Excellencies, distinguished delegates,
I thank the President of the General Assembly to organize this interactive dialogue on harmony with nature as part of the commemoration of the 2022 International Mother Earth Day.
We align ourself with the statement made by Cuba on behalf of the G77 and China.
Mr. President,
Every year, the International Mother Earth Day returns to remind us that humans and nature are intimately and interdependently intertwined and that human actions are creating an imbalance in that relationship.
This increasingly disharmonious relationship is contributing to the occurrence of frequent extreme natural events and disasters in countries like Bangladesh which is one of the most climatically vulnerable countries in world, although she is the least responsible for harming the nature and causing climate change.
To reverse the imbalance, we need to urgently re-establish harmonious relationships with nature, respecting all life around us and fostering the well-being of the planet, humans, animals, and plant life simultaneously.
Mr. President.
As the world faces multiple interlinked challenges and environmental concerns including global warming, biodiversity loss, plastic pollution, deforestation, air pollution, melting icecaps and sea-level rise, ocean acidifications, food and water insecurity, we must recognize the urgency of collective responsibility to shift to sustainable production and consumption patterns recognizing the social and environmental needs of the present and future generations of humanity.
Today, as we celebrate the commemoration of the International Mother Earth Day, we must realize that this day provides a new opportunity to raise global public awareness of the challenges to the well-being of the planet and all the life it supports as well as to recognize the interdependence that exists among human beings, other living species and the one planet we all inhabit.
Mr. President,
We need development for poverty eradication, food security and stability. If our pursuit for development fails to recognize the environmental concerns, that would lead to more poverty, more hunger and surely more conflicts.
We must exercise our right to development with sustainability, guided by the SDGs, the Paris Agreement and the New Urban Agenda.
Embracing education, technology, and science can help safeguard a healthy planet for everyone, including young people who will inherit this planet.
Our education system must inculcate in our children the consciousness for sustainable use of natural resources and encourage them to pursue a sustainable way of living that leaves minimum carbon footprint to minimize harm to the mother earth.
Finally Mr. President,
Bangladesh supports the Earth Assembly as envisaged in Resolution 77/169 to promote a holistic approach to achieving sustainable development in harmony with nature.
This is important to mainstream the Earth-centered paradigm and to emphasize a development model that prioritizes sustainability and not short-term profit and economic growth.
We need to realign our development priorities and way of developing with the harmony of nature principles to ensure our development becomes sustainable.
I thank you.