Dave had lifelong love of nature: UN environment chief

UN Environment Executive Director Erik Solheim on Thursday condoled the death of Union Environment Minister Anil Madhav Dave and said he had a lifelong love for nature and environment.

"I was deeply saddened by the news of the sudden demise of my friend Anil Dave," Solheim told IANS.

He said Dave was a humble, wise and a dedicated man.

"Anil had a lifelong love of nature and the environment -- starting with the beauty of his home state of Madhya Pradesh but including India and the world. He will above all be remembered for his crucial role in making the Kigali Agreement, so critical to fight dangerous climate change."

"We will also recall his passion for the protection of the great Indian rivers -- the Ganga, the Narmada and others," Solheim said.

Dave represented India at the 28th meeting of the "Parties to the 1989 Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer" held in Rwandan capital Kigali in October last and later in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Marrakech in Morocco.

He died here on Thursday morning.

--IANS

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