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ANPA ..r..
Environment-debt-protection
Partnership to avoid earthquake of conflicts
JP/17/TOPFER

Sustainability first or conflict: UN

"Let us developing countries exploit our resources to catch up
with developed countries and then we will clean up the
environment."

This statement was conveyed by then Indonesian environment
minister Emil Salim to then German environment minister Klaus
Topfer on the sidelines of the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil, in 1992.

Topfer, now executive director of the world's most powerful
body overseeing the environment, the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP), recalled Emil's statement on a number of
occasions during the week-long Eco-Innovate 03 forum in Sydney
last week.

According to Topfer, Emil's statement reflected the position
of developing countries vis-a-vis developed countries in
protecting the environment from the adverse effects of
development.

Despite his background as a minister from a developed country,
Germany, Topfer believed that developed countries owed a lot to
developing countries in terms of sustainability issues.

Therefore, Topfer noted that official development assistance
(ODA) from developed countries to developing countries should not
be seen as charity but as an investment in sustainable
development.

"Yes, they are not asking for charity, but investment in the
economy for the future," Topfer said.

He noted that if developing countries had overcome their
economic problems, they could be expected to make better policies
for the environment.

Topfer even supported a proposal of debt relief for poor
nations, which he described as a "debt for debt" solution to the
environment.

"Some people say this is charity, but I would say it's not
charity. I believe it is debt for debt because the developed
countries have quite a lot of debt to developing countries, in
terms of environmental costs, etc. So, it's debt for debt. I
insist on this."

Developed countries, he said, should realize that developing
countries offered much more to global development and
environmental protection than was recognized.

Therefore, developed countries should pay more and invest more
in developing countries to reduce the gaps between them.
Otherwise, conflicts would become inevitable.

"If we cannot handle this gap, we will have an earthquake."

The vehicle to achieve a balanced world would be through
sustainable development, with full the participation of developed
and developing countries.

Therefore, Topfer encouraged both developed and developing
countries to adopt the "Sustainability First" policy, and not
"Markets First" policy, to improve the quality of life without
compromising that of future generations.

He said if the world continued to adopt the "Market First"
scenario, the environment and human well-being would not fare
well. The human footprint grows, inflicting increasing damage.

As reliance is placed on market-based approaches, Topfer noted
that global competition increased, demands for environmental
goods and services continued to skyrocket, environmental
standards continued to fall, and economic interests dominated to
the detriment of social and environmental goals.

Therefore, it was time to shift to the "Sustainability First"
scenario which offered more hope for an acceptable future.

The human footprint could remain at an acceptable size as
social and environmental goals were reaffirmed, pressures on the
environment were stabilized or curbed, and a strong mix of formal
and voluntarily policies supported the efforts of individuals and
groups to pursue sustainable development.

Box

Can you imagine life without CDs? The question was posed by Alan
McGilvray, senior country representative for Bayer Australia and
New Zealand.

Of course, it would be hard to imagine modern life without
CDs, CD ROMs or DVDs. Or without mundane things like tires for
our cars. They are all products of chemicals.

"So, we are actually improving the quality of life," McGilvray
said.

However, chemical companies like Bayer often became the target
for attacks by environmental groups for polluting the
environment.

But attacks against such companies would not help the
environment much, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
executive director Klaus Topfer said.

The best way would be to engage them so that they participate
in programs to protect the environment, he said.

By involving these companies in a number of environmental
activities under UNEP, for instance, these companies would be
subject to public scrutiny and this would improve transparency in
their operations, with regards to the environment, Topfer said.

"Are these companies part of the problem or part of the
solution? We have to make them part of the solution".