At the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Edward O. Wilson stops next to an African wild dog, of which there are said to be only a few thousand left in existence. Animals like these will be helped by NGOs, Wilson said, which are leading the way in striking the difficult balance between meeting the needs of local human populations and lessening their impact on fragile and increasingly scarce wild areas. Staff photo by Kris Snibbe |
A voice for the wildernessE.O. Wilson talks of striking a balance between humans' needs and nature'sJanuary 24, 2002Famed Harvard biologist E.O. Wilson is blunt about the dangers facing the world. He describes a 50-year "bottleneck" during which the Earth's human population will continue to grow -- perhaps to as high as 10 billion. During that time, humanity's increasing numbers will increase the pressure to convert the world's undeveloped areas to farmland, to log its forests or mine its wild places for resources, or to scour the remaining wilderness for animals to eat. But Wilson also sees room for hope. He points out that grassroots environmental awareness is rapidly increasing, as evidenced by the swelling memberships of nongovernmental conservation organizations. These NGOs, Wilson says, are leading the way in striking the difficult balance between meeting the needs of local human populations and lessening their impact on fragile and increasingly scarce wild areas. Wilson has compiled his research observations into a new book, "The Future of Life." |
