The danger gong has been sounded once again, this time by the UNEP’s Global Environment Outlook report which has just been released. The human species is living beyond its means on a planet with limited resources.
Unless action is taken right now, the race is headed for sure disaster, it says. Over 60 per cent of the ecosystem is degraded. Agricultural output is poised to drop even further as arable land area too is growing lesser.
About three-fourths of marine fisheries have been exploited and, continuing on this scale, will collapse by 2050. With climate change thrown in, loss of species and resurgence of old diseases stare us in the face already.
By 2025 almost 1.8 billion people will face water shortage. The results of environmental degradation can have disastrous consequences on people. India has been cited in this list with reference to the melt down of the Himalayan glaciers that feed water to over a million.
The report prepared by 390 experts and reviewed by 1000 experts from across the world stresses the fact that this is not so much about disaster prediction as about calling for urgent action, and right now.
The population of the world has increased in the last two decades by 34 per cent from 5 to 6.7 billion. Resources, especially natural resources like water, have not seen any increase. Nor are they likely to. This is what everyone of us, governments, businesses and individuals need to remember.
The report calls attention to the ecological footprint of the average person. It is at 22 hectares per person now, meaning that so many hectares of land are needed to cater to one person's needs. For sustainable lifestyle that looks at beyond today, this number must be not more than 15-16 hectares. The use-and-throw culture, fostered by the assurance of plenty, that threatens to pervade our lives today has to be checked.
The planet can cater to most of our needs without having to sacrifice any basic comforts. But there just isn't enough to provide for wasteful lifestyles. It would be foolish to point fingers and demand rightful shares of the resources pie, whether it be for improved quality of life or simply for evening out divides.
Not if we care for a tomorrow. The report points to how it is time policy makers everywhere stop keeping environment at the periphery of development. Environment has to be brought to the centre-stage.
