Ecological Security—a Prerequisite for Food and Livelihood Security

Professor Mostafa Tolba has been a crusader for ensuring the ecological security of our planet. His contributions to the conservation and sustainable management of our land, water, forests and biodiversity resources are truly monumental. His untiring efforts led to several significant international protocols and conventions like the Montreal Protocol for protecting the ozone shield and the Biodiversity, Climate and Desertification Conventions.

In a Festschrift commemorating his lifelong contributions to protecting our life support systems, I have dealt briefly with the critical importance of ecological security for the food, health and livelihood security of present and future generations of humankind. I have also dealt with some ethical issues which should govern North-South relationships in sharing benefits from biological diversity, since this is an aspect on which Professor Tolba laid considerable emphasis.