UN Millennium Development Goals - Essay Example

Global Climate Change is perhaps the biggest challenge faced by human beings in today and the situation is worsening with every passing day. The changing climatic conditions of the world pose a very alarming situation because the achievement of all other Millennium Development Goals is directly or indirectly being suffered by global warming. The most unfortunate thing regarding climate change is the fact that the poorest people of the world who have no contribution towards the deterioration of the environment are suffering the most by global warming and the consequences can be detrimental for some of the communities if steps to preserve environment are not taken on urgent basis.

The targets set by United Nations are to ensure access to safe drinking water and safe sanitation mechanism to 50% population of the world by 2015. Moreover the resolution requires all the member countries of the United Nations to implement legislation to ensure sustainable development in all fields of technology in order to protect the environment for future generations (United Nations, 2011). Forests are deemed as natural lungs of the environment and are significantly important for ensuring consistency in carbon dioxide and oxygen concentrations in the natural air.

Despite various incentives and recommendations provided by the United Nations, during the decade 2000-2010 South America and Africa lost 3.4% and 4% of the forests respectively, however the rate of deforestation did not rise considerably because Asia gained 2.2% of its total forested area during the same period. Despite the global recession, the various industrial units and vehicles in the world added 30.1 billion metric tons carbon dioxide to the atmosphere in 2008, 1.7 percent more than 2007 (UNEP, 2008).

The Montreal Protocol have been very successful in this regard because under this protocol, the use of most of the ozone depleting substances have been controlled and the ozone levels are on the rise, with scientists expecting them to reach pre-1980’s levels by the middle of the century (World Bank, 2008). Provision of clean drinking water is still one of the major concerns and the increasing unplanned urbanization is further aggravating the situation. According to recent estimates, only 20% of the people living in the cities of Africa have access to clean and safe drinking water.

The targets of sanitation are also far from being achieved and 2.6 billion people in the world still lack improved sanitation facilities (United Nations Office of High Commissioner on Human Rights, 2008).The Higher Committee for Environment was established by the government of UAE in 1975 and it has been working to ensure the incorporation of environmental sustainability principles in all kinds of development plans. The Committee works directly under the Council of Ministers and provides guidelines for the development policy of the country.

The National Environmental Strategy and National Environmental Action Plan were established in 2000 according to the guidelines of the Earth Summit. The rainfall is very scanty in United Arab Emirates and there is no natural irrigation system but due to the efforts of the government in collaboration with UNDP, the forest area in UAE was increased by 54% from 1990 to 2003. Efforts are being made to preserve the biodiversity of the region by protecting the animals and birds of the desert and also the marine life in the waters adjoining UAE, the most noteworthy effort in this regard is the formulation of federal laws which bar the people from damaging the biodiversity of the region (United Arab Emirates Yearbook, 2006).

The fresh water sources in United Arab Emirates are almost negligible and 95% of the requirements are met through the desalination of the seawater. The large financial resources of the country have allowed the government to install sufficient desalination plants in the country in order to meet the requirements of the population and consequently 100% of the population in UAE has access to safe and hygienic drinking water (UAE Ministry of Economy and UNDP UAE, 2007). Since the discovery of Oil in 60’s and 70’s, United Arab Emirates have achieved remarkable progress with regards to lifestyle of its citizens and thus most of the people living in UAE have access to proper sanitation facilities.

The urbanization in UAE is planned and thus there are no sanitation problems. UAE have implemented the guidelines provided by the United Nations Environment Program through legislation in all kinds of industries and thus the emissions have been considerably cut down in recent times. Environmental Sustainability is not much of an issue in UAE because of proper planning and large financial resources available for development; however forestation and emissions cut down are some areas which can still be improved through correct policy making.

ReferencesUAE Ministry of Economy, & UNDP UAE. (2007). Millennium Development Goals: United Arab Emirates Report. United Arab Emirates Ministry of Economy Publications.UNEP. (2008). Africa: atlas of our changing environment. United Nations Publications.United arab emirates yearbook. (2006). Trident Press.United Nations. (2011). The millennium development goals report 2011. United Nations Publications.United Nations Office of High Commissioner on Human Rights (2008). Claiming the Millennium Development Goals: a human rights approach.

United Nations Publications.World Bank. (2008). Environmental sustainability: an evaluation of World Bank Group support. World Bank Publications.