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The information in this file was taken from the compilation of
data presented in GAIA: An Atlas of Planet Management, edited by
Norman Myers, (London, Anchor Press, 1984)(New York: Doubleday
1987).
FOR THE RECORD
The Disappearing Soil:
The total land area on the globe is 13 billion hectares,
11% is arable land and 24% potentially arable. Each year about
11 million hectares are lost through erosion, becoming desert,
becoming toxic, and cropland conversion to non-agricultural uses.
We stand to lose 18% of the world's arable land by the year 2000.
Between 1945 and 1975 about 30 million hectares of land in the
U.S. were lost under concrete and asphalt - half was arable land.
The Disappearing Fauna:
Well over 90% of all species that have ever lived have
disappeared. About one species a year was lost in the early
20th. century. Some biologists argue that it is now higher than
one species a day.
The Disappearing Flora:
Botanists estimate that there are some 25,000 species
currently threatened with extinction. Africa's Cape region
contains one of the six most significant concentrations of flora
on Earth, including 68% of South Africa's 2,373 endangered
plants. Modern plant breeding has emphasized inbred, uniform
strains. Plant diseases and pest infestations can devastate
modern breeds. Only four varieties produce 75% of the wheat
grown on Canada's prairieland. Half of this land is covered by
just one variety, Neepawa.
Loss of Green Cover:
By 1975, the area covered by tropical forest was 12%. By
the year 2000 tropical forests may cover only 7% of the land.
This decline contrasts markedly with temperate forests whose area
remains constant around 20% thanks to reforestation.
Sharing the Earth's Resources:
The U.S., with just 6% of the population, uses 30% of all
energy produced--a stark contrast to India whose 20% of global
population uses only 2% of the energy. To sustain a reasonable
quality of life requires about 80 litres of water per person per
day. But the average consumption ranges from 5.4 litres a day in
Madagascar (barely enough to survive) to 500 litres a day in the
U.S. During the decade 1970-80, the numbers of rural people
without clean water increased by 67 million to 1.15 billion,
while those without proper sanitation rose by 300 million to
almost 1.4 billion. Numbers lacking sanitation in Third World
cities doubled during the period 1975-80.
Recycling Our Resources:
Recycling half of the world's paper consumption would meet
almost 75% of new paper demand, and would release 8 million
hectares of forest from paper production. Fibre-rich countries,
such as Canada and Sweden, are not in the front ranks of paper
recyclers. The energy required to produce one tonne of secondary
aluminum from scrap is only 5% of the energy used to extract and
process primary metal from ore.
Industrial Damage:
Each year 450,000 tonnes of lead are released into the
air by humans, compared with 3,500 tonnes from natural sources.
Acid rain ranks among the most serious threats to the environment
in the northern hemisphere.. heavily industrialized areas pump
some 90 million tonnes of sulphur dioxide into the air each year.
Although DDT was prohibited for use within the U.S. as long ago
as 1972, the U.S. still manufactures over 18 million kilogrammes
a year for export, largely to the Third World.
Promising Beginnings:
Third UN Conference on Law of the Sea 1973-82
UNCLOS III, for the first time, unites the Law of the Sea
into one "written constitution". Under UNCLOS III, the
traditional "Freedom of the Seas" remain for 60% of the ocean,
but 42% of this, the deep sea beds area, is designated the common
heritage of mankind, and will be controlled by an international
Seabed Authority.
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
Signed by over 80 countries since 1973, CITES prohibits
international commercial trade in the rarest 600 or so species of
animals and plants, and requires licences from the country of
origin for exports of about another 200 groups. (Illicit trade
continues to undermine the impact of the Convention.)
World Conservation Strategy
Launched in 1980, backed by IUCN,WWF, UNEP, FAO and
UNESCO, and cross-checked by 400 scientists it presents a single,
integrated approach to global problems. About 30 countries have
translated the global strategy into national action.
The Regional Seas Programme
The Regional Seas Programme, launched by the United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in 1974, is promoting
regional management of 11 regional seas.
The Barcelona Convention
In 1976, seventeen Mediterranean countries signed the
Barcelona Convention for concerted action to clean up the
Mediterranean. Under the convention mercury, cadmium and DDT are
completely banned.
Biological Control
China's Big Sand Commune raises 220,000 ducks to control
insect pests in fields of young rice. Ducklings consume about 200
insects per hour and cut the use of chemical insecticides from
770,000 kg in 1973 to 6,700 kg in 1975. Imported parasitic
insects have saved the Florida citrus industry $35,000,000 a year
in pesticides, following an outlay of $35,000.
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