Reports
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Worldwatch Paper #143: Beyond Malthus: Sixteen Dimensions of the Population ProblemIn our demographically divided world, fertility has dropped and population has stabilized or is declining in some countries; but in others where fertility is still high, population is projected to double or even triple before stabilizing. As recent experi ence with AIDS in Africa shows, some of these high-fertility countries are simply overwhelmed when a new threat appears. While industrial countries have held HIV infection rates among their adult populations to 1 percent or less, infection rates are as hi gh as 26 percent of the adult population in some African countries. With their rising mortality trends, more reminiscent of the Dark Ages than the bright millennium so many had hoped for, these countries are falling back to an earlier demographic stage wi th high death rates and high birth rates, and no growth in population. In examining the stakes involved in potentially adding another 3.3 billion people over the next 50 years, the study calls for immediate expansion of international family planning assistance to the millions of couples who still lack access, and new investm ent in educating young people, especially women, in the Third World, to promote a shift to smaller families. |
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Worldwatch Paper #142: Rocking the Boat: Conserving Fisheries and Protecting JobsFisheries and the economic and social benefits they offer society are under siege around the globe. Most of the world's marine fish stocks and primary fishing grounds are in decline. Nearly one third of all fish are thrown back to sea dead or dying each y ear because of wasteful fishing practices. The food security of more than 1 billion people who rely on fish for much of their animal protein is also at risk because one of every three fish captured goes to feed animals and other uses. The roots of the crisis run deep. They include the open access nature of fishing-which draws people into the industry well after profits and catches begin falling; widespread technological change and fleet growth; and national development policies that pr omote expansion at the expense of the resource. The industry barely stays afloat, even as billions of dollars in subsidies are poured into it. |
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Worldwatch Paper #141: Losing Strands in the Web of Life: Vertebrate Declines and the Conservation of Biological DiversityOne of the clearest ways to judge how we are affecting the Earth's biological life-support systems is to examine the status of those organisms closest to ourselves-the 50,000 species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Currently, about one in every four of these vertebrate animals is in serious trouble-either declining strongly, or restricted to small populations, or already threatened with extinction. Most vertebrates are in trouble because the ecological communities to which they belong are being dismantled by habitat loss, overhunting, and invasions of non-native species-problems that stem from humankind's mistreatment of the natural world. In this Paper, John Tuxill examines the challenges to survival that vertebrate species face, and what their fate foretells for our planet's biological diversity. |
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Worldwatch Paper #140: Taking a Stand: Cultivating a New Relationship with the World's ForestsApril 1998 The accelerating destruction of the world's forests threatens the planet's ecological and economic health. Already almost half of the forests that once covered the planet are gone. Between 1980 and 1995 alone, at least 2 million square kilometers of forests were destroyed-an area larger than Mexico. In this paper, Janet... |
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Worldwatch Paper #139: Investing in the Future: Harnessing Private Capital Flows for Environmentally Sustainable DevelopmentAs investors search the world for the highest return, they are often drawn to countries endowed with bountiful natural resources but handicapped by weak environmental laws, causing natural resource destruction and industrial pollution. But private investment can also bring environmental benefits, such as access to cutting-edge technologies that minimize energy use and waste generation. In this paper, Hilary French shows how private capital is shaping environmental trends in developing countries. She recommends strategies for shifting money out of ecologically damaging activities and into the technologies and enterprises of tomorrow. Asia's economic and environmental crises of 1997 offer timely warnings of the current system's fragility, as well as an opportunity to put in place the reforms needed to channel international investment capital into sustainable development. |
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Worldwatch Paper #138: Rising Sun, Gathering Winds: Policies to Stabilize the Climate and Strengthen EconomiesNovember 1997 The climate change debate is undergoing a seismic shift--beyond a paralyzing preoccupation with the cost of addressing the problem, and toward an active awareness that bold steps to stabilize the climate could create some of the largest economic opportunities of the twenty-first century. Quantum leaps in technologies... |
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Worldwatch Paper #137: Small Arms, Big Impact: The Next Challenge of DisarmamentDuring the Cold War, arms control and disarmament efforts focused exclusively on major weapons systems such as tanks, jet fighters, and nuclear weapons. Although this has begun to change in recent years, there are still no international standards regarding small arms; their production, trade, and possession remain essentially unmonitored and unregulated. In this paper, Michael Renner draws up a balance sheet that weighs the real costs of small arms proliferation and the violence it engenders: the loss of life and property, social instability, the disruption of economic development, and the threat to democratic governance. The author offers a broad range of policy recommendations, but observes that efforts that do not curtail new production are bound to fall short. The longer large-scale production continues, the greater the future supply of weapons whose whereabouts and use will be of great concern. |
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Worldwatch Paper #136: The Agricultural Link: How Environmental Deterioration Could Disrupt Economic ProgressAs demand starts to outrun supply, grain prices are rising. Higher grain prices will not have much effect on the world's affluent, but for the 1.3 billion people who live on a dollar a day or less, rising grain prices quickly become life-threatening. People unable to buy enough food to feed their families are likely to take to the streets. The resulting political instability could effect the earnings of multinational corporations, the performance of stock markets, and the stability of the international monetary system. At that point, the problem of the poor would become everyone's problem.
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Worldwatch Paper #135: Recycling Organic Waste: From Urban Pollutant to Farm ResourceAugust 1997 Metal, paper, and plastic are commonly recycled, but most of the world continues to throw away an abundant, reusable resource: organic matter. Today, we normally send organic garbage and sewage to landfills and incinerators, or dump them into rivers, bays, and oceans. And manure is increasingly dumped or overapplied to farmland because of large,... |
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Worldwatch Paper #134: Getting the Signals Right: Tax Reform to Protect the Environment and the EconomyMay 1997 Progress on major environmental issues, such as global warming, will be nearly impossible until the world's governments begin to tax activities that cause the problems. Today, environmental harm often seems free even though it imposes real costs on this and future generations. Environmental taxes pass these hidden costs back to the people... |