Stressing importance of sustainable development, UN marks World Environment Day

Stressing the importance of global conservation, United Nations officials today marked World Environment Day by urging a concerted effort to factor ecological concerns into social and economic policies.

In a message in observance of the Day, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that this year’s theme, “Give Earth a Chance,” was meant to convey a sense of urgency about the state of the planet and the broader quest for sustainable development.

A decade ago the international community achieved a conceptual breakthrough, as environmental issues became a central part of the policy-making process, integrated with economic and social development, the Secretary-General noted. Yet despite this advance, and despite considerable efforts since the 1992 “Earth Summit” in Rio de Janeiro, the latest readings revealed a planet still in need of “intensive care.”

The Secretary-General noted that there was little chance of protecting the environment without a greater sense of mutual responsibility in this age of interdependence, especially since the environmental “footprint” left by some societies was so much larger than that left by others.

“I hope that all States and all stakeholders will come together at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in South Africa later this year, and that the breakthrough this time, 10 years along the path from Rio, will be real and tangible,” Mr. Annan said.

Echoing that theme, the President of the UN General Assembly, Han Seung-soo of the Republic of Korea, said that the upcoming Summit “provides us with the unique opportunity to accelerate international cooperation toward an environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable world.”

To give Earth a chance, the Johannesburg Summit must summon the political will to implement the promises of Rio by reaching an agreement to take concrete actions with reasonable timetables, Mr. Han stressed.

In his message, the Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), Klaus Toepfer, said that each year World Environment Day was an occasion to pause and reflect on the state of the environment. He urged everyone to look at their daily impact on the planet and its peoples, and to take action to improve their environmental behaviour.

“Let us all begin to act for the conservation not only of the mountains, but the sea, the land, water and the air too,” Mr. Toepfer said. “Let us act to give the Earth a chance. An unpolluted pristine environment is vital to our survival.”