Plundering
World's Resources
By Jonathan Fowler
22 October, 2004
Associated Press
GENEVA -
People are plundering the world's resources at a pace that outstrips
the planet's capacity to sustain life, the environmental group WWF said
Thursday.
In its regular Living
Planet Report, the World Wide Fund for Nature said humans currently
consume 20 percent more natural resources than the earth can produce.
Consumption of fossil
fuels such as coal, gas and oil increased by almost 700 percent between
1961 and 2001, it said. But the planet is unable to move as fast to
absorb the resulting carbon-dioxide emissions that degrade the earth's
protective ozone layer.
"We are spending
nature's capital faster than it can regenerate," said WWF chief
Claude Martin, launching the conservation body's 40-page study.
"We are running
up an ecological debt which we won't be able to pay off unless governments
restore the balance between our consumption of natural resources and
the earth's ability to renew them."
Populations of terrestrial,
freshwater and marine species fell on average by 40 percent between
1970 and 2000, the study said. It cited destruction of natural habitats,
pollution, overfishing and the introduction by humans of nonnative animals,
such as cats and rats, which often drive out indigenous species.
"The question
is how the world's entire population live with the resources of one
planet," said Jonathan Loh, one of the report's authors.
The study, WWF's
fifth since 1998, examines the "ecological footprint" - or
environmental impact - of the planet's 6.1 billion-strong population.
To calculate the
average size of each person's footprint, it measures land use, pollution,
energy consumption, and the level of carbon-dioxide emissions.
The impact of an
average North American is double that of a European, but seven times
that of the average Asian or African.
Overall, the biggest
culprits are the residents of the United Arab Emirates, followed by
the United States, Kuwait, Australia and Sweden. The least-damaging
are residents of Afghanistan, Somalia, Haiti, Tajikistan and Bangladesh.
Rich nations tread
heavily on poorer countries, said Mathis Wacknagel, head of the Global
Footprint Network, a grouping including WWF. For example, Western demand
for of Asia's palm oil and soybeans from South America has fueled destruction
of natural habitats in those regions.
The study also warned
of increasing pressure on the planet's resources amid spiraling consumption
in Asia, led by fast-growing China and India.
"We can consume
energy in a way that's harmful or in a way that's sustainable,"
Loh told reporters. The technologies are available to enable the world's
population to live within the capacity of one planet."
Governments, businesses
and consumers should switch to energy efficient technology, such as
solar power, Loh said, adding that high oil prices may help focus their
minds.
"It's not a
question of how much oil is left," he said. "The question
we should be asking is how much fossil fuel consumption the earth can
sustain. The earth has a limited capacity."
© Copyright
2004 Associated Press