Ecological balance

“ These related changes have locked the global economy and global ecology together in new ways. We have in the past been concerned about the impacts of economic growth upon the environment. We are now forced to concern ourselves with the impacts of ecological stress - degradation of soils, water regimes, atmosphere, and forests upon our economic prospects. ”

“ When, therefore, we optimistically declare that economic development and environmental maintenance can go along hand in hand, this qualifier must immediately be added: only if the maintenance of the ecosphere is made the first priority. Economic development must be secondary, guided by strict ecological standards. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Wetland conservation shall adhere to the principles of conservation first, strict management, systemic governance, science-based restoration, and proper utilization, so that wetlands are able to exert their multiple ecological functions such as water conservation, climate regulation, environmental improvement, and biodiversity conservation. ”

“ By clearing large areas of forest, even depleted or degraded forest, and replacing it with monoculture, a range of ecological problems arise including damage to hydrological and fish breeding systems, loss of species habitat and biodiversity, and crop susceptibility to pests. ”

“ This Law is enacted for the purposes of implementing the ideal that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets, protecting, cultivating, and rationally utilizing forest resources, accelerating land greening, safeguarding forest ecological security, constructing ecological civilization, and achieving the harmonious coexistence of human and nature. ”

“ The application of the concept of sustainable development to the effort to ensure food security requires systematic attention to the renewal of natural resources. It requires a holistic approach focused on ecosystems at national, regional, and global levels, with coordinated land use and careful planning of water usage and forest exploitation. The goal of ecological security should be embedded firmly in the mandates of FAO, other UN organizations that deal with agriculture, and all other appropriate international agencies. ”

“ Adhering to the principles of ecology first and green development, the state strives to optimize the wetland conservation system, improve policy support and the scientific and technological support mechanism for wetland conservation, ensure the ecological functions and sustainable utilization of wetlands, and coordinate ecological, social and economic benefits. ”

“ Sustainability 8.13 States should consider specific national policies, legal instruments and supporting mechanisms to protect ecological sustainability and the carrying capacity of ecosystems to ensure the possibility for increased, sustainable food production for present and future generations, prevent water pollution, protect the fertility of the soil, and promote the sustainable management of fisheries and forestry. ”

“ The cutting down and washing of the [Pg 28] lands, the draining and filling of depressions, the flooding of the lands, the destruction (or succession) of plant and animal associations (including crop rotation) , are processes brought about or practiced by other organisms or animal agencies. An ecological standpoint gives us a consistent, comprehensive orientation of all these natural and “artificial” activities and processes, and shows the unity in all organic responses to the environment. Man’s influence in the main consists of hastening or retarding “natural processes.” ”

“ The immediate economic costs include all the parts that the forest plays in the ecosystem, such as: providing fish breeding grounds, acting as a water and air filter (much more efficiently than do plantations) , and acting as a buffer against the problems of the dynamic nature of the local river systems. Theses costs affect local people most but also have an impact on the ecological and economic health of the whole region. ”

“ How ever well resources are managed, this need remains. The need for life-dependant resources, such as water, is a basic human right.
A defiance of ecological laws So that human populations are growing exponentially beyond the level at which they can be supported by ecosystems without damaging them. (An ecological law demands that as the population of any animal becomes too large for the ecosystem of which it is part, food will become scarce so that the animal becomes stressed and easy prey for other animal species.) ”

“ We will undertake rigorous investigations on soil pollution and develop and implement category-based measures to tackle this problem. We will take comprehensive measures to improve both urban and rural environments, and promote waste sorting. We will strengthen energy conservation and environmental protection industries to ensure both environmental improvement and economic growth.
We will move forward with ecological conservation and improvement. ”

“ Efforts have been made to promote the green transformation of all sectors and industries in social and economic development, to balance economic development with eco-environmental protection, and to reduce the pressure on biodiversity. ”

“ Although he international trade in wildlife and wildlife products is considerable, to date the economic values inherent in genetic variability and ecological processes have been generally disregarded. Possible measures include environmental impact analyses of development projects with particular attention to species' habitats and life-support systems, identification of crucial localities featuring exceptional concentrations of species with exceptional levels of endemism that face exceptional degrees of threat, and special opportunities for linking species conservation with development aid. ”

“ We recognize that an integrated ecosystem approach to ocean-related activities is needed to optimize opportunities. It should be based on the best available science, give due regard to conservation efforts and precautionary approaches and ensure coherence and balance among the three dimensions of sustainable development. ”

“ For the water-related projects that are obstructing the migration of aquatic organisms such as fish, various measures shall be taken to fully meet the ecological needs of aquatic organisms, such as the construction of fish passing facilities, the connection of rivers and lakes, ecological regulation, stocking lakes with river fry, gene preservation, multiplication and release, and artificial breeding. ”

“ Reduce the deforestation rate and increase forest coverage, maintain and develop the multiple contributions of forests, trees and forestry to food security for the conservation and sustainable use of land and water resources, including the protection of watersheds, and as reservoirs of biological diversity ”

“ With science-based planning and research, we have sought to achieve a balance between strengthening protections for wildlife and water quality and providing a steady, sustainable supply of the building materials, paper products, and other commodities we need to meet the challenges of our growing economy. ”

“ Well-designed ecosystem conservation contributes to the predominant' goals of sustainable development in a number of ways. Safeguards for critical tracts of wildlands can serve also to safeguard agricultural land, for example. ”

“ Today, we recognize the importance of taking a comprehensive approach-one that balances the needs of our people and of the environment. Grounded in sound science and compliance with existing law, sustainable forest management presents our best hope for saving the more than 250 threatened or endangered species of fish, animals, and plants that have made this land their home. ”

“ Equally important are the vital life processes carried out by nature, including stabilization of climate, protection of watersheds and soil, preservation of nurseries and breeding grounds, and so on. Conserving these processes cannot be divorced from conserving the individual species within natural ecosystems. Managing species and ecosystems together is clearly the most rational way to approach the problem. ”

“ Manifestly, it must again be covered with hurricane-control, flood-control, and erosion-control vegetation, chiefly trees, perhaps. Trees for safety's sake, trees for beauty's sake, for recreation's sake, trees for food's—yes, food's sake, for flavor and health, trees and vegetation as sources for the very synthetic that are supposed to supplant them; and last but not least, trees and vegetation for the protection and perpetuation of animal life, of bird life, and insect life. All these are inseparably bound up with human life. ”

“ Objective 3.2 To combat environmental threats to food security, in particular, drought and desertification, pests, erosion of biological diversity, and degradation of land and aquatic-based natural resources, restore and rehabilitate the natural resource base, including water and watersheds, in depleted and overexploited areas to achieve greater production. ”

“ Principle 2 The natural resources of the earth, including the air, water, land, flora and fauna and especially representative samples of natural ecosystems, must be safeguarded for the benefit of present and future generations through careful planning or management, as appropriate. ”

“ I am frustrated at the turn of events: plants are dying, lands are flooded, fishes are killed, water with green colouring matters. We, I, yearn for the time past when we were the centre of agriculture; we do not understand these things, having our baths in the river, our life-wire, is becoming more and more unbearable. ”

“ To examine, analyze and assess environmental and ecological problems, in particular the environmental and ecological problems which may result from any intrusions or changes of the environment or ecological relationships which may be caused by technological innovations, processes of resource development, patterns of human settlements, the production of energy, patterns of economic and industrial development, or other man-made intrusions and changes of the environment, or which may result from natural causes. ”

“ Indeed, today we know that the health of aquatic ecosystems must be examined holistically, to determine how various forms of human activity affect water quality. We know that we must protect entire watersheds that feed into our rivers, lakes, and coastal waters. We also recognize that, by preventing pollution at the source, we can protect watersheds and avoid the high economic and environmental costs of treating wastes and restoring ecosystems after pollution has already occurred. Moreover, experience has shown us that our actions must be based on sound science. ”

“ These solutions include actions that protect coasts and critical marine ecosystems, reduce flooding, moderate extreme heat, replenish groundwater sources, capture and store carbon dioxide, conserve biodiversity, and improve the productivity of agricultural and forest lands to produce food and fiber. ”

“ Sustainable development requires that the rate of depletion of non-renewable resources should foreclose as few future options as possible.
13. Development tends to simplify ecosystems and to reduce their diversity of species. And species, once extinct, are not renewable. The loss of plant and animal species can greatly limit the options of future generations: so sustainable development requires the conservation of plant and animal species. ”

“ It is, next to the air we breathe, the most important factor in animal existence. Are we not working for health, for strength and for life when we are working for this pure plentiful water supply, and does not that come pretty near working directly for conservation of human life? Have you anything you can bring forward that touches much more nearly the health, life, strength of human beings, the child, than this same conservation of water, which is a natural resource?
The soil is indirectly our staff of life. ”

“ The importance of forests and grasslands to the stability of our environment in terms of air quality, water, wildlife, range, timber, and recreation is beyond calculation. Furthermore, the list of products from these lands that enhance our lives is extensive. ”

“ Prioritizing resource conservation and environmental protection, and letting nature restore itself, the country has protected and managed its mountain, river, forest, farmland, lake, grassland, and desert ecosystems with a holistic approach. ”

“ Principle 3 The capacity of the earth to produce vital renewable resources must be maintained and, wherever practicable, restored or improved.
Principle 4 Man has a special responsibility to safeguard and wisely manage the heritage of wildlife and its habitat, which are now gravely imperilled by a combination of adverse factors. Nature conservation, including wildlife, must therefore receive importance in planning for economic development. ”

“ While producing these direct effects, climate also influences man indirectly by controlling the wide range of his life conditions dependent upon the plant and animal life about him. It dictates what crops he may raise, and has it in its power to affect radically the size of his harvest. It decides which flocks and herds are best suited to his environment, and therefore directs his pastoral activities, whether he keeps reindeer, camels, llamas, horses or horned cattle. ”

“ Ecosystems and organisms, as well as the land, marine and atmospheric resources that are utilized by man, shall be managed to achieve and maintain optimum sustainable productivity, but not in such a way as to endanger the integrity of those other ecosystems or species with which they coexist.
5. Nature shall be secured against degradation caused by warfare or other hostile activities. ”