SIGNIFICANT ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS AFFECT NEARLY ALL COUNTRIES NEPAL TELLS ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL COMMITTEE

21 October 1998

Press Release
GA/EF/2832

SIGNIFICANT ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS AFFECT NEARLY ALL COUNTRIES NEPAL TELLS ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL COMMITTEE

19981021 Says Goal of Environmentally Sustainable Global Economy Unmet; Committee Continues Discussion of Environment, Sustainable Development

Significant environmental problems were adversely impacting the socio- economic fabric of almost all countries, the representative of Nepal told the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) this afternoon, as it considered the issue of the environment and sustainable development.

She added that it was disheartening to note that six years after the historic United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), the world was falling far short of achieving its central goal -- an environmentally sustainable global economy. Although some progress had been made, the future remained constrained by environmental degradation, resource limits, growing poverty and huge income gaps between rich and poor. Much more remained to be done in providing access to adequate food and basic services, clean water and sanitation, as well as reducing the glaring inequalities in the distribution of wealth and access to resources.

The representative of Tunisia said that poverty and pollution remained grave concerns. The increased emissions of toxic substances, among other factors, were not in keeping with principles of sustainable development. Some sustainable development projects suffered from inefficiency. A global approach was needed for such projects and regional and subregional conventions had helped to strengthen international instruments.

The safe and sound environment was an essential component of a viable development and helped determine the long-term pace and quality of economic growth, said the representative of Mongolia. Cross-border pollution, the protection of international waters, handling of dangerous waste, and bilateral and multilateral aid, all illustrated the global dimension of the relationship between the environment and development.

On the work of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the representative of Kenya said that, while UNEP had raised additional resources through various fund-raising efforts, that was no substitute for a reliable

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flow of contributions. In addition, too great a reliance on "earmarked" funds could endanger UNEP's flexibility and, thus, its ability to respond to rapid change, as well as increasing its administrative responsibilities.

Statements were also made by the representatives of Iraq, Ecuador, San Marino, Japan, Federated States of Micronesia and Peru. The representative of the World Food Programme (WFP) also spoke. The representative of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea exercised its right of reply.

The Committee will meet again at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, 22 October, to resume its consideration of the environment and sustainable development. Under that general heading, the Committee will discuss: protection of the global climate for present and future generations; implementation of the outcome of the Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States; the Convention on Biological Diversity; and implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in those countries experiencing serious drought and/or desertification, particularly in Africa.

To consider those topics, the Committee will hold a panel discussion in a joint session with the high-level segment of the Trade and Development Board of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), via video link.

Committee Work Programme

The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) met this afternoon to continue consideration of the topic environment and sustainable development. Under that general heading, the Committee will discuss the implementation and follow-up to the outcome of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), including the outcome of the nineteenth special session of the General Assembly, which conducted an overall review and appraisal of the implementation of Agenda 21, the action programme adopted at the Conference. (For background see Press Release GA/EF/2831 issued today.)

Statements

ABDERRAZAK AZAIEZ (Tunisia) said that progress had been made in the area of sustainable development internationally, with the entry into force of conventions on climate change, biodiversity and on combating desertification. However, poverty and pollution remained grave concerns. The increased emissions of toxic substances, among other factors, were not in keeping with principles of sustainable development. Some sustainable development projects suffered from inefficiency.

A global approach was needed to such projects and regional and subregional conventions had helped to strengthen international instruments, he said. His Government favoured the instruments from the Rio Conference and, one year after that conference, it had proposed holding a regional conference on the environment and sustainable development. On the work of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), he said his delegation supported UNEP's actions for strengthening its capacity for early warning, as well as other improvements.

KHALED AL-HITTI (Iraq) said that the effect that the environment had on social life, health and prosperity was significant and it had been an issue with which the people of his country had had bitter problems. The United States and Great Britain used enriched uranium in some weapons during the aggressive actions against Iraq, and scientific research and medical inquiry had affirmed that the use of enriched uranium had direct and dangerous effects on human health and the environment in Iraq.

For the first time in his country, he said, cases of cancer and other diseases caused by that weapon were detected, including 75 cases among young children. Also, lung cancer and fetus deformation and births with children with inflated heads and other types of deformities had also been found. The resulting damage to soil and water might last many, many years after a conflict was over. Maybe that was the reason they were used. The military use of that type of weapon was a violation of the United Nations Charter.

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LUIS VALENCIA RODRIGUEZ (Ecuador) said the El Niño phenomenon had resulted in damage to property and the loss of lives throughout the world. Some estimates put the cost of damages by El Niño at $14 billion. To address that issue, his country would be holding an intergovernmental conference from 9 to 13 November, which would focus on coordinated actions to address the effects of El Niño. It would also develop global plans to prevent and mitigate the damage of the El Niño phenomenon in the future.

ENRICA TADDEI (San Marino) said it was known that young people today were exposed to environmental and social issues at an early age. That was encouraging, because it would contribute to increased public awareness in the future. She acknowledged that education for sustainable development was a lifelong process. Sustainable development strategies should include education and public awareness as integral components and sustainable development issues should be integrated into national school curricula. Access to education should be available to everyone, regardless of gender, ethnicity, political ideals or religious belief.

She said that tourism, a subject to be discussed at the next session of the Commission on Sustainable Development, was an issue of great importance to San Marino. Tourism had, in fact, been the country's main source of growth in the last 30 years. It had created jobs, stimulated the development of infrastructures and increased wealth. Tourism was one of the expanding sectors in the economies of many countries, which was of particular importance when unemployment struck at the global level. Strengthening tourism with policies that took into consideration the need to preserve the environment could be an effective means of reducing unemployment.

KAMALA PANT (Nepal) said it was disheartening to note that six years after the historic Rio Conference, the world was falling far short of achieving its central goal -- an environmentally sustainable global economy. Significant environmental problems adversely impacted the socio-economic fabric of almost all countries. Although some progress had been made in terms of institutional development and international consensus building, the future remained constrained by environmental degradation, resource limits, growing poverty and huge income gaps between rich and poor.

Economic growth and technological innovation coupled with globalization had contributed to reducing the proportion of people in poverty, but those factors had also marginalized many groups, she continued. Much more remained to be done in terms of providing access to adequate food, clean water and sanitation, as well as reducing the glaring inequalities in the distribution of wealth and access to resources.

JOHN ARAP KOECH (Kenya) said it was known that UNEP had raised additional resources through various fund-raising efforts, joint projects, trust funds, counterpart contributions from governments, the Global Environmental Facility and private sources. While the successful mobilization

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of those resources had enabled UNEP to salvage important elements, it was no substitute for a reliable flow of contributions.

Furthermore, he said, many of the additional contributions were tied to specific, highly focused projects, with the risk that UNEP's agreed priorities might become distorted, if the balance between those two types of funding was not kept in check. In addition, too great a reliance on "earmarked" funds could endanger UNEP's flexibility and, thus, its ability to respond to rapid change, as well as increasing its administrative responsibilities.

His Government welcomed the elevation of the Nairobi Centre to the level of the other United Nations Centres in Vienna and Geneva, he said. As the United Nations proceeded with reform measures to ensure efficient use of resources, it was imperative for the Organization to ensure maximum and rational use of existing facilities within the system, so as to minimize waste. He was concerned that facilities at the Nairobi office continued to be underutilized. With the elevation of the Nairobi office, it was hoped that mechanisms would be put in place to ensure that utilization of the facilities in Nairobi was comparable to that of Vienna and Geneva.

HIDEKI ITO (Japan) said issues remained that should be more thoroughly explored at the fourth session of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, to be held in Buenos Aires in November. In preparation for the fourth session, Japan, as president of the third session, had held an informal ministerial meeting on climate change, at which more than 20 countries had participated, in addition to the European Union and the Convention secretariat.

He said that the following points had been recognized as essential, if the fourth session was to be a success: the participating ministers had to exercise strong political leadership; the momentum gained at the Kyoto Conference should be maintained; attention should be focused on areas of agreement, so that maximum results might be achieved in a limited amount of time; even if differences of opinion should surface, no country should veto a proposal outright -- instead, an open discussion should take place; and in order to realize measures against global warming, the participation of industry, the private sector and non-governmental organizations should be enhanced.

He said that the issue of the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction was not on the agenda of the General Assembly this year. However, a resolution would be discussed and probably adopted on the El Niño phenomenon, which had been discussed under the agenda item on the Decade last year. As one of the countries that had proposed the establishment of the Decade, Japan believed it was important that the resolution on El Niño contain at least some procedural reference to it, so that the spirit of the Decade would survive even after it ended next year.

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The issue of institutional linkages among the various conventions related to sustainable development had been discussed extensively in the Second Committee last year and a decision had been taken on it, he said. Based on that decision, a report from the Secretary-General had now been received. It was basically a realistic report containing some recommendations, in addition to those put forward by the Task Force on Environment and Human Settlement.

He said that, considering that each convention had its own conference of parties and that participation in each, therefore, varied from one convention to another, the General Assembly, which had universal membership, could play an important role in defining general policy guidelines to be followed by each convention. As the issue was dealt with in the report of the Task Force on Environment and Human Settlement in a detailed way, and was closely related to the role of UNEP, the Second Committee should not discuss it separately, but rather in the context of its discussion on the reports of the Secretary- General on Environment and Human Settlement and of the Task Force.

MARTIN ZVACHULA (Federated States of Micronesia) said that living on a small island developing State posed a unique set of problems that people from other parts of the world could hardly comprehend. Living in contact with nature was not just a phrase, but a necessity for the population's very survival. In that regard, his country had been very active on environmental issues in the United Nations system. The country was a State party to the Conventions on climate change, biodiversity and desertification and had also signed the Kyoto Protocol.

It was understandable that global climate change, and in particular the risk of sea-level rise, was of immediate concern to his country, he said. Sea-level rise put the atolls at risk of submerging and endangered the low-lying coastal areas of mountainous islands. But, it was those coastal areas that held the most fertile soil and that fed the population. The legally binding commitments agreed to in the Kyoto Protocol were a significant first step forward on the path to ensuring effective global action to combat climate change. All countries were encouraged to sign the Kyoto Protocol and to work towards its earliest possible ratification.

He said his country attached great importance to having the United Nations adopt a vulnerability index, with the aim of having it included among the criteria for determining least developed country status and deciding eligibility for concessional aid and trade treatment. Although some steps had been taken, much work remained to gain full international recognition of vulnerability as an obstacle to the sustainable development of small island developing States.

Concluding, he said the Barbados Plan of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States offered a comprehensive framework with great potential for the whole region. The General Assembly

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special session of 1999 to review the Plan of Action represented an important opportunity in that respect.

PUNTSAGNORON NARANGUA (Mongolia) said that sustainable development provided the world with an approach that reflected a coherent, comprehensive and powerful process that could simultaneously advance economic well-being and the allocation of wealth and resources, while preserving ecological and environmental heatlh. The safe and sound environment was an essential component of viable development and a factor in production and competitiveness, determining the long-term pace and quality of economic growth.

He said that cross-border pollution, the protection of international waters, the handling of dangerous waste, bilateral and multilateral aid -- all of those illustrated the global dimension of the relationship between environment and development. The mobilization of all necessary resources was required to prevent such environmental degradation in Mongolia as deforestation, desertification, degradation of agricultural lands, species loss, air pollution, increasing wastes and toxic chemicals, and reduction in the quality of water resources.

DAUL MATUTE (Peru) said it shared the noxious effects of the El Niño phenomenon, as had all countries in the South American region and almost all continents. His Government proposed to confront the El Niño phenomenon in an efficient manner, with the establishment of a global programme of cooperation and international meetings, with the participation of the United Nations, regional organs, and the respective national programmes of the countries concerned. In 1999, an intergovernmental meeting on the El Niño phenomenon will be held in the city of Lima. The presence of decision-makers at the Lima meeting would permit the conclusions and recommendations adopted to be put into practice.

MONA HAMMAM, Director of the World Food Programme (WFP) Liaison Office, New York, said people, especially the poor and women, were the key to sustainable development. Key WFP activities in sustainable development included combating deforestation and desertification. It also worked to create sustainable agriculture and helped protect water management resources. Large-scale relief operations needed to have an environmental impact assessment before they were approved.

Many of the WFP activities directly addressed desertification through sound natural resources management techniques, she continued. Another problem for sustainable development efforts was the influx of displaced and refugee populations. Those populations could deplete the resources of the host populations and they contributed to deforestation. She said that, since 1997, exceptionally heavy rains associated with El Niño had caused damage to food resources, among other problems. Civil strife had also contributed to the number of people suffering from hunger.

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Right of Reply

Exercising a right of reply, RI KWANG NAM (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) said that the delegation of the Republic of Korea should stick to the proper name of its country as registered with the United Nations. The delegation of the Republic of Korea made wrongful reference once again in its remarks by referring to itself as "Korea". That delegation was distorting reality and speaking as if it represented the whole Korean peninsula. In doing that, the delegation of the Republic of Korea violated the sovereign rights of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. His delegation demanded that the delegation of the Republic of Korea apologize and make sure that it would not occur again.

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