NGOs Unite on Earth’s Greatest Crisis
A three-day meeting of over 2,500 delegates from more than 500 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and representing 80 countries affirmed that climate change “is potentially the most serious threat humanity and our environment have ever faced.”
A declaration adopted Friday warns that global warming can possibly have a devastating impact on virtually all aspects of life in the planet, including “catastrophic effects on our earth’s ecosystem, biodiversity and infrastructure.”
Among other potential threats singled out were: the significant reduction of available food, water, energy and transport; massive migration of populations and the possible destruction of entire cultures and small island nations; significant damage to economic, political, cultural and social bases; and irreversible harm to the lifestyles of indigenous peoples.
The meeting, described as one of the largest single gathering of NGOs, was organised by the U.N.’s Department of Public Information, which has been hosting similar conferences over the last 59 years. This year’s theme was: “Climate Change: How it Impacts Us All.”
Stressing the role of NGOs in raising global awareness of climate change, Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro told delegates the United Nations today relies on its partnership with the NGO community “in virtually everything the world body does”.
“Whether it is peace-building in sub-Saharan Africa or human rights in Latin America, disaster assistance in the Caribbean or de-mining efforts in the Middle East, the United Nations depends upon the advocacy skills, creative resources and grass-roots reach of civil society organisations in all our work,” she said, paying a compliment to NGOs, described as “the world’s third superpower.”
The NGO representatives committed themselves, over the next 12 months, “to unify behind a common vision of collaboration — even if we disagree on tactics — to develop and implement plans for adaptation and mitigation, taking into account the full range of consequences.”
