Minister for the Environment Cozier Frederick has called on the public to recognize the significant contribution of the natural environment in shaping their everyday lives and overall well-being.
He made the comment this week as Dominica joined the rest of the world to observe World Environment Day under the theme: “Our land. Our future. We are #GenerationRestoration.”
“I would like us to recognize the significant contribution of our natural environment in shaping our everyday lives and the overall well-being,” he said. “Since 1973, World Environment Day has raised awareness about critical environmental issues like climate change and the depletion of the ozone layer.”
“This year we will focus on land restoration [and] the certification on drought resilience,” he revealed.
According to Frederick, all over the world ecosystems are threatened and the day has helped spur everyone to take action and address these challenges.
“Today, we have an opportunity to shine a spotlight on solutions,” Frederick stated.
Furthermore, he indicated that land restoration is a pillar of the United Nations decade on ecosystem restoration, “a rallying call for the protection and revival of eco-systems all around the world.”
This, Frederick said, is critical to achieving sustainable development goals.
“We know that the restoration boosts livelihoods, lowers poverty, and builds resilience to extreme weather,” he explained.
He continued, “Restoration increases carbon storage and slows climate change. Restoring just 15 percent of land and halting further conversion could avoid up to 60 percent of expected species extinction.”
Frederick added, “ We must seek to end the drivers of land degradation…”
According to a press release posted on www.unep.org/news World Environment Day, marked annually on June 5, was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1972. Over the past five decades, the Day has grown to be one of the largest global platforms for environmental outreach. Tens of millions of people participate online and through in-person activities, events, and actions around the world.
The release said further that according to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, up to 40 per cent of the planet’s land is degraded, directly affecting half of the world’s population and threatening roughly half of global GDP (US$44 trillion). The number and duration of droughts have increased by 29 per cent since 2000 – without urgent action, droughts may affect over three-quarters of the world’s population by 2050.
Land restoration is a key pillar of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030), a rallying call for the protection and revival of ecosystems all around the world, which is critical to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
The release went on to state that 2024 will mark the 30th anniversary of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification. The sixteenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 16) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) will be held in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, from 2 to 13 December 2024.
The invisible man appears to read a speech someone else has written before once again vanishing into the void.
by their fruits or face you shall know them…I find the minister looking like a boowo..am not saying his a boowo but he looks like a sarty boowo.
I doh reading what he say..not at all
Lead by example, you should be engaged in doing something tangible on that day like cleaning a river, planting a tree, etc instead of writing, talking, overeating, ‘pooming’, belching and pontificating. Your bla, bla, bla, must also be heard when your regime treat our rivers, streams and rivulets with disdain, and indiscriminately dump whatever they want into them. I would be elated if you read and respond to me. You are a waste of time as Minister responsible for the environment. Sadly you are not alone, since your government has just one man who is minister of EVERYTHING!
I prefer action to fancy words. If this regime was serious, it would have planted the millions trees they promised after Maria. The rivers would not be used as dumping grounds for local and foreign construction companies. The landscape would not be decorated with so many derelict, abandoned vehicles.
The minister’s presentation was strictly intended to deceive the world and obfuscate the truth. He is just another master propagandist cloaked in a expensive suit.