Rabat, (IINA) - The sixth session of the Islamic Conference of Environment Ministers (ICEM) concluded here on Friday with adoption of the draft “Islamic Declaration on Environment Protection and Sustainable Development”.
The two-day event was organized jointly by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO).
The draft emphasizes the need for a renewed political commitment by the member states to the international agenda for sustainable development, in accordance with the internationally agreed principles and instruments, channeling all national and international efforts into achieving sustainable development, while establishing or strengthening national structures for sustainable development to implement sustainable development plans and programs.
The draft also focused on involving civil society organizations and the private sector in the implementation of sustainable development plans, given their vital role in this regard. The meeting commended the role of UN agencies in the sphere of the environment and sustainable development, and urged the international community to take concrete steps towards debt cancellation, easy access to markets, technology transfer and capacity building. It also called on UN agencies and regional organizations to reconsider the relevant international instruments in order to enable all States to address the social, economic, environmental, cultural and human rights-related challenges facing sustainable development.
The meeting also called for concerted efforts by the international community to put an end to internal wars, occupation, colonization and conflicts that have taken place in some Member States.
It also stressed the need to adopt measures to reduce the risks resulting from natural disasters, by promoting preparedness and early warning, incorporating disaster reduction strategies into international and national sustainable development policies, encouraging investment in disaster risk reduction and reaching an international binding agreement to reduce and address climate change effects.
Furthermore, the declaration emphasized the need to strengthen awareness about the importance of eradicating poverty and mustering the political will to achieve this goal through education, training and qualification, and strengthening of capacities, as well as selecting the most appropriate applications and projects to eradicate poverty in the most feasible economic and technical terms.
It also stressed the crucial importance of water to sustainable development processes, pointing out that there is increased pressure on fresh water resources and that it may eventually create crises between states. It also recommended enforcing the UN Convention to Combat Desertification in countries experiencing serious drought or desertification and mustering support for preserving arable lands.
It also proposed that the international community undertake practical measures and concrete initiatives to alleviate the debt of developing countries, open markets, and facilitate movement of goods and people, technology transfer and capacity building.
The Declaration underlined the importance of developing strategies and policies to guarantee energy sustainability as a key driver for advancing economic and human development, improving living conditions and basic services, and achieving human development through education and training in the different areas, while promoting scientific research in energy efficiency and energy rationalization, together with renewable energy technology, exchange of expertise in technological and industrial areas and promotion of use of new technologies in energy operating systems.
Finally, the declaration recommended encouraging the communication and interaction between experts of the Member States, their international counterparts, industrialists, business people, environmental technology developers and users, political decision makers and education and training specialists in order to promote energy technology localization in the Member States and to develop the industrial fabric in different areas of energy use and projects of renewable energy generation, while at the same time broadening the scope of cooperation between all stakeholders in implementing and ensuring adequate funding of such projects.
AG/IINA
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