Guest guest Posted January 25, 2005 Report Share Posted January 25, 2005 ***************************Advertisement*************************** TechCentral http://star-techcentral.com ***************************************************************** This message was forwarded to you by yitzeling. Comment from sender: This article is from The Star Online (http://thestar.com.my) URL: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2005/1/25/nation/9987865 & sec=nation ________________________ Tuesday January 25, 2005 Don & #8217;t wait for disaster to strike, says PM BY WONG CHUN WAI PARIS: Malaysia has asked the world & #8217;s nations to take a hard look at what they were doing to protect the environment in the aftermath of the tsunami disaster, which had impacted biodiversity in terms of lives lost and natural habitats swept away. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi urged the international community to conserve biodiversity, saying they should not wait for a crisis or disaster to strike before action was taken. “While we can never prevent the forces of nature, we can certainly take preventive measures to minimise the impact and extent of destruction. “We will do that by installing early warning systems in the region to detect tsunamis and other natural dangers,” he said, adding that the recent tsunami tragedy underscored the overwhelming power of nature and “the fragility of our existence.” Speaking at the International Conference on Biodiversity: Science and Governance here yesterday, he appealed to countries to conserve and harness natural resources for the benefit of the present and future generations. “As human beings, we are all part of this complex inter-dependent biological system on the planet. “We have, however, been given the intelligence and wisdom to discern and distinguish the complexity and the inter-relationships within the system.” The international conference was organised by the French government and sponsored by Unesco. The speakers included French President Jacques Chirac, Nobel Prize winner and Kenya & #8217;s Environment Vice-Minister Wangari Maathai, Harvard lecturer Edward O & #8217; Wilson, Madagascar President Marc Ravalomanana and Nigerian President Olesgun Obasanjo. Malaysia was invited to the conference, as it is one of the 12 mega diverse countries in the world & #8211; being home to 15,000 different plant species, 4,000 kinds of marine fish and 150,000 different insects and invertebrates. The term biodiversity means the variety of all living things & #8211; the different plants, animals and micro organisms, the genetic information they contain and the ecosystems they form. Abdullah said in the quest for economic development, and for scientific and technological knowledge, equal consideration must be given to all living things. ”It is quite clear that nations are better able to protect their biological resources when they are more prosperous.” Drawing on the Malaysian experience, he said the Government had called for further research on the preservation and regeneration of mangrove forests, which have shown great resilience in breaking the full force of the tsunami. He said Malaysia had also embarked on forest plantations, which would relieve the increasing demands on existing forests and their biodiversity. Abdullah also stressed the need for access and benefit-sharing in relation to biodiversity governance. “It should be accepted as a matter of principle that commercial benefits should be fairly and equitably shared with the providers and users of the biological resources,” he said. Later he told newsmen that he wanted Malaysians to increase their awareness of biodiversity and its value. Describing it as “nature's capital,” he said countries must acquire the expertise to benefit from its biodiversity. Abdullah, who is also Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) chairman, said the OIC had been asked by the Saudi Arabian government to convene a summit to discuss Muslim unity. In response, he told Saudi Arabia that it was necessary to hold a preliminary meeting to discuss the agenda before holding the summit. <p> ________________________ Your one-stop information portal: The Star Online http://thestar.com.my http://biz.thestar.com.my http://classifieds.thestar.com.my http://cards.thestar.com.my http://search.thestar.com.my http://star-motoring.com http://star-space.com http://star-jobs.com http://star-ecentral.com http://star-techcentral.com 1995-2004 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Star Publications is prohibited. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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