Abu Dhabi, 15 December
2011 - The Eye on Earth Declaration, a key
outcome of the Eye on Earth Summit, which
will provide input to the United Nations
Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD)
to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in
June 2012, has been signed by the United
Arab Emirates (UAE) Ministry of Environment
and Water, Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi
(EAD) and the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP) after endorsement from
the public and representatives of government,
business, and civil society.
At the Closing Ceremony
of Eye on Earth Abu Dhabi 2011 Summit, the
Eye On Earth Community Declaration was signed
by H.E. Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, Secretary
General, Environment Agency -Abu Dhabi and
Co-Chair of the Summit, H.E. Dr Rashid Ahmad
bin Fahd, UAE Minister of Environment and
Water and Peter Gilruth, UNEP Director of
the Division of Early Warning and Assessment
(DEWA) on behalf of the United Nations Environment
Programme's Executive Director, Achim Steiner.
Further Resources
Eye on Earth Declaration"To have reached
full agreement on the Summit Declaration
by all parties and to have secured the endorsement
of the UAE Ministry of Environment and Water
and the United Nations Environment Programme,
highlights all that has been achieved at
Eye on Earth over the last four days,"
said H.E. Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, Secretary
General, Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi
and Co-Chair of the Summit. "The Eye
on Earth community will now submit this
Declaration for consideration by Rio+20,
marking the 'Moment' that will drive forward
the 'Movement' of ensuring access to the
global pool of environmental and societal
data by all those who need it around the
world."
"Eye on Earth has
spotlighted the issues but also the opportunities
for accelerating and scaling up more intelligent
management and access to the wealth of environmental
data being generated across the globe,"
said Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General
and UNEP Executive Director. "Today's
Declaration can assist nations, meeting
for the Rio+20 Summit in Brazil next June,
to chart a course towards a low carbon,
resource efficient global Green Economy
- one that can generate growth and jobs,
eradicate poverty and propel sustainable
development but in a way that keeps humanity's
footprint within planetary boundaries,"
he said.
The Summit Declaration's
contents were negotiated and finalised by
Civil Society and ministerial delegations
from around the world, Abu Dhabi Global
Environmental Data Initiative (AGEDI) and
the United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP), who have been attending the Eye
on Earth Summit. The globally significant
Eye on Earth Community Declaration process
was facilitated by Abu Dhabi Global Environmental
Data Initiative (AGEDI).
The Declaration recalls
"Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration
on Environment and Development, which amongst
others recognises that each individual shall
have appropriate access to information concerning
the environment that is held by public authorities,
and that States shall facilitate and encourage
public awareness and participation by making
information widely available."
The declaration will
be submitted by AGEDI and UNEP at the end
of this week to the 2nd Intercessional Meeting
of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable
Development, which will be held at the UN
Secretariat in New York.
Unanimous consensus
on the final text of the declaration was
reached after open discussions with UN Major
Groups and Civil Society, and a 'Rio +20
Session' for Ministerial delegations, which
took place on Monday 12th December 2011
and was attended by 16 Governmental delegations.
The meeting was facilitated by UNEP and
AGEDI.
The Eye on Earth Summit
is dedicated to the critical issue of greater
access to environmental and societal data
for enhanced decision making, especially
in emerging economies. The Summit brings
together the global leadership of the environmental
information movement, a group dedicated
to bringing the benefits of better information
to people and decision-makers around the
planet.
Speakers at the Summit,
which opened on Monday December 12th at
the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre
(ADNEC), included UAE leadership, President
Bill Clinton, Dr. Jane Goodall, OBE, Dr.
Sylvia Earle, National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence,
Dr. Russell Mittermeier, President Conservation
International and Sha Zukang, Under-Secretary
General of the United Nations and Secretary
General of Rio+20.
Members of the public
attended the Eye on Earth Abu Dhabi 2011
Exhibition which ran side by side with the
Summit and showcased the very best from
around the world in the field of environmental
and geospatial data access and analysis,
including Abu Dhabi's pioneering 2030 strategic
vision for a sustainable economy.
Held under the patronage
of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed
Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab
Emirates, the Eye on Earth Abu Dhabi 2011
Summit and Exhibition is hosted by Environment
Agency - Abu Dhabi (EAD), facilitated by
Abu Dhabi Global Environmental Data Initiative
(AGEDI) and held in partnership with the
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
The final text of the
Eye on Earth Summit Declaration is available
for download at www.eyeonearthsummit.org
The international science
news network, SciDev.net, has a special
Eye on Earth micro website covering Summit
events with their team of seven journalists
from around the world here: http://bit.ly/uytI9L
A video news release
that includes President Bill Clinton's remarks
is available here: http://prn.to/vQ78Tb
Individual video announcements
by are available here: http://bit.ly/sYTFN4
Follow news on twitter,
using hashtag #eyeonearth
For more information
visit, www.eyeonearthsummit.org
About Environment Agency
- Abu Dhabi (EAD)
The Environment Agency
- Abu Dhabi (EAD) was established in 1996
to preserve Abu Dhabi's natural heritage,
protect our future, and raise awareness
about environmental issues. EAD is Abu Dhabi's
environmental regulator and advises the
government on environmental policy. It works
to create sustainable communities, and protect
and conserve wildlife and natural resources.
EAD also works to ensure integrated and
sustainable water resources management,
to ensure clean air and minimise climate
change and its impacts. For more information,
visit www.ead.ae
About Abu Dhabi Global
Environmental Data Initiative (AGEDI)
Conceived by the Environment
Agency - Abu Dhabi and launched by the Abu
Dhabi Government in 2002, under the guidance
and patronage of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa
bin Zayed Al Nahyan, AGEDI provides user-friendly
access to high-quality environmental information,
through a variety of information products.
While EAD champions AGEDI locally, the United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) champions
it regionally and globally. AGEDI's objectives
include; to enhance environmental data collection
and assessment, to increase data capacities
for local, national, regional, and global
environmental decision making, to ensure
sustainable development planning is based
on quality, timely, useable, and updated
data and information, to provide accessibility
of data and information to all stakeholders,
to enhance national and international mechanisms
of information processing and exchange and
to enhance national capacities in information
handling and communications. For more information,
visit www.agedi.ae
About United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP)
UNEP
is the designated authority of the United
Nations system in environmental issues at
the global and regional level. UNEP's mission
is 'to provide leadership and encourage
partnership in caring for the environment
by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations
and peoples to improve their quality of
life without compromising that of future
generations'. UNEP is headquartered in Nairobi,
Kenya. For more information, visit www.unep.org
