DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL SAYS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT WILL NOT BE ACHIEVED IF ONE OF EVERY FIVE PEOPLE ON EARTH CONTINUES TO LIVE IN ABSOLUTE POVERTY
Press Release
DSG/SM/45
ENV/DEV/505
DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL SAYS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT WILL NOT BE ACHIEVED IF ONE OF EVERY FIVE PEOPLE ON EARTH CONTINUES TO LIVE IN ABSOLUTE POVERTY
19990421 Dialogue and Policy-making Must Be Made More Meaningful to Individual Citizens; Their Personal Commitment to Sustainable Practices Must Be EngagedFollowing is the text of the address given today at Headquarters by Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette at the opening of the high-level segment of the seventh session of the Commission on Sustainable Development:
It is a pleasure to join you today. I am particularly pleased to know that a variety of government ministries -- environment, finance, economic and others -- is represented at this session. Your presence shows that you have taken to heart the very definition of sustainable development: the need to integrate economic, social and environmental objectives into a mutually reinforcing whole.
I am also gratified to see so many of our civil society partners in attendance. The Commission on Sustainable Development, in keeping with the spirit of the Earth Summit, has helped open the Organization's doors to your involvement, and it is my hope that we can continue this progress.
At this, the Commission's seventh session, we have come together again to see what more can be done to improve upon "business-as-usual". I would like to comment briefly on each of your main agenda items.
First, your sectoral theme for this session: he oceans and seas.
Oceans are, of course, an essential part of the global trading and climate systems, and a key source of food. What we often forget about oceans is that more than one half -- and perhaps as much as two thirds -- of the world's population lives in coastal areas. This proportion could rise to three quarters within just 20 years. This means that, in addition to marine pollution and over-fishing -- too many ships chasing too few fish -- more than half of all coastal areas, including species-rich coral reefs, are at high or moderate potential risk of degradation.
Last month, the Commission, in its ad hoc inter-sessional working group, called particular attention to this and several other major issues requiring your attention. There is a need, first of all, to better manage and conserve the marine environment's living resources. We need to act more aggressively to stop pollution and degradation of the marine environment from land-based activities, which account for 80 per cent of marine pollution. We need to improve scientific understanding of the way in which the oceans and seas interact with the world climate system. This has particular relevance for responding to phenomena such as El Niño. And governments need to ratify treaties and other agreements. To cite just one example, the Fish Stocks Agreement adopted in 1995 still has not entered into force.
Let me turn now to your economic theme: tourism. The tourism industry is one of the fastest growing economic sectors in the global economy. In 1997, global tourism activities accounted for about 1.5 per cent of world gross national product (GNP). Tourism is also a leading employer. In 1995, it employed 11.3 million people, and rapid growth is anticipated. Moreover, tourism is the only major sector in international trade in services in which developing countries have consistently had surpluses with the rest of the world.
The typical tourist brochure, filled with images of pristine beaches, blue skies and smiling faces, doesn't tell the full story.
The environmental effects of tourism can be severe, stemming from the consumption of resources, transportation and the pollution and waste generated by the development of infrastructure and facilities. In the absence of proper planning and management, tourism development can also lead to the misuse of land, in turn, causing deforestation, soil erosion and loss of biological diversity.
Tourism can also pose economic risks since many countries rely excessively on a single source of tourists. This links the performance of the tourism sector to the economic fortunes of the source country. Countries that rely heavily on tourism as a source of income, foreign exchange and employment are particularly vulnerable.
Finally, human rights issues are sometimes involved. I am referring here to sex tourism, especially involving children.
Tourism needs to be made more sustainable. The inter-sessional working group suggested, as one possible step, the establishment of an international work programme to be implemented between now and 2002. Industry initiatives can play an important role here, and I am pleased to note moves by hotels themselves to improve their environmental practices. Such steps, however, and ideas such as eco-labelling for hotels, are still in their infancy. I trust
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that the multi-stakeholder dialogue that ended earlier today has proven helpful. And I look forward to another United Nations observance: the International Year of Ecotourism, in 2002, which has clear links with the oceans and which will help sustain our momentum.
Oceans and tourism lead us inevitably to your cross-sectoral theme: the question of consumption and production patterns. Consumption and production patterns pervade our lives. Every time we turn on a light, jump in the car or irrigate farmland, we are consuming one resource or another and having an effect on the environment. Consumption of energy and natural resources is growing steadily, driven by globalization, economic development, population growth, technological developments, urbanization and other factors.
Governments and industry are making steady progress in recycling, reducing waste and using more efficient technologies. There is also growing consumer awareness about the connections between our life-styles and the environment. As usual, however, more concerted action is needed. Twenty per cent of the world's people continue to consume 80 per cent of its resources. As you implement the programme to which you have agreed, you need to involve even more closely the dynamic, innovative forces of business and industry. At the same time, the social dimensions must also be front and centre: concerns such as education, employment, health and community development are also linked to patterns of consumption and production and must be included.
All of these issues -- oceans, tourism, and consumption and production patterns -- are relevant to the comprehensive review of the Barbados programme of action for small island developing States.
Small islands continue to face a range of serious problems, including degradation of coastal ecosystems and reefs from development, marine pollution and overfishing; sea-bed mining; the transport of nuclear materials; and shortages of fresh water as demands grow, especially from the tourism industry. Financial constraints have led many small island states to de-emphasize sustainable development programmes and place renewed emphasis on improving short-term economic performance. Small islands are also experiencing more frequent and more devastating natural disasters. And owing to their small population and narrow resource base, small islands have been largely bypassed in the globalization of production, distribution and finance.
Most island nations have shown some positive environmental changes since 1994. But over the same period, financing has declined. As you carry out your review and look towards this fall's special session of the General Assembly, I urge you to recall the conference slogan -- "small islands, big issues". What we do with small islands has implications far beyond their troubled shores.
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This Commission has attempted to give life to the ideal of global solidarity that is at the heart of the United Nations and. It was the underlying principle of the Earth Summit which gave birth to this Commission.
But the fact remains that we will not achieve sustainable development if one of every five people on earth continues to live each day in the squalor and hopelessness of absolute poverty. We will not achieve sustainable development without the resources needed to do the job set out for us in Agenda 21 and other agreements. We will not achieve sustainable development without making the dialogue and policy-making that occur here more meaningful to individual citizens and without engaging their personal commitment to sustainable practices.
This Commission, in its short life, has begun to show how institutions and peoples can work together to reduce the tension between development and sustainability. You face many obstacles, but even greater are the opportunities to be found in sustainable development. I wish you the best for a fruitful session. Thank you.
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