|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|||||
|
||||||||||
Sustaining Jobs, the Environment and Ourselves
It is difficult to imagine two more different geographies than the Northeast United States and the Caribbean. The former conjures images of deep coniferous forests and rocky coastlines; the latter, of tropical rain forests and vast sandy beaches.
Yet in a fundamental way, these areas have something very much in common, something we at The Nature Conservancy find around the world: local communities attempting to derive an economic livelihood from natural resources, while ensuring the long-term integrity and viability of those resources. This dual pursuit falls within the embrace of the much talked about, but seldom fully realized, concept of "sustainability."
It is a concept that The Nature Conservancy is increasingly committed to exploring, for our mission of preserving Earth's biological diversity will succeed only if we can maintain the full benefits of that diversity for the well-being of humankind. And it is our belief that this can be achieved by working at the local level.
Mark Malloch Brown, head of the United Nations Development Programme, a Nature Conservancy partner, is intimately familiar with daunting challenges and the necessity of acting locally while thinking globally.
"If sustainable development is to become a reality," Mark says, "it will be done not just through national policies or institutions but field by field, forest by forest. And that also is the way to prove to the peoples of the world that it is possible to build a safer, wealthier and more sustainable life for themselves and their children."
So we take great hope from our experience in the forest landscapes stretching across the northeastern United States and into Canada. Here The Nature Conservancy has been working for years to bridge the seemingly irreconcilable differences that often separate environmentalists, public agencies and timber companies. The key? Listening to others instead of talking past them. Once everyone realizes they share a goal, miracles can occur, whether in Maine's forests or on Caribbean coasts.
As a result, we have secured protection of more than 1 million forested acres, setting aside the most fragile, important or unique natural areas and devoting a significant portion of the balance to the best practices of sustainable timber management. We are maintaining healthy, large-scale forest systems and the economic vitality of local communities. Sustainability.
It is just such a belief that propels Nature Conservancy scientist Will Heyman and a determined group of Belizeans. Their work off the coast of Belize has led to remarkable discoveries about the ways that the once-abundant fish of our seas spawn. Now Heyman and others are working with local fishermen to protect both the fish and the fishermen's livelihoods. Again, a local project with far-reaching implications driven by a faith that we can find ways of sustaining both natural diversity and people.
If we can demonstrate to a logger's family or a fisherman's family, no matter where in the world they may live, that there is a way to protect their livelihood today and for years to come, they will sustain that idea perpetually. Sustainability-a concept we believe is limited only by our imaginations and our courage to pursue it.
Steven J. McCormick
President and CEO
Spring 2003
Read a previous message from Steve McCormick
