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What’s
Ahead @ ESCAP |
| www.unescap.org |
August
2006 |
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Executive
Secretary invited to visit Mongolia
At
the invitation of H.E. Mr. Nyamaa Enkhbold, Minister of Foreign Affairs
of Mongolia, UNESCAP
Executive Secretary Kim Hak-Su will pay a State visit to Ulan
Bator in early August. The Government of Mongolia has invited the
Executive Secretary to attend special events to commemorate the 800th
anniversary of Mongolian statehood and the forty-fifth anniversary
of Mongolia’s accession to both the United Nations and UNESCAP
in 1961. Mr. Kim is scheduled to meet with Ministers and senior
officials in diverse sectors, including foreign affairs, road, transport
and tourism, finance, statistics, social welfare and labour, industry
and trade. The UN Resident Coordinator and UN Country Team members
are expected to brief the Executive Secretary on the UN’s activities
in Mongolia. |
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 Workshop
to examine data issues in monitoring MDG statistical indicators
From
31 July-2 August, UNESCAP’s
Statistics Division and its partners will gather high-level
officials from national statistical bodies and international statistical
agencies throughout the Asia-Pacific region to examine data issues
in monitoring MDG
indicators and develop sustainable strategies for data collection.
The Statistical Institute for
Asia and the Pacific (SIAP), one of UNESCAP’s five regional
institutes, UNDP, and the
Asian Development Bank will
co-organize the Workshop
on Statistics for Monitoring the Achievement of the MDGs in Asia and
the Pacific, to be held at the United
Nations Conference Center in Bangkok. The statistical experts
will discuss national priorities and MDG data relevance for policy
makers, and consider approaches to improve statistical and analytical
capacity, among other things. |
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 31st
August deadline for first round of Tsunami Regional Trust Fund proposals
UNESCAP’s Voluntary
Trust Fund on Tsunami Early Warning Arrangements in the Indian Ocean
and Southeast Asia, currently open for the first round of
funding, welcomes proposals by 31 August from eligible regional,
sub-regional, and national organizations. Established in late 2005,
the Trust Fund aims to support capacity building measures for the
development of early warning system arrangements for tsunamis and
other natural hazards in the Indian Ocean and South-East Asia. The
effort is part of UNESCAP’s ongoing efforts to promote regional
cooperation for natural
disaster prevention and preparedness. Relevant details of
the Fund, such as eligibility criteria, guidelines, and a grant application
form, are available on the Trust
Fund’s website. |
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 UNESCAP
Library to receive UN/ISDR field collection on disaster reduction In
mid-August the UNESCAP
Library is expecting to receive a field collection of disaster-related
materials from the United Nations
International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR). The
collection, currently housed at UN/ISRD headquarters in Geneva, includes
approximately 100 publications on disaster risk reduction and management.
The UNESCAP Library has the largest English-language collection of
books and periodicals in Thailand. Its collection concentrates on
subjects such as economics, development, the environment, medical
issues, and Asia-Pacific countries, and includes subscriptions to
279 journals including newspapers. The Library is open weekdays
to UN staff and those accredited to UNESCAP, as well as to external
users three days a week or by appointment.
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 Asia-Pacific
to prepare for 5th session of Convention to Combat Desertification
From
7-11 August in Bangkok, UNESCAP’s
Environment and Sustainable Development Division and the United
Nations Conference on Desertification (UNCCD) will jointly
organize a regional meeting of Asian focal points in preparation for
the Seventh Regional
Meeting of Asian and Pacific Focal Points in preparation for the Fifth
Session of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the
Convention to Combat Desertification (CRIC5). At the meeting,
participants will conduct an in-depth peer review of national reports,
analyze emerging trends, and identify possible recommendations and
lessons learned by country representatives on the implementation of
the Convention. According to UNCCD, desertification takes many different
forms across the vast Asian continent. Out of a total land area of
4.3 billion hectares, Asia contains some 1.7 billion hectares
of dry subhumid, semi-arid, and arid land reaching from the Mediterranean
coast to the shores of the Pacific. Degraded areas include the sand
dunes of Syria, the steeply eroded mountain slopes of Nepal, and the
deforested and overgrazed highlands of Laos. |
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 Seminar
to consider benefits of APTA membership for the Philippines
UNESCAP’s
Trade and Investment Division will organize a national
seminar on the prospective benefits of membership by the Philippines
in the Asia-Pacific
Trade Agreement (APTA). At the seminar, scheduled for 24 August
in Manila, participants will consider the emerging role of APTA in
forging Asia-Pacific integration through regional trade agreements
and will learn about APTA’s long-term potential and benefits
for the Philippines. The Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement, previously
named the Bangkok
Agreement, was signed in 1975 as a UNESCAP initiative. It
is a preferential tariff arrangement that aims at promoting intra-regional
trade through exchange of mutually agreed concessions by member countries.
Current members include Bangladesh, China, India, Republic of Korea,
Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Sri Lanka. UNESCAP functions
as its secretariat. |
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Special
Observances and Meetings |
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The views expressed in this
publication do not necessarily reflect the official views or policies
of the United Nations. The information contained herein may be freely
reproduced. What’s Ahead at ESCAP is published monthly
by the United Nations Information Services Bangkok. Tel: +(66-2) 288-1861-66
• Fax: +(66-2) 288-1052 • E-mail: unisbkk.unescap@un.org
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