The Cost of Silence

At its February 2001 Governing Council meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, UNEP released a report on the threats to indigenous cultures from globalization. "Enshrined in their cultures and customs are secrets of how to manage habitats and the land in environmentally friendly, sustainable ways," said UNEP executive director Klaus Topfer.

The report illustrates how the encroachment of Western culture and farming practices threatens to overtake indigenous methods, such as the 3,000-year-old waru-waru system of native Andean farmers, which yields up to 10 times the regional average of potatoes. The report highlights the fact that up to 90% of the world's 5,000-7,000 spoken languages could die out over the next century, and with them a valuable storehouse of information about the natural world.

COPYRIGHT 2001 National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group