Many people have grown accustomed to dire predictions about the environment. There is certainly ample reason for pessimism, but there is equally good reason to celebrate the accomplishments of a strong environmental protection movement. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have made tremendous progress in educating the public and leading governments to more sustainable policies. But global change will require a fundamental restructuring of our current economic system that favors an unequal distribution of resources and exploitation rather than protection of the natural world.

Despite all the projections of increasing population, there are some heartening trends. First, the fertility rate in many of the developed countries continues to decline. Reproductive health programs in some of the most populous developing countries are beginning to make a difference. Experiments concerning transportation and housing in densely populated cities like Curitiba in Brazil have shown that urban population centers don’t have to be centers of pollution.

There are many ways to change our economic relationship with the environment: one is to explore innovative forms of capitalism that are non-extractive; another is to insist on new ways of accounting, which include environmental impact as part of a calculation of the bottom line. A third way is to include anti-pollution and resource protection clauses in all contracts with substantial consequences for violations.

Since the pioneering Rio Conference in 1992, a number of agreements and protocols have been adopted by the United Nations with the sole purpose of setting environmental standards for industries. Each of these agreements, ranging from the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer has a secretariat charged with enforcing it.

Almost every practice that is harmful to the environment is covered, including dumping of hazardous materials, destruction of wetlands, and over fishing of endangered marine species. The most recent addition is the Kyoto Protocol on climate change that sets clear standards for carbon emissions.

Each of the above organizations is beginning to exercise the authority necessary to identify and penalize offenders, and to gain the cooperation of national governments. Once both developing and developed countries respect these international environmental regulations we can begin to reverse the decades of damage already done by uncontrolled production and consumption.

Probably the most important actors in this process are specialized national and international NGOs that do the research and lobbying necessary to protect specialized resources like coral reefs, tropical rainforests, and mangrove swamps. Without the dedicated and determined service of NGOs, international institutions wouldn’t be able to accomplish nearly as much as they do.

After the proliferation of environmental NGOs, the next most encouraging development is the growing respect for the natural world. Tree planting programs, recycling, promotion of car-pooling and bicycling and auto-free zones are but a few examples of a changing consciousness. This change in attitude is the essential first step in achieving the political will necessary for transformational change.

Without the clear accountability of governments of all nations, no real progress can be made towards long-term environmental sustainability. Recently there have been some encouraging examples of national-international cooperation, often with NGOs being the catalyst. Control of the sale and production of chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) in developing and developed countries shows us that, with political will at the national level, standards can be enforced.

Pioneers in the agricultural world are showing that we can produce food in environmentally beneficial ways. Organic farmers are proving that they can compete in the global marketplace while not relying on chemicals; consumers in Europe and elsewhere are refusing to purchase genetically modified foods until they’re convinced that they won’t be harmful to their environment and health.

As the world economy gradually switches to sustainable practices, healthy food production should follow. It is essential that the nations of the world be able to feed themselves, balancing the production of cash and food crops. Appropriate technology in agriculture, which balances mechanized with non-mechanized processes, will also help to safeguard the environment. Ratification and enforcement of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and its successor protocols is crucial to the protection of endangered food fish stocks.

The strengthening of international law and its enforcement would bolster the environmental movement tremendously as well as protect the rights of all citizens of the globe. For example, indigenous groups whose very existence has been threatened by oil exploration, mining and logging will benefit from the Convention on Biodiversity, the Convention on World Cultural and Natural Heritage as well as other human rights documents designed to protect their culture and unique way of life. The Basel Convention on the Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal offers important protection to developing countries that have been dumping grounds for toxic substances.

In the industrialized countries, poor and minority groups have mobilized themselves against polluting factories in their neighborhoods and insisted on equal protection by existing environmental standards. Local NGOs from Nigeria to California have detailed knowledge about specific problems and a passionate commitment to advocacy.

Competition for the control of natural resources is often at the root of many conflicts in the world. With the gradual acceptance of international standards regarding the environment, there’s a greater chance that one major source of conflict would be removed. National service organizations dedicated to tree planting, shoreline restoration, and endangered species protection provide a powerful example of how resources might be redirected to peaceful ends.

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