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Mr Chair,
I wish to join others in sending condolences from New Zealand to the people of China and Myanmar who are suffering terribly at this time from tragic natural disasters.
Mr Chair,
New Zealand has set itself the rather ambitious target of becoming the first country to be truly sustainable across what we call the “four” pillars – the economy, society, the environment, and we have added a fourth pillar which is our way of life. In the New Zealand context, progress in sustainable development will, we believe, come down to people making choices and behavioural changes. In the broader international context, we are well aware that many people don’t have that luxury of choice.
We seek to ensure that these principles of sustainable development – which are so important for us at home - are also embodied in our interface with partner countries off-shore. They underpin our approach to development assistance.
What we have heard over the past two weeks at this CSD emphasises for us that we must – collectively - accelerate the pace. At the global level, the serious food crisis, the threats from climate change, the under-investment in agriculture and the rural sector, and the continuing challenges of water and sanitation are disappointing realities. We need to pick up the pace on progressing key global plans of action.
Some of the particular themes for this year’s session on agriculture, rural development and land-use are also at the heart of my country’s concerns. New Zealand’s economy is closely linked with our natural and physical resources. We too are reliant on agriculture, tourism and rural based industries.
We welcome the opportunity to join with others and share our collective experiences. Because of our reliance on livestock agriculture in the face of climate change, we are putting effort into sustainable land management initiatives. This includes leadership into researching how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from livestock. We have established an international research network which we call LEARN - the Livestock Emissions and Abatement Research Network. We hope other interested countries, both developed and developing countries, will join this network to share the fruits of this work.
Another sustainability initiative which may have broader relevance and interest to delegations here today is something we call “How to Rural Proof our Policy”. This ensures linkages between the various elements – government, policy, agriculture. It ensures policy makers identify and take into account the needs of the rural community at the beginning of any domestic policy development process. We have further details of both programmes if others are interested.
In closing, Mr Chair, in reference to statements made by delegations from small island developing states, we would like to highlight New Zealand’s support for ensuring that the unique challenges in sustainable development faced by SIDS are recognised, and managed appropriately within the CSD community.
Thank you.
