environmental Protection - Germany / Federal Republic of Germany 1994 - 100 Pfennig

Successful environmental protection, however, requires not only the creation of sufficient laws and regulations, but at the same time requires the active participation of all citizens, be it at work, at home or at leisure. The proceeds from the special postage stamps are therefore intended primarily to support projects by associations and associations that inform the population about the causes of our environmental problems and at the same time point out alternative courses of action. In Germany, we have already made good progress in protecting the environment. Our rivers, our lakes, our air have become cleaner. However, all of these are essentially the result of a sustainable environmental policy, an environmental policy that begins at the end of the production process. Environmental policy, however, must take precautionary action in order to safeguard the livelihoods of people over the long term, ie. In other words, environmental protection must be taken into account when developing a product. We need to get away from linear thinking - development, production, consumption and disposal - and develop our economy into a circular economy, where, in the face of scarce and finite resources, as much as possible is kept in the production process and waste is produced as little as possible. Only with such a circular economy will we ultimately be able to meet the demands of sustainable development, as called for by the leaders of all governments at the United Nations Great Environment and Development Conference in Rio (Brazil) in the summer of 1992. Environmental problems are increasingly common cross-border problems. In addition to its national relevance, environmental protection therefore has an ever wider international dimension. We must be aware of the fact that most of the environmental problems that threaten the world, such as For example, possible climate changes, with their unmanageable consequences, such as soil erosion, floods, etc., have their cause in the economic and production mode of the highly industrialized states. Around 25% of the world's population currently uses about 80% of its finite resources. It follows that the industrialized countries are the first to demand that their economies be developed in an environmentally compatible manner and that at the same time the Third World countries should be given the opportunity to build market-economy and ecologically responsible economic structures. Global environmental protection and overcoming of underdevelopment are inseparable. Comprehensive environmental protection means anchoring national environmental protection in all policy areas and ensuring genuine cooperation and genuine compensation internationally. Only in this way can the livelihoods of future generations throughout the world be preserved. (Text: Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, Bonn)