Ecosystem Approach to Conservation Can Save Money

The conservation of ecosystems is the basis for development, rather than an obstacle to it. At a recent UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) meeting in New York, Switzerland and Japan presented ways the application of the ecosystem approach can prevent huge costs, especially with regard to water resources management.

"We have drawn lessons from the mistakes we have made in the past. In Switzerland, our waters still suffer from the pollution of old landfills, which we have to clean at huge costs. One such site alone cost us US$ 600 million," said Ambassador Mr. Beat Nobs of the Swiss Agency of Environment, Forests and Landscape. The experiences from Japan and Switzerland counter the paradigm that development must go at the expense of the environment, and that countries can clean up the damage once they have sufficient resources. Instead, the two presenters encouraged other nations to learn from their costly mistakes and establish environmental protection as a cornerstone of development efforts. For example, in Switzerland, long-term losses from erosion, floods, and landslides far outweighed the short-term gains of massive logging in the 19^th century. In Japan, the Waterworks Resources Preservation Fund of Toyota City takes one yen for each ton of water used, and reinvests US$ 3.3 million per year to preserve upper watershed forests in order to protect clean water supplies. Both in Switzerland and Japan, experiences with the negative impacts of environmental degradation, especially on secure and clean water supplies, have prompted the adoption of an ecosystem approach to water management.

More information on the web: Ramsar Convention (www.ramsar.org)

Swiss Agency for Environment, Forests and Landscape (http://www.umwelt-schweiz.ch/buwal/eng/)

Japanese Ministry of Environment (http://www.env.go.jp/en/)

IUCN Water & Nature Initiative (http://www.waterandnature.org/v1.html)

Environmental News Notes, April 28, 2004