Disaster and restoration

This paper is dealing with all kinds of disasters, whether they stem from nature itself or are due us humans. In brief retrospective term it was not until the second half of the 20th century that the word environment gained a meaning. In the past, people lived as if the earth’s resources were infinite and could be used almost free of charge. In the years after the Second World War, what has been called “the Great Acceleration” began, when a number of processes, fuelled by cheap fossil energy, began to grow exponentially. Growth was the goal above all – this applied to both companies and governments. Consumption would be promoted at the expense of deforestation impact, soil erosion, ocean acidification, emissions, etc. Politicians thought about the people and in 1948 the UN voted on human rights. Only later do you realize that nature, or in a warmer word, Mother Earth, also needs a lawyer. We can now quote Doris Ragettli, a delegate from Switzerland, who said the following at the UN conference in Rio de Janeiro in 2012: “But now atrocities are being committed against Mother Earth. She suffers. It is time for a declaration that gives her protection and rights, so that the UN can rest on two pillars”. A concept was created: Ecocide. It means murder of nature/large-scale environmental destruction. In 2020, plastic, asphalt and metal exceeded the world's total biomass. The richest 10% of the population, received 52% of the revenue, and they own 70% of the global wealth. The UN has a special envoy for human rights and the environment. In order to be fully covered by human rights, you are dependent on biodiversity, otherwise the right to life, health, food and water is reduced. In October 2021, the UN voted through a new human right – the right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment. On paper, everything sounds good, and this is when the law comes in. We must build a society that gives cover for all the fine words. This requires agreements, conventions, treaties, control and sanctions. Threats of punishment provide tools for the police. Legislation was introduced in the 1960s and ownwards. Natural areas were to be protected, toxic chemicals were banned, and requirements were set for how agriculture, forestry and industries were managed. Future historians will note that the democratic development took a big step forward and peacefully transformed our society. But our society is not stable. As a rule, you intervene only when the damage has been done. For sure we must secure after life through demands for control. Get more positions as a controller in municipalities and larger companies and make transparency a word that inspires respect. The authorities must constantly check whether people themselves have preparedness for accidents: we should have supplies at home to be able to face the accident. Law can be seen as a net, which is supposed to protect people. The meshes in the net must not be too tight – then the state has misconceived its task and become all-powerful. Law should be the general awareness of law and morality, clothed in words, which should act preventative and educationally. It is therefore gratifying to study a national survey of environmental education in our Swedish school. You can read there about the work to develop strategies for sustainable development in the countries of the Baltic Sea region. The governments of these countries agreed in 1996 to develop an Agenda 21 and name it Baltic 21. Seven sectors were selected as particularly important: agricultural energy, fishing, forestry, industry, tourism and transport. The education ministers have an agreement, called the Haga Declaration, which states that basic knowledge, competence and skills are required in all areas and by all people to implement and achieve sustainable development. One should be able to look to the future with confidence. Do not forget that no chain is stronger than its weakest link – and that link is in many cases us humans.