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Life on Land
Keeping faith with nature
Three childhood experiences set me on the course to working to restore degraded land through helping to connect people to nature. My mother’s strong and unwavering faith helped me to appreciate that life was about more than what we could accumulate in the present and that we could trust a loving heavenly father for all our needs. The abuse of beautiful forests and mountain streams seemed to be an expression of greed and disregard for future generations. Watching news programs showing children just like me going hungry seemed mad in a world of plenty.
Making gold greener?
Poorly regulated gold mining is spreading around the world. Every day millions of artisanal and small-scale gold miners work extremely hard in often poor conditions and without the protective framework of formal labour market standards. By evening the vast majority have harvested only miniscule amounts of gold if anything at all. But the economic incentives are still attractive. Since ancient times gold has continuously been used as a source of long-term investment and it has now found its way into modern technologies and industry including computers cell phones and medical equipment. Global financial turmoil has helped more than double the price of an ounce of gold from $500 to well over $1000 over the past decade. Many poor people in rural areas have shifted their attention from agriculture to mining as a source of livelihood.
Matters of judgement
An independent judiciary in a political and legal system that values integrity and transparency is vital in addressing environmental degradation and in upholding the environmental rule of law worldwide. In an urban planning case at the National High Court of Brazil the court stated a view that I believe to be true in all areas of environmental law.
Ethical business works best
Forty-four years ago my parents joined the Government of Malaysia's settler programme administered by the Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA) a decision that has had a big influence on my life right up to today.
Blood gold
Day or night? It makes no difference in the Amazon gold rush. The clatter of the hundreds of engines that pump water in search of the precious metal never stops. By day enormous trucks move the earth where forests once stood; by night the soil is washed with hundreds of cubic metres of water to extract the gold. Informal mining camps extend into Peru Colombia Bolivia and Brazil destroying the most biodiverse ecosystems in the world and poisoning the land inhabited by hundreds of indigenous peoples with mercury. Huge tracts of tropical rainforest have become graveyards for trees drenched in the toxic metal.
Delivering on the mission
“No matter how minuscule or how vast only protection will make them last. We need to help the ones that can't help themselves because they become extinct so fast.”
Good connections
In 2012 I was invited to join a safari at the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in Kenya. Lion prides cheetah coalitions and herds of buffalo and giraffes walk freely there. Majestic African elephants also roam the conservancy’s terrain but in far smaller numbers than they once did.
Green and fair
The richest 1 per cent of the world’s population now controls 50 per cent of global assets while the poorest half owns just 1 per cent – and that gap is set to widen. At the same time 60 per cent of the world’s ecosystems are degraded. If ever there was a need to rewrite the economic rulebook it’s now.
Innovation 01. Tracking progress
Open access to data and knowledge is fundamental to the transition to a vibrant and inclusive green economy. Such access enables all stakeholders to better understand and participate in the collection use and analysis of data. That’s why UNEP has developed UNEP Live (uneplive.unep.org) a web-based knowledge management platform that gives users access to substantiated contextualized data about sustainable consumption and production patterns and economic performance. Such information which looks beyond growth in income and GDP to include human well-being can be a powerful tool for policy-makers.
Prosecute climate crimes
Criminal justice can help achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement on climate change as part of an integrated approach from governments private businesses finance science civil society and others.
Greener finance
The Paris Agreement has sent clear signals to markets and to the financial sector that more than 190 countries are going to vigorously pursue the transition to a low-carbon economy that’s resilient to mounting climate change. It is no longer a question of if this transition will happen but of how fast. Some of the key changes required lie outside the financial sector such as changing relative prices of harmful goods and services vis-à-vis those that benefit the environment and the development of new technologies to facilitate changes in consumption patterns. Finance however has an important role to play.
Clearing the air
Ninety-eight per cent of cities with more than 100000 inhabitants in low and middle income countries do not meet World Health Organization (WHO) air quality guidelines concludes the WHO Global Urban Ambient Air Pollution Database 2016 update. In high-income countries however that percentage decreases to 56 per cent. In South Asia air pollution is especially acute in such countries as China Indonesia and India requiring State authorities to take immediate action to safeguard the health of their citizens. Long-term health effects include respiratory diseases like lung cancer and even damage to the brain and an increased risk of heart disease. A WHO study estimated that about 12.6 million deaths in the year 2012 could be linked to an unhealthy environment. India's Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1981 defines air pollution as “the presence in the atmosphere of any air pollutant” and an air pollutant as “any solid liquid or gaseous substance including noise present in the atmosphere in such concentration as may be or tend to be injurious to human beings or other living creatures or plants or property or environment.”
Leading the way
People across the globe celebrated the signing of the United Nations climate accord in Paris in December. It was truly a landmark event and I was proud to be a part of the Local Climate Leaders Circle of Mayors representing my city and others across the United States.
Catching crime
Indonesia the world’s largest archipelago – consisting of approximately 17000 islands spread across nearly 2 million square kilometres – also holds at over 80000 km its second longest coastline. Sixty per cent of its population lives in the coastal area. So it is no surprise that fishing is one of our biggest economic activities. And soon after Joko Widodo was elected as the President of the Republic of Indonesia he made a political commitment to reclaim the nation's status as a global maritime axis.
Protecting people through nature
For too long we have been told that conserving the environment comes at the expense of economic opportunities for people. But the world’s new commitment to sustainable development clearly shows that humanity is waking up to the fact that social economic and environmental agendas are intrinsically linked.
Environmental champion
We have reached an essential turning point in our journey to save the planet as we know it. More than 175 global leaders have now signed onto the historic climate agreement reached in Paris last December. Having been at the UN for the signing event on April 22nd I am filled with hope – but I’m also fighting a growing sense of dread.
UNEP at work. The big picture
Everyone in the environmental community recognizes the urgent challenges facing the planet – but how do you spread the word to a truly global audience?
Green innovation
The need to strike a balance between increasing demand for natural resources and environmental sustainability has opened new opportunities for Malaysia to grow economically. Under its eleventh economic plan 2016-2020 a green economy – one that aims to reduce ecological risks and address resource scarcities – has been identified as one of the main drivers for development. In line with this new approach emphasis is given to innovation for creating more environmentally friendly industries to enable the growth to take place. Thus eco-innovation is to be nurtured in the spirit of this green economy to support attaining the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) especially those related to responsible consumption and production and action on climate change.
UNEP at work. Women, water and peace
The Darfur region of Sudan is no stranger to violence. More than a decade of conflict has driven millions of people from their homes and many have settled in North Darfur’s Wadi El Ku one of the region’s largest seasonal riverbeds.
Beating pollution by redesign
Over 8 million tons of plastic pollute the oceans each year. The problem is so severe that if nothing changes there could be more plastic than fish in the sea by 2050. We must urgently rethink how we make and use this ubiquitous material now a staple of our modern economy. The appetite to take action is real: public and private sector financial commitments to combat ocean pollution made at the European Union's Our Ocean conference this year for instance totalled 7.2 billion euros. Yet if cleaning up is a short-term necessity only a whole system reset will provide a long-term solution to plastics pollution and the economic losses associated with it.
A clean environment for all
The world’s governments have pledged to build a better future where no one is left behind yet the most basic conditions for people to survive and thrive are out of reach for many. Over 90 per cent of us breathe dirty air and over 90 per cent of those who die as a result are in low- and middle- income countries with women and young children disproportionally affected.
Regaining ground
Over hundreds of years industrial activities including mining chemical production manufacturing of consumer goods and agriculture introduced pollutants into the soil contaminating it along with groundwater often over large areas. Past practices were different from today's: waste was dumped in an uncontrolled way or used in applications that are no longer acceptable while unabated emissions to air and water had widespread impacts on surrounding populations and the environment.
Waste not …
The consumer goods industry has entered an era of responsibility where companies consumers governments and non-governmental organizations are collaborating more and more frequently to address some of the biggest challenges facing the world. We now have a better understanding of the wide-ranging impacts of the manufacture and use of consumer goods. Companies like Procter & Gamble are continually refining their approach to developing manufacturing and marketing products more responsibly and encouraging mindful consumption of the everyday products that many of us often take for granted.
Transforming work
B The last twelve months have seen the beginning of a profoundly significant evolution in the way economic and social policies are made.
The weight of cities
How do we prepare for the doubling of the global urban population by 2050? By dramatically rethinking urbanism and its governance. That means designing cities for people not cars; allowing everyone access to urban opportunities; investing in resource-efficient buildings transport energy water and waste systems; and enabling cities to experiment and to learn from each other.
Clearing the air
Humankind's future will largely be decided in cities. Half the world's population already lives in them and by 2050 this will have risen to 70 per cent. Cities are where global challenges and problems are concentrated: they consume three quarters of the world's resources and generate three quarters of all emissions.
Keeping water fresh
Guaranteeing safely managed clean water and sanitation for everyone remains one of the biggest global challenges that are solvable in our lifetimes. But we must prioritize collaboration and monitoring.
Free of plastic bags
Kenya faces major challenges in waste management. Most urban centres lack basic waste management structures and open dumping is the most popular option. A close look at problematic waste at roadsides rivers dumpsites and most public spaces revealed that polythene bags were most widespread. Scientists claim that polythene bags take over 1000 years to decompose: hence the earliest ones are still with us somewhere in the environment.
Reflections
If pollution was simply about having to put up with a bad odour or some unsightly smog it could be considered tolerable. The sad fact however is that it’s also sending millions to an early grave.
Reflections
Just after World Wildlife Day this year armed poachers broke into a French zoo undetected by staff and security shot a white rhinoceros and stole the murdered animal’s precious horn.
Our planet, final reflections
This is the final time I will contribute to Our Planet as Executive Director of UNEP. It’s a bittersweet moment. I am sad to leave behind such a tremendous team of colleagues and friends who work so passionately to protect our planet and improve the well-being of its peoples. But I am also very fortunate to have been able to lead work with and learn from that team over the last ten years. It’s a decade that has seen environmental tragedy turnaround and triumph. UNEP as the global authority on the environment has been integral to those stories and successes. So for my last contribution to Our Planet I would like to reflect on why three stories give me hope for the future. They stand for countless others I have encountered during these years.
Scoring a goal
Last autumn in Dubai the Parties to the Montreal Protocol representing every country in the world agreed to work to amend the treaty in 2016 to phase down the highly potent greenhouse gases called HFCs. With negotiations having started in Geneva in April and expected to be completed later this year the nations of the world are now on the verge of scoring a major goal for the climate system and for sustainable development worldwide.
A new era
People are used to celebrating the start of a new year with resolutions for change; with goals for improvement welfare and progress; with optimism and a constructive and proactive spirit. We do so from our past experiences – evaluating achievements learning from failures and overcoming frustrations. We assume the present from the achievements and lessons learned and aim for a better future.
The opportunity of the commons
We know about the “tragedy of the commons”. But how about the opportunity they present? The crisis facing the ultimate global commons – the very conditions that make human civilization and economic prosperity possible – confronts us with the necessity of making our societies and economies more sustainable and less inequitable
Superheroes of our own
The white-coated scientist explained calmly to the trigger-happy superheroes that the deadly menace they had come to Earth to fight was already under control.
A race against the clock
Air pollution causes millions of premature deaths worldwide every year as confirmed in each of the recent Global Burden of Disease surveys by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation the world's most comprehensive epidemiological database. The economic cost as calculated by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and in other authoritative studies runs into trillions of dollars.
Bringing a sea change
Few will forget the day in April 2010 a BP oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. Oil gushed for 87 days and the world reacted with horror. Birds fish and marine mammals lay lifeless along the coastline consumed by the deadly waste. It was one of the worst environmental disasters in the history of the United States.
Young champions of the Earth
Young Champions of the Earth is a forward-looking initiative designed to breathe life into the ambitions of brilliant young environmentalists. In this inaugural year six young people – one from each global region – have been selected to receive mentorship specialized training and $15000 in seed funding to bring their big ideas to life. UN Environment has partnered with Covestro a world-leading supplier of high-tech polymer materials to develop and run the initiative. In addition to seed funding for each Young Champion the winners are put through an incubator training programme and are offered mentorship by Covestro staff.
The environment's parliament
The United Nations Environment Assembly has been called the“Parliament of the Environment.” The highest level of authority on the environment in the United Nations system it is a unique and inclusive body that brings together high-level decision makers civil society experts business representatives and others from all countries of the world to find solutions to the most pressing environmental problems. It is so much more than just another United Nations body. It has the potential to be a global coalition of institutions and organizations supported by individuals united in combating environmental deterioration and pollution for the sake of future generations.
Tackling short-lived climate pollutants
Since 2014 Chile’s Ministry of Environment has focused on three objectives: identifying and addressing the climate effects of air pollution; taking a leading role on addressing short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs); and working to integrate these two concepts at both the local and global level.
The Singapore story
Singapore has come a long way in its journey towards sustainability. In the 1960s Singapore was like any other developing country of that time – dirty and polluted lacking proper sanitation and facing high unemployment. These challenges were more acute for Singapore given our constraints as a small island city-state with no natural resources.
Dramatic turnaround
One November afternoon the Portland City Council chambers were filled with men and women in suits serious and practical. Standing out in the crowd were two middle school girls poised but nervous. One of them 12-yearold Isabel walked to the testimony table and spoke: “If we don’t take action now we will never grasp the opportunity to stop climate change. This is our future.”
Healthy cities
Health needs to be an integral part of Habitat III the Third UN Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development and of its outcome.
UN environment at work. District energy: A tried-and-tested answer to modern urban energy problems
In homes and workplaces schools and hospitals technologies such as boilers and air-conditioners consume vast amounts of energy. Indeed half the energy buildings use is for heating and cooling and most of this comes from fossil fuels burned in buildings’ individual boilers and in power plants on the outskirts of our cities. Citizens cities and countries are starting to take real action to move away from this status quo to more sustainable solutions and this monumental shift is cutting greenhouse gas emissions cleaning our air saving money and reducing energy imports.
Empowering the vulnerable
Many cities in the developing world lack the capacity to adapt in the face of emerging climate variability caught in a perfect storm of population growth escalating adaptation needs and substantial development deficits. In South Africa these challenges have been exacerbated by a legacy of formalised racial division that has created widespread social economic and environmental injustice.
Pollution's toll
In 2015 according to the Global Burden of Disease study over 9 million deaths — 16 per cent of the total — were attributable to pollution specifically to lack of access to clean water and sanitation household burning of solid fuels for cooking outdoor air pollution or exposure to lead. Virtually all deaths due to lack of safe water and sanitation and three-quarters of those due to indoor air pollution occurred in either low or low-middle income countries as did half the deaths attributable to outdoor air pollution. Upper-middle income countries accounted for just one-quarter of deaths due to indoor and 40 per cent of deaths associated with outdoor air pollution.
Shaping tomorrow’s cities
I recently visited one of China's eco-cities and was impressed by its highly efficient buildings and use of renewable energy for street lighting. However this newly built city is struggling to attract people largely due to lack of accessibility to public transport and its distance from jobs. The city’s urban planner told me that the isolation of this “eco-enclave” could have been avoided if a more holistic approach had been taken early in the planning stage including considering various aspects of land management urban services connectivity and jobs.
Bouncing back
In these rapidly changing times as the effects of climate change and population growth challenge urban areas we need a new paradigm for cities. They must be resilient to adapt and thrive.
Going for 100%
Oxford County is a sleepy little farming county in the agricultural heart of southwestern Ontario Canada. Some 4000 km away San Diego is a Californian metropolis of 1.4 million dubbed the “City of Villages” for its many distinct communities. Across the Atlantic Osnabrück Germany is home to a Volkswagen car plant and known as the “City of Peace” for its role in ending the 17th century Thirty Years' War.
UN environment at work. Share the road: Putting pedestrians and cyclists first
Every 30 seconds someone dies in a road crash. That’s over 1.2 million people every year dying on the world’s roads. The World Health Organization’s Global Road Safety Report of 2015 shows that worst still half of these deaths are vulnerable road users – pedestrians cyclists and motorcyclists. Tragically 500 children die every day in road crashes.