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..Press
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UNESCAP News Services
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Date 15
March 2005
Press Release No: N/08/2005
FIRST MAJOR GREEN CONFERENCE SINCE TSUNAMI
‘Green Growth’ highlighted in
UNESCAP Ministerial Conference
Bangkok (United Nations Information Services)
-- The first high-level major environmental conference since
the Tsunami last December will be held in Seoul, 24-29 March
2005.
More than forty countries, prominent environmentalists and institutions
are expected to attend The Fifth Ministerial Conference on Environment
and Development in Asia and Pacific. The Bangkok-based United
Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
(UNESCAP) is organizing the meeting in partnership with other
international organizations. The Conference is hosted by the
government of the Republic of Korea.
“The theme of the Ministerial Conference, ‘Achieving
environmentally sustainable economic growth in Asia and the
Pacific’ will position national leaders to make concrete
and strategic commitments towards Green Growth across the region,”
said UNESCAP’s Executive Secretary Mr. Kim Hak-Su.
“Green growth focuses on reducing the increasing environmental
pressure arising from economic growth. Economic growth is necessary
to reduce poverty but we have to introduce conceptual and system-
change to create a ‘win-win’ synergy between
protecting the environment and the economy,” said Mr.
Kim.
Industrial production in the region increased by almost 40 per
cent as compared with a global increase of 23 percent from 1995-2002.
The increasing economic growth itself is placing enormous pressure
on the region’s environmental carrying-capacity. In order
to grow without jeopardizing environmental sustainability, not
only pollution control but improvement of eco-efficiency of
production and consumption are necessary.
The Conference held once in every five years in the region will
review the Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable
Development including the Phnom Penh Regional Platform on Sustainable
Development for Asia and the Pacific, recommendations of the
Fourth Ministerial Conference on Environment and Development
2000, and the Kitakyushu initiative for a Clean Environment.
The Tsunami catastrophe will also be discussed.
Also on the agenda are eight side events. Eminent Environmental
Scientist Symposium (24-25 March), Eminent Environmental Economists
Symposium (26 March), Civil Society Forum (23-24 March), Water
Management for Food and the Environment (27 March); Briefing
on North-East-Asia Regional Cooperation for the Prevention and
Control of Sandstorms (25 March), Private Sector Forum (25-26
March), Multi-stakeholder Forum conducted by Asia-Pacific Forum
for Environment and Development (APFED) and an Environmental
Technology Exhibition (24-25 March).
The Conference is expected to adopt a Regional Implementation
Plan, the Seoul Initiative on Environmental Sustainable Economic
Growth: “Green Growth” and a Ministerial
Declaration which will reaffirm the countries’ commitment
to sustainable development.
For more information, please visit:
http://www.unescap.org/mced/
http://www.mced2005seoul.org/
http://www.unescap.org/unis/sub_unis/press_releases.asp
For further information please contact:
Bangkok
Mr. David Lazarus
Chief, UN Information Services
United Nations Building 10F
Rajdamnern Nok Avenue, Bangkok
Tel: +(66-2) 288-1861-66; +(66-1) 849-2554
Fax: +(66-2) 288-1052
E-mail: unisbkk.unescap@un.org
Seoul
N. Alice Kim
International Cooperation Assistant
T/F for Ministerial Conference on Environment and Development
2005
Ministry of Environment
Republic of Korea
TEL: +(82-2) 2110 6523
FAX: +(82-2) 503 8773
Email: alicekim48@me.go.kr
or alicekim48@gmail.com
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