Resolution to ESCAP MCED

We, the participants in the Asia-Pacific Women’s Conference on Environment, held on 25 March 2005 in Seoul, South Korea, on occasion of the ESCAP MCED, came together to explore and discuss the need to promote sustainable production and consumption and support women’s alternatives at all levels. This is from a gender perspective highlighting struggles and achievements of women in our region. We also shared success stories, strategies and experiences in strengthening women’s leadership for an environmentally friendly and sustainable economy and livelihood.

We are concerned with the pace at which environmental deterioration is taking place in our region mostly as a result of short-term, profit-oriented interests. This deterioration has been intensified by neo-liberal policies that drastically impact on women, the poor and vulnerable. As a consequence, the environment, particularly biodiversity as well as people’s livelihood and well-being have been irreversibly damaged. Women have become increasingly marginalized, displaced, losing their access to resources and sliding into deepening hunger and poverty. Unsustainable patterns of production and consumption must be drastically reduced and changed. This has to be accompanied by major policy changes that support a new paradigm of sustainable development. Since women play major roles in sustainable production and consumption, they have to be involved fully in decision-making policies and programs to implement this.

Therefore, we recommend that ESCAP MCED conference:

(1) Recognize the need for the promotion of an environmentally friendly and sustainable economy prioritizing sustainable consumption and production. We urge governments to develop policy frameworks to address this as promoted at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, 2002.

(2) Ensure the ratification and implementation of environmental conventions, such as the Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), Rotterdam Convention on Prior Informed Consent, the Basel convention, as well as other international conventions that protect the environment.

(3) Recognize the key role that women play in the promotion of sustainable production and consumption patterns. We call upon all governments to ensure women’s full participation in decision-making in these areas and to allocate resources to support building women’s leadership in environment-friendly economy.

(4) Ensure that sustainable production and consumption benefit women, particularly those living in poverty, by ensuring their access to resources and assets, employment, safe and healthy conditions, both at the work place and in their homes. The impact on women of existing and new environmental policies should be assessed and monitored.