Humanity’s contemplation about its negative impact on nature has left a written trace dating back several centuries. Yet, at that time, there was not enough knowledge about the extent to which such an attitude towards the environment could lead. More serious environmental awareness and protection development required humanity to realize another important moment – humans are not alone on this planet. This was the moment when man’s consciousness became imbued with concern for other beings, thus abandoning the exclusive concern for the survival of the human species. Even today, we can’t say with certainty that that moment has been fully experienced, but we can confirm that the 1960s marked the beginning of humanity’s progress from anthropocentrism to ecocentrism. There are countless ups and downs in the human relationship with nature that have been recorded from that time to date. Below, we present some of the moments that were significant for the development of environmental protection for all living beings.
The founding of the WWF and the revolutionary Silent Spring
The early 1960s saw the formation of the World Fund for Nature (WWF) as an international non-governmental organization that aimed to provide financial resources to help protect the natural environment and biodiversity threatened by human development and activities. According to many, an American zoologist and biologist, Rachel Carson, occupied a special place in the silent birth of the environmental revolution, who expressed her love for nature through writing. Although books from the earlier decades were also notable, the one that made the strongest impact was 1962’s Silent Spring. The author showed courage to write about a topic beyond her time, thus pointing out the dangers of DDT (a type of insecticide) in the living world.
Her work later led to a ban on using this insecticide in the United States for agricultural purposes. Still, more importantly, it raised awareness and instilled courage to protect nature from pollutants. Another important moment in this decade, in terms of the conservation of the living world, happened in 1964 when the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) was founded, known for the Red List of Endangered Species it publishes, which contains the most comprehensive information on status and risk from the extinction of species.
IN FOCUS:
- IMPROVING ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION IN SERBIA
- A NATURAL SOLUTION FOR SLOWER DECAY OF FRUITS AND FAGETABLES
- PRECISE STRATEGIES AND PLANS FOR MITIGATING THE CONSEQUENCES OF CLIMATE CHANGE
Stockholm Declaration and Earth Day
The first observance of Earth Day on April 22, 1970, opened the door for important events in the next decade. On that day, approximately 20 million people in the United States participated in events that took place in tens of thousands of locations across the country. Twenty years later, Earth Day officially became a global day, when on April 22, 1990, about 200 million participants in more than 140 countries worldwide took part in marking this day. Two years later, the first global conference was held in Stockholm with the issue of the environment as the main topic – the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment. Several important decisions were made at this event – the famous Stockholm Declaration and the Environmental Action Plan were adopted. The declaration laid down 26 principles for preserving and improving the environment, focusing on the need for international cooperation in this matter. As a result of the Stockholm Conference, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) was established, which, thanks to its long-standing work with governments, civil society, the private sector, and other UN bodies, is dedicated to resolving the most urgent environmental problems.
Although the Club of Rome, an international organization made up of experts from various fields, was formed in 1968 to study and promote sustainable development policy, it is listed chronologically in this part of the article. Namely, in 1972, the Club of Rome published its famous report called The Limits to Growth, which analyzed current trends and gave projections related to population growth while also presenting worrying information that indicated that the planet Earth, with its organized resource capacity, would not be able to keep up with such human population growth and needs for using resources. The report could be described as a catalyst for developing awareness about the need to apply sustainable development principles.
Two more important events that marked the 1970s are the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) from 1973 and the Convention on Transboundary Air Pollution (CLRTAP) from 1979. The CITES convention was signed by 184 countries and was adopted to ensure that international trade in plants and animals did not threaten their survival in the wild. The main reason for the CLRTAP Convention was people’s growing dissatisfaction due to the harmful effects of acid rain in Europe. As the first regional convention related to environmental protection, it entered into force in 1983 to reduce pollution from the biggest polluters in Europe and North America. Since its adoption, it has been expanded with several Protocols specifically targeting pollutants such as nitrogen oxide, ammonia, toxic heavy metals, sulfur, and others. Over the years, the Convention has seen significant success in reducing pollutant levels. Official data collated by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) show that between 1990 and 2006, carbon dioxide levels fell by 70 per cent in the European Union and by 36 per cent in the United States, while in the same period, the PM 10 particle levels were reduced by 28 per cent in the European Union.
Prepared by Katarina Vuinac
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