07 December 2001
Text: Toepfer Cites Need to Assess Afghan Environment
(Releases statement following U.N.-sponsored talks in Bonn) (650)
Klaus Toepfer, executive director of the United Nations Environment
Program (UNEP), says the package being considered by governments for
the rehabilitation of Afghanistan should include a thorough
environmental assessment of the country.
According to a December 6 press release, Toepfer issued a statement
following the U.N.-sponsored talks on Afghanistan in Bonn, Germany.
Toepfer asserted that the armed conflict waged in Afghanistan for the
last 20 years may have led to environmental degradation in areas such
as freshwater, sanitation, forests and soil quality.
"People cannot secure real and sustainable economic development
against a background of contaminated water, polluted land and
marginalized natural resources," he said.
Toepfer said that UNEP, working with the U.N. Office for Coordination
for Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), could be in the forefront of
efforts to mobilize the resources and administration needed for the
environmental rehabilitation to come.
He said the first step is to dispatch a mission to the region to
pinpoint areas in Afghanistan where environmental degradation has
occurred and where a more in-depth assessment is needed. Findings from
this field mission would give the international community a clear
picture of where cleanup and other actions aimed at restoring the
Afghan environment are needed.
Following is the text of the press release:
(begin text)
UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAM
Reconstructing War Torn Afghanistan Must Take Environment Into Account
Environmental issues should form part of the package being considered
by Governments for the rehabilitation of Afghanistan, Klaus Toepfer,
Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Program, said
today.
Nairobi, 6 December 2001 - Mr Toepfer said: "Armed conflict, which has
been waged in Afghanistan for at least 20 years, can lead to
environmental degradation in areas such as freshwater, sanitation,
forests and soil quality".
In a statement, issued in the wake of the United Nations-sponsored
talks on Afghanistan which ended in Bonn, Germany, this week, he
called for those involved to consider the need for a thorough
environmental assessment of the country.
"A healthy environment is a prerequisite for sound and sustainable
development. People cannot secure real and sustainable economic
development, against a background of contaminated water, polluted land
and marginalized, natural resources," he said.
Mr Toepfer said it was vital that the humanitarian needs of the Afghan
people are first secured and that an interim government is in place.
But added that UNEP stood ready to assist in the rehabilitation and
reconstruction phase to come.
"Focused consideration must soon be given to the environmental impacts
of the current and previous wars. There is also a need to assess the
environmental impact from mass migration both within the country and
into neighboring ones. UNEP's recently established, Post-Conflict
Assessment Unit, based in Geneva can extend their work to Afghanistan.
This work was pioneered in the Balkans following the Kosovo conflict,"
he said.
UNEP has worked and cooperated with the United Nations Office for
Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) who are already
operating in the region. It believes that the two organizations could
be in the forefront of efforts to mobilize the resources and
administration needed to tackle environmental questions in
Afghanistan.
Mr Toepfer said the first action was to dispatch a mission to the
region to pin point those areas in Afghanistan where environmental
degradation has occurred and where a more in-depth assessment is
needed. This would build on current desk-top studies that are being
carried out by UNEP in consultation with other UN agencies and
environmental organizations.
It is hoped that the findings from the on the ground mission will in
turn give the international community a clear picture of where clean
up and other actions aimed at restoring the Afghan environment are
needed.
(end text)
(Following is distributed by the Office of International Information
Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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