Distinguished Secretary General
Excellencies
Distinguished delegates,
As the Chair of CSD 18, I am honored to open this High Level Segment. While, as a Minister, I take
political decisions to achieve an enduring and long term development, I am above all a scientist and an
academic , which leads me to take decisions based on reliable information and broad consultations with
the communities involved. I know the common global natural goods and services, and I have been
involved with the United Nations since the Conference on the Protection of the Human Environment in
Stockholm in 1972. I have seen changes generated by Humanity. My field works in different regions of
the world and at the same time in the national decision-making process regarding socio and
environmental issues in a country that is poor and vulnerable to natural phenomena and social injustice,
has given me the opportunity to cooperate with the most vulnerable groups, especially indigenous
peoples. This has given me a broader outlook to meet the challenges and difficulties we face at national,
regional and global levels. The biggest challenge I have faced has been to reconcile the social and
environmental interests with the economic and political interests, and I am sure that this challenge is
common to us all.
To meet this challenge, I used the Agenda 21 and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (JPOI) and
instead of discussing irrelevant issues, the broader question is: "what should we do and how can we
contribute to CSD 18 to harmonize the social, environmental, economic and political issues and achieve
a better quality of life for future generations??
During this year's activities of the CDS18 and especially during the last week, we have analyzed the
persistent challenges and opportunities we collectively face to improve systems in transportation, waste
management, chemical, mining and also the 10-year framework programs for sustainable production
and consumption. Collectively, we can create the conditions and actions to achieve higher economic
growth, improved welfare and a true protection of natural goods and services that sustain life on the
planet. The means of implementation are the mechanisms to make the above viable and effective,
especially for the five topics discussed, and what remains clear is that the CSD 18 and 19 can strengthen
Conventions and enhance existing good practice, particularly in the areas of transport, integrated
management of chemicals and waste.
In mining, it has been clear that some economic interests have exceeded environmental and social
thresholds as well as cultural ones. The question here is: "How can the CSD and the drive towards
sustainable development of the UN achieve a greater involvement of the entire process of mining and
the full involvement of all local and national actors?
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In the area of production and consumption, we have analyzed how the 10-year framework of programs
for sustainable production and consumption can be linked to poverty eradication and the maintenance
of biological and cultural diversity, among other important issues.
I invite you to make proposals that will lead us to action and implementation. We cannot wait. Action is
needed because the same resilience and renewal of natural goods and services have reached a critical
point, resulting in unrecoverable losses. At the same time, income indicators no longer reveal territorial
vulnerability and the socio-environmental risk of countries. Therefore, the crisis we are facing today,
must be accompanied by indicators that show the real vulnerability, such as human development,
including taking into account the ecological footprint and environmental liabilities, as well as
vulnerability indicators derived from climate change.
In that sense, the product of our deliberations the rest of this week will be, among other things, an
important input to the High Level Meeting to be held in September to review progress and pending
tasks for achieving the United Nations Development Goals for the Millennium.
In conclusion, I believe that to overcome the challenge of harmonizing the economic, political and the
social and environmental issues, it is necessary to build a more just, inclusive, equitable and lasting
development model, based on the basis of environmental justice, bioethics and especially with crossgenerational
vision to bequeath to our descendants a planet full of opportunity and sustainable
development.
Thank you very much!
