Discovering the Langkawi Declaration

This legislation is a declaration that was issued on October 21st 1989 by the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth Nations. Since our blog could be on anything that I wanted it to be, I decided that I should do it on something I had no prior information about. Since this event happened a year before I was born and it has a really awesome name I thought it would be a good topic for sustainability. Having 430 participants and over 27 countries from every continent this conference covered many topics, this legislation came about because there was an overall complaint about the mismanaging of natural resources. This melting of the minds was put together to discuss many topics like : the greenhouse effect, damage to the Ozone, acid rain, marine pollution, land degradation and species extinction. Since these issues transcend country borders, the key agreement was a pledge between developed countries not to connect future international development aid to commitment to environmental sustainability or introduce trade barriers.

Some of the commitments made were:

- supporting the international sustainable development funding mechanism

- support intergovernmental panel on climate change and recommend the Commonwealth's own report on climate change

- promote energy efficiency

- promote afforestation and sustainable forest management in developing countries

- restrict non-sustainable fisheries

- prevent dumping of toxic waster or other hazardous materials into the ocean

- promote public awareness of environmental risks and issues

Interesting Facts:

~ Since this was all new information to me, I was very surprised to find out that the conference began with Princess Tunku Puteri speaking for her country the State of Kedah. In 2006, she prevented an attack on her husband and was stabbed to death in the process. I find this interesting for many reasons: A) this event happened in 2006, I was only 16 years old but I remember this very clearly - she had come from a country I had never heard of and could not believe that it was her son that attacked her and B) as one of the 13 rulers in Malaysia she always tried to make an environmental difference and restore the Earth to a more natural state.

~Over the years the Langkawi Declaration has been altered in other Commonwealth meetings but in 1989 was the year that this concept was born.

~This event always takes place in Kadah, Malaysia and this year one of the focuses is public education of environmental action.