A Role for the Social Scientists

SW. Sci. Med. Vol. 35, No. 4, pp. 589-596, 1992 0277-9536/92 $5.00 + 0.00 Printed in Great Britain. All rights reserved Copyright 0 1992 Pergamon Press Ltd SECTION R THREATS TO THE WORLD ECO-SYSTEM: A ROLE FOR THE SOCIAL SCIENTISTS BHARAT DESAI International Legal Studies Division, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi-l 10 067, India Abstract-This paper seeks to identify some of the major threats to our fragile eco-system through human actions. We have sought to highlight that since these threats to our composite ecological heritage are global in nature, our responses shall have to be at the global level. We have tried to analyse a role the social scientists can exercise in response to these threats. We have merely shown possible responses within their professional disciplines. Can they play an activist’s role? The paper does not prescribe any push-button role while emphasizing role of social scientists in environmental education. Every discipline among the social sciences will need to carve out its own role keeping in view local conditions, The current stocktaking of the situation under the UNCED process may require the international community to review existing institutional structures in the field or create new ones. Key words--eco-system, major threats, social scientists, environmental education, activist role 1. INTRODUCTION sheer magnitude and span of the simmering global environmental crisis, it urgently requires a lot more In the course of long and tortuous process of human concrete action. We need to bear in mind that many evolution, we have now reached a point where our of the critical issues of survival are related to uneven power to affect the present and future state of the development, poverty and a galloping population earth is assuming alarming proportions. It has almost growth. In turn, they have placed unprecedented come to rival the elemental forces of nature [l]. This pressures on our lands, waters, forests and other is especially so both as regards the swiftness and natural resources. The cruel dilemma which mankind irrevocability of its effect on our fragile eco-system. is trapped in is that sheer lack of development may The signals emanating from it are loud and clear. degrade the quality of life more than the adverse As the curtains are being drawn on the era of the environmental impacts of development. There is, cold war, putting an end to military alliances and however, now a growing realization in national slow phasing out of nuclear arsenals, we are now governments and multilateral institutions that many entering into a new war for our survival. In fact the forms of development erode the environmental whole notion of security-as traditionally understood resources upon which they must be based and en- in terms of political and military threats to national vironmental degradation can undermine economic sovereignty-is being expanded to include the grow- development [2, p. 31. This calls for a pattern of ing impacts of environmental stress [2]. The earth’s development which is sustainable. Such a develop- natural systems are fast deteriorating-forests are ment will require changes in current patterns of depleting, deserts are spreading, agricultural top soils growth to make them less resource and energy inten- are being washed away, ozone layer is swiftly thin- sive and more equitable [5]. A stocktaking of our ning, green-house gases add to global temperatures, actions and behaviour in the post-Stockholm era bio-diversity is fast diminishing, air pollution is calls for the exercise of political will to save our choking most of the urban areas, water pollution is planet. Since the global ecological heritage is a com- poisoning our already scarce drinking water supply posite one, both the developed and the developing and the people are not yet fully conscious of the ill countries need to pull together their resources to meet effect of increasing noise pollution [3]. the challenge. The global community action can be In fact the realization of the call enshrined in the focused by identifying and dealing with major threats Stockholm Declaration two decades ago, to “shape to our eco-system. our actions throughout the world with a more pru- dent care for their environmental consequences” [4], is now long overdue. The concern injected into the 2. MAJOR THREATS human psyche in that historic first global effort to diagnose the state of the global environment has now Mankind is facing one of the biggest tests for started showing some results. However, in view of the striking a proper balance between developmental 589 590 BHARAT DESAI needs and environmental imperatives. However, iron- an increased global surface temperature will attract ically, much of the development in the world today major attention. The issues at stake will be the rights is not sustainable. Many of our economic, monetary and obligations of nations in protecting the global and trade policies in sectors such as energy, agricul- climatic commons. We are, however, handicapped by ture, forestry and human settlements tend to induce the uncertainty regarding the pace, intensity and and reinforce non-sustainable development patterns regional distribution of the climatic changes [lo]. The and practices. Apart from the irreversible squander- question still haunting us is what is the linkage ing of our biological capital, we are confronting a between observed temperature increases and increase growing problem of environmental refugees-people in greenhouse gases? If this linkage can be estab- who are forced to abandon their traditional habitat lished, most of the nations contributing to global because of adverse environmental conditions-which warming will fall in line in substantially limiting their is also peculiar to our age. In fact, the human quest emissions. to conquer nature through science and technology The process for evolving a Framework Conven- has brought us on to the present brink. The threats tion on Climate Change began in 1988 with the to our eco-system essentially emanate from human establishment of an Intergovernmental Panel on activities in almost every sector. However, there are Climate Change (IPCC). The panel set up, jointly some major threats which merit our urgent attention by WMO and UNEP, produced the most effec- and efforts to resolve them. tive scientific and technical findings on climate change. The UN General Assembly endorsed (a) Global warming and climate change the IPCC process. However, in view of the urgency For the past few years some of the leading scientists of the matter, the General Assembly viewed the have been warning us about emission of gases result- need for establishment of a single negotiating ing from industrial activities and transport sector into process. This culminated in the Assembly decision the atmosphere. They have argued that gases like to set up the Intergovernmental Negotiating Com- carbon-dioxide and chlorofluoro-carbons (CFCS) are mittee (INC) to prepare a Framework Convention accumulating above the earth’s surface and form a to be completed prior to the UNCED in 1992 shield which allows sunlight to penetrate but does [II]. The INC in arriving at the final agreement not allow the heat to escape. As a result there is a on the Framework Convention is to consider, steady warming of the earth resulting in a big green- among others, emissions, sinks, transfer of tech- house, in which heat is encapsulated leading to rise in nology, financial resources and funding mech- global temperatures [6]. Apart from emissions of anism for developing countries. This will help the gases from automobiles and factories, the torching of UNCED in linking global environmental policy to forests in many countries, to clear land for cultiva- long standing interest in realigning North-South tion. is also contributing to the pumping of carbon inequity. into the atmosphere. This gradual warming of the Irrespective of the uncertainties surrounding the atmosphere is now threatening to melt the polar current greenhouse projections, global warming will, icecaps and trigger major climatic changes around the in all probability, be a significant concern well into world. the next century. The issue has assumed great signifi- Though the world is passing through an agonizing cance for the developing countries, which have con- period in view of the possible adverse impact of the tributed little to the increase in greenhouse gases and rising temperatures on human life and the eco- are likely to suffer the worst effects. If the current system, the predictions of the scientists are being fears about the intensity of global warming quicken- disputed in some quarters. Ironically, the scientists do ing the pace of sea level rise come true, scores of not agree on how much global warming has occurred, island nations and coastal areas of others will disap- how much more is on the way and what climatic pear beneath the waves by the end of next century consequences will be. This has created some obstacles WI. in the current process of global climate talks. As a precursor to the 1992 UN Conference on Environ- (b) Ozone depletion ment and Development (UNCED) to be held in Rio There are strong scientific indications that the de Janeiro, the efforts to reach an agreement on ozone layer in the stratosphere, which protects limiting the emissions of greenhouse gases have not the earth from ultraviolet radiation of the sunlight, yet borne much fruit [7]. The Nairobi meeting in is facing a swift depletion. Satellite pictures have September 1991 led to greater isolation of the U.S.- revealed ozone holes above the Arctic and the which emits a greater volume of greenhouse gases Antarctica. It is shown that most harmful wave- than any other country [8]. The U.S. does not believe lengths of the ultraviolet sunlight penetrating through that the scientific evidence for global warming is solid the ozone hole can cause cancer by damaging the enough to commit it to a course of limiting green- chemicals genes are made of, retard the growth of house gases [9].

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