The theme of this year’s World Environment Day, being=20 staged in South Africa for the first time, is rooted in the=20 struggle for democracy and unity Eddie Koch reports
SOME years ago Albie Sachs, then the ANC guru on=20 constitutional matters, wrote that an end to apartheid was=20 the balm that would mend the scars that scour this=20 country’s landscape.
“The establishment of people’s parks during the uprisings=20 of the early 1980s was nothing less than the creation of=20 leisure areas, an affirmation of the desire for beauty in=20 this community,” he said.
“Prisoners on Robben Island planted flowers and grass=20 wherever they could… When we say mayibuye Africa (come=20 back Africa), we are calling for the return of legal title=20 but also for the restoration of land, the forest and the=20 atmosphere; the greening of our country is basic to its=20
Next week, Robben Island’s most famous prisoner will host=20 an event that echoes this proposition. On Monday night,=20 President Nelson Mandela presides over an award-giving=20 ceremony in Pretoria for 27 people, from 21 countries, who=20 have made a major contribution to saving the global=20
The leitmotif of the occasion, designed to celebrate World=20 Environment Day, is that while division and conflict=20 promote ecological destruction, democracy and unity is a=20 precondition for the earth’s repair. =20
The event will take place at the State Theatre and is=20 planned as the central event in a range of activities to=20 mark the first occasion on which the celeberation is being=20 staged in South Africa.
The United Nations Environment Programme chose South Africa=20 as the venue because recent events here mark the theme of=20 this year’s Environment Day — “We, the people, united for=20 the global environment” — as well as the quest for peace=20 and unity that underlies any successful environmental=20
Thousands of people who adhere to different religious=20 faiths will converge on Kokstad this Sunday to participate=20 in a service led by Archbishop Desmond Tutu under the=20 slogan “Committed to Earthkeeping, Unite for Life”.
The interfaith service is the first in the series of events=20 being held to celebrate environment day. It marks first=20 time that mainstream and traditional religious leaders will=20 gather together with conservationists on one platform.
Tutu will affirm the 1986 Declarations of Assissi in Italy=20 when the World Wide Fund for Nature launched an=20 international network that deals with religion and=20 environmental protection. In the declaration, Buddhist,=20 Christian, Hindu, Jewish and Muslim leaders declared their=20 commitment to “Earthkeeping”.
Each year Unep,the agency responsible for coordinating=20 world environment day, chooses a theme and selects a=20 capital city as the main venue for the international=20 celebrations. This year’s event also honours the United=20 Nations which is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary.
Other activities in South Africa include a film festival=20 with an environmental theme in Pretoria’s largest square,=20 an art exhibition on the environment in city’s Art Musuem,=20 a tree planting ceremony at the Botanical Garden and=20 Research Institute, a symposium on biological diversity and=20 Unep’s Global 500 awards.