Site map | Search | Contact Us

Opening Statement 
by Mr Kim Hak-Su
Executive Secretary of ESCAP

Distinguished participants, ladies and gentlemen,

It gives me great pleasure to extend to you all a warm welcome to this launching of the APFED Message to the World Summit on Sustainable Development. I should like to congratulate APFED for preparing this Message, which constitutes a valuable contribution to the preparatory process for the Johannesburg Summit. I am delighted to have been personally involved in this important endeavour. I am especially gratified to note that the essence of the seven initiatives contained in the Phnom Penh Regional Platform on Sustainable Development for Asia and the Pacific, adopted at the culmination of the regional preparatory process for WSSD, resonates very clearly and strongly in this Message.

As you are all aware, non-negotiated partnerships and initiatives to implement Agenda 21 are expected to become an important element of the outcomes from the Johannesburg Summit. These Type 2 outcomes represent a major innovation that could help improve the quality of the implementation of various sustainable development initiatives. In this regard, I should like to express my strong support to the commitments made by APFED in its Message to launch the following partnership initiatives: first, to collect and analyse best policy practices (BPP) related to the actions it has recommended; second, to establish a network of researchers and research institutions (NetRes) to develop policy recommendations; and third, to make an inventory of capacity building programmes (CBP) in the region and disseminate the information.

It is my hope that through these partnership initiatives, the region will be better prepared to address the seven key sustainable development issues that have been identified in the APFED Message, namely, freshwater resources, renewable energy, trade, finance, urbanization, good governance, and capacity building.

Distinguished participants, ladies and gentlemen,

At this point I should like to express my full concurrence with the statement in the Message that "what the world needs now is meaningful change, change that begins with ourselves" and that "what remains missing is the political will to effect meaningful change through decisive actions that break new ground and build on partnerships."

The success of the Johannesburg Summit will be measured by the degree to which it can muster the "political will to effect meaningful change." Rio has already shown us the way. It has already drafted the agenda. Therefore, Johannesburg is not about preparing a new blueprint. Rather, it is about shifting to a new paradigm. Johannesburg is about implementing actions to effectively address environmental degradation, social inequity and economic deprivation. It is about effecting fundamental changes in the way we view the world. Johannesburg is about fully realizing and internalising our rightful place in the ecosystem.

The question is, "How do we effect such change?" The development of new partnership initiatives is a good starting point. These initiatives, coupled with the regional initiatives contained in the Phnom Penh Regional Platform, could provide a sturdy framework, indeed a dynamic network, for effecting "meaningful changes" towards sustainability in the Asia-Pacific region. Through these partnerships and networks, we should develop policy systems that use strategic intervention and holistic planning as a framework for effecting a tangible transition towards sustainability.

Distinguished participants, ladies and gentlemen,

In my statement at the Second Substantive Meeting of APFED a month ago, I stated that ESCAP will "continue to support and contribute to the work of APFED" and will stand ready to participate in all meaningful partnerships aimed "to reduce poverty and promote sustainable development in the region." I should like to reaffirm this statement and add that ESCAP stands ready to draw on its resources to make this happen. In this regard, I call on all stakeholders in the region to join us to Johannesburg as full partners, bringing with us the APFED Message and the Phnom Penh Regional Platform, optimistic and hopeful that, through these partnerships and our show of solidarity, the world leaders will find the courage and the will to effect meaningful change for a sustainable future. 

Thank you.