Conservation and the future : trends and options toward the year 2025

The paper published here was produced for discussion during the first World Conservation Congress in Montreal, Canada in October 1996. Drawing on the scientific and technical expertise of his colleagues as well as on past experience, the author sets out to draw a picture of what our environmental world will look like in the year 2025. Although by no means making any claims to be a definite treatise on the subject, this paper nevertheless raises some interesting questions about environmental trends and our capacity to adapt to change in order to shape our future.