UNITED NATIONS, April 22 (Xinhua) -- UN General Assembly President Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces on Monday appealed to all parties to find balance between the needs of human beings and the resources that the planet provides.
Speaking at the Interactive Dialogue on Harmony with Nature to commemorate the International Mother Earth Day, the UNGA president said that the world must redefine the relationships between economy, society and nature and to achieve a balance, therefore "a cultural change is urgent."
"Human actions are dramatically altering life on our planet," she said.
Environmental degradation is worsening in all countries and regions, said Espinosa, adding that it is estimated that 60 percent of vertebrate animals have disappeared since 1970.
Noting that people are living a climate crisis, with extreme temperatures and increasingly frequent and intense phenomena, she said that these phenomena affected more than 60 million people around the world in 2018 alone, such as cyclone Idai which recently devastated Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe.
It is time to look after the Mother Earth, to repair it, to protect and restore its life cycles, said Espinosa. "so she can continue to create the life she harbors and breeds."
The global consciousness about the right of nature to exist and be protected is growing. This is inspiring, for present and future generations, she added.
Find a balance does not mean not using the resources, it rather means stopping the irrational, unlimited and unsustainable exploitation of those resources and build a development model, Espinosa explained.
"We need urgent answers, with collective actions and we need to build new compacts to responsibly and fairly manage the common goods of humanity," she said.
The UN General Assembly, in order to promote harmony with nature and the Earth, and noting that Earth Day is observed each year in many countries, decided to designate April 22 as International Mother Earth Day through a resolution adopted in 2009.
Espinosa said that there are two topics that require special attention. One topic is that education is a key driving force to create a better and more sustainable future, while the other topic is people must acknowledge climate change as the existential threat of our time.
Young people and children must acquire the knowledge, competencies and values necessary to forge that future. Topics such as climate change, the conservation of biodiversity, maintaining forests and sustainable production and consumption patterns must be part of all educational programs, she added.
States must significantly increase their climate action and environmental protection, which requires the necessary resources, capabilities and technology, said the UNGA president.
The theme of this year's Interactive Dialogue on Harmony with Nature to commemorate the International Mother Earth Day is "Mother Earth approach in the implementation of Education and Climate Change."
