Dear Senior Advisers,
On behalf of the Management Team of
the International Year of Planet Earth I wish you a healthy and
exciting New Year.
It is with great pleasure that I can
announce the decision by the General Assembly of the United Nations
to proclaim 2008 as the UN Year of Planet Earth. On the 22nd
of December the UN General Assembly adopted by consensus a
Resolution by the United Republic of Tanzania and co-signed by 82
nations, to proclaim 2008 as the UN Year of Planet Earth. The press
release issued by the UN after adoption of the Resolution, reads as
follows:
"By
a draft on the International Year of Planet Earth, 2008, which the
Committee approved without a vote on 11 November, the Assembly would
declare 2008 the International Year of Planet Earth. It would also
designate the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) to organize activities to be undertaken during
the Year, in collaboration with UNEP and other relevant United
Nations bodies, the International Union of Geological Sciences and
other Earth sciences societies and groups throughout the world.
Also by that draft, the Assembly would encourage Member States, the
United Nations system and other actors to use the Year to increase
awareness of the importance of Earth sciences in achieving
sustainable development and promoting local, national, regional and
international action."
The Committee, to which the Press
Release refers, is the Second Committee of the UN General Assembly
where the International Year was discussed in two terms and approved
before it was brought in the Plenary Session of the General
Assembly. In fact, the International Year of Planet Earth will be a
triennium, starting in 2007 and closing by the end of 2009, with the
UN Year of Planet Earth 2008 in the centre.
UN proclamation, with significant
political implications, would not have been possible without your
great and continuous support and that of the Founding Partners,
Associate
Partners, and Initiators, IUGS and UNESCO. On behalf of the
Management Team, I would like to express our greatest appreciation
and gratitude to you making this possible. We sincerely hope that
the International Year of Planet Earth will continue enjoying your
support and encouragement until the end of the triennium!
With my kind regards
Eduardo F.J. de Mulder
Chair Management Team of the
International Year of Planet Earth
