(This is an archived page, from the Patterns of Power Edition 3 book. Current versions are at book contents).
Nobody doubts the need to prevent pollution and contain the spread of disease. Issues will continue to arise, as new strains of disease emerge. Most countries have the necessary regulations in place to deal with local problems, and there has been considerable political progress in dealing with international issues:
· The World Bank has supported the Black Sea Danube Basin Partnership in co-ordinating efforts to manage pollution from the 17 countries which discharge water into the Black Sea.
· The 1979 Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution led to coordinated scientific work and subsequent corrective action on the export of 'acid rain'. More work is necessary on international air pollution, though, as shown for example in a Gizmodo article entitled All of That Pollution in Asia Turns Into Smog in the U.S.
· The World Health Organisation has been able to coordinate responses to potential pandemics such as avian flu, as reported under the title Avian and other zoonotic influenza.
Political processes have been able to address all these problems. International legal arbitration services are available, if necessary (5.3.6.2).