Latin Americans Urged to Guard Environment
Vice President Al Gore on Saturday told Latin Americans to stop looking to their governments to clean up their water, land and air, saying organized citizens and the private sector must help preserve the environment.
“The private sector, nongovernmental organizations and international financial institutions have increasingly important roles to play,” Gore told a one-day regional summit on sustainable economic development in this central Bolivian city.
Sustainable development, a principle approved by world leaders at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, means pursuing economic growth without harming the environment.
In his speech, Gore called for concerted action so that all Latin Americans, 40% of whom live below the poverty line, can have access to clean water and electricity.
Only 14 leaders showed up for the conference, forcing the meeting to be shortened from two days to one. Bolivia had announced Monday that 24 leaders were expected to attend.
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