Remarks by the President of the UN General Assembly
H.E. Mr. Philemon Yang
at the High-Level Meeting on Harmony with Nature and Living Well
Tuesday, 22nd April 2025
[As Delivered]
Your Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I welcome you all to today’s High-Level Meeting on Harmony with Nature and Living Well.
This day is an opportunity for us to reflect on the state of our planet and rethink our relationship with nature and with ourselves.
It is a call reflected in the Pact for the Future.
A call for us to fundamentally shift our approach to achieve a world in which humanity lives in harmony with nature.
A call for a just balance between the economic, social and environmental needs of present and future generations.
A call for solutions to the profound challenges caused by climate change and environmental degradation.
Your Excellencies,
Today we also commemorate International Mother Earth Day.
In the same spirit as ‘harmony with nature,’ we recall that human beings are not separate from the natural world.
That the health of our planet and the well-being of humanity are deeply interlinked.
We are born of the Earth, sustained by her air, nourished by her water and nurtured by her soil.
That is why sustainable development – development that preserves our natural endowment – is so important.
Yet, human activities are having disastrous consequences: pollution, climate change, soil erosion, desertification and deforestation, the list is long.
Some of these consequences, such as rising sea levels, threaten the very existence of many communities around the world.
I could say the time to act is now – but we know that the time to act was years, or decades, ago.
We are late to the game and falling behind.
But we can still make up for the lost decades of progress.
This includes embracing alternative, holistic approaches to sustainable development as well as the promotion of sustainable lifestyles, which is the theme of today’s panel discussions.
In these efforts, we can draw inspiration from indigenous wisdom.
For instance, Indigenous Peoples in Latin America embrace the concept of ‘Buen Vivir’ or ‘Living Well’. Living with dignity.
It emphasises collective well-being, spiritual fulfillment, social harmony, and ecological balance.
It teaches us that the Earth is not a commodity, but a sacred community of which we are a part.
For without Mother Earth, our very existence is in peril or in danger.
Your Excellencies,
Dear friends,
Sustainable development and harmony with nature must remain high on the agenda.
And this can only be done, collectively, by enhancing exchanges and international cooperation on this subject.
I thus call upon Member States, Governments, policy makers and civil society to work together to implement the Pact for the Future, including Action 10, which underscores the importance of living in harmony with nature.
Let us recognise the urgent need to transform our perspectives and approaches.
Let us acknowledge that development at the expense of nature is not development at all.
Let us conserve, restore and sustainably use our planet’s ecosystems and natural resources to support the health and well-being of present and future generations.
Let us protect the Earth, for it is our only home!
Thank you.
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Media Contacts
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Dr. Mariam Shaikh, Adviser/ Social and Digital Media/Media Relations, M: +1 917 361 4990, Email: mariam.shaikh@un.org
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