Mother Earth Day message - April 2022
From CITES Secretary-General, Ivonne Higuero
Happy Mother Earth Day to you.
For many thousands of years, there have been peoples and cultures that have recognized the importance of Mother Earth and looked to it as a nurturing and sustaining force and one that needs and deserves our respect.
Over the past few years, we have come to reach a scientific consensus that this view of the earth is the only one that will ensure our long-term future. We must protect our biodiversity and our ecosystems and when we use the resources nature gives us, it must be in a sustainable way.
The United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development sets out a vision for a world in which humanity lives in harmony with nature, and in which wildlife and other living species are conserved.
Mother Earth Day reminds us that we are in a partnership with our planet and that comes with obligations. We thank the Plurinational State of Bolivia for taking the lead in creating this International Day that reminds us to safeguard our shared natural environment, our shared home.