..Press Release................................ UNESCAP News Services

Date 8 November 2005
Press Release No: N/61/2005

UNESCAP LAUNCHES ‘GREEN GROWTH’ INITIATIVE IN SEOUL

Republic of Korea pledges to fund and support project

BANGKOK (United Nations Information Services) -- UNESCAP and the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Korea will launch the Seoul Initiative on Environmentally Sustainable Economic Growth (Green Growth) at the First Meeting of the Seoul Initiative Network on Green Growth scheduled for 10-11 November 2005 in Seoul.

Approximately 60 representatives from 30 countries in the Asian and Pacific region and six international organizations including the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), Asian Development Bank (ADB), World Bank, Institute of Global Environment and Strategies (IGES), and South Asia Co-operative Environment Programme (SACEP), are expected to attend.

According to UNESCAP Executive Secretary Kim Hak-Su, “The Seoul Initiative is a priority implementation mechanism to achieve ‘Green Growth,’ in which a win-win synergy can be created between the environment and the economy. This would promote environment as an opportunity rather than a constraint.”

At the opening session, Mr. Kim and His Excellency Mr. Jae-Young Lee, Minister of Environment of the Republic of Korea, will preside over a Signing Ceremony on an Arrangement between UNESCAP and the Korean Ministry of Environment to collaborate on the implementation of the Green Growth Initiative. As part of the Arrangement, the Republic of Korea will provide UNESCAP with a fund and necessary support to implement the Initiative.

Other participants of note at the Opening Ceremony include Dr. Suh-Sung Yoon, President of the Korea Environment Institute.

Note to Editors: You or your representatives are invited to attend the First Meeting of the Seoul Initiative Network scheduled for 10-11 November at the Seoul Olympic Parktel, Seoul, Republic of Korea. The Opening Ceremony will take place at 09:00 hrs and the Signing Ceremony at 09:20 hrs on 10 November.

The Seoul Initiative on Green Growth was adopted at the UNESCAP Ministerial Conference on Environment and Development in March 2005. The Initiative is aimed at addressing some of the major policy issues highlighted in the Ministerial Declaration on Environment and Development in Asia and the Pacific 2005, and the Regional Implementation Plan for Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific 2006-2010, and furthering their successful implementation.

The Seoul Initiative provides a regional cooperation framework for Green Growth, taking into account the economic, social, cultural and geographical features of the region. It also provides a framework for policy consultations, capacity-building and networking for the promotion of Green Growth at the regional level.

Participants at the Meeting, co-organized by UNESCAP and the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Korea, will discuss how to implement the Seoul Initiative on Green Growth and formulate an implementation plan for the years 2006-2010. They are also expected to establish the Seoul Initiative Network on Green Growth (SINGG) to facilitate enhanced interaction on among Governments, international organizations, academia, and other regional initiatives.

More information on the Green Growth Initiative may be found on the UNESCAP website at: http://www.unescap.org/esd/environment/mced/singg/.

For further information on the Green Growth Initiative, please contact:
Mr. Jung Kyun Na
Expert on Environment Policy
Environment and Sustainable Development Division
Tel: +(66-2) 288-1525
Fax: +(66-2) 288-1025
E-mail: naj@un.org

For media inquiries, please contact:
Mr. David Lazarus
Chief
UN Information Services Bangkok
Tel: +(66-2) 288-1861-66
Fax: +(66-2) 288-1052
E-mail: unisbkk.unescap@un.org

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