The global community of humans faces a number of large-scale problems for the resolution of which worldwide cooperation will be required. These ‘global problems’ include continued militarization in many parts of the world, the growth of the human population and its concentration in poor regions and in urban environments, the financial crisis of developing countries, the twin processes of deforestation and desertification and related environmental imbalances that threaten shortfalls in the world's food supply, as well as coastal flooding and many other results of climatic disturbance. Given the existing arsenals of the world's nation-states, humanity is poised for species suicide–possibly even terricide–and, even if it manages to avoid this ultimate catastrophe, it still faces the prospect of a depleted and overpopulated Biosphere.

This paper argues that the comparative lack of concern for Nature conservation in the ‘Western World’ has been a product of its economic development experience, the nature of its economic systems and economic organizations (both market and centrally controlled ‘state socialist’), and its centralized political systems as well as its Judaic-Christian value system. But some change in attitude has occurred in recent years, and there is now far more readiness than formerly to consider the economic and direct benefits to Man of conservation of living resources (see, for example, the World Conservation Strategy), and growing interest in the possible ethical rights of other sentient (and perhaps even non-sentient) beings. In general, however, economists remain unsympathetic to ecologists who do not subscribe to their economic value-systems.

Best Practicable Environmental Option (BPEO) is an invention, peculiar to the British approach to pollution-control, that should have wider application than at present. As the British have developed the idea, BPEO will initially be geared to the mix of residuals emanating from specially-scheduled processes. The aim is so to integrate the residuals' stream that the ultimate environmental alteration is minimized in an optimal but realistic manner. The concept is polluter-orientated—not policy-, planning-, or environmentally-, directed—the aim being so to encase a pollution emitter in a single but comprehensive regulatory envelope that, ideally, best technology, best management, and best science, combine to produce the most efficient and least-offensive discharges.

This paper analyses the genesis of the idea of BPEO, and examines the influence of the growing power of European Community environmental directives on its development and interpretation. For BPEO to work, more fundamental reforms to UK regulatory agencies and legislation will be required. These reforms relate to greater openness and documentation, to a more participatory form of judgement with innovations in economic auditing, and to a more explicit accountability through Parliament and the courts, than are currently practised.

Bureaucracies adapt only slowly, however. So far the British have moved a little way to recognizing the realities of the BPEO approach, but nowhere nearly far enough. BPEO is a philosophy that is close to the practice of sustainable development. Placed in a broader planning and policy context, BPEO has great significance for ecologically-sustainable practices. However, that prospect lies beyond any present proposals for administrative reorganization, and only imaginative experimentation, led by an enlightened and determined private sector, seems at all likely to create the changes in attitude and procedure that would be necessary to incorporate BPEO within a practical programme of ecologically sustainable development.

Effective dissemination of information involves hard work, an ability to write, a sense of timing, some luck, and a capacity to keep things in perspective. More specifically, I think success in publicity and public relations depends on an ability to keep the following considerations or groups of considerations in mind on a regular basis:

1. What is the message or information to be conveyed?

2. Why should this information be shared with others?

What are the real motivations behind the desire to communicate it?

3. What audiences could this information be transmitted to? Which should it go to preferably?

4. What is the best medium to transmit the information? Which other media may also be effective?

5. To what degree are intermediaries required to deliver this information? What are the chances of their misediting the material? Are the risks of a foul-up worth the potential benefits of sending the information through second or third parties?

6. When is the best time to disseminate the material?

7. Can the effectiveness of this campaign be assessed for each target audience? If so, how? If not, why?

Communication is a tremendously complex process. No two people perceive the world in exactly the same manner—nor do they encode or decode messages identically (see Bugenthal et al., 1970). Indeed, the subtleties of communication are so fine that even the most carefully constructed message runs definite risks as it is transmitted from one person to another (see Knapp, 1972). In short, we should probably always assume that others will interpret our message somewhat differently from the way in which we intend it to be received.

The present study analyses the energy-budget of ‘village ecosystems’ in a dry tropical environment. These systems depend to a great extent on the surrounding natural forest/savanna ecosystems. Accordingly the objectives of the study were to quantify (i) the energy efficiency of rain-fed agriculture at the ecosystem level, and (ii) the indirect impact of agricultural activity on the surrounding forest/savanna ecosystems.

Agronomic output from farming is not sufficient to meet the food-energy requirements of the villagers, hence 27.0 to 51.0% of the requirement is met from outside markets. Operation of the agro-ecosystems involved requires a considerable amount of subsidy from the surrounding forest/savanna ecosystems in terms of fodder and fuel-wood. About 81 to 100% of the fuel needs, and 80–87% of the fodder needs, are met from the natural forest/savanna ecosystems. Thus, for each unit of energy obtained in agronomic yield (including milk), 3.1 units of energy are expended from the surrounding natural ecosystems in the form of fodder and fuel-wood.

The erratic and ill-distributed nature of monsoon rains results in moisture deficit which affects the crop production in dry-land farming, causing partial or total failure of the crops. For achieving increased and stable agronomic production under rain-fed conditions, improved dry-land farming techniques have to be applied. Some of these techniques are: (1) introduction of crops and varieties that would be capable of maturing in a period of 90–100 days, and adequate use of appropriate fertilizers; (2) planned rain-water management including storage of surface runoff; and (3) practices of intercropping with crops of longer duration than those currently grown, having slow growth-rates in the early part of their life-cycles.

The linkage between socio-economic change in the Uttar Pradesh (Indian) Himalaya and forest resource condition is investigated through a case-study of Munglori village. Research focused on the village biomass utilization system, particularly fodder- and fuel-flows, as the key link through which socio-economic conditions can be translated into actual forest-use patterns.

In 1984, agriculture and animal husbandry in Munglori was dominantly subsistence-oriented. Rain-fed rice, wheat, and various millets, were the main food-crops. Animal fodder and fuel were derived from a variety of sources near the village, and demand for these resources was dispersed via a seasonal migration-cycle which provided access to resources outside of the immediate village area. This basic pattern of resource use has prevailed in the area throughout historic time, and has led to gradual degradation of forest resources primarily through inhibiting regeneration of Camus Oak (Quercus leucotrichophora), the dominant fodder- and fuel-species.

To conserve its wildlife, Botswana has set aside more than 17% of its total land area as game reserves, national parks, and wildlife management areas. Despite this generous allocation to wildlife, the fauna of the country is declining in both absolute numbers and species diversity. Lack of permanent water-sources in some game reserves, obstruction of fauna migration routes by cattle fences, and a poorly-developed tourist industry, are partly responsible for this decline.

In a developing country such as Botswana, tourism should yield sufficient funds for the maintenance of game reserves and national parks. But currently the tourist industry accounts for less than 2% of the gross national product. Unless the industry is encouraged to flourish and expand into dormant reserves such as the Gemsbok National Park and Mabuasehube Game Reserve, animals in those sanctuaries are likely to be driven by drought into South Africa.

An account is given of the island of Surtsey, which rose out of the sea near the Westman Islands off the south coast of Iceland as the result of a submarine volcanic eruption in November 1963. In the nearly twenty-six years since it emerged, the surface of Surtsey has undergone rapid–on the geological time-scale–transformation especially by the actions of wind and water. Indeed the changes have been far more rapid and considerable than had been expected.

Despite the harsh conditions for colonization by biota, a fair amount of vascular-plant-dominated vegetation now covers an estimated 1–2% of the surface of the island, aided particularly by winds and birds bringing in disseminules. These and other features are being studied so far as possible without disturbance. Despite a general shortage of water, as rain seeps rapidly into the surface lava, sand, or tuff, a total of 25 species of vascular plants (including one fern) have been identified as having attained ecesis on the island, but not all have persisted. Five species of birds have so far colonized Surtsey, and now nest there, in addition to which there are numerous migrants coming and going, and the overall conclusion is that, despite the generally difficult environmental conditions, ‘a flourishing growth of vegetation can be expected to develop’ eventually.

These studies and their implications could be useful indicators for the possibilities of rehabilitation of land areas that have been devastated by human conflict or other abuse.