GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT FACILITY MUST BE REPLENISHED AT HIGHER LEVELS, SECRETARY-GENERAL SAYS IN MESSAGE TO ASSEMBLY IN NEW DELHI
Press Release
SG/SM/6512
UNEP/26
GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT FACILITY MUST BE REPLENISHED AT HIGHER LEVELS, SECRETARY-GENERAL SAYS IN MESSAGE TO ASSEMBLY IN NEW DELHI
19980401 Following is the text of Secretary-General Kofi Annan's message, delivered by the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Klaus Töpfer, to the first Assembly of the Global Environment Facility, being held in New Delhi from 1 to 3 April:It gives me great pleasure to convey my greetings to this gathering. This Assembly of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) is the first of its kind and offers an important opportunity to assess the achievements of the GEF, and most importantly to consider the challenges ahead as the GEF enters a new phase of its existence.
The Global Environment Facility is among the new actors in the field of environment and sustainable development which have emerged since the landmark United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro in 1992.
The participation of such actors -- including non-governmental organizations, private sector enterprises and the scientific community -- in the work of the United Nations, including its deliberations and negotiations, is a most welcome development. In a world in which environmental problems above all others transcend borders and knit us together in common purpose, we must rely on each other. Without partnerships, we could not hope to achieve our goals. It is fitting that, at last year's special session of the General Assembly -- the "Earth Summit Plus Five" -- Member States adopted a programme for the further implementation of Agenda 21 that included the GEF, for the first time, among the main institutional actors.
In a very short period of time, the GEF has proven itself to be an innovative financial mechanism for the protection of the global environment.
Its work programme is under way in more than 110 countries. It has built a range of valuable partnerships with its 161 participating members, with other multilateral financial institutions, and with the conferences of the parties and subsidiary bodies of the global environmental Conventions reached at Rio.
- 2 - Press Release SG/SM/6512 UNEP/26 1 April 1998
Moreover, the GEF's three implementing agencies -- the United Nations Environment Programme, the United Nations Development Programme and the World Bank -- have demonstrated that collaboration within the United Nations system can be effective, bringing to the fore complementary strengths and expertise.
By providing new and additional financial resources for work on environmental issues of global significance, the GEF is making an important contribution to the alleviation of major threats, threats often not yet addressed at the national level owing to the scarcity of resources and the press of other basic needs, particularly in the world's less developed nations.
However, as reiterated at "Rio Plus Five", time is of the essence. I hope that your meeting in New Delhi will be guided by the same sense of urgency. The GEF has functioned well. However, it must be replenished at higher levels, and its scope must be expanded. As we move ahead in meeting the challenges of sustainable development, I am convinced that the GEF will have a major role to play. Please accept my best wishes for a successful meeting.
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