NEW YORK, 15 December: Egypt, Peru, Vietnam and Mongolia are among a number of countries taking the lead in putting the environment at the heart of their plans to cut poverty in half by 2015, according to a new report launched Friday by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in partnership with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).
However, unless more governments take more ambitious steps to protect the natural world, overall development goals will be jeopardized, according to the Report.
– A healthy, sustainable (bæredygtig) environment is a vital national asset (værdi) and when it is eroded, the poorest people suffer the most, said UNDP Administrator Kemal Dervis.
– This report highlights the progress of some countries towards more environmentally sustainable development planning but it also presents a harsh reality: If our delicate ecosystems are not firmly at the heart of all national plans to reduce poverty, then all other efforts to reach the Millennium Development Goals by 2015 will be undermined, he noted.
The UNDP report, entitled “Making Progress on Environmental Sustainability: Lessons and recommendation from a review of over 150 MDG country experiences” charts the progress of developing countries efforts to make the environment a priority in their national plans to reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The environment is very much a part of efforts to reduce poverty.
While the role of the environment in poor peoples lives varies from country to country, the Reports authors stress that the best progress is made when countries first adopt the principle of environmental sustainability, and then adapt their development plans to their own specific ecosystems.
Deforestation is a major challenge in Kenya, for example, where the poor chop down trees as their only source of fuel for cooking and heating.
As part of its plan to reach the MDGs, the Kenyan Government proposes to protect at least 3,5 percent of its forested area by 2008 and introduce renewable options like solar energy to the rural population.
In Egypt, where protecting the environment is a priority for the countrys eco-tourism industry, the Government is already actively monitoring and reporting progress on water access, waste management and land degradation, with a view to ensuring it understands what still needs to happen to reach the MDGs, and sets targets accordingly.
Albania, Buthan, Lesotho, Nepal, Syria, Thailand and Vietnam were also cited among the leaders by the Report.
Achim Steiner, UNEP Executive Director, said:
– Achievement of environmental sustainability is not only a national concern but one with significant international dimensions. By mainstreaming environment into poverty reduction and development strategies countries can achieve a great deal.
– However, national environmental degradation (forringelse/nedslidning) and conversely environmental sustainability is also inextricably (uløseligt) linked with trading regimes, economic instruments and the values placed on “nature-based” goods and services within a globalised world.
– Together and as part of UN reform, UNEP and UNDP can be a catalyst for drawing together and weaving these national and international threads (tråde) into a seamless whole. Together we can play a big part towards achieving environmental sustainability and the realization of the Millennium Development Goals, Mr. Steiner he added.
The Report, which drew support from the governments of Canada, Sweden and the United Kingdom, is part of a wider “toolbox” of services designed by UNDP to help developing countries prepare national plans to reach the MDGs on time.
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