ILO calls for preservation of environment to boost development, provide jobs.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has called on world leaders, especially the governments of its member states, to preserve the environment to boost development and provide jobs for the billions of unemployed persons around the world.

The Director-General of ILO, Guy Rider, who was speaking at the 105th International Labour Congress in Geneva, Switzerland, warned that illegal wildlife trade harmed the environment and risked jobs, development and livelihoods.

Ryder, who was speaking on World Environment Day, said this year's World Environment Day 2016 came at a significant moment, as it was the first to follow the historic adoption of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for sustainable development and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

According to the ILO Director- General, both landmark agreements had propelled sustainable development to the centre of the global agenda.

He said: The theme of this year's observance, Illegal trade in wildlife, is important to the world of work in a number of ways.

Wildlife, through a range of productive activities and industries dependent on it, such as nature-based tourism, supports numerous jobs. Also, workers such as park rangers and forest managers are vital to the protection and conservation of the world's biodiversity.

Many...