SECRETARY-GENERAL PRAISES 'UNSTINTING COMMITMENT' OF BARBARA PYLE, AS HE AWARDS 1997 UNEP SASAKAWA ENVIRONMENT PRIZE
Press Release
SG/SM/6390
UNEP/17*
SECRETARY-GENERAL PRAISES 'UNSTINTING COMMITMENT' OF BARBARA PYLE, AS HE AWARDS 1997 UNEP SASAKAWA ENVIRONMENT PRIZE
19971112 Following is Secretary-General Kofi Annan's statement, as he awarded the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Sasakawa Environment Prize to Barbara Pyle in New York on 12 November:Let me say first how privileged and delighted I am to take part in the awarding of the 1997 UNEP Sasakawa Environment Prize. In honouring Barbara Pyle, we pay tribute to someone whose years of principled and unstinting commitment have drawn admiration from all who have a stake in preserving the environment.
For the United Nations, preserving a healthy environment has become one of our essential missions. The Organization was created to prevent a recurrence of the terrible wars the world saw in the first half of this century. But even in 1945, our founders recognized the need to fight on two fronts to win the battle for enduring peace: on the security front, where victory spells freedom from fear; and on the economic and social front, where victory spells freedom from want.
Enduring peace is at the heart of everything the United Nations does. Building peace means building a better quality of life. It means improving the environments where human beings live and the ability of those environments to provide food, shelter and the resources necessary to generate employment. If we do not rise to these challenges, humankind could one day find itself an endangered species. Today, we have reached a point where environmental degradation could constitute a threat to peace and security. Large-scale environmental changes do not occur without cause, nor do they occur without warning. And the warnings are clear and ominous.
Since I took up the post of Secretary-General, it has been evident to me that one of the most pressing challenges before the United Nations and its agencies in the next century will concern humankind's efforts to resuscitate the ravaged environment that is its own creation. The policy decisions formulated now will help determine the state of the environment in the foreseeable future.
* See also Press Release UNEP/10 issued 6 October.
- 2 - Press Release SG/SM/6390 UNEP/17 12 November 1997
But the fight requires more than policy decisions. Only through global education can we hope to stem widespread patterns of environmental abuse. Only by sharing our knowledge and wisdom can we improve our collective understanding of the essential and mutually supportive inter-relationships that characterize the natural world and our role in it. Considering the environmental consequences of our actions must become second nature to us all, in every choice and every decision we make. If it does not, all the laws and regulations, government programmes and market incentives in the world will not be enough to save us from environmental disaster.
Raising public awareness about the environment through electronic and other media forms one of our most important tools. Television, with its global reach, has already played a pre-eminent role. It will continue to do so. It is heartening to know that the commitment of CNN, for example, goes right to the top. This was manifest in the generous donation Ted Turner made to the United Nations this year, a share of which will go to environmental programmes. We are pleased that Mr. Turner could be with us tonight.
The United Nations is privileged to present the 1997 UNEP Sasakawa Environment Prize to Barbara Pyle, in recognition of her remarkable work in highlighting the link between the environment and development, and sensitizing public opinion to that linkage.
Ms. Pyle, I know that awards, commendations and medals have come to you in abundance over the years. All of them, including tonight's prize, are deserved in the fullest measure. But the UNEP Sasakawa Environment Prize is not just a commendation. Though it honours individuals who have distinguished themselves in the front line of environmental action, it also aims to support their work and to give impetus to their mission. The profiles of past winners add up to portraits of heroes and heroines who, in their own way, have influenced the quality of life on this earth.
Ms. Pyle, your commitment to social and environmental issues began long before you became a broadcaster. Your inspiring example helps us concentrate our minds on the task ahead. It is a task that concerns every continent, every country, every city, every citizen. It is a task from which no one is absolved.
Ladies and Gentlemen, it is with great pleasure that I call upon Barbara Pyle to accept the 1997 UNEP Sasakawa Environment Prize.
* *** *