Good afternoon, Dr No-Rina Kanyo, Pn Saimah, Lecturers from UMS, En Kanchi Abdullah, President of the Parent Teachers Association (PTA), and his committee, teachers, students and distinguish guest

Good afternoon, Dr No-Rina Kanyo, Pn Saimah, Lecturers from UMS, En Kanchi Abdullah, President of the Parent Teachers Association (PTA), and his committee, teachers, students and distinguish guest.

Let me start by saying it is an honour for choosing SMK Pulau Gaya, A garden above the sea, a school Resort Concept..For those who have come a long way from home, and visiting for the first time, I welcome you. As we know, our environment is the source of life. It not only directs but also determines the existence, growth and development of human beings and all their activities. The quality of our social life depends mostly on the quality of the natural environment.

1. A rapid growth of world population.

2. The reduction of natural resources such as:

(a) shrinking of forests and wetlands,

(b) erosion of soil and coral reefs,

(c) exhaustion of underground water and severe shortage of fresh drinking

water,

(d) vanishing of plants, and certain animals(e) salinization in some countries of Asia, Africa, Latin America and the

Middle East.

3. The reduction of living organismloss of biodiversity, the rapidly extinction of many animal species, collapsing of fisheries, etc.

4. The rising pollution of air and water.

5. Rising of temperature (global warming and its disastrous effects).

6. The thinning of the ozone layer.

7. Poisoning of rivers, seas and underground resources.

Until recently we exploited and changed the environment (and still changing and exploiting) without concern for the future, and extensive pollution and the destruction will mean the destruction of ourselves and in the long run , society.

I believe the time is right, by the implementation and assessment of sustainability projects, we need to learn about sharing our living space with other animal species in an environment on which they are mutually dependent.

If we do not give attention to our environment, we are putting our own existence in grave peril. Not only this, we are spoiling the fate of our future generations also. People now have started realizing that the civilization that they have built for the last thousands of years may not survive more if some drastic steps are not taken immediately to save our environment from degradation.

Fresh air, clean drinking water, natural gas, petroleum and the earths topsoil are all finite resources that will exhaust if we continue to exploit them at the present rate in the name of the development. As we deplete precious natural resources and degrade the environment, we also destroy its ability to rejuvenate itself.