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2fj- lll 93 1~7: S-f '$'33 1 32 89 00 59 CES,ELROPRAIIS y04 Q002 HED)ELBERCx APPEAL ANNrc7C A TO HEADS OF STATES AND GOVERNMENTS Onn the closure of the Rio Summit, the following Appeal was signed by 425 members of the scientific and intellectual community. The subject matter raised by the Heidelberg Appeal and the fruitful debate it has engendered are prompting the involvement of a number of scientists and intellectuals. The values embraced by the Appeal remain a topic of on,going intArest.. We want to make our full contribution to the preservation of our common heritage, the Earth. We are however worried, at the dawn of the twenty-first century, at the einergemce of an irrational ideology which is opposed to scientific and industrial progress and; impedes economic and social development. We contend that a Natural State, sometimes idealized by movements with a tendency to look toward the past, does not exist and has probablyy never existed since man's first appearance in the biosphere, insofar as humanity has always progressed by iLcreasingly harnessing Nature to its needs and not the rcverse.. W e fully subscribe to the objectives of a zcientific ecology for a universe whose resources uiust be taken stock of, monit'ored" and preserved. But we herewith derrran,d that tliis stock- taking, monitoring and preservation be founded on scientific criteria and not on irrational pre-c.onceptions. W e stress that many essential human activities are carried out, either by manipulating hazardous substances or in their proximity, and that progress and development have always involved increasing' control' over hostile forces, to the benefit of mar_kind. We therefore cousiiler that scientific ecology is iio uaore e than an extension of this cor~zl,inual progress toward the improved tife of fu L+:re generations. We intend to assert science's rPsponsibilitS- and duties toward societyy as a whole . We do however forewarn the authorities in charge of our planet's destiny against decisions which are supported by pseudo- scientific arguments or false and non relevant data. W e draw evervbodv's attention to the absolute necessity of helping poor countries attain a level of sustainable development which matches that of the rest of the planet, protecting them from troubles an d dangers stemming from developed nations, and avoiding their entanglement in a web of unrealistic obligations which atould compromise both their independezic.; and their dignity. The greatest evils which stalk rjur Earth are ignorance and opprzssion. and not Science, Technology attd Industrv whose instruments, when ade.quatelly manager3. are indispensable tools of a future shape.a h,,- Humanity, by itself and for ir_eli.. overcoming major proo:en-:;p iiltr overpopulation, starvation :an,l diseases. In arder fnr •,-o4r ncxrre w be tnclux-J-d on sqgRnture itst. p:i-cu,, r:tr_rr. r:rzs c-nn nf!F'e :+npetrl, duly sr,hned and stcrin€ your aCaclerrzic tiales and /or prC,"c~SfiiG: a pociti,7 ., tu : Dr V• 5alomatt; cocrrziin zetar of tF Fla:de-'?err A ap&]:: I G. acwr.u;= dc lft=e-ai-z-e 75008 Peris Frc r. _~. Fa_x 6?.? 7 42 89 '+JIJ'59. ldetaclber,g Aprri 14 jsrd rrr:ision%. 2t128385655