Everyone has role in environment says Guterres

NaijaAgroNet:

NaijaAgroNet:

The office of the United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, has declared that without a healthy environment, the world cannot be said to be working hard to end poverty or build prosperity, reports NaijaAgroNet.

In his message to mark the 2017 World Environment Day, Mr. Guterres said every human being has a role to play in protecting nature in all facet of life.

"Without a healthy environment we cannot end poverty or build prosperity. We all have a role to play in protecting our only home: we can use less plastics, drive less, waste less food and teach each other to care." Guterres asserted.

NaijaAgroNet, gathered that the theme for 2017, ‘Connecting People to Nature’, urges people to get outdoors and into nature, to appreciate its beauty and to think about how to be part of nature and how intimately people depend on it.

“It challenges us to find fun and exciting ways to experience and cherish this vital relationship,” the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) official statement enjoins.

Noting man is both creature and moulder of his environment, which gives him physical sustenance and affords him the opportunity for intellectual, moral, social and spiritual growth. In the long and tortuous evolution of the human race on this planet a stage has been reached when, through the rapid acceleration of science and technology, man has acquired the power to transform his environment in countless ways and on an unprecedented scale.

The United Nations, aware that the protection and improvement of the human environment is a major issue, which affects the well-being of peoples and economic development throughout the world, designated 5 June as the World Environment Day. The celebration of this day provides us with an opportunity to broaden the basis for an enlightened opinion and responsible conduct by individuals, enterprises and communities in preserving and enhancing the environment.

Since it began in 1974, it has grown to become a global platform for public outreach that is widely celebrated all over the world, with every, a country is identified as the host of the theme with 2017 holds in Canada.

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Guterres confirms Nigeria’s Amina, deputy secretary-general @UN

NaijaAgroNet:

The newly elected Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), Mr. Antonio Guterres, has confirmed the appointment of the Nigeria’s Environment Minister, Amina Mohammed, as his Deputy Secretary-General, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Speaking through his spokesman, Mr. Stephane Dujarric, the Secretary-General also named the duo of Ms. Maria Viotti of Brazil and Ms. Kyung-Wha Kang of the Republic of Korea into prominent positions at the UN.

“I am pleased to announce that I will be appointing Ms. Amina J. Mohammed of Nigeria as my Deputy Secretary-General, and Ms. Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti of Brazil as my Chef De Cabinet.

“I also intend to create the position of Special Advisor on Policy, and to appoint Ms. Kyung-Wha Kang of the Republic of Korea to this new role.

“I am happy to count on the efforts of these three highly competent women, whom I have chosen for their strong backgrounds in global affairs, development, diplomacy, human rights and humanitarian action.

“These appointments are the foundations of my team, which I will continue to build, respecting my pledges on gender parity and geographical diversity,” Guterres said.

Mohammed, Nigeria’s current Minister of Environment, served as UN Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser to the outgoing Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon on Post-2015 Development Planning.

She was instrumental in bringing about the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including the Sustainable Development Goals.

NaijaAgroNet also reports that before joining the UN, Amina Mohammed had worked for three successive administrations in Nigeria, serving as Special Adviser on Millennium Development Goals.

She provided advice on issues including poverty, public sector reforms, sustainable development, and coordinating poverty reduction interventions.

She is also an Adjunct Professor in Development Practice at Columbia University, and serves on numerous international advisory boards and panels, including the UN Secretary-General’s high-level panel on Post-2015 Development Agenda.

Others include the Independent Expert Advisory Group on the Data Revolution for Sustainable Development and the Global Development Programme of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Born in 1961, and educated in Nigeria and the UK, Mohammed is married and has six children.

Guterres had hinted on Monday after he took the oath of office that gender parity would be top of his agenda as the UN scribe.

He said, “I think that one very important element of the agenda would be to give a clear signal that gender parity is a must and so in the appointments I will be making.

“And the first ones would be announced soon. You’ll see that gender parity will become a clear priority from top to bottom in the UN and it will have to be respected by all.”

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