Sensible Management of Environment the Vital Task of All

Forest and Bird, Issue 185, 1 August 1972, Page 3

Sensible Management of Environment the Vital Task of All

BELOW are extracts from the speech to the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment by the President of the World Wildlife Fund, H. R. H. Prince Bernhardt of the Netherlands, at Stockholm, Sweden, on 9 June. Space limitations preclude it from being published in full, for this is a fine speech and one which is thought provoking.

IN addressing this distinguished audience today — the most important gathering assembled to discuss man’s relationship to his environment — I wish to do so not only as President of the World Wildlife Fund, but on behalf of the very cause it defends, which is all life on earth. You, as the representatives of the Governments of the world, have a heavy responsibility to bring into existence, both at home and globally, machinery to curtail the wanton squandering of our planet’s finite resources, to halt the destruction of the rich diversity of life forms that inhabit it, and to take positive action to manage our environment so as to achieve the highest attainable quality of life for all mankind. This vital task must be shared by all of us. It is the concern of private citizens, and the non-governmental organisations they have created, as it must also be of governmental and intergovernmental agencies. . . . We must examine and radically change our objectives. I am convinced that we are wrong in our present acceptance of an ever-increasing rate of economic expansion —an ever-rising gross national product —as the goal toward which nations must strive. . . . A Life Rich in Human Values Our yardstick for success must be the quality of life we achieve, a life rich in all human values merely the material ones. . . . There are certain ecological principles that can be ignored only at our peril, principles that may be called the laws of nature. Too often recently we have transgressed these laws and we are beginning to suffer accordingly . . . . We know that we humans are part of the ecosystems in which we live and that we interact with the other organisms that coexist with us, but we have become the dominant life form, and the health of the world

depends on us. We must realise that we are responsible for all life on earth and take that responsibility seriously, not only because of the moral obligations that devolve on us to safeguard other life forms, but now because our own very survival is at stake. We must take care of our natural environment in all its diversity and nurture it, not only for ourselves today and tomorrow, but for all coming generations. . . . Special Ecological Niches Some wild creatures can exist and thrive despite man’s, disturbance of the natural environment by increased economic development and urban aggregations. But many others occupy special ecological niches. . . . Remote areas of the world were once protected by their very remoteness, but improved communications have made all corners of the world accessible. The wilderness areas and the rich variety of creatures and vegetation that inhabit them are dwindling rapidly, and with their disappearance mankind will have lost an important and vital part of its heritage. . . . Wildlife conservation is a form of land use, and wise use of land is the key to the prosperity of man, especially in developing countries. Often extension of farming and forestry does not produce the economic and social gains for which it is designed. . . . Unwise use of land may well cause more damage to the prosperity of man throughout the world than the direct influence of population pressure and pollution combined. . . . National parks and nature reserves covering adequate and representative areas are essential to safeguard the full diversity of life forms, of natural wonders, and of wilderness values. These make up a Specially precious, but desperately vulnerable , element, in the natural heritage of all mankind.