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goals. It is part of our moral obligation to other living beings and future generations.
56. Pressure on resources increases when people lack alternatives. Development policies must widen people's options for earning s sustainable livelihood, particularly for resource-poor households and in areas under ecological stress. In a hilly area, for instance, economic self-interest and ecology can be combined by helping farmers shift from grain to tree crops by providing them with advice. equipment. and marketing assistance. Programmes to protect the incomes of farmers, fishermen, and foresters against short-term price declines may decrease their need to overexploit resources.
57. The conservation of agricultural resources is an urge, task because in many parts of the world cultivation has already been extended to marginal lands, and fishery and forestry resourcing have been overexploited. These resources must be conserved and enhanced to meet the needs of growing populations. Land use in agriculture and forestry must be based on a scientific assessment of land capacity, and the annual depletion of topsoil, fish stock, or forest resources must not exceed the rate of regeneration.
58. The pressures on agricultural land from crop and livestock production can be partly relieved by increasing productivity. But short-sighted. short-term improvements in productivity can create different forms of ecological stress, such as the loss of genetic diversity in standing crops, salinization and alkaliration of irrigated lands, nitrate pollution of ground-water, and pesticide residues in food. Ecologically more benign alternatives are available. Future increases in productivity, in both developed and developing countries, should be based on the better controlled application of water and agrichemicals, as well as on more extensive use of organic mannures and non-chemical means of pest control. These alternatives can be promoted only by an agricultural policy based on ecological realities. (See Chapter 5.)
59. In the case of fisheries and tropical forestry, we rely largely on the exploitation of the naturally available stocks. The sustainable yield from these stocks may well fall short of demand. Hence it will be necessary to turn to methods produce more fish, fuelwood, and forest products under controlled conditions. Substitutes for fuelwood can be promoted.
60. The ultimate limits to global development are perhaps determined by the availability of energy resources and by the biosphere's capacity to absorb the by-products of energy use.[1] These energy limits may be approached far sooner than the limits imposed by other material resources. First, there are the supply problems: the depletion of oil reserves, the high cost and environmental impact of coal mining, and the hazards of nuclear technology. Second, there are emission problems, most notably acid pollution and carbon dioxide build-up leading to global warming.
- ↑ W. Häfele and W. Sassin, ' Resources and Endowments, An Outline of Future Energy Systems'. in P.W Hemily and M.N. Ozdas (eds.), Science and Future Choirs (Oxford : Clarendon Press. 1979).
