WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY
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5 JUNE 1996
Message by UNEP Executive Director Ms. Elizabeth
Dowdeswell
NAIROBI, 3 June 1996 -
"On the 5th of June, every year, the Global
community comes together to celebrate World
Environment Day.
At the heart of the celebrations of World
Environment Day is the belief that every individual
human being has the right to enjoy clean air, pure
water and the benefits of our biological diversity.
And that every living being has the right to fulfill
the unknown measure of its potential.
This is, and must be, our commitment.
On this day, we evaluate the accomplishments
made in the defense of the environment and we look
forward to meeting greater challenges, we must also
recognize the acts of courage and determination of
ordinary people who play an extraordinary role in
conserving the environment.
The ultimate solution to every environmental
problem, from deforestation to pollution lies in each
of us taking the responsibility for our own acts and
not giving up hope.
Each time an individual stands up for the
environment or acts to improve it, there is a tiny
ripple of hope. The achievement of every single
individual is significant when assessed alone, but
monumental when the global community acts together.
It is appropriate that in the year of the
Habitat II Conference, the theme 'Our Earth, Our
Habitat, Our Home' has been chosen for this year's
World Environment Day.
Most people want to improve the quality of
their lives. This having a clean, decent, safe home
in which to live and raise a family.
But this quality of life is threatened by the
explosive and continuing growth rates of urban areas.
And now, cities are expanding into fragile
ecosystems. Nearly 40 per cent of cities larger than
500,000 are located on coasts. Air pollution already
exceeds health standards in many mega cities.
Especially dangerous is the public health hazard of
contaminated water supplies, and unlovely wastes are
all too evident.
One thing is clear, and it is that the fate of
cities will determine more and more not only the fate
of nations, but also of our planet. If cities are to
continue to be the engines for economic growth, as
they have been throughout human history, their future
development has to be based on considerations that
are environmentally sustainable.
Beyond the immediate priorities for improving
the urban environment lies the need to strengthen
local governments, to implement new approaches to
alleviating poverty and supporting communities and to
develop more environmentally friendly cities.
On this World Environment Day, let us
rededicate ourselves not only to conserving the
environment, but also to spreading the message of
global environmental citizenship - the opportunity,
indeed the responsibility, of all citizens to care
for those around them and make this world a better
place."
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For further information, please contact:
Mr. Robert Bisset
Information Officer
UNEP
P.O. Box 30552
Nairobi
Tel: (254-2) 62 3084
Fax: (254-2) 62 3692
E-mail: Robert.Bisset@unep.org
UNEP News Release 1996/38
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