Media Room Speeches and Statements

Speaking Notes for
the Honourable David Anderson, P.C., M.P.
Minister of the Environment, Government of Canada

Equator Initiative Awards Ceremony

World Summit on Sustainable Development
Johannesburg
August 29 2002

Check Against Delivery

Thank you and let me offer my warmest greetings to all of you on behalf of the Government of Canada.

This is an important evening for the World Summit on Sustainable Development.

As you know, I have been engaged in the ministerial negotiations that are taking us a long way towards the kinds of results we all want to see from this Summit.

At the same time, you have seen and heard how community-based activity helps to achieve the kinds of goals we are setting here.

This is as true in Canada as it is internationally. We know the most substantial progress starts when a community comes together to define and act on the life it wants to build for itself. Action happens when a community decides to leave a legacy to its future generations.

Many inspiring examples of exactly those kinds of community-based actions are being honoured here this evening at the Equator Initiative Awards.

Indeed, I think it's safe to say that increased attention to the grassroots movement to build sustainable community livelihoods will be one of the enduring legacies of this summit.

The Government of Canada and Canada's International Development Research Centre are proud to have joined the Equator Initiative on the ground floor.

We want to thank the United Nations Development Programme for the skill and effort it is putting into the management of the Equator Initiative.

We also want to salute the UN Foundation for its vital financial support as well as the other partners whose guidance and funding has made the celebration here tonight possible.

Of course, the real congratulations have to go to the people in developing countries who are making this idea real — Communities that have demonstrated remarkable successes in using local action to create sustainable livelihoods

So, I wish to congratulate the representatives of all 27 community initiatives here tonight for their extraordinary contribution to the success of this Summit.

When I was reading up on this before I came to Johannesburg, I was pleased to see the diversity of examples — like the work in the Comoros, Brazil and Fiji to protect important marine environments, while ensuring a sustainable fishery for the people who live there.

I was interested in the newfound respect for traditional approaches to conservation in places as diverse as Tanzania and India. I am impressed with the results to date. I can see the incredible potential for much more to come.

I am impressed with the results to date. I can see the incredible potential for much more to come as we work to finalize a productive Summit.

You have demonstrated that it is possible to make a real difference at the community level. Now it is our collective responsibility to expand this as far and wide as possible.

The reasons for action are very clear. They are very compelling.

Three-quarters of the poorest people in the world live in rural environments. The reasons for action are in their lives and in those environments.

So, if we want to make the progress on the Rio agenda, on the WEHAB agenda or on our Millennium Development Goals, we have to take one fundamental step. Rural people must be enabled to create sustainable community livelihoods for themselves.

I believe — and the Government of Canada believes — the Equator Initiative will emerge as an important factor in achieving this objective. In every success story represented here tonight, conservation of our biological riches and reduction of human poverty is going hand in hand.

I am pleased to be speaking to you now, towards the end of this evening's programme, because I want to put a challenge to you. I want to challenge all of you to do your part to help make this movement grow.

We have already learned some lessons from past successes. We know some of the critical ingredients for successful community initiatives.

• There has to be leadership and championship within the community.
• Community empowerment is needed for strong decision making.
• All participants have to work in a climate of transparency and trust.
• The greater the role of women, the better things tend to work.
• Aboriginal and indigenous peoples have built knowledge and ways that deserve respect.
• Everyone needs to take the action to foster effective partnerships.
• Communities need access to specialized advice, whether that is about science, management, marketing or other fields.
• And, usually, community initiatives benefit from a bit of seed money to get things going.

Many of us here are well-placed to contribute to the future success of the Equator Initiative. So let's do it.

Speaking for the Government of Canada, and also our International Development Research Centre, we intend to do more in this area in the coming years. We certainly intend to continue our active partnership, financial and otherwise, in the Equator Initiative.

We are making this investment in partnerships because we see the start of something powerful here. We see the start of a much wider effort based in communities, driven by communities to grow in ways that draw on the biodiversity around them and do it in ways the protect that diversity.

We see an innovative approach that will achieve many goals. It will facilitate community-to-community learning. It will develop community-based networks so ideas can be shared. It will foster new partnerships and much more. And, of course, it will continue to award prizes for the highest achievements, just as we have done here tonight.

There are many more opportunities to expand the Equator Initiative and to make it better known, including to other communities.

It's up to all of us to make the most of those opportunities.

In closing, and before I head back into my negotiations, I want to reiterate my thanks to those who have brought us this far.

I am pleased to congratulate the community representatives who have come to share their knowledge and make the Community Kraal such a success.

Canada is determined to remain a strong partner to all of you through the Equator Initiative.

We look forward to helping to nurture the growth of this important global movement of sustainable community livelihoods.

Thank you.