UN General Assembly
2008

agreements achieved by this Assembly to bring about a more just and equitable world, indeed, a more civilized world. Bhutan does not look at those developments as separate, disconnected events. Rather, we see them as directly interconnected symptoms of a larger and deeper malaise that threatens our collective well-being and survival. Responding to each of the challenges separately will most probably be useful in the short term, but piecemeal efforts will not lead to permanent solutions. We need to treat the disease beyond the symptoms. And the disease, we believe, has to do with our way of life, which is simply not rational and sustainable. One does not need to be an economist to understand that the oil crisis, soaring price of metals and diminishing water reserves have to do with the fact that for too long we have been exploiting and wasting our scarce natural resources. At the very least, these developments are market reactions and attempts to reflect the true value of these resources. As for the financial crisis, it is becoming quite