Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
'.*r*w«dt.
W~ JL
Masked Phantoms
~ ^^^^^^Jl
1990, clay sculpture
(30.5 x 12 x 9 cm)
by Clara DeLamater
Lamater is a French-
r
NOVEMBER 1991 CON NTS
8
Interview with UNESCO'S
FIRST 45 YEARS
JACQUES-YVES COUSTEAU
by Michel Conil Lacoste
43
IN BRIEF..
WORLD HERITAGE
The stones
of Aachen
by Herta Lepie
and Roland Wentzler
48
INTERVIEW WITH
IH- FEDERICO MAYOR
Director-General
of UNESCO
ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT
A GLOBAL COMMITMENT
^COURIER 44th YEAR
A PARTNERSHIP WITH NATURE
Published monthly in 35 languages and in Braille
by Michel Bâtisse 14
I
Constitution of UNESCO,
London, 16 November 1945 (1972-1973), the start of the
TIME TO ACT French explorer's campaign to
by Francesco di Castri 41 protect the continent.
UNESCO's Hist 45 years
1950-1951 there were 42,122 pupils in schools in by P. de Berredo Carneiro. 6 volumes are pub¬
refugee camps; today the figure is 370,600. 5,200 lished between 1963 and 1976 with the collabo¬
Early preoccupations
Development of educational structures vocational and teacher training centres are ration of a thousand specialists from over 60
Free circulation of sources of knowledge involved in the programme. countries. A new, updated edition is currently
Copyright, standard-setting action being prepared to take account of political
The struggle against racial prejudice
changes and the latest historical research. The 48
Exact and natural sciences quarterly issues of the Journal of World History,
published as part of the project between 1953 and
The first issue of the quarterly Impact ofScience 1972, are still a valued information source.
mo on Society appears.
Impact, today published in English, French,
Chinese, Russian, Arabic and Portuguese, Communication
General policy
presents to a wide audience the achievements of
modern science and describes their impact on The "Florence Agreement" for the abolition
Meeting in Florence, the General Conference society, notably in the developing world. of customs duties on certain educational, scien¬
defines a "basic programme" of 120 activities tific and cultural materials (including books), to
grouped under 10 major tasks. which over 79 countries are today contracting
The first UNESCO expert is sent into the field Social sciences parties, is signed. This agreement, which comes
as part of the UN technical assistance programme into force in 1952, extends and strengthens the
on a scientific mission to Iran. The first studies on social tensions, stereotypes Beirut agreement.
The first conference of representatives of inter¬ and their connection with international under¬
projects.
Exact and natural sciences
Education
The first session is held in Algiers of
UNESCO's Advisory Committee on Arid Zone
A joint UNRWA-UNESCO education Research, which leads to the first development-
programme on behalf of Palestine refugee chil¬ oriented international scientific research
dren in the Middle East is launched (UNRWA: programme. This is the first concerted attempt
the United Nations Relief and Works Agency to combat desertification, a crucial problem in
for Palestine Refugees in the Near East). In many Third World countries.
Clement Attlee, The French physicist Louis de Luther H. Evans, Vlttorlno Veronese, Roger Caillois,
Prime Minister of Broglle, first winner of the Director-General of UNESCO Director-General of UNESCO founder of the review Diogenes
the United Kingdom In 1945. Kallnga Prize (1952). In 1953. in 1958. (1952).
Social sciences
ceforth represent governments of the States of Communication UNESCO inaugurates a world anthology of
which they are nationals. It adopts as the emblem treaties and laws on copyright, since then annu¬
of UNESCO a temple in the image of the The Director-General is authorized by the ally updated.
Parthenon, in which Phidias saw "proportions General Conference to help Member States, at
rather than dimensions"a symbol of the balance their request, to develop their communication
between nations that inspires UNESCO's activi¬ and information media.
Education
ties and of its cultural mission.
The USSR becomes UNESCO's 70th Member A meeting of experts, then a working party
State, followed by the Ukrainian SSR and the of the General Conference, proposes a new defi¬
Byelorussian SSR. nition of "fundamental education". The latter
The magazine's current format dates from The UNESCO Source Bookfor Science Teaching
1989, when the contents were also modified to is published. A revised edition will be published
in 1973 under the title New UNESCO Source
concentrate on major themes designed to interest
a wide public and treated from an increasingly Book for Science Teaching.
cross-cultural viewpoint. Many times reprinted and translated into some
The European Centre for Nuclear Research 30 languages, more than a million copies have
(CERN), created with the participation of today been sold.
UNESCO, comes into operation.
Culture
fe Communication
Education
Events
Events
The first Major Projects
The International Catholic Centre for
JACQUES-YVES
COUSTEAU
The French oceanographer Jacques-
audiences. He is now preoccupied How did you come to be interested in bringing the garbage to the surface was quite
nature and particularly in nature in aquatic a job. I spent two or three weeks diving into
with the protection of the environ¬ surroundings? that lake and eventually I learned how to hold
I have always been curious about things. my breath under water.
ment in an age of rapid economic
When I was a child I used to go out bird- Later, when I was fourteen, I improved
watching at night. I ran into a certain amount my underwater swimming techniques. There
expansion and population growth.
of opposition from my parents, who weren't was a swimming pool at my school in Alsace,
very keen on curiosity if it exposed me to and I used all kinds of contraptions made from
risks. tubes and pumps in order to breathe under
I first really started to learn about water water. I wasn't trying to observe the natural
when I was ten years old. I was in a holiday world. I was imitating the James Fenimore
camp near a lake in the United States. We had Cooper heroes who hid under water and
to collect garbage from under the children's breathed through hollow reeds when trying
diving platform, and to do that I learned how to escape from their pursuers.
to dive and swim under water. I had no I slowly became convinced that I wanted
goggles or any other special equipment and to be a sailor. I passed my baccalaureate and
Interview by
8 Bahgat Elnadi and Adel Rifaat
The resources
of our planet
then, when I was twenty, I won a place at the are When the war was over, I told officials at
French naval academy. Two years later, the Navy Ministry about this entirely new
during a round-the-world voyage on a training system we had developed and suggested that
ship, the feanne d'Arc, I witnessed a scene that
. . .there is a limit a study centre be opened at Toulon. As a
had a decisive impact on my life. At Cam result, a centre for underwater study and
Ranh Bay in Indochina, at the hottest time of research was created in the Arsenal at Toulon.
that while the fish were having their siesta exceeded, apply what we had learned. To do this we
they were very easy to catch! I thought that needed a ship. Where was the money to come
this was so extraordinary that I decided to from? I opened my address book. Under the
improve my underwater swimming tech¬ a habitability letter A, I saw the name Auniac. He was a
niques further. charming fellow. I had met him and his wife at
For the time being, however, I had no winter sports. He was the agent of Guinness
opportunity to do so. I was given command
threshold that must which, among its other activities, controlled
of the French naval base at Shanghai, the shipyard at Antibes. After a meeting,
providing supplies for ships which docked at Guinness opened credit facilities for 25 million
the French concession. It was only later, when
not be crossed. francs and put the manager of the Antibes
I returned to France and thought about the shipyard at my disposal.
people of Cam Ranh Bay, that I came back
to the idea of developing underwater swim¬ It sounds like a fairy tale.
ming techniques. In the meantime I had Absolutely! With the manager of the
become friendly with Frederic Dumas and Antibes shipyard we went to Malta where we
Philippe Taillez. We became the Three found a converted minesweeper that was being
Musketeers of underwater adventure. used as a ferry between Malta and Gozo, the
I became obsessed with the problem of little island that is supposed to be the legen¬
breathing underwater. My friends and I tested dary Ogygia of the Odyssey. In fact that's why
all the breathing apparatus that existed at that the minesweeper's owner had named his ferry
time and found that none of it was satis¬ the Calypso. We bought the ship for seven mil¬
factory. lion francs. The Calypso was in perfect condi¬
Then came the war and the occupation. tion, but we had to use the rest of my credit
That was when I met Emile Gagnan, an to refit her and equip her with
engineer with the Air Liquide company who oceanographical research instruments.
had developed a motor vehicle powered by Then we began our cruises. The credit
carbon dioxide produced from burning wood. from Guinness was used up and I had no more
The combustible gas reached the engine via money. I joined the CNRS.* Since the war,
a special feeder valve. This system is used in France had had no océanographie vessels, and
the underwater breathing device with which so for a few years we served as a transport and
my name is associated, millions of which have liaison vessel for French oceanographers.
been sold. In my device, which is entirely self-
contained, the gas passing through the feeder Then came the great success of your film
valve is compressed air. Using this system, The Silent World. . .
Dumas, Taillez and I were able to extend the The Silent World dates from 1956. The first
possibilities of underwater swimming and start Calypso expeditions, in the Red Sea, go back
to make films. to 1951. We had already made some quite
Commander Cousteau and Conshelf II, an underwater colony
his son, Jean-Michel. in the Red Sea in which a group of
oceanonauts lived for a month
in 1963.
The Silent World brought in enough What are the main dangers that, threaten
remarkable films, one of which won the money to finance our work until 1972, virtu¬ the Earth today?
Grand Prix at the Paris documentary film fes¬ ally without any other source of income. After travelling the world as I have for years
tival in 1951. We were making colour films Since then we have made many films. In on end, and seeing it from helicopters, as a
as far back as 1953. Things were very difficult 1962 we also carried out experiments in which diver, from on board ship ... I would sum
in those early days. Water tends to absorb men lived and worked underwater at consider¬ up my feelings by saying that the resources
colours and we had many lighting problems. able depths. The first of these, known as Con- of our planet are finite, that there is a limit
We did a lot of work on the development of shelf I, was carried out at Marseilles. Then that should not be exceeded, a habitability
camera techniques, filters, optical and lighting came Conshelf II, in the Red Sea, and finally threshold that must not be crossed.
systems, and so on. Gradually we were able in 1965, Conshelf III off Cap Ferrât. We should ask ourselves how many
to start using video up to professional stan¬ animals and people our planet can continue
dards, initially in black and white. How were these experiments carried out? to support before the quality of life deteri¬
Around that time I constructed the first We used a spherical vessel within which the orates, before all Earth's beauties fade. Fifteen
French underwater television cameras. Later, atmosphere, consisting of a mixture of oxygen years ago, when I was in the United States,
at Marseilles, I created the Centre d'Etudes and helium, was maintained at the sur¬ I tried to construct a mathematical model to
Marines Avancées. It was at Marseilles that we rounding water pressure. Six people lived in find out how many people our planet could
built the first submarine for exploration, spe¬ the sphere for three weeks, and when they support with the income, purchasing power,
cially designed to carry out scientific obser¬ emerged it took another week to gradually and amenities enjoyed by the average
vation at a depth of 350 metres. Then, for the decompress them. American at that time. The data at my disposal
French State, we made an observation subma¬ With this experiment we became the first were not very precise and right from the start
rine capable of going to a depth of 3,000 people to do what is known as saturation I knew that the approximation would be of
metres and, for the Americans, a third sub¬ diving. Since then, the offshore oil industry the order of 40 to 50 per cent. At that time
marine capable of operating at 600 metres. I has gone in for this in a big way. I was friendly with the director of the Océano¬
also built two one-man pocket submarines We made innovations in a wide variety of graphie Laboratory of the University of
which are still in working order today. Finally fields. We developed cameras which we have Southern California, whose researchers served
we began to build a bigger submarine from used as far down as 8,000 metres. my colleagues and myself as advisers. With the
which divers could emerge. When the hull was We have taken thousands of photos and parameters I had at my disposal, I came up
finished work had to stop because we had no made extraordinary films in a number of with the figure of 700 million. Seven hundred
more money. That's how things stand today, Atlantic trenches. We were also the first to million people enjoying a standard of living
twenty years later. dive in the Antarctic with a submarine and comparable to that of the average American!
In 1954 we carried out a mission for the to carry out systematic exploration there in Fifteen years ago our planet was unable to pro¬
Darcy Exploration Company. We had a very diving gear. We recently made the first diving vide an agreeable life for more than 700 mil¬
good contract which enabled us to install the equipment using plastic bottles filled to a pres¬ lion people! World population was then four
radar and measuring equipment we lacked. We sure of 300 bars. billion!
10
I was alarmed by the results of my So religion shouldn't be held responsible. Why? My answer may make you raise
research and told the laboratory director about Fear of the future may be, however. In the your eyebrows, but the fact is that little girls
it. Do you know what he said? That my so-called developing countries there is no do not go to school because there is no safe
results were highly optimistic. He had con¬ insurance for old age. Retirement pensions, if drinking water. When there is no drinking
structed the same model as I had and had come they exist, do not even provide for basic needs. water in the vicinity the girls have to go and
up with a figure far lower than mine! Since Even when they are young people panic when fetch it from the spring. I have seen adoles¬
then I have been obsessed by the problem of they think about their old age, especially since cent girls fetch drinking water from twenty
the habitability of the planet. they grow old quickly because of poor sani¬ and sometimes thirty kilometres away, which
World population currently stands at 5.7 tary and other conditions. To care for them takes a whole day. By the time they are four¬
billion, a figure that is rising at dizzying speed. in their old age they need a male child they teen or fifteen years old, these girls whose lives
Every six months, a population equal to that can rely on. And since they have to take are geared to meeting the urgent need for
of France is added to the current figure. And account of their chances of having daughters water have never been to school, have never
every ten years a population equal to that of as well as sons, of mortality rates, and of the learned anything. How can they use con¬
China is added to that of our human ant-hill. possibility that some of their children are not traception or even know that contraception
Everyone is convinced that population going to be interested in looking after them exists?
growth cannot go on in this anarchic, can¬ when they get old, they need to have six off¬ Some people even try to explain exces¬
cerous way. But when the question arises as spring before they can be sure of having a sively high birth-rates by the fact that for
to what should be done, nobody wants to dependable male child. Six children to be sure hundreds of millions of people love is the only
know. People make out that nothing can be of having three boys. Three boys to be sure source of happiness. Contraception neither
done, that it's all too complicated, that things of having two who survive. And two living prevents nor reduces happiness. The con¬
are even more difficult because of ingrained boys to be sure of having one who will look traceptive pill is distributed freely in many
habits, religions and whatever. In fact, religion after his parents. poor countries and yet the women do not take
has nothing to do with it. Italy is the world's In addition to the insecurity factor there it. Why? Because they have had no education
most Catholic country and yet it has the is the factor of female illiteracy, which is also and are subjected to the will of the men who
world's lowest birth-rate. Spain, which is also a result of poverty. In the developing coun¬ either do not care about the consequences or
Catholic, is in a similar position. Its birth-rate tries education has made great strides but there want children to look after them in their old
is dropping vertiginously. In Indonesia, the are still not enough schools. Selection is thus age-
world's biggest Islamic country, a birth con¬ made on the basis of sex. Boys take priority Overpopulation is our planet's number
trol campaign in the last ten years has reduced over girls when it comes to enrollment in one problem. Of the 5.7 billion people on
the birth-rate by almost 50 per cent. school. Earth, less than 2 billion live in decent
11
conditions. This figure will soon double. order of 4 to 5 per cent. Tomorrow, when the What about désertification? Isn't it true
Perhaps we shall manage to feed the expected population has doubled, it will fall to 2 per that whereas the desert has been invading
10 or 12 billion. But that's just about all we cent. Here too, productivity has a ceiling agricultural land it may now be retreating.
shall be able to do. which cannot be exceeded. We are already in The information on which this view is based
Some people believe that the sea can be a the same, I am willing to accept that the Sahara
rich source offood. . . . And yet we can increase productivity on was created by human beings and that it may
That is a ridiculous idea. The sea's resources land. Why can't we do the same with the sea? consequently be unmade by them. If the
are diminishing. There is far too much over¬ The rates of return are not at all the same. Sahara were to become cultivable, its output
fishing already. And even if we manage to In the Antarctic, for example, it takes ten would be far higher than that of the sea.
keep on harvesting the same quantity of pro¬ tons of microscopic algae to form a ton of
tein from the sea, this quantity is bound to krillkrill are tiny shrimps ... and it takes What about pollution?
diminish as a proportion of consumer needs. one ton of krill to produce 20 kg of whale. Global warming and the increasing rarity
I remember that at the beginning of my career This is a transformation factor of 40 to 1. To of water are far more serious and urgent
10 per cent of the protein consumed came produce a cow on land, the transformation threats than the chemical pollution we hear
from the sea. Today the proportion is of the factor is ten to one. so much about. There is less and less water
because water is squandered, and this too goes
hand in hand with overpopulation. Water is
being wasted at a terrific rate. In the West,
farmers water their crops in such a way that
90 per cent of the water evaporates. We draw
on groundwater and then let it evaporate! This
year, in spite of abundant rainfall, France will
be facing drought problems. Why? Because in
the last three years we have wasted much of
the water we have drawn.
13
I
A partnersfiip with nature I ty *w ßaßsse
live centuries ago, the discovery of the New World proved that the Earth is round. And
therefore finite. Paradoxically, the Immense extent of the lands thus revealed enabled human
beings to persist until our own times in the mistaken belief that the wealth of nature was
inexhaustible and that they could continue with impunity to increase their numbers and multiply
their needs indefinitely.
The truth is that the Earth's resources are still considerable, but the race is on between
these needs vital or superfluousand the means of satisfying them. In spite of scientific
breakthroughs and the wonders of technology we are far from sure of winning this race. The
rampant population growth that is still going on, especially in the poor countries, and the
frenetic consumption of material goods and energy, especially in the rich countries, combine in
a model of economic development which weighs too heavily on all the components of our
environment and is not "sustainable".
This issue of the Courier, by seeking to provide some insights Into the manifestations of
this environmental crisis, shows that the latter is equally a crisis of development. Environment
and development: the two faces of a single dilemma In the pursuit of human destiny, the
subject of the United Nations Conference which will be held at Rio de Janeiro in June 1992.
This is a subject UNESCO knows well and one with which it has been concerned since Its
Inception. It was under UNESCO's auspices that the International Union for the Conservation of
Nature was founded in 1948. Around the same time UNESCO launched a scientific programme
for the study and use of arid regions. In 1961 the Intergovernmental Océanographie
Commission was established in UNESCO in order to promote worldwide co-operation in the
study of the seas, their resources, their protection and their influence on the life of the planet.
At the same time study was organized on the Earth's crust, its wealth and the natural hazards
associated with ¡t In 1964 the International Hydrologlcal Decade was launched to further
knowledge and management of the water resources of all countries. Finally, in 1968, UNESCO
organized a conference on the rational use and conservation of the resources of the biosphere,
from which sprang the interdisciplinary programme on Man and the Biosphere (MAB) which ¡s
today at the centre of UNESCO activities related to the environment.
In 1972 the United Nations Conference at Stockholm created a new wave of interest in
next generation. What can ordinary people do in tain demand, products had obsolescence built into
the course of their daily lives to help solve these them. Advertising and marketing techniques that Below, precious metals
extracted from industrial
problems instead of making matters worse? associated such goods with an image of happiness wastes at a refinery in
proved exceptionally successful. Unfortunately, Shanghai (China).
WHAT IS SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT?
1 . ft*
vo;. -^^.
^%
^A-T
S-v'
however, accumulation of possessions does not to make to the citizen to reduce pressure on the This mass of used tyres at a
dump at Westley, California
guarantee contentment, nor is it an end in itself. environment.
(USA) will be used as fuel to
On the other hand, the production of goods World population is currently growing at the produce electricity. One tyre
can serve the energy needs of
that are not intended to last is a waste of energy rate of 170 persons a minute, the equivalent of
the average Californian
and natural resources, and creates volumes of the population of Canada every three months. household for a day.
waste that are harmful to the environment. Every Environmentalists are alarmed by the increase,
American citizen, for example, throws away a ton and with good reason.
of domestic garbage each year. In highly deve¬ First of all there is an ethical obligation to
loped consumer societies, this refuse, which con¬ feed, clothe and house all these new citizens of
sists mainly of useless packaging, constitutes one the world. At present we do this rather badly,
of today's most critical environmental problems. because of inequalities in the distribution of
It is perhaps in the handling of domestic natural resources. Second, everyone in the plane¬
waste that the individual can be most effective tary village wants to enjoy the benefits of the con¬
in the struggle against environmental degradation. sumer societies of the industrialized world.
By choosing products that are either less pack¬ Unfortunately, in the present state of ecological
aged or less polluting, he or she can influence the knowledge, high North American and European
attitudes of industry. levels of consumption of natural resources do not
Cars are among the most important of the seem accessible to everyone in the world.
ephemeral products of the consumer society, and Many writers, including the French
many environmental problems are linked to their agronomist René Dumont, point out that for all
excessive production and use. In North America, the planet to consume energy at North American
for example, it is estimated that they account for rates, we should have to increase oil production
nearly 40 per cent of total energy consumption. threefold, natural gas production sevenfold, and
Using the car less is one of the first suggestions coal output tenfold, as well as multiplying the 17
THE CHALLENGE
OF ENVIRONMENTAL
LITERACY
founded in 1969 with aid last, is terrifying from an environmental point of development of every human being depends on
from the United Nations
view. The pollution caused by the production and the state of his or her environment, and that no
Development Programme and
the Food and Agriculture
use of the necessary energy resources would generation can arrogate to itself the right to des¬
Organization of the UN. increase amounts of acid rain, greenhouse gases troy elements necessary for the survival of the
and nuclear wastes to intolerable levels. next.
Yet every human being ought to have the The challenge of sustainable development
right to live in comfort and security. Sustainable may well be the most important we have ever
development therefore involves reducing birth¬ had to face. We now have extraordinary scien¬
rates, where these are high, both in rich and poor tific instruments for predicting the evolution of
countries. the environment. Will we be wise enough to
CLAUDE VILLENEUVE,
of Canada, is a biologist at the Controlling the birth-rate is first and fore¬ avoid catastrophe while continuing to improve
Centre Ecologique du Lac
most a matter for individuals, but it must also the quality of life for humankind as a whole? Or
Saint-Jean, in Quebec. He has
worked with several ecological be supported by society as a whole, and the com¬ will we be led to crisis by economic models that
organizations and written a
number of works on animal life
munity should invest in the education and wel¬ encourage us to believe that the infinite exists in
and the environment, fare of children who have already been born a finite world?
environmental education,
sustainable development and
before encouraging parents to bring others into These are questions science cannot answer.
18 global warming. the world. It is up to each of us to take up the cause.
RirVanda; land of a thousand Ms
THE ENVIRONMENT:
A NATIONAL
PREOCCUPATION
borders of the reserves are being steadily tion. Politically, the nation is enviably stable.
infiltrated by poachers and people seeking food. Unfortunately, however, in the last few years
Measures envisaged to protect the ecological things have taken a turn for the worse. Acceler¬
heritage include plans to create natural barriers ating population growth is partly responsible, but
of vegetation as well as to increase research, a growing number of external factors have also
improve surveillance and launch publicity cam¬ been to blame.
paigns to make people aware of the need to Unusual weather conditions, including
preserve areas vital to the nation's ecological drought and torrential rain, have exposed the fra¬
survival. gility of Rwanda's overburdened agricultural
Big efforts are being made to improve and system, which now seemingly exploits every
restore the ecological heritage. A reforestation square metre of available land. Disaster is never
campaign launched over twenty-five years ago far away. Overintensive farming and the lack of
won widespread popular support and has been new land are the principal constraints that, under
an undeniable success. Since 1973 a National Tree the pressure of an expanding population, have
Day, marked by plantings across the country, has pushed Rwandese agriculture towards breaking-
also reflected the need for a reforestation strategy. point. Several parts of the country suffered food
The planting of new forests has provided Rwanda shortages in 1989.
with an important renewable resource, supplying One of Rwanda's advantages has actually
the materials for a timber industry that, although become a handicap. The widespread dispersal of
still small and decentralized, has great potential the population, which helped save the country
for the future. from rampant urbanization and the proliferation
Other year-long campaigns have also been of shanty-towns, is now synonymous with waste.
launched in support of agriculture. There has Sub-divided into ever tinier plots as a result of
been a Soil Conservation Year, an Organic the prevailing system of inheritance, the small¬
Manure Year, a Year of the Struggle against holdings have become too small to produce
Erosionall of them aimed at boosting efforts to reasonably large surpluses. Systematic over¬
achieve self-sufficiency in food. cropping has reduced soil fertility, which had
previously remained high thanks to a carefully
supervised system of fallowing. Worse still, suc¬
THE THREAT
cessive falls in the price of coffeethe nation's
TO AGRICULTURE
principal export crop, providing the foreign cur¬
rency needed to pay for importshave reduced
The agricultural sector, which employs 93 per
cent of the working population, consists
primarily of highly productive smallholdings,
three-quarters of which are less than one and a
half hectares. Rwanda has neither large estates nor
the rural proletariat that goes with them, and
Stacks of bricks made by
most agricultural products, even the so-called Rwandese craftsmen.
the country's purchasing power and deprived it notably by applying them in conjunction with
of the means to maintain its level of economic organic manure.
activity and modernize its agriculture. Rwanda's only unused land consists of
marshes which play a fundamental role in
NEW ECOLOGICAL
regulating the country's hydrological system.
IMPERATIVES
Developing this marshland will pose complex
Without an effective demographic policy that technological, social, economic and institutional
would combine family planning with a problems, but it offers the prospect of substan¬
programme to optimize land use, the existing tially increasing food supplies without harming
system may eventually break down. In any case, the environment.
will it be possible to increase agricultural produc¬ The fact that half Rwanda's agricultural land CHARLES JEANNERET,
tion substantially and permanently without slopes at an angle of 25 degrees or more raises a Swiss-born Canadian
to replace essential minerals the soil has lost. sion, do not work on terrain where the angle of Canadian International
Development Agency. A
Liming will be a priority, since Rwanda possesses declivity exceeds 21 degrees. Consequently much specialist in environmental
important lime deposits. The import of inorganic hope and enthusiasm have been invested in a new questions and development
strategies, he has been an
fertilizers is a recent innovation, and remarkable system of "radical" terracing whereby the slopes adviser to the Rwandese
efforts are being made to optimize their use, are transformed into horizontal platforms which government since 1981.
21
slope slightly against the hillside and thus inter¬
cept drainage water and encourage it to soak into
the soil. This reduces and in some cases even
areas and to create additional purchasing power coal, are quite abundant and even at their present
rate of consumption will last for several centu¬
to buy the foodstuffs and other commodities
ries, when other sources of energy might become
produced there. Even so, it has taken consider¬
available.
able inventiveness to identify genuinely
The Report of the World Commission on
promising opportunities. Environment and Development (1987) defined
Because importing raw materials for manufac¬ sustainable development as development that
ture is prohibitively expensive for this land¬ "meets the needs of the present without com¬
locked country, priority has been given to small promising the ability of future generations to
and medium-sized enterprises that are considered meet their own needs". And this, perhaps, con¬
tains the hint that we need to introduce the
ecologically safe, such as timber and agro¬
business. notion of "depletion rates" into any discussion
Other industries are also concerned with the of sustainability. This opens the way to the estab¬
lishment of compromises between what is
need to safeguard the environment. The Ruliba
desirable in principle and what is practical in
brickworks at Kigali uses dried papyrus reed and
terms of the realities of everyday life. Such com¬
coffee-bean casings as fuel. Rwanda will soon be
promises are unavoidable when a choice has to
producing corrugated sheets of tarred papyrus to
be made between preserving resources and the
serve as roofing. Not only will these last longer needs of survival and development.
than imported tiles, they also consume a locally If energy use were to be considered in con¬
grown raw material that is indefinitely renewable, formity with the strict definition of sustainable
and will thus save a considerable amount of for¬ development, this would mean that man should
eign currency. Rwanda's national brewery uses rely exclusively on renewable sources of energy.
methane gas from Lake Kivu as its energy source. This was the case before the industrial revolution,
when fuelwood, used in a renewable fashion, was
Other industries, notably cement manufacture,
basically the only source of energy.
are expected to follow suit.
With population growth and increased
Can Rwanda be described as a success-story
demand for energy, however, exhaustible fossil
of sustainable development? It is still too early
fuels came into use and became the predominant
to say. But the country is moving in the right
energy source. In the industrialized countries
direction by seeking the tools of development in today, fuelwood represents less than one per cent
its own environment and ensuring that its natural of total energy consumption, the remaining
££ capital remains entirely in its own hands. demand being met basically by fossil fuelscoal,
oil and gas.
«A*
11 HM*
II
This is clearly an unsustainable form of produce greenhouse gases. However, only ten per The dam at the Tucurui hydro¬
electric power station on
development, since the depletion of existing cent of the total energy used in the world comes
Brazil's Tocantins river.
reserves of fossil fuels is proceeding at a fast pace from this source and, although the potential of
and will certainly "compromise the ability of existing untapped sites is considerable, they are
future generations to meet their own [energy] unevenly distributed around the world.
needs." Three approaches can be adopted to attain
Depletion, and eventual exhaustion, of stocks energy sustainability:
of fossil fuels are not the only problems. Their extend the life of existing fossil fuels as much
use entails other problems which affect the sus¬ as possible by wise use;
tainability of the system in which we livethe increase the use of other, little-used renewable
emission of carbon dioxide and other gases is the energy sources such as wind power, solar thermal
major cause of atmospheric pollution and global power, solar thermo-electric power, photovol-
warming and thus poses a threat to the way of taics and biomass;
life of future generations. increase the use of nuclear power.
In the less developed countries, fuelwood still Before the two oil crises of the 1970s, growth
represents an appreciable fraction of total energy in energy consumption, based on the use of fossil
consumption. If this resource were properly fuels, seemed to be part of the way of life of deve¬
managed, by the systematic planting of trees to loped countries and an example to be copied and
replace those cut down, it could become an inex¬ a goal to be attained by all. The projection of
haustible energy source. This is far from being future energy consumption reflected those expec¬
the case and we are witnessing intensive deforesta¬ tations and predicted a sustained growth of at least JOSE GOLDEMBERG,
of Brazil, was formerly rector
tion which is consuming more than ten million three per cent a year, which meant that total
of the University of Säo Paulo,
hectares of forestmainly tropical forestevery energy consumed would quadruple in less than where he still holds a
year. The problem is most acute in Africa, but fifty years. professorial chair, and is
currently his country's Minister
is also very significant in south-east Asia and Latin The two oil crises led to a re-examination of
of Education. The author of
America. the situation and to moves to reduce what was many papers and books on
nuclear physics and energy In
On a worldwide scale, only hydro-electricity seen as a dangerous over-reliance on oil. Two
general, in 1991 he was
can today be considered a sustainable energy major energy studies were conducted during the co-winner of the Mitchell Prize
resourceit cannot be depleted and it does not 1970sone by the Energy Research Group, for Sustainable Development.
23
Cambridge, England, for the World Energy Con¬ A more recent study by R.H. Williams, of
ference, the other by the International Institute the Center for Energy and Environmental
for Applied Systems Analysis, Vienna. Both Studies, Princeton University, published in 1989,
studies had one long-term objective in is more optimistic about the possibility of greater
commonto shift from oil to more abundant use of renewable fuels which evolving technolo¬
energy resources such as natural gas, coal and gies seem to be making both feasible and econom¬
nuclear energy while maintaining a significant ically viable.
growth in energy consumption. More efficient methods of using fuelwood
Their approach was to estimate future energy and of converting other biomass fuels (basically
demand on the basis of assumptions about future vegetation and crop residues) into electricity
demographic and economic trends, to make through gasification and the use of modern gas
historical correlations between such trends and turbine generators, are rapidly being introduced.
energy demand, and to match this demand to The conversion of sugar-cane into ethanol as an
a new mix of energy supplies. However, the energy source for electricity generation is gaining
scenarios they produced had the defect of ground and there are important new develop¬
projecting a perpetuation of the energy consump¬ ments in wind, solar thermo-power and pho-
tion imbalance between the developed and the tovoltaics.
developing world and thus of implying contain¬ Re-examination of all these possibilities in the
ment of the legitimate development expectations Williams study led to the conclusion that by the
of the less developed countries. year 2025 renewable energy sources could
In 1988, in his book Energy for a Sustainable account for more than half the energy used in
World, the author of this article explored the pos¬ developing countries.
sibilities of modern, energy-efficient technologies
THE NUCLEAR
for meeting the energy needs of the world popu¬
OPTION
lation in the year 2020. This study concluded that
widespread use of new technologies could enable Finally, we have to consider the possible contri¬
people in the developing world to attain a level bution of nuclear energy to the establishment of
of amenities comparable to that of the countries a sustainable world energy system. Nuclear
of Western Europe in the middle of the 1970s and energy does not emit carbon dioxide and with
the industrialized countries to reduce their per the development of breeder reactors sufficient
capita energy consumption by almost half. Taken nuclear fuel for the operation of thousands of
all together he foresaw total energy consumption nuclear power plants is guaranteed for centuries
in the year 2020 remaining approximately the to come. Here theoretically is an ideal sustainable
same as in 1980, but with a much higher level energy source.
of comfort for the great majority of the world The problem with nuclear energy lies else¬
population. where. Even with the use of the most advanced
Unfortunately, this projection did not really technology, accidents do happen, as the Cher¬
correspond to a sustainable situation because nobyl disaster so tragically demonstrated. In addi¬
fossil fuels still represented the great majority of tion, there seems to be no solution to the problem
the energy needed and carbon dioxide emissions of disposing of radio-active waste in a manner
would continue to poison the atmosphere signifi¬ compatible with maintaining a "clean" environ¬
cantly. It did, however, demonstrate that it was ment. These problems, coupled with the danger
possible to stabilize energy consumption at of nuclear proliferation for military purposes,
existing levels while extending considerably the . make the nuclear solution unacceptable to public Children planting tree
life of fossil fuel resources. opinion in many countries. seedlings in Sri Lanka.
24
^H^ft jflv,- 4M
'S
1
i É
i
1 1
CB£i jL-
ill
Above, a petro-chemical
A,LT the end of World War II, Hungary found tructure and to introduce computer technology
works emitting pollutants at
itself politically and economically attached to the meant that Hungary, like the other countries of
Kazincbarcika in Hungary.
Communist bloc. From the beginning of the Eastern Europe, began increasingly to lag behind
1950s, a system of central planning and manage¬ Western Europe. The position was made even
ment was gradually developed. Companies came worse by increasing external debts and the
into State ownership, co-operative farms were slowing down of economic development.
formed and most of the service sector was This falling behind in the economic field was
brought under the control of the State or of co¬ matched by a delay on the part of political leaders
operatives. in East European countries, including Hungary,
Quantitative growth at all costs became the in recognizing the importance of environmental
watchword of industrial production. The protection. Although Hungarian scientists par¬
development of heavy industry was given pri¬ ticipated in UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere
ority, energy-intensive technologies spread and programme from its inception, government agen¬
raw materials were used with scant regard for cies took six to seven years to react to the
economy. Nevertheless, the quantitative growth environmental challenges raised.
that occurred between 1950 and 1975 made it pos¬ During the 1980s, Hungary faced growing
sible to raise the standard of living and well-being economic difficulties. During the decade 1977 to
of the population as compared to the levels of 1987 the country's external debt grew from $43
the pre-war period. million to $18,957 million. Various economic
After the first oil crisis, however, the limita¬ reforms were carried out and central control of
tions of the centrally planned system, its inability planning and management was gradually reduced,
to adapt and its lack of competitiveness, soon but this was not sufficient to lead to a smoothly
became apparent. Failure to modernize the infras functioning, market-oriented economy. So when
What, then, is the present position in key
policy sectors and what changes can be expected?
ENERGY POLICY
INDUSTRY
A demonstration of the importance of environmental protection was Transition to sustainable industrial development
environmentalists in
finally recognized, Hungary was already in a and to market mechanisms entails considerable
Budapest.
period of economic decline and it was not pos¬ economic and social change. One example of this
sible to make the big investment needed to is that the previously established principle that
replace polluting technologies or the energy- "the polluter pays" seems to be being replaced
intensive and raw-material-intensive structure of
by the new principle that "the polluter pays and
industry. the consumer pays". Another is that because of
The period 1989-1990 saw the beginning of rising prices of raw materials and energy, coupled
radical, but peaceful, political change. In spring with decreasing government support, heavy
1990, free elections were held and with a new industry is in crisis, with the unfortunate social
Parliament and a new government Hungary has consequence that unemployment has increased to
set out on the road to parliamentary democracy, an unprecedented degree. Paradoxically this is also
with a multi-party system, a market-oriented an environmentally favourable phenomenon, since
economy and independence from military blocs. it means a decline in a sector of industrial activity
However, the new government inherited the which pollutes the environment the most.
old environmental problems and it takes a long Privatization of Hungarian companies has
time to change old production structures. begun, mainly with the help of foreign capital.
Nevertheless, data on the state of the environ¬ This will have a positive effect on the moderni¬
ment have been made public and municipalities zation of technological processes and thus will
and voluntary environmental groups are being benefit the environment. Some environmen¬
encouraged to play a larger part in pollution con¬ talists, however, are worried about this, since they
ISTVAN LANG
is Secretary-General of the
trol by means of public debates and hearings. fear that polluting processes that are no longer
Hungarian Academy of Preparations for the 1992 United Nations permitted in the European Community countries
Sciences in Budapest and a
Conference on Environment and Development will be transferred to Hungary. It is the gener¬
member of the Executive
and Development (the ference, a Hungarian strategy for the attainment thirds of the country's agricultural produce was
26 of sustainable development.
Brundtland Commission). sold on the internal market, ensuring an ample
food supply (exceptional in Eastern Europe), per cent. The development of the means of mass
while one third was exported. However, inten¬ transport is being given priority in the plans of
sive soil cultivation and the use of large amounts both national and municipal authorities.
of artificial fertilizers and pesticides, as well as
NATURE CONSERVATION
concentrated animal husbandry, have led to some
degradation of the environment. Damage caused Some 626 hectares of Hungary's total territory
by wind and water erosion affects some 40 per of 93,000 square kilometres are protected.
cent of the land, a significant part of the ground¬ Altogether there are four national parks, 44 pro¬
water contains an excess of nitrates, acidification tected regions and 137 nature conservation areas.
of the soil can be observed on one third of the All the 2,500 caves, 415 plant species and 619
arable land and, as a result of irrigation, saliniza- animal species are protected. In addition there are
tion has developed in many areas. 877 locally protected areas.
Privatization of the land has begun and there The national parks have been established
will be considerable decentralization in both land partly in forest areas and partly in lands which
use and animal husbandry in the coming years. are very valuable for nature conservation but not
On the whole this is expected to have favourable easily usable for agriculture. Some problems have
environmental effects, but problems may arise in arisen because the national parks are not all fully
ensuring the proper use of agro-chemicals. owned by the State authorities responsible for
When Hungary joins the European Commu¬ conservation. With the privatization of land, this
nity (this is thought likely to occur in the second problem is growing more acute. The general
half of the 1990s), Hungarian agricultural exports trend, however, is for protected nature conser¬
will probably decrease. This will make it possible vation areas to remain under State ownership and
to shape the model of a low-energy-input for their exploitation (for logging, grazing,
agriculture. fishing, etc.) to be fully controlled by the nature
conservation service.
TRANSPORT
As can be seen from this short review, Hun¬
Transport is one of the biggest sources of pollution gary has inherited an onerous legacy from earlier
in Hungary. Some 45 to 50 per cent of the carbon regimes. Under new circumstances the intention
monoxide, 40 to 45 per cent of the nitrogen is to adopt new methods to achieve sustainable
oxides and 90 per cent of the lead emitted into development. Environment and development
the air come from transport. Road transport has will figure jointly in the government's
the greatest share in this emission with more than programme and an environmentally aware public
An avocet,
85 per cent, the railways being responsible for 12 will be there to encourage action and to ensure a bird which nests by
to 13 per cent and air transport for one to two that the proper decisions are made. the lakes of Hungary.
world fit to five in
by tester Brown
Christopher Mn
and Sandra Postel
R
JL/UILDING a more environmentally stable future
clearly requires some vision of that future. If not
fossil fuels to power society, then what? If forests
are no longer to be cleared to grow food, then
how is a larger population to be fed? If a
throwaway culture leads inevitably to pollution
and resource depletion, how can we satisfy our
material needs? In sum, if the present path is so
obviously unsound, what picture of the future
can we use to guide our actions towards a global
community that can endure?
A sustainable society is one that satisfies its
needs without jeopardizing the prospects of durable; indeed they are rapidly bringing about
future generations. Unfortunately there are no their own demise.
existing models of sustainability. For the past If the world is to achieve sustainability, this
several decades, most developing nations have will have to be done within the next forty years.
aspired to the automobile-centred, fossil fuel- If we have not succeeded by then, environmental
,. , . , driven economies of the industrial West. But deterioration and economic decline are likely to
Taksang monastery, one of
the oldest in Bhutan, ¡s from the localized problems of intractable air pol- be feeding on each other, pulling us into a down¬
eqmppe wi so ar ce s lution to the global threat of climate change, it ward spiral of social disintegration. Our vision
which provide electricity for ö ö '
lighting. is now clear that these societies are far from of the future therefore looks to the year 2030.
One assumption we make about the future
concerns population size. Current United
Nations projections have the world headed for
nearly nine billion people by the year 2030. This
figure implies a doubling or tripling of the popu¬
lations of Ethiopia, India, Nigeria and scores of
other countries where human numbers are
projected population growth, the world in 2030 Europe, for example, is likely to rely heavily on vice president for research at
WorldWatch Institute, has
will therefore have per capita carbon emissions wind and hydropower. The economies of written widely on sustainable
that are one-eighth of the level of those in Western northern Africa and the Middle East may instead development and on the
Implications of new energy
Europe today. use direct sunlight. Japan and the Philippines will
technologies and new
The choice then becomes whether to make tap their abundant geothermal energy. And approaches to energy policy.
SANDRA POSTEL,
solar or nuclear power the centrepiece of energy Southeast Asian economies will be powered
vice president for research at
systems. We believe societies will reject nuclear largely by wood and agricultural wastes, along WorldWatch Institute,
power because of its long list of economic, social with sunshine. specializes in land use, water
and forestry Issues on which
and environmental liabilities. Due to the abundance of sunlight, direct con¬ she has published many
The late twentieth century is the dawn of the version of solar energy will be the corner-stone articles and papers.
29
Solar panels in Sweden. of a sustainable world energy system. Not only tricky without the use of the mechanical
is sunshine available in great quantity, it is also processes involved in solar thermal conversion.
more widely distributed than any other renew¬ As they become economical, the completion
able resource. By 2030, solar panels will heat most of the solar revolution will be possible. All
residential water around the world, following the Third World villages could be electrified with
model of Japan and Israel, which already use them this renewable source, with battery storage
extensively. A typical urban landscape will have for lighting and other uses in the dark evening
thousands of collectors sprouting from roof-tops, hours.
much as television aerials do today. And passive Wind power is an indirect form of solar
solar architecture may by then cut artificial energy, generated by the Sun's differential heating
heating and cooling needs to virtually zero in mil¬ of the Earth's atmosphere. The cost of wind
lions of buildings. energy fell by about 70 per cent during the 1980s,
Photovoltaic cells are a semi-conductor tech¬ making it at least 40 per cent cheaper than power
nology that converts sunlight directly into elec- from new nuclear plants in the United States and
almost competitive with energy from new coal-
fired power plants.
Engineers are confident that they will soon
have improved wind turbines that are economical
not just in California's blustery mountain passes,
where some wind farmers are already generating
$30,000 worth of electricity per hectare annually,
but also in vast stretches of the US northern
3*
\ï \\ ''I
\%/--ú
\
ixsm
. G i
m
31
M,Lany people in the industrialized countries of the North refuse to change their ways of life
would like Amazonia to be preserved exactly as it and patterns of consumption.
is, and transform it. into a vast nature reserve. Let these countries prove their sincerity by
Some of these advocates of the non- proposing to the United Nations Conference on
development of Amazonia attach the highest pri¬ Environment and Development a specific
ority to safeguarding planet Earth and at the same programme for the reduction of energy consump¬
time contrive to regard human beings as parasites. tion in industrial societies.
Others point out that the Amazonian forest plays Let them also provide the countries of the
a major role in counteracting the greenhouse South with access to the scientific and technical
effect, and wish to see it act as a gigantic filter knowledge that is needed to develop the immense
so that 500 million cars can continue to consume biological heritage of the Amazonian forest
fossil fuels. within a framework of sound ecological prin¬
ciples. For this long-term task, Brazil and the
$18 billion used to establish a world fund to In addition to such measures, however, inter¬
finance research into environment-friendly tech¬ national co-operation must primarily be directed A painting by pupils of the
Usko-Ayar School of Painting
nologies, their purchase and their free distribu¬ at improving the general economic environment
and Nature at Pucallpa in
tion to all interested countries. However, nothing of Latin American countries. In other words solu¬ Peruvian Amazonia. The
debate on the financing of environmental protec¬ terms of trade, and the reduction of protectionist observe the Amazonian
33
The internal challenges posed by the develop¬ resources, a model which takes no account of A timber company plants
native trees in a heavily
ment of Brazilian Amazonia are as vast as the size social and environmental costs. The random pur¬ logged area of Peruvian
Amazonia.
of this immense area which has captured the suit of growth is just as unacceptable as non-
imagination of so many and inspired so many development.
exaggerations. For twenty years or more, several factors
combined to accelerate deforestation. These
DREAMS
factors were:
AND REALITIES
geopolitical imperatives leading to the settling
There is a golden legend which portrays of Amazonia along purpose-built roads;
Amazonia as a region of fabulous wealth, a the idea that Amazonia could absorb rural
mirage which has lured generations of adven¬ refugees displaced by the modernization of
turers. A variant of this legend, inspired by the agriculture in southern Brazil and by the persis¬
philosophy of the Enlightenment and the expia¬ tence of anachronistic land-ownership structures
tory inclinations of our ethnologists, paints a pic¬ in the northeast;
ture of noble savages living happily in perfect the decision to favour large-scale animal hus¬
harmony with nature. bandry, which is quite unsuited to the natural
There is also a black legend which describes conditions of Amazonia and leads to frenetic
Amazonia as a green, impenetrable hell, protected speculation in land, as well as hopes that the
by tropical diseases which afflict all intruders. region's mineral wealth could be used to alleviate
These contradictory pictures are reflected in the burden of debt;
opposing conceptions of the region's future. the establishment in the duty-free zone at
Some see Amazonia as the world's last great eco¬ Manaus of a great industrial centre.
nomic frontier, a place of incalculable mineral, As a result of these policies, now revised,
hydraulic and plant wealth. Others believe that Amazonia has lost between 300,000 and 400,000
the abundance of its vegetation is an illusion and square kilometres of forest.
that its soils are poor and subject to erosion as There has also been rapid urbanization. Ten
soon as the forest is felled. Haphazard exploita¬ million of Amazonia's 17 million population
tion of Amazonia's mineral wealth and the today live in cities (Manaus and Belém each have
growing number of big dams, combined with over 1 million inhabitants). There are many
chaotic colonization leading to massive deforesta¬ shanty-towns which are so exposed to the risk
tion, will rapidly turn Amazonia into a desert. of epidemics that the living conditions of the
What are the facts? people who live in them and in the cities
A precondition for successful development is undoubtedly constitute Amazonia's most acute
the abandonment of the dominant model of environmental problem today.
34 predatory exploitation of the region's natural Outside the urban centres the population
lives in widely scattered settlements along the colonization and prevent further deforestation.
banks of streams and rivers and practises a sub¬ Efforts must be made to create an archipelago of
sistence and gathering economy. The creation of connected "development reserves" so as to
"extractive reserves" has brought a measure of guarantee the protection of virgin forest and the
relief to the caboclos and seringueiros (peasant habitat of the indigenous population. Such an
farmers who tap rubber), whose existence is approach presents many difficulties, but it still
threatened by land speculators. These people live seems more realistic than creating a proliferation
in extremely precarious conditions which could of natural reserves.
be improved by more rational exploitation of the Agroforestry which makes judicious use of
forest's natural products, but this can only be local plant species (especially the enormous poten¬
envisaged as part of a long-term solution for the tial of fruit trees), aquaculture, high-yield agricul¬
whole region. The seringueiros want their share of ture and horticulture in the varzeas (highly fertile
economic, social and cultural progress, which floodland), and small-scale animal husbandry are
implies a dynamic vision of the transformation promising techniques. Knowledge of the environ¬
of the extractive reserves into poles of ment acquired in the course of the centuries by
ecodevelopment. local populations may provide a useful starting
The indigenous populations, long the victims point, whence the importance of ethno-ecological
of adventurers and colonists, enjoy considerable studies.
rights under the Brazilian Constitution, and the Technical skills based on the know-how of
Government has promised to earmark 80 million local populations and inputs from modern science Harvesting nuts from an
andiroba tree in Brazil. The
hectares of land for 250,000 of them throughout can meet the needs of small modern family farms. nuts yield an oil with
Brazil between now and 1993. The use of local energy sources exploited on a medicinal properties.
The global problems of Amazonia call for solu¬ is already known about Amazonia for us to Hautes Etudes en Sciences
logical diversity. necessary. Successful projects and promising local in 1973 and currently heads
the Research Centre on
The main thrust of these efforts must be initiatives can be found in the interstices of the
Contemporary Brazil. He has
directed towards the rehabilitation of already predatory development model. These solutions, served as a specialist with
many international
deforested land and, as far as possible, to which for the time being lie outside the dominant organizations, including
UNESCO, and ¡s a former
increasing the density of the population in these paradigm, may be seen as the precursors of a new
programme director at the
areas, so as to halt the advancing frontier of paradigm of development. United Nations University.
35
No room in the M by Bernd von Droste
The destruction of natural ecosystems and the extinction of plant and animal species
is becoming one of the crucial factors limiting economic growth'
troyed at a rate never before experienced. The Lack of knowledge is a major obstacle to the con¬ (1978), a photomontage
by the Japanese artist
human population of the world is now projected servation of biological diversity. What better illus¬ Tsunehisa Kimura.
to double within thirty-nine years, from five bil¬ tration of our lack of knowledge than the widely
lion to ten billion, but the issue is not just different estimates of the present number of living
numbers, but how those numbers relate to avail¬ speciesthey range from three million to one
able resources. The destruction of natural hundred million to be found in scientific litera¬
ecosystems and the resulting extinction of plant ture? Even less is known about the interaction
and animal species is becoming one of the cru¬ of species, the precise role of species diversity, or
cial factors limiting economic growth. Indeed, the how to achieve sustainable development in sen¬
diversity of life on Earth is being rapidly sitive, species-rich areas.
diminished as uniform production systems It is often assumed that the establishment of
replace cultural and natural diversity. a system of protected areas will fulfil conserva¬
The diversity of species, however, is essen¬ tion needs. The fact is, however, that we do not
Elephants in Kenya's Amboseli
tial to the normal functioning of ecosystems and have species inventories for most protected areas National Park.
that only some 10 to 15 per cent of all species achieve this, MAB is applying the "critical mass
have been identified so far. strategy".
A start has been made. The International The "critical mass strategy" offers a way of
Union of Biological Sciences (IUBS) and the
Scientific Committee on Problems
programme on biological diversity. A series of forests can provide. Major components of this prevent soil and water loss.
.-
Iwenty years after the first World Conference on the Environment, held
in Stockholm In 1972, the international community is faced with a serious
dilemma. On the one hand it is more necessary than ever to increase eco¬
nomic activity in order to meet basic needs and ensure the well-being of a
rapidly growing human family. On the other, human activities are making an
which sustain life on Earth, as is demonstrated by air and water pollution, the
mate changes induced by the wasteful use of energy, the rapid disappear¬
ance of animal and plant species, and the depletion of the ozone layer.
about $60 million to support various conserva¬ In face of problems of such magnitude, inaction is out of the question.
tion and development programmes in a dozen The General Assembly of the United Nations has thus decided to convene
countries.
a new United Nations Conference, this time on Environment and Development
Established by the World Bank, the United (UNCED), which will be held in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) from 1 to 12 June 1992.
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and
Many Heads of State and Government are expected to attend this first "Earth
the United Nations Development Programme
Summit".
(UNDP), with funding of $1.5 billion, the Global
Environment Facility is the latest innovative con¬
WHAT IS AT STAKE
servation initiative. Its funds are to be used for
The problem facing the Rio Conference is how to maintain the quality of the
the reduction of greenhouse gas emission, con¬
servation of biological diversity, protection of environment and to achieve environmentally sound, sustainable development
international water resources and protection of in all countries. The following questions will be among those addressed:
the ozone layer. protection of the atmosphere (climate change, depletion of the ozone layer,
by investment in environmental safeguards. prevention of illegal traffic in toxic products and wastes;
Global taxes on the production and consumption improvement in the quality of life and human health;
of environment-damaging goods could also be improvement in living and working conditions of the poor by eradicating
introduced. poverty and stopping environmental degradation.
A major breakthrough would be the estab¬ The developing countries stress the vital importance of the problems
lishment of a global fund under a convention for associated with poverty, inappropriate patterns of growth and development,
the protection of the atmosphere, based on taxes the external debt crisis and the deterioration of terms of trade.
on carbon release or the emission of greenhouse
gases. With the help of such a fund more sus¬
POSSIBLE RESULTS
tainable patterns of energy use could be achieved
The results of the Conference may include:
and the costs of environmental protection and
1. The adoption of an "Earth Charter" or declaration of basic principles
repair, including the protection of biological
diversity, could be more equitably shared. for the conduct of nations and peoples in relation to the environment and
development, to ensure that the Earth is a hospitable home for human and
21st century, setting priorities, targets, cost estimates and modalities, and
assigning responsibilities.
UNESCO'S ROLE
At the crossroads of education, science, culture and communication,
UNESCO offers a unique institutional framework for dealing with envi¬
ronmental and natural resource management problems that are so com¬
plex that only integrated and interdisciplinary approaches are appro¬
priate for tackling them.
Most of the principal environmental issues identified for UNCED
The Man and the Biosphere (MAB) programme for the protection and
management of land resources and ecosystems, and the conserva¬
tion of biological diversity. In this field MAB is a particularly valuable
tool because of its international network of biosphere reserves;
The International Hydrological Programme (IHP) for the study of fresh¬
water resources and their rational use;
40 MB
JLyNVlRONMENTAL problems have been a major
international preoccupation ever since the United
Nations Conference on the Environment was
MUST THERE BE
AN ECOLOGICAL CATASTROPHE
BEFORE WE ACT?
training and research on the one hand and the Let us hope that the environmental crisis,
real needs of society on the other. Very little cur¬ with all its gravity and complexity, may ulti¬
rent research in this field has an effective appli¬ mately act as a catalyst for better communication
cation, either because in most cases it does not in our laboratories, for greater flexibility in our
address the true problems, or because it is not administrative structures, and above all for greater
integrated into the decision-making and manage¬ equity between countries rich and poor, and
ment processes, or because it is not adapted to towards the future generations to which we owe
the compartmentalization of administrative responsibility for the Earth which has been
FRANCESCO DI CASTRI
structures. entrusted to us.
is the co-ordinator of
No discipline, not even ecology, can claim A change in behaviour by each individual,
UNESCO's environmental
programmes. He Is also
alone to apprehend all the planetary economic each institution and each State is the only basis
president of the Scientific and social ramifications of environmental
Committee on Problems of the
from which an acceptable future can emerge from
Environment (SCOPE) of the
problems, no research body or administrative the constraints of the environmental crisis. Let
International Council of service can consider itself to be self-sufficient in us hope that this change can take place without
Scientific Unions (ICSU). He Is
the author of many
this field. No country, not even the most being provoked by a major ecological catastrophe
42 publications on ecology. powerful, can claim to resolve problems whose from which no-one would be secure.
IN BRIEF... IN BRIEF... IN BRIEF...
Institutions that have achieved soil fertility. Further Information has recently been completed
UNESCO's new Dialogue ¡ distinction through actions can be obtained from the off the Tunisian coast. Twenty-
Dialogue, a quarterly review ; aimed at mobilizing opinion in Bureau for the Co-ordination of five scientists and divers
produced by UNESCO's Office of ' the cause of peace. Environmental Programmes, aboard the ketch Fleur de
Public Information for Latin UNESCO, 7, Place de Fontenoy, Passion collected about a
America and the Caribbean, 75700 Paris, France. hundred specimens of sponges,
appeared in April, providing the UNESCO issues directory of algae and phytoplankton for
Organization with a new means children's institutions laboratory examination. All of
of publicizing its activities in the To encourage contacts between Dido honoured these organisms are known to
region. The magazine also organizations and Individuals A sculpture of Elyssa, the model secrete chemicals to defend
examines, through a main around the world working to for the Dido of Virgil's Aeneid, themselves against predators or
theme and interviews, different improve the condition of young will be unveiled to mark the pathogenic agents, and ¡t is
aspects of Latin American life. children, UNESCO has published inauguration of an arts festival thought that these substances
The third (October 1991) issue an International Directory on the to be held at Carthage (Tunisia), could have medicinal uses. In
of Dialogue analyses current Young Child and the Family In June 1992. A sister of King the course of the project, which
thinking in the new world Environment. It contains entries Pygmalion of Tyre, Elyssa was, is expected to last until 1994,
geopolitical context and looks at * on 670 institutions in 116 according to legend, the founder the boat will also travel to the
the situation of Latin American countries, and also Includes of Carthage, originally a Indian Ocean and to Southeast
youth today. Dialogue, which basic economic and Phoenician settlement. The Asia.
now also appears in English and demographic data about each festival, the "Journées
French, is distributed free by the nation, covering such subjects Internationales des Arts
UNESCO Bureau in Caracas, as the infant mortality rate, the Plastiques de Carthage", will Children's tales
Box 68394, Caracas 1062-A, female illiteracy rate, the fertility Include round-table discussions, The 7th Salon du Livre de
Venezuela. rate, gross national product, the seminars; conferences of artists Jeunesse a children's book
level of access to local health and archaeologists, music fair will be held in the Paris
care and the number of recitals, dance and poetry suburb of Montreull from 28
A 4,000-year-old iceman underweight children under the performances and other events November until 2 December. It j
The perfectly preserved corpse age of 5. The Directory can be designed to evoke the will be preceded by an j
of a Bronze Age man was found obtained free from the Director Mediterranean cultural heritage international symposium on the !
last September in a glacier of the Young Child and the and the affinities between the traditional tales that still ¡
i
3,200 metres up in the Family Environment Project, countries of the region. The long- inspire many contemporary !
mountains of the Austrian Tyrol. UNESCO, 7, Place de Fontenoy, term objective of the festival is writers for children and young
The discovery of the corpse, 75700 Paris, France. the establishment at Carthage people. One talking point will be
together with weapons and of an international arts centre how, at a time of increasing
other objects found in the and a museum of daily life. cultural uniformity, to preserve
vicinity, may shed light on little- Reporting on the environment the diversity of the cultures in
known aspects of life in Europe Last August UNESCO launched which traditional tales are
4,000 years ago. Carbon-14 the first of a series of brochures Commemorating American valued.
to definitely establish the age of Development Briefs" with a In 1998 the National Museum of
the iceman, even if the reasons report on "Debt for Nature" ! the American Indian Is scheduled Galileo rediscovered
for his presence so high up in swaps, designed to finance to open Its doors in Washington Thirty-four letters sent by
the hills remain a mystery. conservation projects by D.C. The new museum's Galileo from Florence
Illustrated with colour photos way designed to meet criticisms were revealed for the first time
A prize for peace and high-quality graphics, the made over the years by Indian in September at a seminar
The UNESCO Prize for Peace communities about the held In Venice under UNESCO
brochures are written by ¡
Education for 1991 has been specialists but in non-technical presentation of their culture by auspices to mark the 400th
awarded to Ruth Leger Sivard of language. They are targeted ; anthropologists. The treatment anniversary of the great Italian
the United States and to the primarily at policy- and decision- ; accorded to human remains and astronomer's acceptance
Cours Sainte-Marie de Hann in makers in business and to ritual and funerary objects of the chair of mathematics at
Senegal, one of UNESCO's government who need an dug up accidentally or during the University of Padua. Written
Associated Schools. The prize, authoritative overview of global archaeological excavations has during the eight years preceding
which was established in 1980 environment and development been particularly controversial, Galileo's condemnation by the
by UNESCO's Executive Board issues and possible strategies and in future these will be Inquisition in 1633, the letters
thanks to a donation from the for action. Themes of upcoming returned to the communities show the astronomer under
Japan Shipbuilding Industry Briefs include ocean observation, that ask for them. great stress and gradually giving
intellectuals, religious figures, management in urban areas, Fishing for medicines rediscovered by researchers in
educators and statesmen. It mitigation of natural hazards, The first stage of a lengthy the library of the Bishops of
rewards individuals and and the sustaining of tropical "pharmaceutical fishing" project Bologna.
AACHEN cathedral, which incorporates lion visitors each year. Besides its historical
the Palatine Chapel of Charlemagne, is the and cultural interest, Aachen cathedral is also
most beautiful surviving example of Carolin- a place of pilgrimage, just as it was in the
gian architecture. On 31 March 1978 it became Middle Ages, when it vied in importance with
the first German monument to be inscribed Rome and Santiago de Compostela. Besides a
on UNESCO's World Heritage List. venerated image, Our Lady of Aachen, the
cathedral houses Charlemagne's tomb and,
A living monument among other sacred objects, a reliquary con¬
Situated at the westernmost tip of Germany, taining four particularly remarkable pieces of
close to the frontiers of The Netherlands and material: the robe of the Virgin Mary, the
Belgium, Aachen once symbolized the polit¬ swaddling clothes of the Infant Jesus, the gar¬
HERTA LEPIE, German art historian, is head of the ical and cultural unity of the Carolingian ment that girded the loins of Christ on the
jewellery and precious metal workshop of Aachen
cathedral. She is the author of many publications on
empire. Today it is the European city par excel¬ Cross, and the cloth used at the beheading of
the cathedral and religious pilgrimages to it. lence. Its principal attraction is the Palatine St. John the Baptist.
ROLAND WENTZLER is a German art historian who
is one of fortress-like bulk. The two brass by Abraham Hogenbergh (1632). One of the
letter to the Emperor that the columns of the cathedral's 4 great relics, the robe of the Virgin
chapel were being built. Originally, the Pala¬ doors of the main portal were cast in Aachen Mary, is being shown to a gathering of pilgrims.
Above, the octagonal Palatine Chapel, built in
tine Chapel consisted of three elements: the in Charlemagne's time. Four other doors and
Carolingian times. In the upper storey are ancient
central building, with a rectangular choir to eight grilles from the same workshop are deco¬ marble columns brought by Charlemagne from
Rome and Ravenna. At centre, a copper
the east and an entrance porch to the west. rated with motifs recalling Roman Antiquity. chandelier presented by the emperor Frederick
The peripheral chapels and the Gothic choir There are two artefacts from Roman times in Barbarossa in 1165.
with its stained-glass windows are later the narthex: a brass she-wolf and a bronze pine
additions. cone that may once have decorated a fountain
Built on an east-west axis, the church fol¬ in the atrium.
lowed the plan of early Christian basilicas, an The chapel itself is clearly modelled on the
atrium surrounded by colonnades. Traces of architecture of Ravenna and of Byzantine
it can still be seen in the parvis. basilicas. It consists of a two-storey-high
The way into the building is through a octagonal rotunda encircled by a sixteen-sided
combined porch and belltower, flanked by ambulatory. Heavy polygonal pillars support 45
. the eight arcades of the upper storey, which wall, so the building would fit perfectly into
are flanked by bronze grilles from the Carolin¬ a cube, thereby respecting the proportions
UNESCO IN ACTION gian period. Within the arcades are the famous attributed in the Bible to the Tower of Babel
WORLD HERITAGE
marble columns brought by Charlemagne and the Heavenly Jerusalem.
from Rome and Ravenna to stress the con¬ The high altar, the oldest in Germany, is
tinuity of his project with the architecture of situated in the western part of the aisle, on the
the Roman empire. site of an earlier altar. Its marble had already
This imposing edifice is topped by a dome been used previously. On it were crowned
of a type which had never previously been twenty-five of the thirty German emperors,
constructed north of the Alps. To support the from Otto the Great in 936 to Ferdinand I in
architect divided the calotte of the vault into The altar is decorated with seventeen
eight sections, allowing him to distribute the golden bas-reliefs dating from the early
weight equitably across eight pillars. A ring eleventh century, which were probably com¬
Below left, the high altar adorned with gilt bas- of metal dating from Carolingian times helps missioned by Otto III and completed in the
reliefs (1020) before which the Germanic
to support the base of the dome. The roof is reign of his successor, Henry II. Christ the
emperors were crowned.
Right, mosaics In the vault of the Carolingian decorated with a mosaic representing the Redeemer is shown in the centre, flanked by
chapel.
twenty-four elders of the Apocalypse. The the Virgin Mary and the Archangel Michael,
Opposite page, the gilt pulpit studded with
precious stones (11th century), a gift of emperor height of the building (32 metres) exactly cor¬ both intercessors for the human race. Four
Henry II.
responds to the diameter of the church's outside medallions representing the symbols of the
best to maintain their cathedral, but histor¬ It would be impossible to restore and con¬ cathedral instead of wedding presents. Banks
ical events have often come close to destroying serve the cathedral and its treasures without and savings banks have provided sponsorship;
it, notably during the Second World War. outside help. Although the cathedral benefits a colouring book has been produced to reveal
Once hostilities were over, the demanding task from generous public funding, private initia¬ the cathedral to children; local newspapers
began of making good the considerable tives have also played a part. The earliest dates keep their readers informed on the state of the
damage done to the building. The roof had back to 1847, when citizens of Aachen formed restoration work; the 400-odd participants of
to be repaired, stained-glass windows to be the first association dedicated to preserving the a world conference of iron-smiths offered
replaced, the entry to the choir to be restored. site, the Karlsverein. Part of this tradition is hand-crafted work for sale at auction.
The chapel in the tower had been completely the "Aachen Cathedral, masterpiece in peril" The results of these and other activities are
destroyed and needed to be rebuilt. campaign, which was launched in 1988 and has swelling the funds already available from offi¬
One problem that still remains is the received an encouraging response from the cial sources, proving that the cathedral can also
cleaning of the Carolingian masonry. Prelimi¬ business community and from private count for its survival on the people of the city.
nary work is now virtually completed, and individuals. 47
On tk omk ojtk twmtfáxth seûn oj
Interview ú
Does this mean that from now on everything is for the best in
the best of all possible worlds?
Fckrko Major way to freedom and national self-determination but also to dis¬
trust and prejudices which are rooted in a more or less distant
past and which must be overcome because they threaten peace
and risk fomenting clashes between peoples.
In Latin America a common trend has become apparent
Birector-Generd among the peoples of Latin culture since the fall of the dictator¬
ships. These peoples are tackling the problems posed by the
modernization of their societies, while at the same time bearing
a very heavy burden of external debt.
In Asia, modernization is already under way, but it is
accompanied by demographic pressure that is giving rise to new
contradictions in a world whose time-honoured cultures must
(December 1991)
Editor-ln-chlef: Adel Rifaat
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Tel.: 45.68.45.65
Sauvageot, Paris. Page 44: © Domkapitel Aachen. Pages 45, 46, 47: Ann Münchow © Domkapitel Aachen. Page 48:
This issue comprises 52 pages ano two 4-page advertising
inserts between pages 10-11 and 42-43 and pages 26 and 27 UNESCO/Dominique Roger. Page 50: © Charles Eugene Gagnon, Minnesota.
f