- A future war over water is a distinct possibility, according
to Klaus Toepfer, director-general of the United Nations Environment Programme.
Toepfer made his prediction during an interview that appears in the Jan.
1 issue of the scientific journal Environmental Science & Technology.
The journal is published by the American Chemical Society, the world's
largest scientific society.
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- Echoing a view he says is shared by former U.N. Secretary-General
Boutros-Ghali, Toepfer is "completely convinced" there will be
a conflict over natural resources, particularly water. "Everybody
knows that we have an increase in population, but we do not have a corresponding
increase in drinking water, so the result in the regional dimension is
conflict," he says.
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- In the interview, Toepfer advocates monitoring worldwide
reserves of drinking water and establishing cooperative agreements for
the use of bodies of water, including groundwater. He also calls for "economic
instruments to stimulate use of new technologies" to promote water
conservation. Predicting dramatic global population growth in the future,
Toepfer cites the need for an "efficiency revolution." Any solution
for addressing this growth must be linked with "new technologies that
concentrate more on efficient use of limited natural resources," he
says. These technologies must be available, he insists, "on preferential
terms, to developing countries."
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- Calling the export of hazardous waste to developing countries
"neocolonial," Toepfer says in addition to banning this practice,
cooperation is needed from the chemical industry to adopt production methods
that will avoid waste generation.
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- Toepfer, who assumed his current position with the U.N.
in February 1998, is a former minister of the environment for Germany.
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- A nonprofit organization with a membership of more than
155,000 chemists and chemical engineers, the American Chemical Society
publishes scientific journals and databases, convenes major research conferences,
and provides educational, science policy and career programs in chemistry.
Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.
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