Kochiro Matsuura

We have inherited a single planet. But what have we made of it? The Earth is today an endangered heritage, and the species itself is at risk. Yet what we call problems — starting with climate change — are more in the nature of symptoms. The real problem, in fact, is that of material growth in a finite world.

The population growth of the latter 20th century will come to be seen as one of the biggest events in history. Though slowing, this significant increase has by no means come to an end: today’s 6,6-billion can be expected, under the United Nations’s "middle" scenario, to reach 9,2-billion by 2050.

The director of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation summarises issues discussed in the recent session of the 21st-Century Dialogues on the theme "What future for the human species? What future for the planet?", and discusses conclusions drawn from the session.