. Environmental issues are inter-related, complex and far-reaching. We are just beginning to see how environmental degradation will force us to re-think our relationship with nature and between ourselves. Will water scarcity be a source of cooperation or a source of conflict? How will we react to the pressure that climate change will put on food production? How will climate-related issues such as desertification influence migration patterns? Will we be able to find creative approaches to govern the oceans in a way that will help replenish our diminishing fish stocks? Studies like the Worm report warn that there are only 50 years left to fish if the current overexploitation of our oceans continues. It is quite clear that the increasing complexity of environment-related issues will force us to collectively review national and international governance systems, to make them more efficient and agile.

Third, science should guide us. Not emotions or short-term economic or political strategies. In a real world where we need to balance between the legitimate aspirations of individuals living in emerging economies and sound environmental policies, we will need to share and apply scientific knowledge. At a time when we need to improve the quality of life of traditional societies living in poor, fragile or threatened natural environment while protecting biological diversity, science can help us make the right choices. Also, science should point to new ways to limit the environmental impact of worldwide, sustained economic growth. Increasing our scientific knowledge, like expanding the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, sharing it widely and ensuring its systematic use in decision-making processes at all levels is not an option, but an obligation.

Fourth, we need a cultural change. Put in its simplest form, we as humans are facing the most serious global challenge ever: our own survival as a species. We can sink in gloom in view of the task ahead, or we can appeal to our formidable capacity to generate ideas and put them into action. For the first time in history, the issues – and therefore the solutions – are truly global. This means that we will need to redefine what constitutes the “common good” to what we share and have a custodian responsibility to, on a planetary scale. In order to do that, we will need to steer away from the traditional cleavages of left/right, North/South and of the various forms and shades of nationalism that can impede action. This is perhaps the most difficult task. Yet, it may very well turn out to be the most important one. Governments, private companies, NGOs, scientists and citizens will have to put their shoulders to the wheel – each to its own capacity – in order to bring about the needed deep and long-lasting changes.

The good news is this cultural change is already happening. We can see a notable increase in interdisciplinary cooperation in science; we can see progressive business people seriously “greening” -- as opposed to “green washing”-- their companies; we see politicians at all levels assuming their roles as leaders with courage and imagination; we see NGOs making biodiversity and sustainable development the center-piece of their activities; and more importantly, we see many people, sometimes very poor, taking better care of their coral reef, their forest, their mangroves. The speed of this culture shift now needs to be accelerated, its scope widened.

In order for this cultural change to be efficient, we have to put it through a very simple test: what ethicists are calling “anticipated consent”. That simply means asking ourselves if future generations would agree with what we do and do not do now.

Let’s use World Environment Day 2007 to look, without complacency, at the situation we are facing, and harden our resolve to make this planet, our planet, a better place for all of us to live and prosper.

More information

Carolin Wahnbaeck, Media Relations Officer pressiucn.org, phone: +41 22 999 0127