The emergence of global environmental awareness

An effective plan for global ecosystem management must be developed in the next 10 or 20 years. Awareness of the need has recently emerged, but still no integrated resource management system is universally accepted. A fragmented management approach has not been effective. Any successful course of action must be based on three assumptions: (1) that science can determine how ecosystems function, (2) once this is known, the social/political system will be able to protect ecosystems to the extent needed for the survival of human society, and (3) reality will take precedence over political expediency because Mother Nature cannot be fooled. This discussion focuses on the transition from awareness to taking effective action.