UN General Assembly
1991

In presenting this bleak picture our intention is not to apportion blame or to deny the importance of the domestic policies of recipient countries. What is needed is a sincere approach and commitment by both developed and developing countries, in a spirit of understanding and accommodation, to address realistically the development bottlenecks in the third world. There is serious international concern regarding environmental degradation. In particular, the region where my country is located is threatened by an alarming increase in desertification. Drought and the successive decline of life-supporting resources have taken a heavy toll. The situation calls for concerted international action to help sustain the minimal resources still available. He hope the forthcoming Conference on Environment and Development to be held at Rio de Janeiro will be both global and specific in scope and produce concrete measures to halt the accelerated pace of environmental degradation, including the problems of encroaching desertification.