Environmental Sustainability Reduction of Biodiversity, Essay

S. interests can flourish in developed and developing countries worldwide" (U.S. Department of State).

The offices inside the Bureau of OES are developing the policies of the U.S. addressing the air pollution, hazardous wastes and pollutants of all sorts based on the agreements made at "the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, the Basel Convention on Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes, the Rotterdam Convention on Prior Informed Consent, and the UN ECE Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution Agreement" (idem). Another issue managed by the offices of the OES are those dealing with the conservation and sustainability development of the ecologically and economically important ecosystems worldwide (idem).

UNDP's Biodiversity for Development Programme helps over 140 countries to use their biodiversity in a sustainable manner and maintain it while using the natural resources. According to the UNDP, biodiversity is responsible for our very survival. The ecosystems provide the conditions for the "generation of soils and maintenance of soil quality" (idem), "maintenance of air quality" (idem), maintenance of water quality (idem), "pest control" (idem), "Detoxification and decomposition of wastes" (idem), "plant reproduction" (idem), "climate stabilization" (idem), "prevention and mitigation of natural disasters" (idem).

In terms of industrial emissions, the largest countries in the world: China, the U.S., India and Russia are the champions of pollution, with China having an incontestable lead ahead of the rest (Worldbank). The general monitoring report of the World Bank is also indicating that one of the most important factors contributing to the increase in the mortality rate in the developing countries is the indoor pollution.Given the fact that around a quarter of the entire population has no access to electricity, the use of fire wood to provide the necessary means for living in a household contributes not only to the mortality rate, but also to the deforestation degree. This make the progress in access to electricity imperative and the developed countries have the responsibility to contribute to the whole developing system in order to provide the sustainability of the environment at a macro level.

Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs. U.S. Departmant of State. Retrieved: Dec 31, 2008. Available at http://www.state.gov/g/oes/

U.S. Contribution to the Global Environment Facility.2002. Fact Sheet. U.S. Department of State. Retrieved: Dec. 31, 2008. Available at http://www.state.gov/g/oes/rls/fs/2002/12954.htm

Operational Policies. Operational Strategy of the Global Environment Facility.

Retrieved: Dec. 31, 2008. Available at http://www.gefweb.org/Operational_Policies/Operational_Strategy/operational_strategy.html

Sierra Club History. 2008 Sierra Club. Retrieved: Dec. 31, 2008. Available at http://www.sierraclub.org/website/copyright/

Long, B.L. International Environmental Issues and the OECD, 1950-2000: An Historical Perspective. OECD Publishing, 2000

United Nations Development Goal. Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability. United Nations Development Programme, 2006. Retrieved: Dec 31, 2008. Available at http://www.undp.org/MDG/goal7.shtml

Ensuring Environmental Sustainability at the National Level. Global Monitoring Report 2008. Retrieved: Dec. 31, 2008. Available at http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTGLOMONREP2008/Resources/4/181-204_GMR08_ch06_web.pdf.....