Maurice Strong Dies Event

Maurice Strong, der Gründungsdirektor des UN-Umweltprogramms UNEP, starb im Alter von 86 Jahren. Derzeitiger Exekutivdirektor des Umweltprogramms Achim Steiner würdigte ihn am 28. November 2015 in Nairobi, als Visionär und Pionier der nachhaltigen Entwicklung. Der Kanadier Maurice Strong brachte 1972 auf der UN-Weltkonferenz über die menschliche Umwelt in Stockholm die Gründung des Umweltprogramms der Vereinten Nationen mit Sitz in Nairobi/Kenia voran. 1992 leitete er die Konferenz der Vereinten Nationen über Umwelt und Entwicklung (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro, auf der u.a. die Deklaration von Rio, die Agenda 21, die Klimarahmenkonvention und die Biodiversitätskonvention verabschiedet wurden.

Founding Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Maurice Strong passed away at age 86. Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and Executive Director of UNEP, issued the following statement: "Today the world mourns one of its greats. Maurice Strong was a visionary and a pioneer of global sustainable development. His courageous leadership allowed the Stockholm Conference of 1972 to make history by launching a new era of international environmental diplomacy which saw the birth of UNEP, the first UN agency to be headquartered in a developing country. Not a believer in summits as an end in themselves, he accepted the appointment to become UNEP's first Executive Director and moved to Kenya to establish UNEP's iconic global headquarters on what was then a coffee farm on the outskirts of Nairobi. Strong will forever be remembered for placing the environment on the international agenda and at the heart of development. He shepherd global environmental governance processes - from the original Rio Earth Summit, Agenda 21 and the Rio Declaration to the launch of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Biological Diversity."