Humankind on Brink of Disaster - Organic Farming a Reason for Hope

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Thursday, 09 January 2003

The human race has only one or perhaps two generations to rescue itself, according to the 2003 State of the World report by the Washington-based Worldwatch Institute.

The longer that no remedial action is taken, the greater the degree of misery and biological impoverishment that humankind must be prepared to accept, the institute says in its 20th annual report.

Overuse of resources, pollution and destruction of natural areas continue to threaten life on the planet. Conditions continue to deteriorate rapidly, the report says, although there are some hopeful signs in that technical solutions to the problems have been found and - where there is political will - adopted. In most cases, though, nothing is being done.

Toxic chemicals are being released in ever-increasing quantities, and global production of hazardous waste has reached more than 300m tonnes a year. There is only a vague idea of what damage this does to humans and natural systems, the report says.

The state of the world's natural life support system is perhaps the most worrying indicator for the future, says the report. About 30% of the world's surviving forests are seriously fragmented or degraded, and they are being cut down at the rate of 50,000sq miles a year, it says.

Wetlands have been reduced by 50% over the last century. Coral reefs, the world's most diverse aquatic systems, are suffering the effects of overfishing, pollution, epidemic diseases and rising temperatures.

A quarter of the world's mammal species and 12% of the birds are in danger of extinction.

On the hopeful side, the report says that renewable energy technologies have now developed sufficiently to supply the world. They could significantly reduce the threat to the world from pollution - but currently there is a lack of political will to introduce them fast enough.

Worst trends:
· Malaria claims 7,000 lives every day
· Bird extinctions running at 50 times natural rate
· Global rate of ice melt more than doubled since 1988; sea levels may rise 27cm by 2100
· New fishing technologies help to locate and further exploit declining stocks

Reasons for hope
· Populations have stabilised in Europe and much of south-east Asia
· Organic farming is the fastest-growing sector of world agricultural economy
· Wind and photovoltaic electricity generating capacity to increase 30% a year for five years (1% for fossil fuels)
· Production of ozone-depleting CFCs fell 81% in the 90s, slowing growth in ozone hole

Source: Paul Brown, environment correspondent The Guardian Thursday January 9, 2003