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UNEP:
the struggle has just begun
By: Nicole Siméon, Panos Institute
Nairobi, 4 February 2003 (Panos). For the twenty
second time since 1972, from 3-7 February 2003 Kenya hosts the world
ministerial forum on the environment. For this 22nd forum, environment
ministers, ambassadors of 52 member countries, about 100 non-governmental
and international organizations, as well as representations of 78
observer countries are expected to attend the meetings throughout
the week.
For the Caribbean region, on the first day there were environmental
ministers and officers from Jamaica, Bahamas, Suriname, Antigua
and Barbuda and Cuba, as well as delegates from the Dominican Republic
and Guyana.
Those who were present on Monday 3 February joined the Executive
Director of UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme), Mr. Klauss
Toepfer to pose in a symbolic laying of the first stone of a new
United Nations building in the Gigiri complex. The new building
will be utilized by UN Habitat, which has its Latin American and
Caribbean office in Brazil.
" This ceremony not only marks the expansion of the Headquarters
of the United Nations Environment Programme in Africa, but also
stands for the importance of this continent in the eyes of United
Nations," Mr. Toepfer said. However, he also mentioned that
UNEP is the only United Nations entity which has his Headquarters
in a developing country.
An expansion of the worldwide network, the construction of new buildings
and notably the election of a new governing council - Uganda succeeds
Canada as President - these acknowledge that UNEP remains in the
middle of the fight for saving the world's environment.
Although environmental risks are increasing, this battle is only
making little progress in protecting the human species against mankind
itself and in the reconciliation of the latter with its environment.
The numbers are very alarming: more than 14.6 million hectares of
forests are destroyed every year, two billion people, including
thousands in the Caribbean, do not have access to drinking water;
and in Africa, 500 million hectares of soil have disappeared through
erosion.
UNEP and its partners make themselves no illusions as to the seriousness
of the problem. Monday was marked by the commitment or re-engagement
of everyone to work on finding solutions in the short-term, in order
to reduce if not eradicate environmental problems throughout the
world.
" Naturally, there is still much more to do and there always
will be because the relations between mankind and its environment
are so complex ", the Canadian Minister of environment and
outgoing president of the Governing Council, Mr. David Anderson,
commented.
" We also know that we constantly face the risk of environmental
degradation which keeps on increasing. And we are not capable as
yet to minimize the risks of globalization since we have to admit
that there is a tendency to a wider gap dividing the rich from the
poor. Therefore we have yet to achieve the objectives of the Millennium.
We know that half of the world population still lives on less than
a dollar per day ", Mr. Toepfer added.
The first day was the opportunity to review the accomplishments
of the programme through its various branches in the world, which
were many in spite of difficulties and barriers which continuously
pop up. " We must work in such way that the environment is
an ally to sustainable development, both in terms of planning and
decision-making," Mr. Toepfer said, while agreeing that the
greatest challenge of UNEP is to give follow-up to the results which
emerged from the world summit held last year in Johannesburg, South
Africa, and to implement the decisions that were taken there.
Various remarkable documents have been produced with the support
of UNEP but there has not been enough focus on the implementation,
the Executive Director of this institution acknowledged. An action
plan was developed and provided to UNEP after the world summit,
thus the Governing Council is charged with setting up the implementation
as it relates to partnerships at various levels and in different
fields such as: the use of cleaner combustibles to improve health,
particularly children's health, renewable energy, drinking water,
etc.
Overall, the decisions and recommendations of the Johannesburg Summit
do take us back to the objectives of sustainable development: how
to assume responsibility for our future, Mr. Toepfer concluded.
The developing countries should be at the heart of the debates,
so that they can find the "most effective approach to integrate
themselves through strengthening their capacities, placing special
importance on the fact that developing countries own their natural
resources, and have to make better use of them. " It is the
price to pay for a globalization which is "also favouring the
poor". The link between the reduction of poverty and the improvement
of the environment is direct: "the poorest are the most vulnerable.
"
The absence of the Caribbean country of Haiti, one of the poorest
of the world, is very regrettable, in view of the fact that its
environment, being in free-fall, poses very serious challenges to
the world community.
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