Man should treat Earth fairly says Zayed

Man should learn how to treat Earth fairly to benefit from its rich resources instead of seeking its destruction through wars and weapons, President His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan said yesterday.

Quoted in a paper, presented by the Zayed Centre for Coordination and Follow-up during a conference on Universe and Man's Destiny, the first event of its kind to be held in the UAE, the President said man and nature are inter-dependent and development of either of them benefits both.

The paper said: "His Highness the President has always stressed the strong relationship between mankind and earth within the framework of mercy and fairness in dealing with the resources of nature.

"He strongly believes that such an approach must be turned into a concrete action that transcends the mere moral feeling to a practical commitment to do justice to earth that has been with man in good and bad times."

The paper has also cited Sheikh Zayed's emphasis on human development on the grounds it constitutes the pillar of development in all other sectors.

"His Highness is convinced that human development is a national necessity that must take precedence over the construction of factories and other installations because without man there will be no progress and prosperity."

It quoted Sheikh Zayed as saying: "The best investment of money is to invest it in the creation of an educated generation. This country has been given a chance with the wealth bestowed upon it by God Almighty.

"We must race against time so that we do not miss this chance. Our moves towards education and knowledge must be quicker than our moves in any other field."

The paper also cited Sheikh Zayed as saying during a meeting with Farook Al Baz, a U.S. space scientist of Arab origin, and another American scientist: "Man should be proud of these space journeys because they symbolise our belief in God.

"We, as Arabs, feel that we played a basic role in such a field given our glorious past and I urge all the scientists to carry on this path as it will open new horizons of knowledge and research in medicine and other fields."

Experts from the Arab world and other countries are participating in this conference.

Participants include Jonathan Tennenbaum, scientific adviser to 21st Century Science Magazine and Chairman of the Fusion Energy Foundations in Europe, Georges Rossi, an expert on problems of environment and economics and professor of geography in the University of Bordeaux in France, and Lucilla Spini, associate expert and anthropologist in Unesco, Georgi Naumov, professor of geology and mineralogy at the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences and Chairman of the section of geo-chemistry in the All-Russian Chemical Association, and Professor Ahmed Abdul Hadi of the Astronomy and Meteorology Department in Cairo University.