Photo UNEP © Gabor Szilagyi

   Excellencies, Distinguished Guests, Representatives of the Media, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to welcome you all to the award ceremony of the United Nations Environment Programme's International Photographic Competition on the Environment 1999-2000. This Photo competition is a product of a long lasting and rewarding partnership between UNEP, Canon Inc. of Japan and many other private co-sponsors. It is symbolic of the vision long nurtured in the United Nations of an alliance between the private sector and the United Nations family of agencies.

There are many distinguished guests here today. But I particularly want to thank all those who have played a pivotal role in making UNEP's third photo competition an immense success.  Special thanks go to Mr. Fujio Mitarai, President and Chief Executive Officer of Canon, to our other principal partners:  Time Magazine, National Geographic Society, Television Trust for the Environment, Japan Airlines, International Photographic Council, the United Nations Department of Public Information, Joint United Nations Information Committee and Dentsu. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for your support and commitment to the art of photography in promoting environmental awareness.

It has been said, "Art does not reproduce the visible, rather it makes it visible."   Today, we honour an extraordinary group of phototgraphers from all parts of the world whose contributions have opened our eyes to the richness, diversity and fragility of our planet.

The world is living through a period of rapid change. It is a period in which the emerging global community is increasingly united by technological revolution, commercial ties, and ever greater interaction. But it is also a world where our environment is deteriorating before our very own eyes to a point of no return.

Despite the remarkable achievements that have been made in recent years, UNEP's Global Environmental Outlook Report 2000 shows that environmental improvements are few and far between. On balance, the environmental gains by better management and technology are still being outpaced by the negative impacts of population and economic growth. We are on an unsustainable course. Time is rapidly running out for a rational, well-planned transition to a sustainable future.

The human population has passed the 6 billion mark. Almost half of us live in urban areas - and, although rates of urban growth are slowing down, we are still adding 60 million more people to cities every year. Since World War II the number of motor vehicles has risen from 40 million to 680 million. Transport is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions which have quadrupled since 1950.    The amount of available cropland per person is 25 per cent less than it was in 1975. And we have added more and more chemicals to the land to increase food production.

Severe water shortages already exist in many parts of the world. About 20 per cent of the human population lacks access to safe drinking water and 50 per cent are without a safe sanitation system.

In brief, the continued poverty of the majority of the planet's inhabitants and excessive consumption by the minority are the two major causes of environmental degradation.

The global environment has never before been under such pressure.

  Ladies and Gentlemen,

Environmental deterioration did not happen overnight. We are seeing the results of a long chain of events. The full extent of the damage is just now becoming apparent. As we begin to piece together a comprehensive picture of the complex, interconnected web that is our life-support system, we now see more clearly that we must give more thought to the future. Human activities have grown to the extent that they affect the large-scale physical systems of our planet.

We can no longer be complacent and assume that the environment can look after itself.

   Ladies and Gentlemen,

You understand by now that we have the data.  We have the science right but, in our task to translate our scientific understanding into concrete political action, more than ever, therefore, we need our artists, historians, journalists, educators and ordinary citizens to help to open our eyes.  We need to embody the ethical values that the global community holds most dear: compassion, tolerance and respect for the richness and beauty of diversity.

The thousands of photographers who participated in this competition have shown that they care.  They transformed themselves from being merely passive observers to active ecologists and environmentalists.

This competition afforded an opportunity for women, children and men to "Focus on their world", to record the fragility or the majesty of their environment, to document what unbridled development can inflict upon us.

Participants with a camera and a sharp eye, have conveyed to us  an eternal dimension of our world.  They have given us powerful visual messages to inspire action.

We pay tribute to these creative people - who have stretched our imaginations, challenged our beliefs, and celebrated the diversity of our wonderful world.

Thank you very much.