Rio Conventions Pavilion TV, CBD COP11 (13/10/2012) – Ibrahim Thiaw, Director of UNEP’s Division of Environmental Policy Implementation, discusses the present threat to world fisheries as well as the pressing need for more sustainable consumption.

Thiaw warns that world fisheries are under grave threat and emphasises that governments must do more to effectively regulate and control fishing. He asserts that although no one policy is relevant everywhere, the same precautionary principles need to be applied worldwide.

Thiaw also discusses the imbalance in consumption between urban and rural communities. He argues that although it is natural for cities to largely consume products produced elsewhere, we must always question whether this is being done done sustainably.

Thiaw asserts that all too often urban lifestyles are not compatible with living within planetary boundaries. He indicates that he considers this an issue of fairness and wellbeing, arguing that abundance in one region goes hand in hand with scarcity in another.