unitex@rubbs.fidonet.org (unitex) (09/20/89)
DPI'S NGO CONFERENCE ENDS THREE-DAY MEETING ON ENVIRONMENT
Posting Date: 09/18/89 Source: UNITEX Network, Hoboken, NJ, USA
Host: (201) 795-0733 ISSN: 1043-7932
The question of "Environment and Development: Public Awareness
and Action" was the focus of discussion this afternoon at the
last meeting of the three-day Annual Conference for
Non-Governmental Organizations of the Department of Public
Information (DPI). The theme of this year's Conference is
"Environment and Development: Only One Earth".
Statements were made by MauriceF.Strong, President of the World
Federation of United Nations Associations; KennedyGraham,
Secretary-General of Parliamentarians Global Action for
Disarmament, Development and World Reform;
NigelCorballyStourton, Corporate Affairs Consultant of IBM-United
Kingdom; MazideNdiaye, President of the Forum of African
Voluntary Development Organizations; and RobertoSavio,
Director-General of Inter-Press Service Third World News
Agency.
Discussion at today's meeting centred on the idea of a
non-governmental organization "people's congress" on the
environment to coincide with the 1992 United Nations conference;
the need for public support for political solutions
which required public awareness; corporate involvement in
furthering public awareness and understanding of environmental
issues; the need to take the problem seriously, replacing talk
with committed action; and the need for grassroots involvement
in information dissemination about environmental issues
The Conference ended with a exchange of questions and comments
from the participants and panelists.
Work Programme
The Annual Conference for Non-Governmental Organizations of the
Department of Public Information (DPI) met this afternoon to
discuss the theme: "Environment and Development: Public
Awareness and Action". The three-day Conference, which ends
with this meeting, has the overall theme of "Environment and
Development: Only One Earth".
Statements
MAURICE F. STRONG, President of the World Federation of United
Nations Associations, said he was convinced that the 1992 United
Nations conference on the environment would determine the future
of mankind, and non-governmental organizations should ensure
that it was successful. He said they should participate fully
in a people's congress on the environment planned to coincide
with the official conference. Environment, in his view, was the
ultimate people's issue as was the question of survival.
Non-governmental organizations had taken on a new meaning,
covering subjects of all kinds and including concerned business
groups. It was the power of the people that had moved
Governments about environmental problems. Governments should be
held accountable for their words and deeds on environmental
issues.
He said the 1992 conference would require a strong role on the
part of Governments and the United Nations. A similar role on
the part of non-governmental organizations would be very
crucial, both at the preparatory stage and at the conference
itself. Non-governmental organizations should ensure that a
case could be made for new assistance for developing countries
to benefit from any environmental initiatives. They should unite
in working with Governments to ensure that decisions taken at
the conference benefited mankind as a whole. His organization
would take the lead in that effort. The 1992 conference would
not save the world from environmental degradation in one stroke,
but could hopefully move the world to a new phase of human
history. A balance should be found between "ego-systems and
ecosystem" cutting through boundaries on decisions on
environmental questions. He was not looking for a world
government, but global co-operation such as the United Nations
* Origin: UNITEX --> Toward a United Species (1:107/501)
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Patt Haring | United Nations | FAX: 212-787-1726
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