Time is Running out for the Environment, UN Says

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WORLDWIDE FOREST/BIODIVERSITY CAMPAIGN NEWS

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Forest Networking a Project of forests.org

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9/26/99

OVERVIEW & COMMENTARY

The United Nations recently released a major report that "paints a

devastating picture of the Planet's condition." Time _is_ running

out as the myriad of threats facing the Planet show no signs of

abating, and cumulatively threaten the livability of the Planet.

g.b.

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Title: Time Is Running Out For the Environment, UN Says

Source: Reuters

Date: September 22, 1999

Byline: Rosalind Russell

(Reuters) - It is too late to halt global warming and time is fast

running out to prevent other environmental catastrophes in the

making, the United Nations' environment agency said in a major report

Tuesday.

``Global Environment Outlook 2000'' paints a devastating picture of

the planet's condition on the eve of the next millennium, and points

to new threats -- such as increased levels of nitrogen in the water

supply -- that the world has not yet tackled.

``The gains made by better management and technology are still being

outpaced by the environmental impacts of population and economic

growth. We are on an unsustainable course,'' Klaus Toepfer, head of

the United Nations Environment Program said at the African launch of

the report in Nairobi.

The report says emissions of greenhouse gases that cause global

warming have quadrupled since the 1950s, and ``binding'' targets to

reduce emissions agreed by governments at last year's Kyoto summit

may not be met.

The rate at which humans are destroying the environment is

accelerating -- often the result of excessive consumption by the rich

and to the detriment of the poor.

About 20 percent of the world's population already lacks access to

safe drinking water and 50 percent have no access to a sanitation

system. This situation will get worse as the world's population --

set to reach six billion next month -- will increase by 50 percent in

the next 50 years.

Eighty percent of the world's original forest cover has been cleared

or degraded, and logging and mining projects threaten 39 percent of

what forest remains.

A quarter of mammal species are at risk of extinction, while more

than half the world's coral reefs are threatened by human activity.

There were 850 contributors to the report, which took two and a half

years to compile and also highlights some lesser known environmental

problems.

HURRICANES, FIRES, WAR CAUSE MOUNTING DAMAGE

Disasters such as hurricanes and forest fires are increasing in

frequency and severity and have killed some three million people in

the last three decades. Armed conflicts and unprecedented refugee

flows are causing greater damage to the environment than ever before.

There is also mounting evidence that humans are seriously

destabilizing the global nitrogen balance. Huge amounts of nitrogen

are being deposited on land and in water through intensive

agriculture and the burning of fossil fuels.

Eventually, this problem could make freshwater supplies unfit for

human consumption, the report says.

``The full extent of the damage is only now becoming apparent as we

begin to piece together a comprehensive overview of the extremely

complex, interconnected web that is our life support system,'' said

Toepfer, a former German environment minister.

Much of the damage is irreparable, but through a huge mobilization of

resources and political will, much can still be done to prevent

further destruction, the report says.

A long-term target of a 90 percent reduction in the consumption of

raw materials in industrialized countries may seem far-fetched, but

without it hundreds of millions of people will be condemned to a life

of suffering, it concludes.

``We can no longer be complacent and assume that the environment can

look after itself,'' Toepfer said. ``We have a huge task ahead to

ensure a more sustainable future for the planet and human society.''

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