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WBGU-Special
Report
1999
Ethics
is indivisible: A plea for responsible treatment of nature
Should
people be allowed to do everything they want? Should humankind be allowed
to use nature and the environment completely for its own ends? More and
more people are questioning the limits of human intervention in nature.
What is ethically allowed and what should be prohibited? In a new special
report, the "German Advisory Council on Global Change" (WBGU)
offers some answers to these difficult questions. At the same time it
has drawn up a number of principles, which should not be violated, even
where there are big economical gains. In addition, in a democratic and
culturally diverse society it is the task of ethics to lay down generally
binding criteria for weighing up between nature-related and, for example,
economic matters. With these tools of ethical and economical criteria
the Federal Government of Germany could support the interests of environmental
protection at the international level.
Berlin,
17th December 1999. The
"German Advisory Council on Global Change" (WBGU) is handing
over a special report today to the
Federal Minister for Research, Mrs.
Edelgard Bulmahn (SPD), and the Federal Minister
for the Environment, Mr. Jürgen Trittin (BÜNDNIS 90/ DIE
GRÜNEN). In this report "World
in Transition: Environment and Ethics" the experts recommend
the Federal Government to support the universal validity of the basic
principles of a global environmental policy.
In the opinion of the WBGU, the objective
of an environmental policy must be the protection of the species and ecosystems.
Loss of a species or an ecological system should be accepted only in exceptional
cases, for example, if the necessary expenditure for conservation can
no longer be justified, or, as in the case of the small pox virus, human
health is endangered. Exceptions of this kind should, however, only be
allowed if they are well-founded.
The experts also make a plea for setting-up
an inventory of the natural capital, so that in future, when decisions
on the development of a society are made, it is clear what the "price"
will be for the respective progress. However, most important in making
such assessment procedures for nature and its services is that, apart
from just considering restricted economical criteria, values related to
experience as well as symbolic, existential and option values, which are
based on ethical and aesthetic considerations, are also taken into account.
Only with such comprehensive assessment methods, that go beyond the classical
economical aspect, can politicians be assisted in making the right decisions.
People assess environmental risks in a very similar way in all
cultures
Although the perception of environmental risks differs among individual
countries, assessment of these with regard to their importance for maintenance
of the quality of life is taken much more seriously in all cultures than
has been assumed. The argument that criteria for ethical assessment ought
always to be determined and considered in relation to the respective culture
does not agree with recent research. At least with regard to basic principles
there is considerable agreement between people of different cultures.
For this reason the WBGU calls upon the Federal Government to support
the idea of universal validity of the question of basic principles for
protection of the global environment at an international level. This does
not, of course, mean that every standard existing in Germany should be
applied worldwide. Here it is much more a question of basic principles,
such as those, for example, laid down in the Declaration of Human Rights.
Protection of the species: Are cockroaches or HIV viruses worth protecting?
Far-reaching
interventions of humans in nature are usually criticised as violations
against the principles of continuity. Care should be taken, however, in
making sweeping statements on this subject. Most people would probably
describe the extinction of species such as cholera bacteria, HIV viruses
and other disease-causing agents as being ethically permissible. The control
of cockroaches or rats also meets with general approval, and an initiative
for rescuing cockroaches would hardly find any supporters. Thus the principle
of general conservation of nature becomes questionable if human life is
in danger. Nevertheless, the significance of these species should also
be considered with regard to their influence on the ecosystem.
Prevent
dangerous interventions in nature
Conflicts
in weighing up a particular situation occur frequently. Therefore the
WBGU differentiates between categorical principles, which must
not be violated under any circumstances, and compensatory principles,
for which a balance with other competing principles may be acceptable.
For example, interventions in global cycles of the natural environment,
with unforseeable consequences, count among the principles which must
not be disregarded. Whenever human activities violate categorical principles
urgent action is necessary.
How,
then, can this be established or prevented? For this purpose the scientists
have drawn up a number of recommendations, as follows:
- Without
sufficient knowledge, it will not be not possible to make a sound assessment
of environmental risks. Therefore international monitoring and an early
warning function must be practised more intensively, and intolerable
developments detected in good time. To this end the WBGU has drawn up
suggestions in nearly all reports, such as the recommendation for setting
up an international Risk Assessment Panel.
- Values
have no point if they are not enforced. Therefore the implementation
and, if necessary, supplementation of such international agreements
is urgently necessary, so that the categorical values at least can be
consolidated. For example, in recent years the WBGU has repeatedly recommended
to develop a global soil convention and a binding agreement for forest
protection.
- Federal
structures should be supported, since they are an important prerequisite
for the reinforcement and implementation of values in a society.
- In order
to avoid misguidance, the WBGU recommends three inter-connected strategies:
Complete
protection of the environment: Noah Strategy
This strategy should be chosen when values are at risk which should
not be neglected under any circumstances, or, when weighing up competing
values protection clearly has priority over utilisation of natural resources.
Since in such cases human existence is frequently affected, it is absolutely
essential that compensatory allowances are made. An example of this
is the setting up of a world-wide system of protected areas representing
the various ecological systems, based on the Noah's Ark model. According
to the Old Testament the complete biological diversity was rescued in
Noah's Ark before the end of the world by flooding.
Creation
of a balanced proportion between the interests of protection and utilisation:
Censor strategy
This strategy is always promising when target conflicts occur in
weighing up between utilisation and protection, and where it is difficult
to make a clear decision. In this case it is reasonable to find solutions
according to the principle "protection before utilisation".
Here, too, economical incentives must be created, in order to ensure
that nature is not destroyed in the interests of profit maximization,
but is conserved in the long-term. An example of this is permanent forest
utilisation and its certification. The censor in ancient Rome was not
only responsible for estimating the wealth of the citizen, but also
for making judicial decisions.
Utilisation
of the environment, taking into consideration basic protective interests:
Demiurg Strategy
In ancient Western mythology Demiurg was a god who created the world.
It is in this sense that early planning of the design of some areas
is necessary. For example, more than six billion people in the world
must be adequately provided with food and other products, as well as
services. In those areas where intensive cultivation is possible without
serious impairment of the environment, it is not only ethically tolerable,
but even advisable to use these potentials intensively. However, it
should be ensured here that the natural preconditions which make intensive
utilisation possible in the first place still continue to exist in the
future too. One example is long-term intensive agriculture.
The
German Advisory Council on Global Change
The
Council was established by the Federal Government in early 1992 as an
independent advisory council. The following reports have appeared so far
in the Council's "World in Transition" series: Basic Structure
of People-Environment Relations (1993),
The Threat to Soils (1994),
Ways Towards Global Environmental Solutions (1995),
The Research Challenge (1996),
Sustainable Management of Freshwater Resources (1997),
Strategies for Managing Global Environmental Risks (1998),
Conservation and Sustainable Use of the Biosphere (1999)
and New Structures for Global Environment Policy (2000).
The Council also prepared special reports on the occasion of the climate
summits of Berlin (1995) and Kyoto
(1997 and 1998)
and Charging the Use of Global Commons (2002).
Handing
over the Special Report of the Council to the Federal Government. From
left: Prof. Dr. Kokott, Federal Minister
Bulmahn, Federal Minister Trittin, Prof.
Dr. Schellnhuber.
Please direct your queries to:
WBGU Secretariat
Reichpietschufer 60-62, 8th Floor
D-10785 Berlin
Germany
Tel. +49 30 263948 12
Fax +49 30 263948 50
Email: wbgu@wbgu.de
All press releases and reports can be downloaded
at http://www.wbgu.de.
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