Worldwatch Reports and Papers
June 2007
Michael Renner and Zoë Chafe
ISBN: 1-878071-82-3
ISBN: 978-1-878071-82-8
56 pages
In Beyond Disasters: Creating Opportunities for Peace, Michael Renner and Zoë Chafe examine the recent experiences of Indonesia’s Aceh province, Sri Lanka, and Kashmir, among others, and suggest ways to better integrate disaster and conflict responses.
The authors note that the human toll taken by natural disasters is increasing, adding to the list of deadly challenges faced by poor communities and countries worldwide. Recorded disasters nearly doubled between 1987 and 2006, while the number of people affected by these disasters increased more than 10 percent. Women, children, and the elderly are among those most vulnerable.
The report concludes that the intersection of disasters, conflict, and peacemaking requires interdisciplinary responses from governments, international donors, and civil society.
At a time when global fishing regulations have proven ineffective in protecting fish populations, Catch of the Day is a refreshing reminder that we are not doomed to face an ocean wasteland "inhabited primarily by sea slime and jellyfish." Rather, a public that better understands the state of the world's oceans can be a driving force in helping governments pass legislation to ban destructive fishing, mandate seafood labels, decrease consumption of endangered fish, and create sustainable marine preserves.
In Happier Meals: Rethinking the Global Meat Industry, Worldwatch researcher Danielle Nierenberg documents the harmful effects of factory farming in both industrialized and developing countries and explains the range of consequences for the environment, human health and communities. From transmission of disease and loss of livestock diversity to hazardous and unsanitary processing methods, this book shows clearly why factory farming is an unsafe, inhumane, and ecologically disruptive form of meat production.
By taking advantage of the work that healthy watersheds and freshwater ecosystems perform naturally, cities and rural areas can purify drinking water, alleviate hunger, mitigate flood damages, and meet other societal goals at a fraction of the cost of conventional technological alternatives.
The Brazilian Atlantic Forest is one of the world's biological "hotspots," a region of extraordinary, and threatened, biodiversity. Saving the Atlantic Forest will require a variety of strategies. An approach described in this paper hinges on one of the world's favorite foods: cocoa. Cocoa is a major crop in Brazil, especially in the northeastern state of Bahia, where most cocoa is grown in a longstanding agroforestry system called cabruca. Because cocoa trees tolerate shade, cabruca permits preservation of much natural forest. But the cabruca system itself is now in decline. A revived and modernized form of cabruca would promote the ecological goal of forest restoration, the social goal of creating a strong and green rural economy, and the political goal of building an international consumer constituency for the endangered forest.
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The 27 nations of the Second World—the former Soviet Union and its Central and Eastern European satellites—are undergoing a wrenching transition following the collapse of communism. The process is complicated by the history and legacy of communist rule, including severe economic, governance, and environmental problems. In some of these countries, such as Ukraine, the upheaval has led to a period of predatory capitalism and declining living standards. But the same turmoil offers an opportunity to change course and institute reform according to the principles of sustainable development—the only path that can lead to the twin goals of long-term human and environmental wellbeing.
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Through the things that they buy, large institutions wield great influence over the future of our planet. Nearly every institutional purchase, from office paper to buildings, entails hidden costs for the natural environment and the world's people. Shifting just a portion of that spending away from harmful goods and services to more environmentally friendly alternatives can benefit ecosystems and communities, save money, and send a powerful message to markets on behalf of more sustainable options.
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