328 The globalvillage
Anintegrative, holistic approachthat considers the interactions be-
tween multiple stresses and between various possible solutions. Such
an approach also seeks to integrate perspectives from both the natural
and the social sciences, so as to understand better the dynamical inter-
play by which environment shapes society and society in turn reshapes
environment. And these various integrations must also be in a global
context.
Agoal of finding solutions not just of characterising problems.There
isa tendency amongst scientists to talk forever about problems but
leave solutions to others. Applied research seeking solutions is just as
challenging and worthy as so-called fundamental research identifying
and describing the problems.
Ownership by both scientists and stakeholders.^9 People are more pre-
pared to change their behaviour or beliefs in response to knowledge
that they have had a hand in researching or shaping.
Scientists must see themselves more as facilitators of social learning
and less as sources of social guidance.The problems faced in envi-
ronmental research are such that solutions will only be reached after
a long and iterative learning process in which many sectors of society
as well as scientists must be included.Two other qualities that need to govern our attitude to research that
have often received emphasis in this book are those ofhonesty(especially
accuracy and balance in the presentation of results) andhumility(see, for
instance, the fourth bullet in the last paragraph and the quotation from
Thomas Huxley in Chapter 8, page 211). Together with the theme of
Holismfrom the last paragraph, they make up3Hs, an alliteration that
assists in keeping them all in mind.The goal of environmental stewardship
In the western world there are many material goals: economic growth,
social welfare, better transport, more leisure and so on. But for our fulfil-
ment as human beings we desperately need not just material challenges,
but challenges of a moral or spiritual kind. There are strong connections,
which I drew out in Chapter 8, between our basic attitudes, including
religious belief, and environmental concern. I drew a picture of humans
as stewards or gardeners of the Earth. Many people in the world are
already deeply involved in a host of ways in matters of environmental
concern. Such concern could, however, with benefit to us all, be elevated
to a higher public and political level. The United Nations, so far as it
is able, has laid out a course of action. In an article inTime Magazine
at the time of the Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg