Sustainability first or conflict: UNEP chief

"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 Toepfer on the sidelines of the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992.

Toepfer, 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 Toepfer, 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, Toepfer believed that developed countries owed a lot to developing countries in terms of sustainability issues.

Therefore, Toepfer 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," Toepfer said.

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

Toepfer 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, Toepfer 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, Toepfer 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.

I-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 Toepfer 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, Toepfer said.

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