Expert Meeting on Linkages between Poverty and Environment, Oslo 18 March 2002

Statement by André Støylen, State Secretary - Norwegian Ministry of the Environment,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am very happy to see so many experts gathered to examine the links between poverty, development and the environment. I hope that this meeting will shed further light on this complex issue.

All too often, we get trapped into debates where environmental concerns are seen as an obstacle to social and economic development, and therefore run contrary to poverty reduction. This is a misconception; the environment is not a competitor, but rather a precondition for development and prosperity. As proof of this relationship, one need only to see how vulnerable the world’s poor are to environmental degradation; they suffer the most from loss of biodiversity, climate change, soil erosion and water pollution. If we are to reduce poverty, we also depend on healthy ecosystems providing goods and services meeting the daily needs for food, clean water, and sustaining economic development.

Evidence shows that the poor are most vulnerable to both man-made and natural environmental disasters such as floods and landslides. It is the poor who loose their homes and who cannot afford to rebuild them. It is the poor who loose their lives and suffer the most from epidemics and other health related problems in the wake of such disasters.

In fact, the fate of the environment may be the most important long-term social and economical problem of the world. Should it not then be treated with more urgency on policy agendas?

In order to make good policy decisions we need reliable and objective information on the state of the environment. We are very pleased with UNEPs work in the area of assessments, monitoring and early warning. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, which is an extensive study of the world’s ecosystems and their contributions to economic development, is one of many examples. The inter-governmental component of this work is also of great value and we want to strengthen UNEPs role in this area. This is why we have suggested the establishment of an inter-governmental panel for assessing global environmental change. This suggestion is part of the IEG decision from Cartagena and we now need UNEP to further explore the modalities for such a panel prior to the next Governing Council in February 2003.

UNEP has also an important role to play in integrating environment within the social and economic processes of national policy making. This can be done by mainstreaming environmental concerns into other sectors – such as health, education, agriculture, fisheries, forestry, trade and industry. UNEP should also be an active contributor to Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers and the Comprehensive Development Frameworks of the World Bank, as well as within the UN Development Assistance Framework. These initiatives are meant to promote better co-operation and coordination among the various UN bodies, Bretton Woods Institutions, bilateral agencies and other stakeholders at the country level. The ultimate goal is to improve support for national efforts to reduce poverty.

The inter-relationship between poverty and the environment is an important theme in the Johannesburg Summit preparations. If we want to achieve sustainable growth, we need to strengthen international environmental governance. This must lead to institutions with the capacity to manage our natural resources in a sustainable manner, and with the ability to address environmental threats in a globalised world. In parallel, we need to enhance international governance for economic and social development. In Johannesburg we have an opportunity to combine forces and improve our current structures for “Governance for Sustainable Development”. Strengthened Environmental Governance is a vital component of such an effort.

I would like to finalise by quoting the Youth Statement at UNEPs Global Youth Retreat last February. “In an environmental wasteland everyone is poor.“

Poverty is not only a question of economic poverty; it is also a question of ecological poverty. For this reason environment must be a prominent and integral part of poverty reduction schemes. I hope that you at this meeting will go a long way in identifying how this can be done. Thank you for your attention and I wish you all the best for your meeting.