Clean and safe environment to meet development goals

NATIONALIST MP Joseph Falzon, a member of the Maltese delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, spoke in the debate on "the Environment and the United Nations Millennium Development Goals" at the assembly's sitting of June 20. This is the text of his speech:

The United Nations Ecosystem Assessment published last March has shown that 60 per cent of the ecosystem elements supporting life on earth, such as fresh water, clean air or a relatively stable climate, are being degraded or used unsustainably. All developing regions have experienced substantial environmental degradation over the past decade, which could worsen as a result of long-term global climate change.

Many countries are struggling because their natural resources, on which life depends - forests, fisheries, soil, and water - are progressively being degraded and subject to rising levels of pollution. Deforestation, the loss of biodiversity, soil erosion and desertification, reduction in water tables and the increase in natural disasters all have devastating impact on climate change.

There must be a decrease of the human pressure on the services that nature provides but this requires radical changes in the way nature is treated at every level of decision-making, as well as new ways of co-operation between government, business and society. Environmental accounting systems are a crucial tool as this would enable political decision-makers to know the environmental outcomes of the policies implemented, as well as integrate the "environment" variable into the decision-making process.

The Parliamentary Assembly resolution on globilisation and sustainable development, defined sustainable human development as the capacity of all communities, including the most deprived, to meet their fundamental needs for accommodation, drinking water, food, health and hygiene, participation in decision-making, social cohesion as well as cultural and spiritual expression of human beings.

This challenge entails the adaptation of technologies and lifestyles to the social, economic and environmental potential of each region, internalising costs and establishing costs and establishing systems that are compatible with the biosphere, which is again at stake to meet the Millennium Development Goals.

A clean and safe environment is a necessary condition to achieve many of the development goals, in particular those related to improving human health. The environment is clearly one of the pillars on which many of the development goals will stand or fall.

A total of 189 UN member states committed themselves to a global partnership to reduce poverty, improve health, and promote peace, human rights, gender equality, and environment sustainability. These are part of the road map to implement the Millennium Decleration in addressing those important development changes. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan had set up the UN millennium project so as to develop a global plan for achieving these goals by 2015.

A move forward must be made in order to realise the MDG proposals. The next decade will be very critical for the development of the poorest regions in the world and the sustainability of life on our planet. We have the opportunity in the coming decade to cut world poverty by half. Practical solutions exist, the political framework is established and the cost is utterly affordable. Action is thus required.

We are off track on the environment development goal and environmental issues are becoming more of great concern. Funding is vital and so is the cost of inaction. Urgent actions are crucial and we must affirm the importance of taking account of the cost of inaction and weigh it against increased future costs of action. Besides funding an effective follow up and monitoring systems are required to assess the state of progress and identify whether and when new or different actions are needed.

The protection of our common environment and the future of global development are closely linked to personal choices and decisions each and every one of us take. We need to show our strong personal commitment and take responsible decisions and actions in order to meet our share of global responsibility towards the future generations. The promotion of sustainable development must ensure everyone's entitlement to live in a balanced, healthy environment.