And with economic development comes social amelioration. All of this within the framework of democracy and human rights. We cannot allow the developed world's century long abuse of our common environment to be the excuse for another century of economic abuse and social inequity. The culture of abundance has not felt the driving need of self interest in creating concrete channels of cooperation with the culture of subsistence. But now the future of both cultures is at stake.
Environmental degradation threatens both our cultures.
It threatens the world. The Berlin Conference offers the possibility of a partnership of lasting value between the North and the South. We can't and will not be forced to choose between development, democracy and environmental order. All three interact. All three are universal rights.