"Renewed Demonstration of Political Will at the Global Level Needed for Preservation of Environment" - IIMSAM Goodwill Ambassador Dr. Naseer Homoud

Doha, Qatar, June 06, 2011 --(PR.com)-- Commemorating the World Environment Day, Dr. Naseer Homoud, Goodwill Ambassador and Director of Middle East office for the Intergovernmental Institution for the use of Micro-algae Spirulina against Malnutrition (IIMSAM), the Intergovernmental Observer to the United Nations Economic and Social Council said, “Climate change is a major concern for people all over the world. We can already see the impacts and people don’t want to leave the problems for their children and grandchildren to deal with. It is high time to pledge for protecting the nature.” He called today for greater urgency and ambition in international negotiations on a new global climate agreement, warning that it represents the world’s last chance to prevent climate change from reaching dangerous levels. “Urgent and ambitious global action is therefore imperative if we are to prevent dangerous climate change that threatens to cause enormous human suffering, undermine economic progress and poverty reduction, and trigger potentially catastrophic environmental changes,” he added.

The Goodwill Ambassador said, “The world community is at a transitional stage in the way we view the links between the environment and our economic and social development. We want to pass on to the next generation a world which is strong economically and socially as well, built on strong environmental and social policies. I see no contradiction between ensuring the protection of the environment in which we live, and on which we depend, and the building of a competitive world, creating wealth and jobs. However, in order to combine protection of the environment with employment and prosperity, we have to change our patterns of production and consumption."

Urging for comprehensive polices towards preserving ecology Dr. Homoud said, "Environmental protection is no longer about being green, reusing towels and recycling paper. Today, the main focus is on corporate responsibility by practicing environment protection and sustainability." Speaking on the occasion he further said, “We can give full and effective recognition to the important contribution of indigenous and traditional knowledge, promoting the dynamic exchange of information and know-how to support biodiversity conservation and healthy ecosystems. We can recognize much more forcefully the role that women play in developing and transmitting specific biodiversity knowledge and their role in biodiversity management and decision-making.”

The Goodwill Ambassador urged that reversal of the destruction in the environment constitutes the great moral, political and economic challenge of our era. He said, "This demands the consolidation of an environmental and cultural conscience, individually and collectively, as well as the activation of society in its entirety. It demands a new way of thinking. It also demands that we place the interest of future generations above the short-term cost of our immediate action. It demands that we place the interests of those we possess nothing above the interests of those who possess so much. It demands vigilance and continuous struggle: a struggle for the right to the environment."

Maintaining that environment protection is not only one of the eights Millennium Development Goals as set by United Nations, but also a major prerequisite for accomplishing other goals, Dr. Homoud said, “Speeding progress towards the MDGs will require stepping up attention to and investment in the environment. Investing in sound and equitable environmental management makes good economic sense, and a major scaling-up of worldwide investment in the environment is essential for creating the opportunities that people need to lift themselves out of poverty.” He further went on to say, “The relationship between the environment and human well-being goes beyond the environmental sustainability goal. Dealing with extreme hunger, health, and gender equality, for example, relies also on effective allocation and management of natural resources."

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