Ministerial Message for the 2016 World Environment Day

On the 5^th of June we celebrate the World Environment Day under the theme ‘Join the race to make the world a better place”.  

 The World has been commemorating World Environment Day for over 40 years since the campaign was initiated by the United Nations General Assembly in 1973.  The aim of the campaign annually is to engage millions of people globally and to raise awareness about the plight of the natural environment. 

This year’s theme is a battle cry and a call for action for every single one of us to take the necessary steps to safeguard our environment.

The environment provides us with the basic necessity of life and support the livelihood of our people.  The water that we drink, the fish and vegetables that we eat all come from the environment.  It provides us with the essentials for our social and economic well-being.  Due to the rapid increase in the population, it is estimated that the global demands for food, wood, water and energy will increase by 1.5 – 2 folds by 2050.  Therefore, protection of the environment now is an essential investment in our collective future and the responsible use of natural resources is important for sustainable development.

In Seychelles, our constitution makes it a right for all our citizens to live in a clean, balanced, healthy and safe environment.  This is in recognition of the need for a healthy environment to sustain a high quality of life and with it a healthy population.  Our government has taken up the challenge and has delivered remarkably as highlighted by the many accolades our small country continues to amass over the years, the latest of which was the recognition of Seychelles as being the country with the cleanest air in the world.

But governments alone cannot sustain the high quality of environment we all aspire to have.  Within our homes, workplaces and places of recreation it is our duty and responsibility to always treat our environment with respect and care, for us to continue reaping the services and natural products it provides.  

The current fight against mosquito born diseases is a clear example, where a problem can be exacerbated, when we fail to keep our environment clean.  The call by the Ministry of Health for everyone to clean up their compound and business premises is one that must be taken seriously, if we are to abate and stop the problem.

Mr. Ban Kim Moon during his recent visit to Seychelles said that Small Island Developing States face a number of silent disasters mainly caused by our changing climate and our lifestyles.  This year we have experienced cyclone Fantala, which wiped out 5 decades of investments on Farquhar, extensive coral bleaching throughout our territorial waters and sustained higher air temperatures during the north-west monsoon.  These are clear signs that our climate is changing and it is having adverse impact on our environment and threatening our very existence.

Consumerism is a major issue for developing and developed countries alike.  A few years ago UNEP launched an initiative called sustainable production and consumption.  Seychelles has elaborated a national strategy to tackle this growing problem.  We will have to address it together with the sustainable development goals.

In regard to the 17 SDGs and Agenda 2030 Seychelles has a strong head start because it achieved most of the 8 Millennium Development Gaols.  With its strong economic performance, emphasis on people centred development and unabated investment in its environment there is no reason why Seychelles cannot excel.  However, we have to recognise that the SDGs are very ambitious and will require major investments in a wide range of sectors and many complex issues will have to be successfully addressed.

Let us use this World Environment Day to reflect on what we can do today to contribute towards the environmental dimension of the SDGs and improve on our immediate environment.  By working together, we can achieve the future we want. Let us all come together to take positive actions to preserve and sustainably manage the variety of life on Earth for the benefit of current and future generations.  

Mother earth needs us as much as we need it to survive.  Let us nurture and make it a better place.