Children and the Environment."Environmental degradation Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment through depletion of resources such as air, water and soil; the destruction of ecosystems and the extinction of wildlife. is killing children." That is the alarming message of the 73-page report--Children and the Environment--published jointly by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF UNICEF (y  `nĭsĕf'), the United Nations Children's Fund, an affiliated agency of the United Nations. ) and (UNEP UNEP United Nations Environment Program(me)UNEP Unbundled Network Element Platform UNEP University of Northeastern Philippines ) in 1990. The two organizations examined the effect of environmental quality on the child in the womb, on infants and children, as well as the special problems of children at work and those in distress. The study finds that "children are too often the victims of pollution--their young bodies make them far more vulnerable than adults to the poisons we spew into the air, and toxins we sow on Earth". It states that global warming global warming, the gradual increase of the temperature of the earth's lower atmosphere as a result of the increase in greenhouse gases since the Industrial Revolution. , ozone depletion, loss of genetic resources, desertification desertification Spread of a desert environment into arid or semiarid regions, caused by climatic changes, human influence, or both. Climatic factors include periods of temporary but severe drought and long-term climatic changes toward dryness. and general land degradation are "this generation's legacy to its descendants". Before it is too late, the report urges, "intergenerational equity", which incorporates the welfare of future generations into developmental planning, must be implemented. UNICEF and UNEP warn that achieving it could be "the foremost challenge facing policy makers in the closing years of the twentieth century, and beyond". |
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