'Save
a Tree, Save our Lungs' - Children From Around
the World Lend Their Voice for the Protection
of Forests
Nairobi/Putrajaya 27 August
2006 — A project to restore native species of
trees to their natural habitat in Colombia, a
'sacred forest' that highlights the healing qualities
of trees and their role in community rituals in
South Africa, a scheme to save damaged trees on
a street in South Korea, are among environmental
projects presented by children at this year’s
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Tunza
International Children’s Conference for the Environment,
which opened today in Putrajaya, Malaysia, with
the theme ‘Save a Tree, Save our Lungs’.
Two hundred children between
the ages of 10 and 14 from more than 67 countries
are attending the conference, which is taking
place from 26 to 30 August. The children, all
members of environmental clubs in their schools
or communities, were selected based on the creativity
and the inspirational qualities of their environmental
projects. They will be presenting their activities,
voicing their concerns on the current state of
the world’s environment and sharing ideas on what
they can do to promote environmental protection,
conservation and sustainability.
Much of the conference’s planning
and organization was done with the help of a Junior
Board of 11 children elected during the Children’s
World Summit in Aichi, Japan, in 2005. The Junior
Board helped tailor the conference to children’s
concerns, making decisions on everything from
the conference agenda to workshops and fieldtrips.
“I think that everyone has
a voice regardless of their age and it is society
that decides whose voice gets to be heard. As
children, society assumes that we are young and
we don’t understand anything. This conference
is important because it is telling us that children
do have a voice and that they want to hear it,”
said Junior Board Member, 14-year old Hana Shazwin
Azizan from Malaysia.
“Until the Children’s Conference
in Japan, I knew only about environmental problems
of Greece. At this conference I became concerned
when I learned about environmental problems in
other parts of the world,” said 14-year-old Nikolaos
Theofilidis from Greece. “Everyone needs to change
their behaviour towards the environment because
the earth is our home and by harming it we harm
ourselves.”
Among other decisions, the Board
wanted to encourage the development of Tunza environmental
clubs in their respective countries and a strong
children’s network that will allow the children
to keep in touch and monitor the fulfilment of
participants’ personal environmental pledges.
During the conference the children will elect
a new Junior Board which will help to organize
the next Tunza International Children’s Conference
in Stavanger, Norway, in 2008.
The conference was opened by
Her Royal Highness Raja Permaisuri Agong Tuanku
Fauziah Binti Al-Marhum Tengku Abdul Rashid, Queen
of Malaysia.
Eric Falt, Director of UNEP’s
Division of Communications and Public Information,
also attending the conference, told the children
that: “Two out of five species known to science
face extinction, including one in eight birds,
a quarter of all mammals and one-third of amphibian
species. Many of these are forest species, yet
forests around the world continue to be destroyed.
The international community has pledged to reverse
the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010, but at
the moment the rate is still increasing. One way
we can help protect biological diversity, and
protect society from the threat of climate change,
is to preserve our existing forests, and work,
where possible, to replant areas that have been
deforested.”
As well as highlighting the
issues of forests and biodiversity, the conference
focuses on a different theme each day, including
healthy communities, recycling and conservation.
From the day’s presentations, discussions, workshops
and field trips, the children will head into action
group meetings where they will come up with a
set of challenges to world leaders and the United
Nations and commitments for themselves related
to the theme for the day.
"At this conference, these
children from 58 countries will get a chance to
address their concerns for environmetnal challenges
along with 54 Malaysian children. They will come
up with solutions to enviromental challenges in
their countries. Malaysian children will get an
opportunity to learn how other countries cope
with these issues, like the haze that we experience
here year after year," said Ms. Khadijah
Abdul Rahman, Chairperson of the Malaysia Organizing
Committee and head of YAWA.
In addition, the children will
have an opportunity to listen to several presentations
and attend a variety of workshops facilitated
by respected environmentalists with a wealth of
knowledge on environmental issues.
The Conference is organized
by UNEP and Yayasan Anak Warisan Alam (YAWA).
It is sponsored by Bayer, the first private company
to engage with UNEP on a comprehensive environmental
scheme for young people. Other sponsors include
the United Engineering Malaysia (UEM) group, Petronas,
HSBC, SIG, Novozymes, Nestlé, Time Engineering,
NSTP and BMW. The conference is also supported
by Volvo Adventure, the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) and other UN agencies.
“We are very happy to support
the Children's Conference as one of the important
projects under the UNEP-Bayer Partnership,” said
Michael Shade, Senior Vice President of Bayer
AG. "Environmental protection has a more
than 100-year old tradition at Bayer and is an
integral part of our corporate policy. For our
planet's future, it is essential to involve the
young generation in environmental affairs."
“We are proud to contribute
to the success of this conference, as our involvement
furthers our dedication to environmental protection
that is crucial in development and nation building,”
said United Enginerring Malaysia’s Managing Director,
Dato Abu Hassan Kendut.
Note to Editors:
About International Children's
Conferences
The Tunza International Children’s
Conference on the Environment is part of UNEP's
TUNZA programme for children and youth. 'Tunza'
means ‘to treat with care and respect’ in Kiswahili.
It is part of a wide-ranging programme to involve
children and young people in environmental issues.
The International Children's
Conference was first held in 1995 in Eastbourne,
England, and has been held approximately every
two years since then. In July 2004, the Tunza
International Children's conference was held in
New London, Connecticut, USA.
The Tunza International Children's
Conference is the largest United Nations event
for children. It provides a unique opportunity
for children to discuss and learn about their
environmental rights and responsibilities, as
well as meet children from other parts of the
world and become friends with them. The Conference
is for children between the ages of 10 and 14
who come from around the world. Participants are
nominated by their schools and community organizations.
The Tunza International Children's
Conference provides a unique opportunity for children
to present their environmental projects, inspire
each other with their environmental work, become
active environmental citizens and contribute towards
the future of our planet.
The Conference also enables
children to question environmental experts and
challenge the governments and the peoples of the
world to seriously address environmental concerns
and issues.
.A message from the Conference
was presented to the World Summit on Sustainable
Development, which was held in Johannesburg ,
South Africa in August/September 2002. The political
declaration of the World Summit refers to the
message by the children in its opening paragraphs.
Over the years the Conference
has nurtured several active environmental groups
recognized for outstanding environmental achievements.
During the Conference, parallel
sessions are organized for chaperones to discuss
their own contribution to the environment and
their role in helping children to be responsible
environmental citizens.
The TUNZA Junior Board works
with UNEP and the local organizing committee to
ensure that the conference reflects the needs
of the children.
The Board, elected every two
years, consists of six representatives from UNEP
regions: North America , Europe , Latin America
and the Caribbean, Africa, West Asia, and Asia
and the Pacific; and four members from the country
hosting the Conference.
The 2008 Tunza International
Children’s Conference for the Environment will
take place in Stavanger, Norway in association
with Ung Agenda 21, a well established civil society
organization.
More information on the
conference and the Tunza programme is available
at http://www.unep.org/tunza
