LEADING MINDS SEARCH FOR FRESH PERSPECTIVES ON
ASIA-PACIFIC'S ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGES

Bangkok, January 10, 2001 - Two dozen of the region's leading thinkers will search for fresh perspectives on the issues of environment and development in Bangkok later this week.

The first substantive meeting of the Asia-Pacific Forum for Environment and Development, an initiative of the Japan Government's Ministry of Environment, begins on Saturday at the United Nations Conference Centre.

Chaired by former Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, the forum will involve United Nations Environment Programme Executive Director Klaus Toepfer, UN Economic and Social Commission Executive Secretary Kim Hak-Su, and leaders drawn from government, academic, legal, policy, trade and activist backgrounds across Asia and the Pacific.

The brainchild of Japanese Environment Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi, the forum aims to sketch out a new development framework that will lead to greater equitability and sustainability in the region.

Recognising significant degradation of the environment over the last decade, and the magnitude and diversity of poverty in the region, the forum will look to identify courses of action which harness emerging technology innovations and globalization.

It is expected several innovative new ideas to emerge as the forum focussed on key themes of trade, finance, renewable energy and freshwater.

The forum would initially prepare a message for the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in August and planned to meet a further five times before completing its final report in 2004.

The two-day forum is preceded by meetings of representatives from a broad range of sectors of society, and by environment and development experts, today and tomorrow.

The meetings have been organised by the Ministry of the Environment of Japan, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment of Thailand, the United Nations Environment Programme, the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, the Thailand Environment Institute, and the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies.
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Note for Editors:

All meetings start at 9 am in the United Nations Conference Centre and are open to accredited members of the media: Multi-stakeholder Meeting - Jan 10, Expert Meeting - Jan 11, Asia-Pacific Forum for Environment and Development - Jan 12-13.
To arrange interviews with forum members contact Kazuaki Hoshino.

For further information contact:

Kazuaki Hoshino, Senior Policy Coordinator, Ministry of Environment, Government of Japan, email kazuaki_hoshino@env.go.jp
Yoshihiro Natori, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, email natori@iges.or.jp
Tim Higham, Regional Information Officer, United Nations Environment Programme, ph 288 2127, email higham.unescap@un.org
David Lazarus, Chief, United Nations Information Service, ph 2881866, email lazarus.unescap@un.org

Members of the Asia-Pacific Forum for Environment and Development (as at 4/1/2002):

A. T. .Ariyaratne (Sri Lanka), Founder and President, Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement
Neth Barom (Cambodia) Vice-Rector, Royal University of Phnom Penh
James Cecil Cocker (Tonga) Minister of the Environment
Cielito F. Habito (Philippines) Former Secretary of Socioeconomic Planning
Barbara R. Hardy (Australia) Former Commissioner of The Australian Heritage
Commission
Ryutaro Hashimoto (Japan) Former Prime Minister
Parvez Hassan (Pakistan) Former Chairman, IUCN Law Commission
Yolanda Kakabadse Navarro (International) President, IUCN
Martin Khor (Malaysia) Director, Third World Network
Kim Jin-Hyun (Korea) Senior Research Advisor, Korea International Trade
Association
Tommy Koh (Singapore) Director, The Institute of Policy Studies
Reza Maknoon (Iran) Deputy Chairman, National Committee SD
Enkhbayar Nambaryn (Mongolia) Prime Minister
Wadan Lal Narsey (Fiji) Associate Professor, Economic Department, University of South Pacific
Olga Ponizova (Russia) Executive Director of Eco-Accord Center on
Environment and Development
Qu Geping (China) Chairman, Commission for Environment Protection and Resources Conservation, National Peoples Congress
Emil Salim (Indonesia) Former Chairman, National Economic Council
Maurice Strong (International) Rector, The University for Peace
Tongroj Onchan (Thailand) President of the Mekong Environment and Resource
Institute
Kim Hak-Su Executive Secretary, ESCAP
Klaus T?pfer Executive Director, UNEP
Yoriko Kawaguchi Minister of the Environment, Japan
Akio Morishima Chair of the Board of Director, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES)

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