Honorary Guests

Honorary President
Ahmed Djoghlaf
Executive Secretary
Secretariat of the Convention on Biological diversity
United Nations Environment Program
A word from Honorary President Ahmed Djoghlaf

Statement by Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity

The Convention on Biological Diversity is the founding international instrument for the protection of genetic, species and ecosystem diversity. As a means of achieving its goals, it urges its members to promote environmental education and raise awareness about our fundamental dependence on the biological world for our food, our shelter, our health and our culture. The 5th World Environmental Education Congress in Montreal is a wonderful opportunity to do just that: reinforce the importance of environmental learning as an essential way – indeed, perhaps the essential way in the long-term – of preserving biodiversity and fostering sustainable development. The Congress could not be timelier. The Parties to the Convention have resolved to significantly reduce rates of biodiversity loss by 2010, so now more than ever we need to be giving citizens the tools for life-long learning about how to interact sustainably with nature. Environmental education must be a process for both the old and the young – those who are shaping the world of today, and those who will shape the world of tomorrow. The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity is glad to be a partner of the World Environmental Education Congress and looks forward to the ideas and awareness it is sure to generate.

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