2012 State of the Nation's Environment Address - Helen Clark

Miss Clark is currently the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme and is returning from the US to New Zealand next month.  While in New Zealand, she will present on the subject of ‘What does the outcome of Rio+20 mean for sustainable development?’ to an audience at Lincoln University. 

The goal of the UN Development Programme is to eradicate extreme poverty around the world. This involves consideration of factors such as food security, rural communities, renewable energy and environmental crises.  Sustainable development is a fundamental aspect of the programme’s work.

2012 is a significant year in that it is 25 years on from the publication of the Brundtland Report ‘Our Common Future’.  Many would argue that the Brundtland Report was a milestone in respect to defining what was meant by sustainable development.   The University has deliberately planned the State of the Nation’s Environment address for 2012 around the 25th anniversary of the Brundtland Report. 

Lincoln University has long been recognised as a specialist land-based university. Not surprisingly, both the environment and sustainability feature very highly in the University’s research and teaching. The State of the Nation’s Environment annual address was initiated in 1999 and each year a high profile figure is invited to make a commentary on some aspect of the nation’s environment. This event has become very well established and is a highlight for those interested in debating current environmental and sustainability issues.

“I am pleased to be delivering a lecture at Lincoln University following the recently concluded UN Conference on Sustainable Development, also known as Rio+20”,  Helen Clark said.  “The significance of summits like Rio+20 lies in their ability to focus global attention on key challenges of our times which must be addressed through action by all from the individual and community levels to the governmental.”

The address is open to the community, local government, research institutes and the general public as well as Lincoln University students, researchers, academics and other staff.