A sustainable world for our children

The new focus on Africa’s development demonstrated by the international community on the occasion of the UN Millennium summit is welcome. My continent lags behind other regions in making progress toward achieving the Millennium Development Goals. However, the centrality of the environment remains marginal to discussions about poverty. While we continue to discuss these initiatives to address poverty, environmental degradation, including the loss of biodiversity and topsoil, is accelerating, causing development efforts to falter. Without better management of resources and a better sharing of what we have so that everyone’s basic needs are satisfied, achieving the MDGs, especially the aim to eradicate poverty, will remain a dream. Our children have a right to a world free of pollution, rich in biological diversity and with a climate capable of sustaining all forms of life.

I believe our European friends can help us secure and strengthen the basis for environmentally sustainable development in Africa. Although we have enough faith and determination to create better living conditions for our future generations, we need the political support of a strong global player able and willing to tackle key environmental challenges affecting the whole world. Poverty cannot be eradicated without significant global political changes, where strong global actors make conscious choices to promote the interests of more vulnerable communities, as well as future generations. The leadership Europe has shown in fighting for the ratification of the Kyoto protocol has set high expectations all over the world.

In our combat against poverty, I see the partnership of responsible Europe leading us towards ensuring that the world’s flora and fauna are protected. I see the respect of Europe for the values of diversity, solidarity, equality between women and men, human rights and tolerance inspiring its relations with the rest of the world and particularly its partnership with Africa. The citizens of Europe’s concern and support for issues such as environmental protection and global sustainable development must be reflected in a global leadership that fight for the realization of the Millennium Development Goals and thereby a successful fight against the eradication of poverty.

To make poverty history, Europeans have to put the environment at the centre of their relations with developing countries. We must stop the talking and engage in actions. That is what will make the difference.

Wangari Maathai

Biography