Kitakyushu, Japan (United Nations Information Services/PINA Nius
Online, 1 September 2000) - Senior environment officials from over 43
Asia-Pacific countries got down to business yesterday examining an agenda full of
good news, and bad, about the environment.
THE GOOD NEWS: Environmental and sustainable development issues in
Asia and the Pacific have assumed greater prominence and public attention, new
revitalized Ministries have been created and there is more education
and private sector interest in investing in sustainable development.
THE BAD NEWS: The region continues to suffer from some of the most
pressing environmental problems in the form of air and water pollution ,
biodiversity loss, freshwater scarcity, land degradation and desertification,
solid and hazardous waste disposal, and the cumulative impacts of climate
change.
"As always the nearly 1 billion poor inhabitants of the region are
among the worst affected , since they generally have little choice but to live
close to the dirty rivers, smoky factories, busy roads and contaminated dump
sites, making them more vulnerable to disease and the impacts of environmental neglect,"
said ESCAP's Executive Secretary, Mr Kim Hak-Su in his opening statement.
The fourth Ministerial Conference on Environment and Development in
Asia and the Pacific is being held from 31 August to 5 September 2000 at
Kitakyushu City, Japan. The conference is being Organized by the Economic and
Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and co-sponsored by the
Asian Development Bank (ADB), the United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP) and the World Bank. The Ministerial level segment is from 4-5 September.
The meeting began without the presence of one of ESCAP's 61 members -
the United States of America. " The United States informed me that
they will not attend because they were not happy that Japan was continuing to
hunt whales although they had asked that a reduction be made. The
Americans said that in spite of the plea to stop hunting whales, the number of whales
hunted for research purposes was being increased. We pointed out that
this was an ESCAP meeting, however I believe they wanted to show their
discontent by staying away from this meeting being held in Japan," said Mr Kim
Hak-Su.
"The US decision will not affect the critical environmental agenda
that countries attending the Conference are studying as all resolutions
made here will be tabled at our annual Commission session next year which the US
regularly attends, and we expect that all our members will go along with
decisions reached here. We are also encouraged that the region is well
represented here with three quarters of our members slated to attend," he
said.
Mr Masatomo Kawai, Senior State Secretary for the Environment,
Government of Japan, speaking at the opening of the Senior Officials meeting, said
that despite the best efforts of individual countries , the environment of
the Asia Pacific continues to be degraded. He called for renewed
efforts as well as regional cooperation to support the action plans.
The Mayor of Kitakyushu, Mr Koichi Sueyoshi, said he was proud
to host an environmental conference as it was a tribute to his City.
"Although we had experienced some of the worst pollution due to our
rapid
development efforts, we are pleased to say that a partnership between
private sector and local citizens helped make this City livable
again."
The Conference is the fourth in the series of regional Ministerial
level meetings, held every five years. Ministers and senior officials are
expected to review the implementation of Agenda 21 an environmental
blueprint in the region, and assess the State of the Environment in Asia and
the Pacific.
The Ministerial Conference is expected to produce a regional action
plan, and a Declaration reaffirming the commitment of countries in the
region to environmental protection. The Ministerial Conference, is also in
preparation for the 10-year review, in 2002, of the United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. -
United Nations Information Services/PINA Nius Online.
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# Developed with support from the United Nations Educational,
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Development of Communication (IPDC), and its Regional Communication Adviser
Nina RATULELE
Administrator, Pacific Islands News Association (PINA)/Association des Pacifique (PINA)
Coordinator, PINA Pacific Freedom of Information Network
Editor, PINA Nius
General Secretary, PINA Pacific Forum of Environmental Journalists
Pacific Islands News Association/Association des Pacifique (PINA)
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