Madame Chair,
Sweden fully aligns itself with the statement made by Luxemburg on behalf of the European Union. Our delegation would like to reinforce the emphasis given by the EU to improving the environment and preserving the natural resource base.
Five years ago, the Secretary-General launched an initiative to assess the consequences of ecosystem change for human well-being and to establish a scientific basis for action. The initiative was included in the Millennium Declaration. After four years of work by 1 360 experts from 95 countries and two rounds of expert and government review, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Report was tabled four weeks ago.
The findings are solemn and deserve our serious consideration. Based on unprecedented richness in empirical evidence, the report presents four major findings: § The diversity of life on Earth has suffered a substantial and largely irreversible loss. § While ecosystem change has contributed to gains in human well-being for some, environmental degradation has also exacerbated poverty. § The degradation of ecosystem services could grow considerably worse during the first half of this century and is a barrier to achieving the MDGs.§ The reversal of ecosystem degradation will require significant changes in policies, institutions and practices that are not currently under way.
These findings should be a wake up call. MDG7 is arguably the Millennium Goal that has been most neglected so far. There is a plan of implementation from the Johannesburg Summit through which our heads of state and heads of government have given further precision to MDG7. And yet the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment finds that the necessary policies are not under way.
This is a matter of particular concern because of the multitude of interlinkages between achieving MDG7 and making simultaneous progress on the other MDGs. MDG-based poverty reduction strategies and other long-term national development strategies need to integrate natural resources management. Mainstreaming of environmental concerns in strategic development policy and budget frameworks at national level is key for the achievement of MDG 7. The decreasing sustainability of ecosystems is a challenge that should permeate policies and strategies of UN bodies, agencies and programmes. Further United Nations inter-agency cooperation is needed in support of regional and national capacity building for environmental governance and sustainable development, with a particular focus on Africa.
Moreover, industrialized countries should regard improved environmental protection an integral part of our commitment to sustainable development and collective security. The MDG follow-up has to foster the synergy between the Johannesburg commitments and the MDGs, including MDG8. Sweden will raise its ODA next year to 1 % of GNI. More than 100 million euro will be invested in environmental protection for sustainable development. We urge all other countries in a position to do so, to set concrete timetables for achieving the 0,7 % target by 2015, at the latest.
In the words of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, "Everyone in the world depends completely on Earth's ecosystems and the services they provide. [---] In all regions, and particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, the condition and management of ecosystem services is a dominant factor influencing prospects for reducing poverty."
The bottom line is that a sound natural resource base is crucial for economic and social development. Environmental protection is not a luxury. Tangible progress needs to be made on reaching the targets and objectives adopted in Johannesburg and fulfilling MDG7.
Thank you.