The right to a healthy environment

WECF speaks at final plenary session of UNECE "Environment for Europe" Conference in Belgrade, Serbia.

01.11.2007 |Chantal van den Bossche

Members of the WECF network in traditional dresses at the "Diverse Apples and Diverse Cultures" photo-shoot at the WECF exhibition stand in Belgrade

Women’s participation and experience are central to environmental management and sustainable development. Women in Europe for a Common Future (WECF) gaven an intervention at the final plenary session of the 6th Environment for Europe (EFE) Ministerial Conference in Belgrade, Serbia on 10-12 October, 2007. WECF spoke on the importance to continue this policy process, which is the only forum where pan-European environmental policies can be decided. A number of countries had suggested that the Belgrade ministerial conference should be the last.

WECF spoke at the final plenary session of the Ministerial conference on Friday the 12th of October. WECF welcomed the idea to continue the “environment for Europe” process and to go forward and develop this by introducing a reform process taking into account cross-cutting issues, such as biodiversity, health, environment and gender. Women in Europe experiences in its daily work how agro-diversity is supporting the livelihoods and the culture of many rural areas across the pan-European region, but sees with concern the threats by GMOs and nano-technologies.

WECF urged in its intervention the governments to establish concrete measures and instruments to protect biodiversity and mainstream them in all sectors. Policies and instruments are still needed to ensure that all citizens have access to safe water and sanitation and safe energy, without neglecting the poor, which are often female-headed households. In particular those groups have to be engaged that are not yet well represented at all decision-making levels, such as local people, women, youth and minorities. Their views are needed to develop sustainable policies that will have broad public support and truly meet the needs of the people.

WECF asked in particular attention for the need of Equity, assuring environmental justice in the region, where currently poverty often leads to increased health effects from environmental pollution. WECF calls on government to protect the right to a healthy environment for all.

The intervention from WECF can be found here.

WECF organised 2 side events during the EfE Ministerial conference, on Sustainable Sanitation and on Women as the Voice for the right to a Healthy Environment (see previous articles on this website). The diverse apple exhibition organised by WECF received a lot of attention, focussing the attention on the need to better protect agro-biodiversity, such as old traditional apple species.

To see what came out of the conference see here the final ministerial declaration.

The history and the major achievements of the process can be easily found on this website/newsletter.