WAVE Belgrade Declaration- adopted

120 participants from 30 countries call for the Right to a Healthy Environment

13.11.2007 |Jasmine Osorio

Approximately 120 participants, from 30 different countries in the PAN-European region came together in Belgrade, Serbia during the WAVE -Women as the Voice for the Environment- Conference (13 Oct.), to discuss the right to a healthy environment, hear testimonies on environmental rights breaches in the region, and share examples of success, including new projects (e.g. the Nesting project) and mobilizing campaign strategies.

Delegates also debated a draft Declaration, “Women as the Voice for the Right to a Healthy Environment”, which called for the right to a healthy environment on specific issues, namely, biodiversity, safe water and sanitation, safe and affordable energy, safe chemicals in everyday products and the right to information, participation and justice. After working in thematic groups and then engaging in a direct text amendment negotiation session, the delegates approved the
WAVE Belgrade Declaration (RU)

Declaration Excerpts
…We call on our Governments and all other sectors of society to recognize the environment as the foundation and sustainer of our societies, our economies and our lives…We call on our Governments to guarantee the right to a healthy environment, taking into account the full protection of communities, in particular our children and future generations, by implementing existing measures and introducing new legal means…We call on all Governments and stakeholders in the region and worldwide to join our efforts to promote the right to a healthy environment for all!

WAVE Background
Women‘s participation and experience are central to environmental management and sustainable development. Recognizing this, UNEP brought women‘s voices to the forefront of the environmental agenda in a landmark event, the Global Women’s Assembly on Environment, “Women As the Voice of the Environment” (WAVE), which took place in Nairobi, Kenya, October 2004. The event intended to make women‘s crucial roles in conservation and sustainable development visible to all. A Manifesto on Women and Environment was written with concrete policy recommendations and a portfolio of specific project ideas.

Exactly three years later, Women in Europe for a Common Future (WECF) together with Environmental Ambassadors (EA) and UNEP, collaborated for the follow-up to that 2004 meeting, with the overarching theme of the right to a healthy environment and women’s role herein. The WAVE events where twofold; a high level Lunch, a Side Event within the Environment for Europe Ministerial Conference (10 Oct.), and the WAVE Conference (13 Oct.).

For more information, see the WAVE Report.