Sustaining Our Environment to Promote our Development. (Science Watch).

One is tempted to ask if the title should be rephrased as "Promoting our Development to Sustain Our Environment". In either case, the complex relationship between the human race and the Earth's diverse resources--the flora and fauna, fossil fuels and minerals, rivers and oceans--merits attention. We are the stewards of the environment. The land which supports the resources, the biosphere and the atmosphere are linked together by an extraordinary interdependence. If we change this delicate balance, we affect the quality of the environment and subsequently the quality of our life.

Development aims at effecting social, economic and cultural changes for the benefit of humankind and the individual. From a developing country perspective, such activities must be targeted at ensuring improvements in health and nutrition, the hamessing of science and technology to enhance development, and the promotion of education as a tool for empowerment at all levels of society. All these, directly or indirectly, feed on the environment.

That the United Nations Millennium Declaration of 2001 has such great similarities with the 1992 Rio Declaration affirms the need for humanity to strengthen further its collective efforts to safeguard our environment while promoting our development, placing human beings at the centre of all development plans. The Brundtland Commission on Environment and Development examined issues pertaining to energy, industry, food security, human settlements and economic relations, and concluded that environment and development were inextricable. The Commission defined sustainable development as "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs".

Throughout the ages, humans have undertaken numerous development projects, some of which required considerable modification of the natural environment. For example, some projects have involved alterations in the physical layout of the landscape to fit construction works of various kinds: the diversion of a river from its natural course to form a big dam for irrigation, with consequent creation of artificial sites for breeding of vectors for water-borne diseases, such as malaria and schistosomiasis; and the clearing of whole forests to build industries, whose by-products in the form of acid rain, toxic fumes and metallic accumulation have had far-reaching effects on the state of the ecology and human health.

Medicinal plants have been harvested unsustainably by pharmaceutical companies with total disregard for the conservation of biodiversity, and for indigenous knowledge systems and the rights of indigenous communities. While not intending to disparage the tremendous contribution of these and similar projects to the creation of wealth and to socio-economic growth and overall human development, it has been at cost in terms of the irreversible effects on the environment.

When there is environmental damage, it is the poor who suffer most, and the women, who represent the majority of the world's poor, who suffer disproportionately. Advances in biotechnology and genetic engineering not only illustrate the magnitude of human ingenuity but also highlight the potential of science to solve the major problems of food insecurity and health. Concerns surrounding the release of genetically modified food plants and products to the environment are real; they point to the need to "enhance the capacity of developing countries to strengthen their institutional and legislative structures regarding access to genetic resources and the equitable sharing of benefits, and to deal with the opportunities and risks rising from genetically modified organisms in order to minimize the risks, continue scientific research ..." (Final Conclusions, Meeting of Women Leaders on the Environment, 7 and 8 March 2002, Helsinki, Finland).

In this regard, one area that clearly needs strengthening in developing countries is that of capacity-building in universities, so that genetic problems and challenges can be addressed and investigated as and when they arise. There are considerable numbers of well-qualified scientists in developing countries, but their research output is hampered by lack of facilities; again, women are disproportionately affected. They have, however, made great efforts to overcome their disadvantages. A significant development has been the emergence and growth of the Third World Organization for Women Scientists, which encourages collaborative work and assists women with sharply focussed workshops and conferences.

As we prepare for the Johannesburg Summit, the multitude of achievements and concerns that could be discussed boggles the mind. But, to quote again from the Helsinki Final Conclusions, "it offers an opportunity to strengthen the world's commitment to a sustainable development that is fair and equitable for all, and to reaffirm countries' common but differentiated responsibilities towards that end". These responsibilities are real for both developing and developed countries. It is imperative to devise means to make it possible for the benefits of economic and scientific advances to be made available to all in a meaningful partnership. The supreme challenge for international dialogue must be to seek a foundation for all actions on environment and development, which honours the contribution of cultural diversity, strives for a better quality of life and encourages true partnership.

Professor Lydia Makhubu, who holds a Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry, is Vice Chancellor of the University of Swaziland, and President of the Third World Organization for Women in Science.