EPS represents Yemen in Earth Summit [Archives:2002/34/Health]

BY YEMEN TIMES STAFF
Environment Protecting Society, an active Yemeni NGO in the field of environmental protection revealed to Yemen Times that it has been selected by the Minister of Tourism and Environment Mr. Abdul Malik A. Al-Eryani and Environment to represent Yemens NGO sector in the Second Earth Summit 2002 to be held during 26 August-4 September 2002 in Johannesburg, South Africa organized by the United Nations.
Aref Muharram, Chairman of the EPS said, We have been appointed as a member in the Yemeni national committee to prepare for the Earth Summit also called Sustainable Development Summit that was agreed upon among nations on the international level to look at the current conditions of the earth and the deterioration in natural resources, which will eventually result in the demolishing of factors of life on this planet.
The EPS had presented the government a report representing the role of NGOs in the field of sustainable development and environmental protection throughout the last few years. The report was reasonably transparent, and realistic. Despite the humble role played by the civil society in our country, our role is getting even tougher to play because less active NGOs receive gifts and aid because of their closer ties to political parties. he added.
Muharram added, As Yemeni NGOs, we will be requesting from the upcoming Johannesburg summit to exert pressures on governments to target environmental problems mainly resulting from carelessness of industrial and oil-exporting countries. Ways must be found to increase the number of trees, reduce environmental pollution, encourage invention of alternative clean energy resources, solve the problem of desertification, work out ways to help the poor, reduce domestic migration, decrease sand pollution using chemicals, control population growth, etc.
As for the cooperation between EPS and other Arab and regional NGOs, Muharram concluded, We have coordinated our regional and Arab stance in previous summits and will bring a common request to target the Israeli aggressions against the Palestinian people and territory. We will condemn the Israeli actions in removing historical trees, ruining farms, demolishing houses, and destroying Palestinian infrastructure. We will also present the issue of Israeli nuclear plants and what dangers they represent for the whole region. We will condemn the technological sanctions imposed on some Arab countries such as Iraq and Libya, and will cooperate with Arab official delegations to bring a strong stance against the injustice suffered by the Iraqi people. We will also of course strongly reject any attempts for a war against Iraq.
______
*More information on Johannesburg Earth Summit 2002 at (www.johannesburgsummit.org).

——
[archive-e:34-v:2002-y:2002-d:2002-08-19-p:./2002/iss34/health.htm]