Minister Väyrynen: A return to a holistic view is needed in development and environment policy
Press release 159/2008
14.5.2008
Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Väyrynen took part in the Ministerial meeting of the 16th Session of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development on 14 May. In his address Minister Väyrynen stressed the need to return to the thinking of the UN Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, where the view of development and environment policy was holistic. In the minister’s opinion, global environment policy is currently too fragmented.
“All development should be ecologically sustainable. The Commission on Sustainable Development should concentrate on ecological sustainability, since this is the only global forum for this particular purpose,” Väyrynen stressed.
In Minister Väyrynen’s opinion, the integrated environmental governance being developed by the United Nations is a good illustration that the international community is returning to a more holistic view. Topical international problems, such as the food crisis and problems linked with the availability of water, can only be solved through ecologically sustainable development.
Additional information: Päivi Nevala, Adviser to the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, mobile tel. +358 40 753 4375, and Counsellor Jyrki Nissilä, mobile tel. +358 40 740 9154
