ENB:03:04
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TUNISIA:
On behalf of Algeria, Libya, Mauritania and
Morocco, Tunisia stressed the crucial importance to international
cooperation to seek solutions to global and transboundary
environmental problems. He commented on a number of joint Maghreb
actions, including a strategy against desertification, review of
the Green Dam project, combatting soil erosion, a freshwater supply
plan, and the Maghreb Charter for the Environment. One cannot
conceal the interdependence of desertification and drought. This
phenomenon is a global environmental problem, similar to ozone
depletion and climate change. The Convention should arouse the same
degree of interest as those signed in Rio. He invited the
industrialized countries to review their position on financial
resources as the gravity and scope of desertification are such that
they have to rely on new and additional financial resources. The
Plan of Action to Combat Desertification is a dead letter due to
lack of funding. With regard to the Climate Change Convention, he
noted the need for shared but differentiated responsibilities and
said that a list of all greenhouse gases should be submitted to the
first session of the Conference of Parties. With regard to the
Conference on Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish
Stocks, the Maghreb States support a regional approach, the
strengthening of regional and subregional agencies, and the need
for new and additional financial resources. The final document must
take into account all regional specificities.