Scientific community makes recommendations for RIO+20

The planetary system that allowed civilization to develop in recent centuries is threatened, and the result could be a global humanitarian emergency due to the intensification of social, economic and environmental crises.

Heitor Shimizu

Agência FAPESP – The planetary system that allowed civilization to develop in recent centuries is threatened, and the result could be a global humanitarian emergency due to the intensification of social, economic and environmental crises. The multiple and urgent actions necessary to reverse this scenario will only be feasible through a new agreement between science and society that, leads to a greater connection between leadership in all sectors.

This is the main conclusion of the State of the Planet Declaration, released on March 29 after intense debate among scientists specializing in socio-environmental areas during the Planet Under Pressure meeting, which was held in London from March 25-29.

The document presents the scientific community’s position on the topics to be covered at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (RIO+20) and was created with the goal of influencing the debate agenda and decisions that will be made during the conference. RIO+20 will be held in Rio de Janeiro from June 20- 22.

The event in London was organized by four UN programs involved in environmental work: the International Programme of Biodiversity Science (DIVERSITASiversitas), the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environment Change (IHDP), the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) and the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU).

During the event, the intricate connections between the different systems and cycles that govern the ocean, the atmosphere, the Earth and the human and animal life that depend on these environments were discussed by more than 3,000 specialists in areas such as climate change, environmental geoengineering, international governance, the future of the oceans and biodiversity, global commerce, development, the fight against poverty and food security.

According to Lidia Brito, conference co-president and director of UNESCO (the UN’s Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), scientists recognize the complexity and urgency of current challenges and they propose a new vision for science as it relates to global sustainability.

“We have a positive message: with strong leadership in all sectors, and if we take advantage of increasing connectivity, we have hopes that the risk of a long-term environmental crisis will be minimized,” Brito told Agência FAPESP.

Brito, who is the ex-Minister of Science in Mozambique, says that scientists support the concept of a green economy, recognizing that as a result of globalization, all economies and societies as well as environmental and social sustainability are interconnected and interdependent.

“This new connectivity is the beginning of a pathway the scientific community must operate on. We need a powerful innovation network involving the north and south. This approach must be part of our DNA from here on out,” said Brito.

According to the Declaration, there is growing consensus among the scientific community that the planet is moving into a new era—the Anthropocene era— in which many processes on the planetary scale are dominated by human activity. The scientists conclude that society no longer has the ability to postpone large-scale urgent action. “Time is the rarest natural resource of all. We must change the course of things in a fundamental way during this decade,” affirmed Brito.

According to the Declaration, contemporary society’s high level of connectivity can be utilized to stimulate innovation at unprecedented speed. For this to happenoccur, however, open access to knowledge must be made available, the GDP must no longer be the only measure of progress and new work paradigms for international cooperation must be established.

To facilitate more effective planetary administration, new modes of participation must be implemented a all levels, stronger leadership must be established in all sectors of society and greater connectivity must be developed between those that generate new knowledge and the rest of society. The roles of science, politics, industry and civil society must also be reconsidered.

For more information: www.planetunderpressure2012.net