However, in nany countries population-growth rates tend to baffle the progress made in other field~ like nutrition, health and education. tbpulation growth also hugely aggravates environmental problems, especially in the form of deforestation, desertification and erosion, further impairing the earth's capacity to support its inhabitants. The principle of sustainable and environmentally sound development is being widely accepted as the guiding principle for future actions both in the developed and in the developing countries. It is essential that the threats against the environment be taken into account in a wide sense and efficiently, both in the formulation of the new international development strategy and at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in 1992. The new dialogue established between the developing and the developed countries should also lead to concrete action as regards financing, transfer of technology and expertise in various sectors. Finally, the United Nations itself as an instrument for the Member States must be adapted to the new circumstances and requirements. We have to be ready to establish our priorities also in the economic and social fields and to pursue them more efficiently. The intergovernmental machinery itself has become so cumbersome, with its two-or three-week preparatory committee, intergovernmental groups or governing councils, that it seriously drains the administrative capacity of all countries, including the developed ones. We do not want to live under a collective BCl'/td A/.3-18/PV. 2 77 (Mr. Helenius, Finland) illusion whereby statements and resolutions become substitutes for deeds, for which there is an urgent need but less and less time. 'lhe reforms cannot begin anywhere else but with us, the Member States. I am convinced that only by simplifying procedures and adopting more businesslike working methods could this Organization truly fulfil the noble mission for which it was created. 
**Analysis**
The text discusses the importance of sustainable development and environmental protection, highlighting the challenges posed by population growth and the need for efficient international cooperation. It also touches on the need for reforms within the United Nations to improve its working methods and decision-making processes. This suggests that the category should be related to international cooperation, development, and environmental issues.

**Category**
Natural resources and environment, Economic development