We are facing a battle against time in safeguarding our natural resources. In his book, The Diversity of Life, Edward O. Wilson has warned that Homo sapiens are in imminent danger of precipitating a biological disaster of a greater magnitude than anything we have witnessed so far in our evolutionary history (Wilson 1992). There is no time to relax if we are to ensure that the Malthusian prophecy of famine and pestilence does not come true in the coming millennium. Legal, educational, and participatory measures of program implementation and benefit sharing will all be needed for promoting a peoples' movement for conservation. It is clear that the concept of sustainable development should be broad based to incorporate considerations of ecology, equity, employment, and energy, in addition to those of economics. This will call for a systems approach in project design and implementation. Both unsustainable lifestyles and unacceptable poverty have to be eliminated. Factors that influence climate and sea level have to be addressed with the seriousness they deserve and need. Sustainable development will become a reality if we keep in mind that the greatest responsibility of our generation, as suggested by Dr. Jonas Salk, is to be good ancestors. The first and foremost responsibility of governments, the corporate sector, and civil society is to give every child an opportunity for the full expression of her or his innate genetic potential for physical and mental development. This is an achievable goal provided the rich regard themselves as trustees of their financial and intellectual wealth and not just as owners. That there is adequate surplus wealth in the world is clear from 20 percent of the human population earning over 80 percent of the global annual income. According to the UNDP's 1996 "Human Development Report," the world's 358 billionaires are worth more than the combined income of the poorest 2.5 billion people (UNDP 1996). If the concept of trusteeship of financial and intellectual wealth becomes the twenty-first century human ethic, we can lay the foundation for a socially, ecologically, and economically sustainable future for humankind. This is the task as well as the hope for the new millennium. It is appropriate to conclude with a statement from a document by the U.S. President's Council on Sustainable Development titled "Sustainable America." Prosperity, fairness, and a healthy environment are interrelated elements of the human dream of a better future. Sustainable development is a way to pursue that dream through choice and policy. (The President's Council 1996, 4).
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