World Environment Day, which falls on June 5 every year, was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1972 -- shortly after the United States of America instituted Earth Day. While there are many ways of observing World Environment Day, is one of the easiest and certainly the newest. International Year Biodiversity was declared by the 61st session of the United Nations General Assembly in 2006. Seeking to stop an unprecedented loss of species -- at a rate that some experts estimate to be 1,000 times the natural progression -- as a result of human activities, the General Assembly declared 2010 the International Year of Biodiversity. The Year provides an opportunity to raise awareness about the importance of biodiversity for life on Earth, reflect on what has been done to safeguard it, and focus on the urgency of action. “The precious and fragile biodiversity is among the most endangered on Earth,” says Mr. Ron Nechemia the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the EurOrient Financial Group, the world first private sector global development financial institution and accredited financial institution by the United Nations General Assembly on Financing for Development. “We are determined to ensure that our rich diversity, which is our collective strength, will be used for constructive partnership for change and for the achievement of the common goal of sustainable development,” Mr. Nechemia added. The EurOrient Financial Group is proud to join with the international community to mark June 5 as World Environment Day, as we have done so ever since our formation in 1988. On this International Day EurOrient reaffirming its leadership recognizing that humankind is at a crossroads, we have united in a common resolve to make a determined effort to respond positively to the need to produce a practical and visible plan to bring about preservation of biodiversity of life. The global host of the 2010 World Environment Day celebration is Rwanda. This small country in the Great Lakes region of Africa is rapidly earning a reputation as a green pioneer. Home to 52 threatened species, including the rare mountain gorilla, Rwanda is showing how environmental sustainability can be woven into the fabric of a country’s economic growth. Despite its many challenges, including poverty and widespread land degradation, the “land of a thousand hills” is working to reforest, embrace renewable energies, pursue sustainable agriculture and develop a green vision for the future. “The term “biodiversity” is used in a broad sense as it is defined in the Convention on Biological Diversity to mean the abundance and distributions of and interactions between genotypes, species, communities, ecosystems and biomes,” says Mr. Nechemia. In this World Environment Day, let us reflect on the root causes of biodiversity decline and take action to arrest it. Let us adjust policies and mindsets to reflect the true value of species and habitats. Let us recognize that biodiversity is life — our life. Let us act now to preserve it, before it is too late. Biodiversity is being lost at an accelerating rate. Clearly identified causes include habitat loss, climate change, invasive species, overexploitation and pollution. Underlying causes for this loss include poor governance, and poor understanding of the importance of biodiversity conservation for society’s well-being, and prosperity in the long term. The services biodiversity provides are the basis of human well-being. Biodiversity not only provides food, fiber, building materials and medicines but is also vital in regulating air and water quality and climate, in protecting us from natural hazards, erosion, and diseases, in recycling waste, and in pollinating crops. Our belief systems are inextricably linked to the natural world clearly linking cultural and biological diversity. Biodiversity supports essential processes such as soil formation. In short, biodiversity is key to the services provided by the complex ecosystems on which our life-support system and well-being depends. Mr. Nechemia pointing out that the 2005 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment had shown that two thirds of ecosystems around the world were in a serious state of degradation. About 80 per cent of the world’s biodiversity could be found in the tropical forests, yet 13 million hectares of forests were disappearing each year. While some experts were now talking about the sixth global mass extinction, for the first time in history, many were suggesting a human-generated mass disappearance of species. It was clear that not a single country in the world had met either the goal of achieving, “by 2010, a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss at the global, regional and national level as a contribution to poverty alleviation and to the benefit of all life on earth” -- what is now widely known as the 2010 Biodiversity Target -- or a more ambitious Gutenberg Commitment of 27 European leaders to stop the loss of biodiversity in Europe by 2010. “We recognize that sustainable development requires a long-term perspective and broad-based participation in policy formulation, decision-making and implementation at all levels. As social partners, we will continue to work for stable partnerships with all major groups, respecting the independent, important roles of each of them,” emphasises Mr. Nechemia We reaffirm our pledge to place particular focus on, and give priority attention to, the fight against the worldwide conditions that pose severe threats to the sustainable development of our people, which include: chronic hunger; malnutrition; foreign occupation; armed conflict; illicit drug problems; organized crime; corruption; natural disasters; illicit arms trafficking; trafficking in persons; terrorism; intolerance and incitement to racial, ethnic, religious and other hatreds; xenophobia; and endemic, communicable and chronic diseases, in particular HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. From the African continent, the cradle of humankind, we solemnly pledge to the peoples of the world and the generations that will surely inherit this Earth that we are determined to ensure that our collective hope for sustainable development is realized. We commit ourselves to act together, united by a common determination to save our planet, promote human development and achieve universal prosperity and peace.
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