UN chief calls for respect Mother Earth

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday appealed to the international community to " renew our pledges to honor and respect Mother Earth" on this year' s international earth day.

Today is a "chance to reaffirm our collective responsibility to promote harmony with nature," he said to the Interactive Dialogue of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) on Harmony with Nature to commemorate the International Mother Earth Day.

In 2009, the UNGA proclaimed April 22 as International Mother Earth Day, expressing its conviction that, to achieve a just balance among the economic, social and environmental needs of present and future generations, "it is necessary to promote harmony with nature and the Earth."

In his speech, the secretary-general stressed that, at this time, "climate change is a real and growing problem" and "we have to confront the hard truth that our planet is under threat."

The global challenges being faced at this time, such as " unsustainable exploitation of natural resources often driven by greed is eroding our planet's fragile ecosystems," he said.

Examples of this include the destruction of biodiversity, short- sighted commercial fishing and acidity in ocean.

These instances have severe impacts on our future because "when we threaten the planet, we undermine our only home and our future survival," Ban said.

However, the UN chief noted that millions of people around the world recognize this problem and are part of the "growing movement for sustainable development."

For example, the country of "Bolivia has adopted a legal framework that specifically protects Mother Earth" and "many other countries and communities around the world are translating their respect for the environment into measures that protect it," he said.

"On this International Day, let us renew our pledges to honor and respect Mother Earth," Ban said, adding that it is essential not only to achieving the Millennium Development Goals by the year 2015, but also to setting new targets beyond that date.

In the same speech, the secretary-general also offered condolences to the recent earthquake victims in Sichuan province of China.

A 7.0-magnitude earthquake jolted Lushan County of China's Sichuan province on Saturday, leaving at least 192 people dead and 23 missing. More than 11,000 people were injured.

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