Peter Ackerman is the founding chair of the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict in Washington, D.C., and one of the world’s leading authorities on nonviolent conflict.

He is also chairman of the board of Freedom House, a member of the board of the Council on Foreign Relations, and on the executive council of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London.

Plato lamented nearly 2500 years ago that land degradation in the city of Athens had stripped it off the lush hills of Greece. Among the key forms of degradation are deforestation, drought, siltation of rivers, destruction of water catchment areas, soil erosion, poaching and pollution due to industrialization. This destruction has been going on unabated despite awareness creation through education and also legislations. The greed of humanity for exploitation of the environment for profits has exposed the soft underbelly of human civilization giving rise to phenomena like global warming, floods, drought and now diseases associated with environmental degradation are a threat to the survival of mankind.