The North American Benthological Society (NABS) has just adopted a position on economic growth. This decision was announced by their Executive Committee at their open business meeting today. (The vote was actually taken on Sunday the 17th.)
Evidently they plan to post the position soon on their website, but here is the opening paragraph obtained from a colleague on the NABS Science and Policy Committee: "Globally, aquatic resources are in decline. Recent publications document marked declines in aquatic biota at state, provincial, regional, and continental scales in North America. Because human population and economic growth are the major drivers for these declines, further economic growth will not solve the problem. Rather, continued economic and population growth will only exacerbate those declines. Therefore, major changes are needed in the way we think about and use natural resources including land, water, biomass, and energy." Later it talks about the "fundamental conflict" between economic growth and conservation. It is a straightforward and strong position with 2 ½ pages of literature citations. The timing of the NABS action could hardly be more uncanny, because the Governing Board of the Ecological Society of America will be voting tomorrow on whether to advance the position our group of 84 ESA members has proposed to them. (The board has been notified of the NABS action.) Brian Czech, Visiting Professor Natural Resources Program Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University National Capital Region, Northern Virginia Center 7054 Haycock Road, Room 411 Falls Church, Virginia 22043
