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Sustainable
eNews |
April 2003 |
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IWMC
World Conservation Trust |
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UN Secretary
General calls for cooperation between Scientists
and the United Nations
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UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has used the
internationally known journal, SCIENCE, (V 299) to send a plea to the world
scientific community. In his open letter, Secretary General Annan notes
that there is a significant disparity between developed and developing
nations in the matter of government funding for scientific research, number
of scientists per citizen, and the amount of attention paid by scientists
to human health and water safety matters. Developing countries often send
their brightest students to developed nations in  order to receive their science
education, because poor nations have fewer resources with which to educate
anyone, even though their need for scientific expertise is certainly
desperate. IWMC and Mr. Annan hope to see this disparity resolved in the
near future.
Mr. Annan noted that science is built upon rational thinking and
informed reason, as was the United Nations itself, and therefore, it is
only natural that the world scientific community and the United Nations
should cooperate closely in working to solve desperate problems of human
health, and problems of grave concern over degradation of natural
environments. He also deplored the fact of war as a disruptive force in the
world, and hopes that with peace, attention can once again be turned to
improving the condition of people who need scientific help in solving their
day to day and future health and development problems.
IWMC agrees with the Secretary General that it is natural for the
scientific community and the international political community within the
United Nations, to form a closer partnership for the benefit of mankind.
Both global science and the United Nations are based on reason and the
quest for betterment through greater knowledge. Our best wishes for the
fulfillment of Secretary Annan's hopes and dreams in this regard. 
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