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UN Officials Embark on U.S. Tour to Promote World Summit on Sustainable Development


WASHINGTON, Aug. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Faced with alarming deterioration in the earth's vital life-supporting ecosystems, world leaders will gather at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa, from August 26th - September 4th to pursue new initiatives in implementing sustainable development and build a future of prosperity and security for their citizens.

Prior to the 10-day conference, Johannesburg Summit Secretary-General Nitin Desai will embark on a four-city tour of the U.S. to promote the UN summit.  Joining Desai will be Jean Claude Faby, Vice President for UN Liaison and the New York Representative of the UN Foundation and the Better World Campaign. Desai and Faby begin the four-day tour today in Chicago, followed by visits this week to Minneapolis, Denver, and Houston.

In each city, they will meet with leaders from the local business community, academia, non-governmental organizations (NGO's), and local government agencies.  In addition to the upcoming summit in Johannesburg, discussions will focus on how local communities can work together to enact sustainable planning initiatives such as mass transit, green space, housing, and agriculture.

"Alarm bells are going off all over, and if we listen to them, we can reverse the current trends," Johannesburg Summit Secretary-General Nitin Desai said.  "But we need the political will to do something about these problems. We need to adopt practical measures.  And we need to develop partnerships to make sure that the job gets done by bringing more global resources to bear on the solutions.  That is what we must achieve in Johannesburg."

"It is urgent for the world as a whole to learn the lessons of this drought," United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said, "which gives us an ugly picture of the fate that lies in store for us, and for our children, if we do not find models of development that are genuinely sustainable."

Desai and Faby have distinguished backgrounds on sustainable development issues.  In 1993 Desai was appointed at the Under-Secretary-General level to head the newly created Department for Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development at the UN.  He also heads the UN's Executive Committee on Economic and Social Affairs, which brings together the heads of all the UN Secretariat entities directly concerned with economic, environmental and social issues.

In 1998, Mr. Faby joined the UN Foundation after a distinguished career at the United Nations. In 1990, he became Director for North America for the UN Conference on Environment and Development, which was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992; he also served as spokesman for the Secretary-General of the Conference, Maurice Strong.

For more information regarding the World Summit on Sustainable Development, visit: www.johannesburgsummit.org .

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SOURCE  Better World Campaign  

CO:  Better World Campaign; United Nations Foundation

ST:  District of Columbia, Colorado, Texas, Minnesota, Illinois

SU:

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08/02/2002 10:50 EDT