UN official hails Kuwait’s commitment to environment

KUWAIT: The United Nations special representative Tarek El-Sheikh praised the commitment of individuals, institutions, public and private bodies and civil societies in Kuwait for protecting the environment and promoting the sustainable use of natural resources. Speaking in a statement on the occasion of World Environment Day, he said this year’s event focuses on supporting biodiversity, which is the foundation that supports all living things.

A campaign was launched last week to draw attention to the need to restore nature and reverse the loss of biological diversity, the main objective of which was to build an understanding about how all living things

are linked in the web of life. It included interactive visual discussions and other platforms to show the interconnectedness of all life on Earth. Biodiversity, the diversity of life forms on Earth, from large animals, plants and fungi to the smallest living organisms, is being threatened like never before, he warned.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has stressed that we are on the verge of facing mass extinction. Over the next 10 years, about one million species of organisms may be erased from the face of the Earth, and wildlife has decreased on an average of more than 60 percent in the past 50 years. He cautioned that the loss of biodiversity would have severe impacts on humanity, from the collapse of food and health systems to disruption of entire supply chains, and that our unsustainable use of nature is the cause of this largely tragic situation. The UN official went on to urge governments, companies and civil society organisations to join hands in building a global understanding of biological diversity and nature’s importance to our survival. —KUNA