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	Nature"s wake-up call: Why we must heed the warning by Jane Goodall Palais des Nations Switzerland   World-renowned environmental advocate Dr Jane Goodall, was the keynote speaker of the 4th edition of the Geneva Lecture Series that took place at the Palais des Nations, urging the current generation to stop borrowing from the future generations and to change its ways before it is too late.   Pointing to the sometimes pessimistic attitudes among youth, Dr. Goodall explained, “When I think about how we have harmed the planet since I was their age, I feel this desperation and shame. We have compromised their future. But it’s not true that there’s nothing that can be done about it”.   Jane Goodall sees her work with children and youth as one of the main priority areas. She struggles to instill hope and to make them believe that they can contribute to making the world a better place. Through its youth programme “Roots and Shoots” currently present in 120 countries, the Jane Goodall Institute demonstrates in practice how each child can make a difference for his local community, animals and the environment. While delivering her lecture, Dr. Goodall noted that this was her faith in youth that gave her the energy to travel 300 days a year to spread a message of hope and to contribute to “raising new generations to be better students than we are”.   2010 marks the 50th anniversary of Dr. Goodall’s arrival on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, in what is now known as Tanzania’s Gombe National Park, and the beginning of her career as a field researcher. The revolutionary scientific discoveries that the now world celebrated primatologist made at that time, including findings that chimpanzees make and use tools, engage in warlike activities and are capable of altruistic acts, are believed to have profoundly altered our understanding of the relationship between humans and nature.   Dr. Goodall became a vocal environmental advocate in the 1980s, in response to alarming deforestation rates and decreasing populations of endangered species. A holistic approach she initiated and continues to apply to her community-based conservation programmes helps to promote sustainable livelihoods among local people through empowerment of women, micro-credit schemes, education, health care, family planning, HIV awareness.   The session entitled “Nature’s wake-up call: Why we must heed the warning” and introduced by the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, Mr. Sergei Ordzhonikidze, and Executive Director of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research, Mr. Carlos Lopes, featured a lively debate with Dr. Goodall’s participation. The questions addressed by the general public on this occasion varied from the importance of the preservation of biodiversity, the future of ethology, to the impact of the fast growing populations on the environment.   Dr. Goodall clarified that the population growth associated with developing countries should in no way be considered as solely responsible for the damage. Recognizing the importance of family planning in so-called developing countries, she emphasized that the ways of life in rich countries with less individuals often have a greater impact on the degradation of the environment. Dr. Goodall also called on humans to recognize the right to life to other species as such, and to abandon human-centric reasoning and to acknowledge the need to preserve the biological diversity of our planet.   * To watch the video archive of the lecture, visit the link below, to access the Jane Goodall Institute visit www.janegoodall.org/ Visit the related web page
	A Human Approach to World Peace by The Dalai Lama Tibet / India   When we rise in the morning and listen to the radio or read the newspaper, we are confronted with the same sad news: violence, crime, wars, and disasters. I cannot recall a single day without a report of something terrible happening somewhere. Even in these modern times it is clear that one"s precious life is not safe. No former generation has had to experience so much bad news as we face today; this constant awareness of fear and tension should make any sensitive and compassionate person question seriously the progress of our modern world.   It is ironic that the more serious problems emanate from the more industrially advanced societies. Science and technology have worked wonders in many fields, but the basic human problems remain. There is unprecedented literacy, yet this universal education does not seem to have fostered goodness, but only mental restlessness and discontent instead. There is no doubt about the increase in our material progress and technology, but somehow this is not sufficient as we have not yet succeeded in bringing about peace and happiness or in overcoming suffering.   We can only conclude that there must be something seriously wrong with our progress and development, and if we do not check it in time there could be disastrous consequences for the future of humanity. I am not at all against science and technology - they have contributed immensely to the overall experience of humankind; to our material comfort and well-being and to our greater understanding of the world we live in. But if we give too much emphasis to science and technology we are in danger of losing touch with those aspects of human knowledge and understanding that aspire towards honesty and altruism.   Science and technology, though capable of creating immeasurable material comfort, cannot replace the age-old spiritual and humanitarian values that have largely shaped world civilization, in all its national forms, as we know it today. No one can deny the unprecedented material benefit of science and technology, but our basic human problems remain; we are still faced with the same, if not more, suffering, fear, and tension. Thus it is only logical to try to strike a balance between material developments on the one hand and the development of spiritual, human values on the other. In order to bring about this great adjustment, we need to revive our humanitarian values.   I am sure that many people share this concern to help make our societies more compassionate, just, and equitable. I do not speak as a Buddhist or even as a Tibetan. Nor do I speak as an expert on international politics (though I unavoidably comment on these matters). Rather, I speak simply as a human being, as an upholder of the humanitarian values that are the bedrock not only of Buddhism but of all the great world religions. From this perspective I share with you my personal outlook – that universal humanitarianism is essential to solve global problems. Compassion is the pillar of world peace. All world religions are already for world peace in this way, as are all humanitarians of whatever ideology.Each individual has a universal responsibility to shape institutions to serve human needs.   Of the many problems we face today, some are natural calamities and must be accepted and faced with equanimity. Others, however, are of our own making, created by misunderstanding, and can be corrected. One such type arises from the conflict of ideologies, political or religious, when people fight each other for petty ends, losing sight of the basic humanity that binds us all together as a single human family. We must remember that the different religions, ideologies, and political systems of the world are meant for human beings to achieve happiness. We must not lose sight of this fundamental goal and at no time should we place means above ends; the supremacy of humanity over matter and ideology must always be maintained.   By far the greatest single danger facing humankind - in fact, all living beings on our planet - is the threat of nuclear destruction. I need not elaborate on this danger, but I would like to appeal to all the leaders of the nuclear powers who literally hold the future of the world in their hands, to the scientists and technicians who continue to create these awesome weapons of destruction, and to all the people at large who are in a position to influence their leaders: I appeal to them to exercise their sanity and begin to work at dismantling and destroying all nuclear weapons.   We know that in the event of a nuclear war there will be no victors because there will be no survivors! Is it not frightening just to contemplate such inhuman and heartless destruction? And, is it not logical that we should remove the cause for our own destruction when we know the cause and have both the time and the means to do so?   Often we cannot overcome our problems because we either do not know the cause or, if we understand it, do not have the means to remove it. This is not the case with the nuclear threat. 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