The City of Melbourne has reaffirmed its commitment to the continued development of a sustainable and healthy urban environment by endorsing a set of tenets to be known as the Melbourne Principles’. Lord Mayor, John So said the ten draft principles were drawn up at the Building Urban Ecosystems Conference held in Melbourne in April.
A joint initiative of the State Government’s EPA Victoria and the United Nations Environment Program, the principles provide a guide to long term thinking on the sustainable development of cities around the world.
“These principles embody much of the City of Melbourne’s vision to be a leader in creating long term sustainable practices across the globe,” the Lord Mayor said.
The conference outcomes are being refined at a series of international meetings, before being presented at the UN World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in August.
Environment, Community and Cultural Development Committee Chair, Councillor Kate Redwood said Johannesburg will be a major international meeting on the issue of sustainable development.
“A number of important environmental agreements, including the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, emerged at the last meeting of this kind in Brazil in 1992,” she said. “While it is clear that cities are vital for economic development and social interaction, they are increasingly damaging our natural environment.”
The principles provide a long term vision for cities, based on sustainability. They aim to empower people and foster participation and inter generational equity to achieve long term economic and social security.
