OVERVIEW 2004

48. Agriculture, its practices in the field, and needs of the Global Community

G.R.Acharya, Kajunari Fukumura and Masahiko Tomita explained that although sustainability has become one of the major issues in agriculture since its inception in the World Common Future, it is yet to prove its viability to replace current modern fossil fuel intensive agriculture. To become sustainability agriculture a forefront national development policy issue, a consensus among its stakeholder on its definition/concept is a foremost necessity. In this study, an attempt has been made to present the most likely common concepts of agricultural sustainability. It is achieved by reviewing the sustainability definition/concepts either proposed or quoted/referred while discussing the sustainability in the literatures. A keywords organizing methodology based on the ‘KJ method’ has been used to generate and organize the keywords. This technique describes a simple approach to organize a mass of ideas, by clustering them in related groups, and labelling the groups to identify themes or generalizations. In this process, five major concepts of sustainability were appeared namely sustainability as: (1) a philosophy, a goal and movement of an alternative paradigm of development (2) an alternative farming practice’s management and technology (3) a control environmental degradation imposed by the conventional agriculture (4) a long term natural resource and energy conservation both at local and global level (5) a means of economic stability for farming communities to revitalize the rural society. It is found that the farm level sustainability has been well addressed in contemporary sustainability studies but the sustainability in other spatial level namely global and regional level is poorly addressed which needs attention in future studies.

Dr. A.S.R.A.S. Sastri, V.P. Singh and R.K. Singh File conducted a study on the development of agriculture in a sustainable manner as the primary mandate of agricultural scientists of the globe. With the increasing use of chemical fertilisers, insecticides and herbicides, there is an international consciousness for environmental protection. In collaboration with International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Philippines, they worked on the environmental characterisation and assessment of sustainability of rainfed rice production in Eastern India. They started the project work with a basic concept that ‘sustainability is not a destination but is a continuous journey’. They initially assessed the sustainability using the time series data of rice productivity in Eastern India. Based on the average productivity level and its variability, the sustainability has been assessed depending upon the level and its productivity and variability. A sustainability ladder concept has been developed and the position of each district of each state has been assessed. A comprehensive agro-ecological atlas has been developed in which the status of rainfall probability, stable rainfall periods, sustainability status of strategies for improving the rice productivity in a sustainable manner have been discussed. Also, the impact of technological and environmental components in the fluctuations and trends of rice productivity in different states of eastern India have been worked out.

Ayalneh Bogale File investigated the rationale of resource-poor farmers to exercise resource degrading practices. A total of 180 rural households have been selected for the study. Despite sever investment constraints, most LDCs has given official recognition to the fact that land degradation has a great effect on their economies to which Ethiopa is not an exception. This is mainly owing to the fact that most of these countries depend heavily on agriculture, which is dominated by subsistence production and widespread poverty.

S.G. Patil, L.B. Hugar, M.S. Veerapur, J. Yerriswamy, T. Cross, A.C. vanLoon, and G.W. vanLoon have undertaken a study of factors affecting sustainability of agricultural systems in four agro-ecosystems in the Tungabhadra Project (TBP) area of Karnataka State in South India. The four areas chosen for the study include villages in the head end of the command area (highly irrigated system, HIS), the tail end of the command area (semi-irrigated system, SIS), outside the command area (dry land system, DLS), and in the area supplied with irrigation for the past approximately 500 years by the Vijayanagar Canals (ancient irrigated system, AIS). The aim of the project was to survey a variety of factors related to cropping patterns, water use, physical properties and socio-economic indicators related to the agricultural practices in these areas. Through a holistic approach, they aimed to identify and compare factors that relate to sustainability of food production in these areas. In particular they were looking for examples of highly sustainable processes that could be more widely applied.

Thet have selected six categories of indicators of sustainability – productivity, efficiency, durability, stability, compatibility, and equity – that can be taken together in describing each system.

These are defined as follows:

· Productivity is measured in the usual way as yield of crop per hectare
· Efficiency is measured primarily in terms of energy use and production, and is the ratio of energy output in the form of crop (both primary material, usually grain, and the additional biomass, such as straw)
· Durability is an index showing resistance to immediate stresses such as stress due to lack of water or to pests
· Stability is defined as the ability to produce adequately over an extended period of time.
· Compatibility is an indicator that relates the farming practices to the natural and human surroundings and includes issues such as biodiversity and human health.
· Equity relates to the need to carry out agriculture in a way that provides benefits to all members of society including landed and landless families, men, women and children.

49. Food production and global health

Mr. Eze Christian Njoku File

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF THE EARTH?
GLOBAL COOPERATION IN HEALTH ISSUES, HIV/AIDS AS CASE STUDY
The International concern on the cure for the deadly diseases HIV/AIDS has been on the increase, but the problems also surrounding the been on the increase, but the problems also surrounding the financial cooperation has being that of dishonesty and misappropriation of funds donated for the case in question, if the funds donated for a certain project is utilized especially in the area of protection and prevention of HIV/AIDS, by now the world would have been celebrating an AIDS minimized era. However, other areas of concern is the rural setting, where the case of circumcision has been quite unhygienic, a system of circumcision which allows the use of local instrument for so many, this has paved way for all sort of germ, disease and even transfer of HIV patent to a negative proven child. These and more case associated to curse of the deadly diseases should be deliberated upon for cooperation.

50. Cattle and beef industry, its animal feeding practices, and global trade

51. Forestry, forest industry and its practices, logging and pulp mills, and global trade

Alfredo Quarto File
Too often, local population growth and associated increasing resource demands are signaled out as main contributors to mangrove forest loss. Whereby such practices as clearing of forest cover for small-scale agriculture and harvesting for local fuelwood collection are important factors to consider in any analysis, these are by no means the only factors contributing to mangrove loss. In actuality, the insatiable demands for forest products by the timber and charcoal industries, as well as increasing tourist and agri-business demands for more raw land, all combine to waste and endanger these valuable natural resources. In fact, fuelwood collection usually becomes a problem itself only when combined with these other growing pressures on remaining mangrove forests.

Another factor affecting mangrove forest resources is the rapidly expanding shrimp aquaculture industry, which has in the last two decades become a major destructive force in regards to unsustainable coastal resource development. This multi-billion dollar worldwide industry is expanding throughout Asia, Latin America. and, more recently, Africa. Vast tracts of habitat-rich mangrove forests have been cleared to make room for the short-lived shrimp ponds, whose owners practice a form of "slash-and-burn" type aquaculture, with the consequent loss of hundreds of thousands of hectares of mangrove forests.

Such unsustainable development interests have so damaged the once supportive local resource base that the local communities, unable to sustain themselves via traditional livelihoods, often turn to the nearby forests to meet their growing economic needs. The question is whether these needs actually increased due to population growth alone, or due to unsustainable development patterns set in motion by short-sighted industries and government policy-makers bent on quick profits at the cost of the lives of the local people and the environment which once sustained them?

Regardless as to where the blame for mangrove forest loss lies, It is becoming more and more evident that future solutions to these problems must directly involve the local communities in integrated approaches to coastal resource management. As well, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) must play an increasingly important role in helping to promote the rights and abilities of the coastal communities to manage their local resources.

Ensuring Effective Community Participation

Today, serious attention is being given to the concept or ideal of community participation in resource management. Nevertheless, there is still much confusion or doubt as to what really constitutes meaningful participation and who specifically should participate.

To ensure that genuine participation at the local community level, there is a need to recognize and build upon local knowledge and existing local resource management practices. There is also the need to recognize that participation is a continuous process of negotiation and decision-making with room for more input as the process unfolds. Effective participation must involve some genuine power on the part of the participants to influence the outcome of the processes they are involved in. Also, the local community must be able to define their own ends and establish a firm sense of community ownership of the project itself.

52. Space exploration

53. Profit-based conservation strategies for natural ecosystems

font size="2"> Hector Sandler, Rashmi Mayur, Tatiana Roskoshnaya and Alanna Hartzok File
Earth Rights Economic Policy Vision Statement.
The biggest challenge for social democracy today is to articulate coherent policies based on a unifying vision for society. The policy approach should transcend the usual right/left divide and articulate a clear analysis of the problems inherent in the neoliberal macroeconomics structures.

The major problems to address include: (1) the enormous worldwide wealth gap and the underlying concentration of land and natural resource ownership and control; (2) the privatized monetary structures; and (3) building global governance institutions and financing governance and development in such a way as to divert funds from military industrial profits to social development and environmental restoration.

We need a basic clarification of First Principles on the concept of "ownership", starting with the principle that the land and natural resources of the planet are a common heritage and belong equally as a birthright to everyone. Products and services created by individuals are properly viewed as private property. Products and services created by groups of individuals are properly viewed as collective property.

We can hatch many birds out of one egg when we shift public finance OFF OF private property and ONTO common heritage property. From the local to the global level we need to shift taxes off of labor and productive capital and onto land and natural resource rents. In other words, we need to privatize labor (wages) and socialize rent (the value of surface land and natural resources). This public finance shift will promote the cooperatization of the ownership of capital in a gradual way with minimal government control of the production and exchange of individual and collective wealth. Natural monopolies (infrastructure, energy, public transportation) should be owned and/or controlled or regulated by government at the most local level that is practical.

The levels of this public finance shift can be delineated thusly: Municipalities and localities to collect the surface land rents within their jurisdiction. Regional governing bodies to collect resource rents for forest lands, mineral, oil and water resources; the global level needs a Global Resource Agency to collect user fees for transnational commons such as satellite geostationary orbits, royalties on minerals mined or fish caught in international waters and the use of the electromagnetic spectrum.

An added benefit of this form of public finance is that it provides a peaceful way to address conflicts over land and natural resources. Resource rents should be collected and equitably distributed and utilized for the benefit of all, either in financing social services and/or in direct citizen dividends in equal amount to all individuals.

A portion of revenues could pass from the lower to the higher governance levels or vice versa as needed to ensure a just development pattern worldwide and needed environmental restoration.

In the area of monetary policy we need seignorage reform, which means that money should be issued as spending by governments, not as debt by private banking institutions. We also need guaranteed economic freedoms to create local and regional currencies on a democratic and transparent basis.

Alfredo Quarto File
Too often, local population growth and associated increasing resource demands are signaled out as main contributors to mangrove forest loss. Whereby such practices as clearing of forest cover for small-scale agriculture and harvesting for local fuelwood collection are important factors to consider in any analysis, these are by no means the only factors contributing to mangrove loss. In actuality, the insatiable demands for forest products by the timber and charcoal industries, as well as increasing tourist and agri-business demands for more raw land, all combine to waste and endanger these valuable natural resources. In fact, fuelwood collection usually becomes a problem itself only when combined with these other growing pressures on remaining mangrove forests.

Another factor affecting mangrove forest resources is the rapidly expanding shrimp aquaculture industry, which has in the last two decades become a major destructive force in regards to unsustainable coastal resource development. This multi-billion dollar worldwide industry is expanding throughout Asia, Latin America. and, more recently, Africa. Vast tracts of habitat-rich mangrove forests have been cleared to make room for the short-lived shrimp ponds, whose owners practice a form of "slash-and-burn" type aquaculture, with the consequent loss of hundreds of thousands of hectares of mangrove forests.

Such unsustainable development interests have so damaged the once supportive local resource base that the local communities, unable to sustain themselves via traditional livelihoods, often turn to the nearby forests to meet their growing economic needs. The question is whether these needs actually increased due to population growth alone, or due to unsustainable development patterns set in motion by short-sighted industries and government policy-makers bent on quick profits at the cost of the lives of the local people and the environment which once sustained them?

Regardless as to where the blame for mangrove forest loss lies, It is becoming more and more evident that future solutions to these problems must directly involve the local communities in integrated approaches to coastal resource management. As well, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) must play an increasingly important role in helping to promote the rights and abilities of the coastal communities to manage their local resources.

Ensuring Effective Community Participation

Today, serious attention is being given to the concept or ideal of community participation in resource management. Nevertheless, there is still much confusion or doubt as to what really constitutes meaningful participation and who specifically should participate.

To ensure that genuine participation at the local community level, there is a need to recognize and build upon local knowledge and existing local resource management practices. There is also the need to recognize that participation is a continuous process of negotiation and decision-making with room for more input as the process unfolds. Effective participation must involve some genuine power on the part of the participants to influence the outcome of the processes they are involved in. Also, the local community must be able to define their own ends and establish a firm sense of community ownership of the project itself.

Vladimir Victorovich Lagutov File
Typical Example of the Goal-Aimed Environmental Management.
Ecological basin Policy.
The existing situation in the former Soviet Union could be characterized as following:
- complete failure of the governmental ecological policy;
- inability of the first sector (national authority) to improve situation by structural reorganization or funding changes;
- insignificant influence of nongovernmental organizations on current situation and the decision-making process;
- inapplicability of western experience to the local conditions due to the big scale of the work to be done and absence of civil society.

Dr. Isabel Mendes File
Economic valuation as a framework incentive to enforce profit-based conservation strategies for natural ecosystems. A methodological approach.

Biodiversity and Protected Areas exist neither in isolation nor independent of human activities. For local communities, this may mean conservation represents a hindrance rather than an opportunity for sustainable development and thus lead to increasing avoidance of the regulatory framework in effect. This paper defends changes to conservation practices in order to create a broader consensus around objectives and practices. One means of doing this is to ensure people adopt profit-based conservation practices. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of economic valuation as a framework incentive measure to enforce local co-operation in conservation decisions and management. By using a methodological and conceptual approach, we seek to assess the reasons economic valuation, albeit an abstract, very theoretical and technical demanding indicator, may still be a useful conservation tool serving as an incentive and support to decision-making, as a tool in education and a vehicle of information.

54. Cities and global communities: power to govern themselves, rights and responsibilities

a) that no pollution is let go into the air, and
b) to make sure that the same amount of O2 is photosynthesized East of the City as that being burned.

55. Societal sustainability

Trevor Steele
The need to protect our first language.
That our humanity is facing multiple threats is quite clear. Some of the threats, such as a nuclear conflict or an ecological catastrophe, could even destroy us completely. There are other dangers that threaten to reduce all of us to some dreadful uniformity of lifestyle and economic action and thought patterns, akin to the loss of biological diversity when a forest is reduced to a few columns of planted trees. Mind you, there would not be “uniformity of wealth” in the world that is currently visible in its contours.

Let us concentrate on one threatened area of our human life, but one which is very significant: that of language. So much of our intellectual and spiritual wealth is bound up with our way of expressing ourselves audibly and in written form. Perhaps even our ability to think is linked to our linguistic skill. Imagine for a moment that the language that you speak were suddenly to die, so that you were left unable to communicate with anyone else. A desperate situation! But since you are reading this in English, the dominant language of today, that fear is utterly remote from your thoughts. However, languages are dying all the time, and the last speakers are powerless. I remember a poignant poem about a lonely old Australian aborigine with a title that says it all: The Last of his Tribe. It is estimated that of the 6,000 or so languages still spoken today the vast majority will not be used in a century.

Has anyone heard of such a language? I speak one. It is called Esperanto. No doubt you too have heard of it. If you have till now dismissed it as “utopian” or “artificial” - as though every language were not artificial, i.e., made by art! - I hope you will give serious thought to the alternative massacre of our linguistic heritage.

Su Docekal File
Radical Women statement at the Seattle rally against a Constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.
So the question now is: how can we win this fight?
We've got to hit the streets and organize! All the leading Democratic candidates have announced that they are against same-sex marriage. The Democrats also sold us out on Iraq. They fell into line behind Bush in supporting war. But after millions of us around the world hit the streets, they started to change their tune. It's the same with gay marriage. Ultimately, it doesn't matter who is in the White House. The only way we will win our rights is if we protest, mobilize, organize and build such a powerful, militant movement from below that they cannot ignore us! Finally, it is important to say: We can NOT win alone. But if we unite our struggle with union members fighting to preserve their jobs, with women fighting to defend abortion rights, with people of color defending affirmative action, then we can! My partner is not here today, because she went out to support the locked out Darigold workers this morning. Working people are already fighting on so many fronts. We need to get together in a mighty front for civil, labor and human rights on an international scale. The problems of this world know no borders and neither can we. Working people, women, people of color, immigrants, gays, lesbians, transgenders and transsexuals--altogether we are not a minority or a "special interest" group! We are the mighty, powerful majority!

Robert E. File
A Democratically Planned Global Economy - Societal Sustainability.
A Democratically Planned Global Economy (DPGE) - Evolutionary Panaltruism (Toward a Terror-Free Society by the Year 2010). Human cooperation marshalling with meaning and purpose previously untapped energy and resources on a worldwide scale provides the driving force for achieving and sustaining a planned global economy democratically embarked upon by all member-states of the United Nations. A democratically planned global economy implemented through the United Nations with built-in mechanisms for optimum input and oversight guaranteed to all members will occupy concerted focus at the proposed first and successive world summits on societal sustainability. A democratically planned global economy (DPGE) - reflecting the fundamental unity and aspirations of all humanity - owes its feasibility and certainty of success to scientific research establishing the biological basis for human cooperation. Proposed for implementation through the United Nations, a democratically planned global economy offers the world community a rational, effective response to impending trade wars and other instances of human despair arising from the contradiction between free trade practices and national job protectionism. The outsourcing of jobs, a further contradiction in the present system, does not serve to address full employment in the recipient country, much less in the country outsourced. Launching a democratically planned global economy at the earliest practicable time will bypass the thirty-year time frame projected for equalizing labor costs between underdeveloped national economies and those of the more developed national economies - while reversing the deterioration of social and environmental conditions traceable to an economic system increasingly antithetical to global unity and human aspirations.

Mike Nickerson File
The Genuine Progress Index.
Well-Being: Stepping Forward.
This is about choosing a new order. Do you feel that growing an ever larger economy will solve the problems of our age? Or, do you believe that solutions will be found by setting our sights on long term well-being? That is, by aiming to involve everyone who needs sustenance in a system that: manages necessary materials in continuous cycles, uses renewable energy and eliminates harmful waste? It is a question of direction.

Dr. Sue L.T. McGregor File
The Role of Families in Sustainable Development.
The Family Perspective in Sustainable Consumption and Development.
Application for Position of Minister of Family and Human Development.
Leadership for the Human Family: Reflective Human Action for a Culture of Peace.
Consumer Rights and Human Rights.
It is my hope that this paper provides some exciting synergy between sustainable development, consumption and family well-being. New concepts (the human family, human responsibilities, human security, citizenship education) and old concepts (quality of life, well-being, justice and standard of living) have been combined in conjunction with a comparative analysis of the alternative approaches to the GDP as a way to bring together a collection of viewpoints to understand a family perspective in sustainable consumption and development.

Mr. Mbadinuju Polycarp
Education is very important for every child. So government should not make it only for the rich, it should be for all in the society. They should give a listening ear to the NGOS Civil Society Labour Organisation and Human Right and Social Organisations. Also Global world should come together to discuss ways to assist on this issue of children education and cure, because this is one of the major problem of child abuse in the society today.

MUHAMMAD JAMIL File
NET WORKING/WORKING RELATIONSHIP
Our vision is all people achieve their full potential and lives of quality and dignity.

TPO believes on sustainable development by participatory approaches.

Societal sustainability is really about symbiotical relationships.

The emphasis of a global symbiotical relationship is not so much on how much money a nation should have or how high a GDP should be although money can be made a part of the relationship. We all know developed countries live off developing countries so the emphasis has no need to stress out the profit a rich nation is making off a poor nation. The emphasis of the relationship should give more importance to the other aspects such as quality of life, protection of the environment and of the global life-support systems, the entrenchment of the Scale of Human and Earth Rights and the Charter of the Earth Community into our ways of life, justice, peace, cultural and spiritual freedom, security, and many other important aspects as described in the global ministries (health, agriculture, energy, trade, resources, etc.).

A typical global symbiotical relationship between people, institutions, cities, provinces and nations of the world may be what a group of people, together, wants it to be. It can be a group of people with the same values. It can be a group of people with the same cultural background, or the same religious background. Or it can be people with different values, cultural background or religious values and beliefs. The people making a global community may be living in many different locations on the planet. With today's communications it is easy to group people in this fashion. It can be a village, or two villages together where people have decided to unite as one global community. The two villages may be found in different parts of the world. It can be a town, a city, or a nation. It can be two or more nations together. A global community could be a group of Africans, maybe NGOs, or maybe businesses, in one(or several) of the nations of Africa, who decided to unite with another group(s), or businesses, situated in Canada, or elsewhere in the world. Together they can grow as a global community and be strong and healthy.

A global symbiotical relationship between two or more nations, or between two or more global communities, can have trade as the major aspect of the relationship or it can have as many other aspects as agreed by the people involved. The fundamental criteria is that a relationship is created for the good of all groups participating in the relationship and for the good of humanity, all life on Earth. The relationship allows a global equitable and peaceful development.

Any symbiotical relationship is for the good of all, for the good of the 'other'. It is based on a genuine group concern and unconditional support for the individual's well-being ~ a giant leap in human behaviour. The question is how can we improve the political symbiotical relationship to fulfill its goals? The Charter of the Earth Community promotes the values to achieve its goals. These goals require the promoting and establishment of: global community ethics, mutual respect, respect for life, basic liberties, justice and equity, caring for the 'other', integrity, responsibility and accountability.

Other symbiotical relationships may be based on common concerns and issues such as: the environment, peace, justice, women's rights, human and Earth rights, and many more. There is a whole spectrum of possible symbiotical relationships.

Symbiotical relationships are needed today for the long term future of humanity and for the protection of life on Earth.

A global symbiotical relationship between nations is more than just a partnership, or an economical agreement such as the WTO. The WTO is about a trade partnership between nations. Of course it is a bad idea to be a member of the World Trade Organization ( WTO). There are no advantages! It just does not work for anyone except when you have an army to knock down any member who does not do your five wishes and plus. A membership in the WTO is not needed and nations should instead seek relationships with fewer other nations only if needed. Certainly it is better to seek an economic relationship with another nation we can trust than with a hundred nations we have no control on and everyone of those nations has a say in the governing of our nation, its environment and social structure. The WTO only offers illusions to profit the few wealthiest people on Earth. They say "become an industrialized nation as we are". But that is the biggest illusion of all. To become an industrialized nation is far from being the best solution. The best way and solution for any nation is to follow the Scale of Human and Earth Rights. Right on top of the scale are the ecological rights, the global life-support systems, and the primordial human rights of this generation and of the next generations. Economic and social rights come next and are not the most important. That makes a lot of sense! The effect of IMF and World Bank policies in the world caused the destruction of the economies of the poor nations (now we call them 'developing' countries). They impoverished the people by taking away basic services and devaluating their currency. They opened up the national economy to be ravaged by competition with richer nations. Poverty lead to other problems causing the ecological destruction of a poor nation.

On the other hand, a global symbiotical relationship between two or more nations can have trade as the major aspect of the relationship or it can have as many other aspects as agreed by the nations involved.

Intrinsic human cooperation at the core of creative cultural evolution promises to give rise to a new epoch for humanity defined by societal sustainability and lasting world peace. The biological basis for human cooperation and symbiotical relationships both validate and underlie evolutionary panaltruism in and beyond the twenty-first century. Twenty-first century education centered on human empathy and compassion and a terror-free global community by the year 2010 garners important impetus from "The Golden Rule is a natural consequence of the recognition of the unity of being".

The Golden Rule principle, also called the Ethic of Reciprocity by theologians, says: "Dont do to others what you wouldn't want done to you." Or treat others the way you would want to be treated. The Golden Rule has a moral aspect found in each religion or faith. It could be used as a global ethic. Paul McKenna, a writer in interfaith dialogue, has found analogues for the golden rule in 13 faiths. These 13 analogue statements are passages found in the scriptures or writings that promote this ethos. Every faith is unanimous of saying that every individual should be treated with the same respect and dignity we all seek for ourselves. As a first step in bringing together religious leaders all around the world, the Earth Community is presenting here 13 statements that unify us all in one Golden Rule.

A new symbiotical relationship between religion and the protection of the global life-support systems has begun to take place all over the world. Religious rituals now support the conservation efforts and play a central role in governing sustainable use of the natural environment.

Major faiths are issuing declarations, advocating for new national policies, and creating educational activities in support of a sustainable global community. The Global Community is establishing a symbiotical relationship between spirituality and science, between our heart and mind, and God, between religion and the environment.

The human family is finding its role in the universe, a higher purpose and a meaning. We now can celebrate life.

A sustainable world can be built with the help of a very powerful entity: the human spirit. Community participation generates the energy needed to sustain the planet and all life. Religious and environmental communities have formed a powerful alliance for sustainability. Our next objective will be to find statements from all religions that promote the respect, stewardship, protection, ethical and moral responsibility to life and of the environment, the Earth global life-support systems, and statements that promote a responsible earth management. We are also asking for specific statements on environmental conservation such as those expressed by the Islamic religion (see October 2001 Newsletter for Global Dialogue 2002, article "Islam and environmental conservation", by Dr. E. Kula).

Native Spirituality
We are as much alive as we keep the Earth alive.
Chief Dan George

Sikhism
I am a stranger to no one; and no one is a stranger to me. Indeed, I am a friend to all.
Guru Granth Sahib, pg. 1299

Christianity
In everything, do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets.
Jesus, Matthews 7:12

BaHa'I Faith
Lay not on any soul a load that you would not wish to be laid upon you, and desire not for anyone the things you would not desire for yourself.
Baha'ullah, Gleanings

Judaism
What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour. This is the whole Torah; all the rest is commentary.
Hillel, Talmud, Shabbat 31a

Buddhism
Treat not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful.
Udana-Varga 5.18

Islam
Not one of you truly believes until you wish for others what you wish for yourself.
The Prophet Muhammad, Hadith

Taoism
Regard your neighbour's gain as your own gain, and your neighbour's loss as your own loss.
T'ai Shang Kan Ying P'ien, 213-218

Hinduism
This is the sum of duty: do not do to others what would cause pain if done to you.
Mahabharata 5:1517

Confucianism
One word which sums up the basis of all good conduct...loving kindness. Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself.
Confucius, Analeets, 15.23

Jainism
One should treat all creatures in the world as one would like to be treated.
Mahavira,Sutrakritanga

Unitarianism
We affirm and promote respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.
Unitarian principle

Zoroastrianism
Do not do unto others whatever is injurious to yourself.
Shayast-na-Shayast, 13.29

Societal sustainability in addressing international terrorism and the creation of a democratically planned global economy marshals previously untapped human cooperation, energy, and resources. Investigating, understanding, and eradicating the root causes of international terrorism entails objective analyses of all social dichotomies ranging in realm from religious dogmas, to political ideologies, to economic systems.

56. War in the Middle East and in Afghanistan

We could explore how recent world events have cast doubt on many of the tenants of the tourism industry and placed additional pressures on regions to address growing concerns about the environment. This is of particular importance to communities that rely on tourism to drive their economy. The issue is very much one of community as place - how can a community capitalize on its natural and created assets, while maintaining its sense of community, economy, and environment? What has happened to tourism in the face of terrorism, globalization, and as a result of increased pressure to protect the environment. There is a process for communities to use to address potential opportunities in sustainable tourism. This sustainable tourism development model is of interest to a wide variety of community development and environmental practitioners, and researchers who are able to apply knowledge gained in a wide variety of geographic and economic situations. The model provides a framework in which to consider sustainable tourism development, a better understanding of the need for tourism development in rural, mountain communities, and tools by which a community can best capitalize on its natural and created assets to pursue tourism development.

The United Peoples (search Peoples)
The peaceful and direct way for the people to get in charge is via an elected world parliament to take over the transnational corporations where all economic and political power is concentrated. The world parliament of, for and by the united peoples will be elected by all Earth citizens who have reached the age of 15 years. Formation, by progressive grassroot and mass organisations, of national committees to take over national corporations and to organize the election of the world parliament of the united peoples for takeover of transnational corporations.

Press release #2, April 15th 2004
Two wrongs dont make one right, never did never will
On Wednesday, April 14, 2004, President Bush announced his plan to continue America's offensive war against Iraq in order to strengthen the invasion and therefore the acquisition of the oil reserves so needed by the Americans back home to keep being the worst polluters on the planet and destroying the global life-support systems. He said we have not found WMDs in Iraq. Although I have lied to my own citizens, so what, they loved it, and I am bringing in Iraq my own WMDs, and we (the U.N.) will find them there later on. So I was not telling a lie. Ha!

It was wrong to invade Iraq, and it is wrong to bring WMDs into Iraq.

57. The World Parliament of The United Peoples

The United Peoples (search Peoples)
The peaceful and direct way for the people to get in charge is via an elected world parliament to take over the transnational corporations where all economic and political power is concentrated. The world parliament of, for and by the united peoples will be elected by all Earth citizens who have reached the age of 15 years. Formation, by progressive grassroot and mass organisations, of national committees to take over national corporations and to organize the election of the world parliament of the united peoples for takeover of transnational corporations.

Michael Breton File proposed that it is our common responsibility to work together to create this new society. He believe that we spend so much time analyzing and protesting the old society, without a common vision of where we are going, of what the alternative is, of the new society. Further, we spend too little time on building the bridges that would allow us to walk away from the ruin that is the present conception. It is our common responsibility to work together to create this new society.

Kulik Mikalai emphasized that solving environmental problems and those of sustainable development, we should keep in mind that they are closely connected with the generally acknnowledged human rights. Hardly there can be any effective and progressive development without a broad public access to decision- making. The international "community-right-to-know" principle is not observed in Belarus, the country with the communist past, autocratic present and indefinite future.

Nurgul Djanaeva came to the conclusion that it is desirable to have full and comprehensive analysis of the essence, roots and trends of the socio-ecological crisis. My effort so led to the conclusion about current socio-ecological crisis (SEC) as a crisis of interrelations between society and natural environment, but not of the interrelating parties separately. Besides, SEC is considered as a historical normal state of the development of the system "Society-Natural environment" .Using the "ecological" approach helps to identify the roots of the challenge.

Dr. Tao Jiyi File illustrated the effects of international cooperation upon world sustainable development and suggest how world sustainable development can be achieved through international cooperation.

Germain Dufour File concluded that the proper and only way is for Free Trade to become a global co-operation between all nations. He described the Peoples Revolution of the New Age and Evolution. The Peoples Revolution of the New Age has started to make casualties in the U.S. It is not that Peoples around the world dislike the American Way of Life. In fact, many countries, including Canada, have embraced the same Way of Life. But it has brought Life to a critical point of extinction. It threatens the global life-support systems of the planet. It is purely a simple survival reaction of the human species that has caused the September 11 events in the U.S. What we see being created now is the New Age Civilization: all Peoples together, the Human Family, the Earth Community, Global Governance, Earth Environmental Governance, and the Earth Government.

Life is the most precious gift ever given by God to the Universe. Life allows Souls to be conscious of God in as many different ways as possible. Life is the building block through which Souls can have a meaningful relationship with God. Today our species is evolving to rid itself of the old thoughts and old ways that are threatening its future and survival. This is a survival reaction and is very real. Our species will accomplish the evolutionary leap within a generation. The next step is the creation of new thoughts, thousands of them. Healthy thoughts! The kind that will sustain Earth. The Will of God is for our species to reach Him in the best possible ways.

The New Age Revolution is here and is growing. We see today the seeds of the Revolution. They include all social, political and religious aspects of our lives. All of our ways and values are changing and evolving. Unless the Peoples Revolution is given the proper guidance, it will be more deadly than all we have seen in our past history put together. Actions by government and business leaders that lead to revolution and war must be curtailed. Power based on greed is not in the best interest of humanity as it leads to the violation of human rights and destruction.

This time people will revolt against the business leaders and the establishment of business. They are the new leading body of the world. Businesses have taken the role of government and now hold largely the responsibility of wrongdoings. They are now held accountable for anything from the pollution of the planet, poverty, human rights violation, resources depletion, conflicts and wars, and disasters such as flooding and climate changes.

Globalization and the trade blocks intensify all aspects of human life and are at the roots of the Peoples Revolution of the New Age . Globalization is a process interaction which involves growing economic interdependence of countries worldwide with implications and impacts on social, cultural, political, environmental and familial aspects and rights. Geographical and political limits become less and less significant.

Economic globalization is seen by the growing interaction and interdependence of the world's different nations and corporations. Interactions include capital flows, flows of material goods, and labour. Markets, technologies and consumption patterns gradually let go their national or local character and become international and global. Economic globalization leads to globally more standardized sets of products.

58. Because of the ways it is affecting us in North America and the Global Community, Canadians want to have a say in the decision-making of U.S. Government foreign policies and of the type of actions to be taken concerning potentially dangerous situations

59. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GLOBAL INFORMATION SOCIETY

Prof. Dr. Savvas Katsikides and Dr. Iakovou,Chr., Dr. Sarris,M.
Towards Sustainable Water Use in the Mediterranean and the Middle East: Conflicting Demands and Varying Social and Political Conditions.
The major goal of this paper is to add a sociological, political and anthropological dimension to current debates on the sustainable use of water in the Mediterranean. In the paper, we look at eleven different countries or areas in the Mediterranean region: Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Egypt, Israel, Syria, Jordan, Crete, Lebanon, Malta and Iraq. In methodological terms, the application of our research model takes specific forms as we extend the scope of an elaborate survey to cover all these areas. Our main aim is to reach specific conclusions on the matter and thus illuminate a largely unexplored field of inquiry. More specifically, we plan to investigate the social impact which the state's management of water supplies can have on local populations with a long-standing and elaborate "culture of water", as well as the political impact on interstate relations. As for the proposed use of the research, our ambition is to formulate suggestions of a more general nature on the implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive (EU-WFD). This will be done on the basis of the codified results that the surveys will yield.

Dr. Marios Sarris
Anthropological Perspectives on the Management of Water Supplies: A Case of Competing Agencies
This paper offers a social anthropological perspective on the potential impact which the construction of water dams can have on riverside village communities. It looks at changes in the ritual status and social role of local specialists in the regulation of water supplies. By virtue of their privileged access to cultural knowledge, the latter appeal to an elaborate set of rules and practices in order to arbitrate between conflicting parties. The paper explores the consequences which the transfer of this power of arbitration to state officials might have on clientistic politics, and examines the terms of an uneasy relationship developed out of the competing agencies of local arbitrators, state bureaucrats and scientists.

Alexander Wegosky
President of the Association of Ecological Revivify
1) The Ecological Principles of the Waste Lands Reviving
2) Sustainable development and new doctrine of mankind interaction with natural landscapes

Sustainable Development Information Society Forum - Poland
Leslaw Michnowski

Member of the Committee of Prognosis “Poland 2000 Plus”
by the Presidium of the Polish Academy of Sciences, and the Polish Association for the Club of Rome
Chairman of Sustainable Development Creators'Club
The Polish Federation for Life
POLAND
http://www.psl.org.pl/kte
kte@psl.org.pl
elmamba@poczta.onet.pl
Links to posters by Leslaw:
http://www.psl.org.pl/kte/postergd.pdf
http://www.psl.org.pl/kte/Poster-GD04.doc
http://www.psl.org.pl/kte/wpubllm.htm
Proposal and research papers for Discussion Roundtables for issues #1, 10, 15, 17, 19, 21, 28, 32, 36 and 59
Proposal: Ecohumanism and Knowledge About the Future as Prerequisites of Survival and Sustainable Development
Paper titles: 1) Appeal for Ecohumanism and the Creation of Information Basis for Sustainable Development
2) To create eco-humanistic economics with the aid of the U.N. Security Council
3) The Polish Initiative For a Sustainable Development of the World Society
4) THE PROFESSIONAL WORLD CENTER FOR STRATEGY OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT – FOR LIFE IN STATE OF CHANGE
The paper is shown in full details with graphics at http://www.psl.org.pl/kte/pwcfssd.htm
5) Eco - development message from the Warsaw Meeting
The sustainable development of our people (…) comprehensive vision for the future of humanity (…) poverty eradication, changing consumption and production patterns (…) pillars of sustainable development - economic development, social development and environmental protection (…) - WSSD - Johannesburg Declaration.

Dear Sir // Dear Madam

In this message we wish to inform you of an initiative presented by the delegation of the Polish government at the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS, Geneva 2003, the relevant document is enclosed). That submission contained, inter alia, the following statements: (…) ways in which the world situation tends to evolve, creates an urgent need to build up a widely and freely accessible world information network. This network could serve to provide monitoring, forecasting and early warning (…) and thus help to implement the principles of sustainable development (SD). (…) This initiative aims to take up, on a global scale, the building of the information basis for SD-policy and SD-economy. The reasoning for this submission is as follows:

Systems research conducted in Poland on the causes of a variety of social pathologies - which are dangerously intensifying! - proves beyond doubt that these pathologies are being brought about by the existing and gradually exacerbating global crisis. This crisis could be overcome on the condition that social relations - in the global dimension - are re-oriented towards the common good, and adjusted so as to make effective and good use of achievements of science and technology progress by the society. In turn, to attain such a re-orientation, it is necessary to create a wisdom-based information society, which is far-sighted and flexible. For this to take place, priority should be given to the process of creation of a commonly accessible, world-wide system of:

- comprehensive monitoring;
- far-sighted forecasting and
- measurable evaluation

of effects of policy, work and other changes in the life conditions of human- beings and nature in general.

Such a SD-information system should be globally-integrated and territorially distributed. °In order to bring about the creation of such an information system, it is essential to carry out a large-scale operation, requiring appropriate developments in science, technology and society at large.

Due to the lack of such an information foundation for the global and local governance, a covert or overt struggle for access to scarce and shrinking natural resources will inevitably grow and accelerate the crisis. This crisis, if unchecked, will lead to a global catastrophe. The deficit of these resources should, and, we believe can, be eliminated through international cooperation, which should replace the existing competition. That, however, requires not only political will, but also the deepening of a comprehensive and easily accessible knowledge about the consequences of human actions and inactions.

In November 2005 in Tunis, the second, and final part of the World Summit on Information Society is scheduled to take place. If the ends outlined above are to be achieved, it is necessary that this initiative obtains recognition and strong international support.

Given all the above, we wish to ask you to support us in bringing this initiative to life, as it is urgently needed for survival of the humankind.

We are deeply convinced that building of the information basis for SD-policy and SD-economy is essential for averting a global catastrophe and achieving sustainable development of the world society.

With best regards,

Leslaw Michnowski

Enclosure

H.E. Professor Michal Kleiber
Minister of Scientific Research and Information Technology of the Republic of Poland
to the World Summit on the Information Society
Geneva, 11 December 2003

(…) We believe that the Internet and other ICTs technologies can be an effective tool for forecasting and preventing global threats. It can also be a perfect means to support the implementation of the idea of sustainable development. In my opinion, ways in which the world situation tends to evolve, creates an urgent need to build up a widely and freely accessible world information network. This network could serve to provide monitoring, forecasting and early warning with regard to elements capable of triggering a global change and thus help to implement the principles of sustainable development. Such a network would be vital in bringing us closer to a globalization process and its numerous phenomena ranging from the management of human settlements, world eco-systems, population movements up to other crucial elements of global transformation. (…)

Elena Krougikova File proposed that the role of non-governmental organizations in Environmental education from the experience of GAIA in the Kola peninsula.

Abdelmonem KAANICHE mentioned that sustainable development constitutes an evolutionary and very complex process making use of several disciplines and different data: economic, social and ecological. The decision in this field always leads to the choice of a variant of a national and/or local development plan . The reach and the complexity of decisions at the strategic and operational level, justify the realization and the development of a help Decision Support System. For more efficiency, decisions must be taken quickly and in real time taking in consideration several parameters together.

Thorkil Casse and Fabiana Issler File said that all economies depend ultimately upon the availability of resources in their productive system. But ‘resource dependent economies’ are those where the major income-generating activity consists of primary natural resource extraction and its transformation. In such economies, the resource-dependency relationship is more apparent. Sudden changes in resource demand may compromise their ability to generate and/or sustain welfare. Not surprisingly, resource dependent economies are more fragile and exposed to crisis than less resource-dependent ones, especially, when only a few products are extracted and transformed. Resource dependent economies may experience periods of rapid growth and prosperity, but scarcity of a key resource leads almost inevitably to the decline of the resource-dependency model, leading to decline with all its implications, namely recession, unemployment and decapitalisation. Depending on the ability of these economies to rapidly diversify their economic activities and sustain welfare levels, they may or may not pursue a successful transition to a less resource-dependent model.

Germain Dufour File demonstrated that the technical definition of Sustainable Development was given as being:

"a sound balance among the interactions of the impacts (positive and/or negative), or stresses, on the four major quality systems: People, Economic Development, Environment and Availability of Resources."

The non-technical definition was given as being:

"a sound balance among the interactions designed to create a healthy economic growth, preserve environmental quality, make wise use of our resources, and enhance social benefits."

An evaluation of sustainable development consists of ranking risks relative to each other and to help deciding which practice is better than another. In 1988, the author has developed a scale of values, and has designed and tested indicators to represent quality of development. Hundreds of indicators were measured and integrated into an overall expression called the Gross Environmental Sustainable Development Index (GESDI). GESDI was developed to measure sustainable development locally and globally. It expresses the quality of our growth or development, and it describes environmental quality rather than merely measuring different environmental variables.

An other indicator was developed to measure the costs of development: the Gross Sustainable Development Product (GSDP).

The GSDP is defined as the total value of production within a region over a specified period of time. It is measured using market prices for goods and services transactions in the economy. The GSDP is designed to replace the Gross Development product (GDP) as the primary indicator of the economic performance of a nation. The GSDP takes into accounts:

· the economic impacts of environmental and health degradation or improvement, resource depletion or findings of new stocks, and depreciation or appreciation of stocks;
· the impact of people activity on the environment, the availability of resources, and economic development;
· the "quality" of the four major quality systems and the impacts of changes in these systems on national income and wealth;
· global concerns and their impacts on the economy;
· the welfare, economic development and quality of life of future generations; · expenditures on pollution abatement and clean-ups, people health, floods, vehicle accidents, and on any negative impact costs;
· the status of each resource and the stocks and productive capacities of exploited populations and ecosystems, and make sure that those capacities are sustained and replenished after use; and
· the depreciation or appreciation of natural assets, the depletion and degradation of natural resources and the environment, ecological processes and biological diversity, the costs of rectifying unmitigated environmental damage, the values of natural resources, capital stocks, the impacts of degradation or improvement, social costs, health costs, environmental clean-up costs, and the costs of the environment, economic growth, and resources uses to current and future generations and to a nation’s income.

The measurement of GSDP shows that consumption levels can be maintained without depleting and depreciating the quality and quantity of services. It indicates the solutions to the problems as well as the directions to take, such as:

· invest in technology, R & D, to increase the end-use efficiency; · increase productivity;
· modify social, educational programs and services;
· slow down or increase economic growth;
· remediate components of the four major quality systems; and
· rectify present shortcomings of income and wealth accounts.

The measurement of GSDP also gives a proper and sound signal to the public, government and industry about the rate and direction of economic growth; it identifies environmental, health, and social quality; it identifies sustainable and unsustainable levels of resource and environmental uses; it measures the success or failure of sustainable development policies and practices; and it identifies resource scarcity. Values obtained enable us to make meaningful comparisons of sustainable development between cities, provinces, nations over the entire planet.

Elena Krougikova File explained the use of Social Indicators of Environmental Situation.

Dr. Vladimir Kremsa File described Sustainable Rural Development.

ANITA KON File considered theoretical aspects on the production restructuring process and the trend towards the services sector seen worldwide in recent years. The empirical analysis focused on the increasing trend towards the services sector in Brazil and included is an evaluation of the redistribution of employees in the consolidated economic activities of the Primary, Secondary and service sectors. The paper concludes with the finding that the proliferation of the services sector within Brazil, though constant, has failed to demonstrate the intensity and momentum that was observed in more advanced economies, with regards to the introduction of modernization.

It is also inferred that although the economic policies did stimulate a global convergence process of labor distribution among regions, those policies did not attenuate economic dynamism concentration to the desired extent, nor did it diminish in any considerable way the difference in the degree of development among the regions. Business organizations located at the more advanced regions reveal more possibilities to face global competitiveness, and to increase labor productivity, due to the influence of structural aspects related to material and human resources, and also to specific spatial, politic and cultural conditions.

She also explained that the world globalization process caused significant changes in advanced and also in less developed economies in recent years that include: a) increasing internationalization of economic activities; b) the reorganization of dominant firms: c) the increasing integration of manufacturing and service production; d) the growing use of microelectronics technology; e) the growing demand in industry for a high skilled workforce, but many routine jobs being displaced by technical change; f) the increasing complexity and volatility of consumption; and a changing role for state intervention.

If those changes occur more rapidly in more advanced countries, it is also observed a similar dynamics of restructuring in other low and middle income countries, although in a lower speed. For each level of economic development, it is found similar patterns of occupational structure and restructuring, during a period of time due to industrialization and technological modernization. Business organization have to cope with international competition dealing with many transformations as to technology and plant, nature of labor qualification, new organization of labor process, new features of production (non-continuous production and limited economies of scales). On the other side, technical innovations affects the nature of product (intensification of non-material services, the features of product), consumption (through forms of delivery of product, role of consumer, organization of consumption) and also markets (organization of markets, regulation and marketing tools).

Natalia Knijnikova File demonstrated that the global ecological questions needed unprecedent joint efforts of scientific and high level political circles of the different countries. The produced strategy «sustainable development» as environmental development variant has become property of the global community. Its logic continuation (« step by step») of sustainable development are national strategy . From a question « what it’s necessary to change? » we send to a question « how to change »? It’s necessary in time and precisely to estimate the response to change of the tendencies of growth and development. I.e. the indicators of sustainable development have decisive meaning for an estimation of the chosen strategy on conformity wished, expected and really received results of a new direction of development, and also speed of progress to an object in view in time and space.

Speak, that it’s too much indicators (134) of sustainable development and consequently they can’t be applied in practice. It ‘s so and not so.

That of indicators is much quite naturally, as there are no «recipes,» ready and tested by mankind of sustainable development. But nowadays already it’s necessary to choose from them some indicators, obligatory and accepted to all countries, to receive commensurable results. In an ideal they should be so significance as GDP and ÂÍÏ. Last from great Russian ecologist - encyclopaedist Nikolai Reimers in his last book « Hopes for a survival of mankind. Conceptual ecology » ( published already after his death in 1992) has allocated only three universal indicators of the progress to sustainable development. "Criterion and indicator of successful social-economical development within the limits of ecological restrictions should be the parameters of population health and duration of the life, and also natural preconditions of maintenance of these parameters act. The economical riches as such are necessary to consider out-of-date by measurement of the national property ".

By a most urgent question, which must to reflect indicators, what parity of economy and ecology today. The locomotive of economy continues a movement by rolling rails. Therefore should be chosen only few ðarameters - for reflection ecology and economy integration .

Essential defect GDP is the reference of damage caused to an environment to costs over flow. At the same time GDP and GNP the economists ( by The Economist Publications « The World in 2000» ) are similar on « a sacred cow » - to continue to consider growth GDP as a unique parameter of success of economy. «The Scope of wings American eagle » is compared extremely from % GDP. Essential defect GDP is the reference of damage caused to an environment to costs ïåðåëèâà. The costs ïåðåëèâà nowadays are not subtracted nowadays from volume of cumulative manufacture, and the consequence it GDP overestimates a level of material well-being of a society(community). At the same time GDP and GNP the economists are similar on «a sacred cow » - to continue to consider(examine) growth GDP as a unique(sole) parameter of success of economy. «The Scope of wings American îðëà » is compared extremely from % GDP. Only parity « of a total internal collateral product » (the cost expression of damage caused by pollution of natural environment to a total internal product will show a real picture of well-being.

Professor Alexander Skalon showed that the idea of the market (private property on resources, freedom of trade and competition in conditions of limited resources and decreasing ecological quality of the environment) does not contradict the idea of effective and ecologically eligible development.

Isabelle Lambiel File described that people have noticed that the climate has changed over the last few years. In some countries the temperature has increased by one or two degrees and natural catastrophies are becoming more and more frequent. Flooding or freshwater scarcity as well as water pollution are harming the environment of the Thirld World and developing countries and air pollution characterizes the industrialized regions. Therefore, poor and rich regions are facing a common problem which is linked to climate change, that's why they should negotiate and find a compromise as quickly as possible. If no sollution is suggested, developing countries like China will repeat the same mistakes as the developed world. In fact, the latter can expect a higher salary, which will close the gap between rich and poor regions. Accordingly, they will be able to consume more luxury products like cars and pollute more. Our governments have to intervene by developing and measuring consumption pattern. Why not launch on the market vehicles which do not emit dangerous gas ? Moreover, the firms should be interested in investing for the environment. Thus, ecological norms have to be intoduced and gain as much credibility as the norms for quality (Iso 9000). An increase in taxes could also give the companies an incentive to produce ecologically. There is a real need of consumption and production patterns for sustainable development.

As far as social problems are concerned, measures should be taken in order to stop inflation and provide poor people with financial help. Nowadays some workers get a very low salary, which hardly allows them to feed their family as the food prices are too high. An adjustment has to be made. Otherwise the gap between rich and poor people will be further widened, which would lead to many difficulties. People from the street decide to steal or use violence in order to defend their rights to be integrated into society. Others take drugs. In all these cases, the government has to suggest measures to insure security in the country. Therefore, they have to hire more policemen and build new prisons. Is sustainable development achieved ? When we first look at the situation, it does not appear so dramatic. However, we can not qualify these solutions as positive. In fact, most of the budget is used to hide the poverty and the delinquency and not to eradicate them. Therefore, this money should be given for education. In fact, children brought up in good schools will act better in their future because they find a shelter there and have the feeling that the country cares for the poor. Besides, they learn how to succeed in life. As people say, knowledge is power. The fact of depriving of country of good education should be introduced in order to provide each child with the same chances of having success. The latter must learn how to read, write and use computers so that they can get an interesting job.

Unfortunately, a lot of people are unemployed. This is due to the fact that small firms are swallowed up by the big ones which try to rationalize the production by using machines instead of people. Our politicians should intervene and motivate young enterpreneurs to build a firm by granting them lower taxes during the first years of their business. In fact, the latter can hire other people if they are helped financially and thus reduce unemployment. Moreover, competitivity will be maintained thanks to the existence of small and middle size companies so that the prices will remain stable. The consumers will benefit from advantageous products and keep on buying. Therefore, small business will survive.

In conclusion, sustainable development can be achieved if a positive social, environmental and economic development is insured. In any case, people should be given an incentive to attain this aim. That's why our politicians should intoduce lower taxes as well as pattern for ecology and education. Caring for the environment and the people can create a new atmosphere in which everybody lives in security and peace.

Alexander J. F. Heydendael showed that when tourism development occurs, economic benefits are usually unequally distributed amongst members of local communities. There is evidence suggesting that those who benefit are often limited in number and that those who benefit most are often those who were at an economic advantage to begin with, particularly landowners who can afford the investment. Specialist tourism can also involve a relatively small segment of a local community, possibly removing contact of the larger community with the resources in question. In the case of foreign direct investment, much of the profit may be transferred back to the home country. Therefore, tourism can actually increase inequalities in communities, and thus relative poverty. In addition, tourism increases local demand for goods and services, including food, resulting in higher prices and potentially decreased availability for local people. Such trends are often more prevalent where there is a lack of consultation with the peoples and communities involved in tourism.

Dr. Tao Jiyi File explained that in order to promote world sustainable development and create a truly sustainable global society, the nations of the world have to best harmonize interacting impacts upon people, utilization of natural resources, economic development and environmental needs. Many countries have adopted a lot of effective measures on the complex interactions within themselves, but they are by no means sufficient. That is to say, a lot of work remains to be done. The author of this paper think that the adoption of world sustainable development calls for strong international cooperation. This is to say, all countries, including developed countries and develpping countries should cooperate harmoniously with each other in such areas as population issues, resource problems, economic issues and environmental issues. Some scholars have mentioned this topic, but their studies of effects of international cooperation upon world sustainable development are rare, often superficial and not systematic. He illustrated the effects of international cooperation upon world sustainable development and suggest how world sustainable development can be achieved through international cooperation.

Germain Dufour File showed that during the past decades various changes have taken place in political, economic and social institutions. Economic reforms, changes in national policies, and global concerns have contributed to redefine the roles of these institutions for sustainable development. The 'New Age Movement' is a social, political and religious movement in the sense of having a broad organizational structure and an ideology aimed at governing. The environmental movement, within the New Age Movement expresses the concerns of groups of people regarding depletion of water, clean air, climate change aspects, degradation of land and other changes in ecosystems affecting traditional patterns of natural resource exploitation. The Earth Community has taken the role of helping these groups in protecting and managing the environment by coordinating efforts.

The environmental movement now has encompasses global aspects under the umbrella of one global Earth Ministry of the Environment, the Earth Environmental Governance. Earth Environmental Governance is the most importance and urgent challenge of the Earth Community.

Earth Environmental Governance can only be achieved successfully within the larger context of Sustainable Developent and Earth Management. All aspects are inter-related and affect one another.

A healthy environment is essential to long term prosperity and well-being, and citizens in Earth Community demand a high level of ecological protection. This is the 'raison d'etre' of the Scale of Human and Earth Rights.

In this way the Scale of Earth Rights gives us a 'sense of direction' for future planning and managing of the Earth. Earth management is now well defined and becomes a goal to achieve. We no longer waste energy and resources in things that are absolutely unimportant.

Leslaw Michnowski
http://www.psl.org.pl/kte/
Chairman of the Sustainable Development Creators' Club
The Polish Federation for Life
kte@psl.org.pl
elmamba@poczta.onet.pl

To all people of good will!

We speak to you because we are concerned about the fate of the Human Race and of the Earth.

The World is in crisis.

We are exploiting our natural resources of minerals and fuels faster than we are gaining access to alternative sources. We are polluting the natural environment and soil faster than the environment can regenerate itself to reach the level suitable for human needs. Depreciation (devaluation) - moral degradation of the existing forms of living - is going on faster than new forms, consistent with new living conditions for humans and for nature, are being introduced. This situation is complicated also due to demographic expansion, especially in those parts of the human family that are lagging in their development.

This crisis results mainly in lack of adjustment of two dominating systems - the system of values and the economic system - to the contemporary state of changes in the living conditions of humans and nature. These changes are proceeding very fast with the development of science and technology.

At the same time, there is no absolute deficit of material resources (minerals, fuels, ecological resources). However there is a lack of knowledge, technology, active intellectual potential and human conscience, and time - the factors that are necessary for limiting the futile utilization of scarce resources, as well as for developing alternative sources, whilst the resources which are currently under exploitation are being drained.

This crisis not only constitutes a serious hazard for everybody; it also constitutes an opportunity. This opportunity will occur if we carry out a radical reconstruction of the mentality and social relations, which could create the possibility for sustainable development.

Currently two methods of overcoming the global crisis seem to be possible.

The first, traditional method is based on decreasing the number of consumers of the resources that are in deficit. This method represents a pathology of social Darwinism - eco-fascism that leads to ecological holocaust of the weak, and subsequently - to the extinction of all humans.

The second method is based on the popularization of intellectual creative activity aimed at the common good and supported by science and high technology. This would be an ecohumanistic method.

Ecohumanism is a partnership-based co-operation for the common good of all people (rich and poor, from countries highly developed and behind in development), their descendants, and natural environment - commonly supported by science and high technology.

The first, traditional method may seem effective only at first glance. Social Darwinism does not allow the elimination of the crisis-provoking results of the moral degradation of the life forms that are not adapted to the new, quickly changing conditions.

The higher the level of development and the application of scientific and technological achievements, the faster is the pace of changes in living conditions for people and nature. This implies a very large acceleration of moral degradation pace for diverse, previously well-functioning forms of life. Moral degradation is as dangerous as the overexploitation of natural resources. This type of degradation, which is almost invisible, only to an insignificant extent depends on the number of people. It is caused mainly by the development of science and technology. This development cannot be stopped.

In order to eliminate the third factor of global crisis - the moral degradation of life forms, which in fact constitutes the basic factor - it is necessary to undertake stability-oriented solutions, which are radically different from traditional solutions.

These are:

I - increasing far-sightedness and the flexibility of the methods of human activities,

II - supplementing calculations of the costs and benefits of social and economic activity with comprehensively assessed social and natural components.

III - implementation of a system of stimulating ecohumanistic and intellectually creative activity and its popularization.

IV - increasing the intellectual potential of the human race (i.e. through popularization of the at least medium-level, comprehensive education of the youth, what would ensure intellectual independence, responsibility and the ability to participate in the development of science and technology).

This requires the further development of system dynamics - computer simulation methods for large-scale environmental and social (ecosocial) systems, flexible automation of production, and development of information technology (teleinformatization). It is impossible to prepare the appropriate economic statement without forecasting and a measurable assessment of comprehensive, broad in time and space, results of human activities and of the other changes in living conditions of people and nature.

The information problem is a key issue in overcoming the global crisis and in the creation of possibilities for sustainable development of the whole global society.

Both, contemporary and forecasted development of science and technology, especially of information technology, makes the possibility of a significant increase of the level of cognizability of human activity results more real. However, we are not able to predict fully all life hazards. Therefore, there is a necessity of the parallel development of flexible automation of production, advanced construction of diverse expert information systems, data bases, and collection of other intellectual, scientific, and technological reserves that are indispensable for the quick elimination of the hazards, which were impossible to predict in advance.

The second key problem is harnessing people's wealth to make it serve creative, innovative input to the common good. This is a potential for releasing enormous intellectual creative activity, which is so indispensable for eliminating the deficits in material and spiritual life resources.

It is impossible to solve both of these key problems related to global crisis at the local level. Joint public activities are necessary, with support from the world intellectual elite and powerful authorities.

Undoubtedly, for the development of the capability of forecasting and for a measurable assessment of the results of human activities, and for appropriate stimulation of ecohumanistic and innovative, creative activity it would be helpful - and this is what we are proposing - to create a World Center for a Strategy of Sustainable Development, under the auspices of the United Nations. This would be a professional center, for large-scale scientific, technological and organizational operations (Apollo-type), based on subsidiarity principle. The main goal of this Center would be to create information foundation of ecohumanism and sustainable development for the world society.

Its official establishment might take place in 2002, during the Special Session of General UN Assembly - "Rio+10".

The first task for the Center should be improvement and popularization of the methods for forecasting of the changes in conditions on Earth and in local societies, as well as in the natural environment.

It is necessary to create urgently, as a priority, the information basis of ecohumanism and sustainable development in order to prevent the development of eco-fascism and ecological holocaust of weaker parts of the human family that might lead to the ecological extinction of the whole human race. Without creating the information foundation of activities for our common good, such effort will not be effective!

The Sustainable Development Creators' Club.
The Polish Federation for Life
This Appeal was published inter alia in:
- “Zielone Brygady”, nr 4(149)/2000, 16-29.2.2000
- „Polish Academy of Sciences, Dialogue and Universalism, Metaphilosophy as the Wisdom of Science, Art and Life”, no. 4-5/2002.
mail to: kte@psl.org.pl

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