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Most countries have committed to the principles of
sustainable development and to incorporating them into their national policies
and strategies. They have also agreed to the implementation of relevant
international accords. But good intentions have not resulted in sufficient
progress to reverse the loss of our environmental resources.
Land is becoming degraded at an alarming rate. Plant and
animal species are being lost in record numbers. The climate is changing,
bringing with it threats of rising sea levels and worsening droughts and floods.
Marine resources are being overexploited.
Forests cover one third of the earth's surface and
constitute one of the richest ecosystems. They provide for many people's every
day needs, including food, fuel, building materials and clean water. Yet, in the
last decade alone, 940,000 square kilometers of forests - an area the size of
Venezuela - were converted into farmland, logged or lost to other
uses.
The consumption of fossil fuels, including oil, coal and
natural gas, results in carbon dioxide emissions that are contributing to the
gradual warming of the planet. The expected repercussions of climate change -
including rising sea waters, more frequent and intense storms, the extinction of
species, worsening droughts and crop failures - will affect every nation on
earth.
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Use of chlorofluorocarbons, the most widespread
ozone-depleting substances, has been reduced to one tenth of 1990 levels. This
remarkable accomplishment shows that progress on the environment can be achieved
with strong political will and with consensus on problem and on how to solve
it.
Overcoming these and other environmental problems will
require an unprecedented level of global cooperation.
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