ministers
Kitakyushu City (UNEP/PINA Nius Online, 1 September 2000) - Youth =
leaders
from throughout Asia and the Pacific are meeting in Kitakyushu City,
Japan, to prepare to voice their concerns to the region's environment
ministers.
Twenty-five youth from 15 countries are participating in a five-day
Regional Youth Caucus organised by the United Nations Environment =
Programme
(UNEP).
UNEP Executive Director Klaus Toepfer - who will attend the meeting =
on
Sunday - said nearly 30 percent of the world's population are =
youth
and in many developing countries they comprise nearly half the
population. "It is imperative that youth from all parts of the =
world
are given the opportunity to participate actively in the decision =
making
processes," Mr Toepfer said.
The caucus parallels the Fourth Ministerial Conference on =
Environment
and Development in Asia and Pacific, organised by the UN =
Economic
and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, the ministerial =
segment of
which begins on Monday.
Regional Youth Caucus Chair Rieko Kubota, of Japan, said the =
unhealthy
state of the air, water and land in the region was a concern for =
youth.
"We would like to see that decisions being made about =
environment
and development are fair for our generation and the ones who will =
follow,"
Ms Kubota said.
The youth will draft an appeal that will be presented to the =
Ministers at
their session next Tuesday. They will also participate in =
forums
involving non-governmental organisations and past recipients of =
UNEP's
prestigious Global 500 awards.
The Japan caucus builds on UNEP's global youth programme and the =
Regional
Youth Forum held in Singapore in December 1999 at which a =
declaration
and regional action plan was developed. The youth will review =
progress on
their action plan during the meeting.
Other organizations working with UNEP to ensure young people's
participation in the ministerial conference are the Institute =
for
Global Environmental Strategies, the United Nations Development =
Program,
the Hanns Seidel Foundation, the Kitakyushu City Government, the =
Aeon
Group Environmental Foundation and Bayer Thai. - UNEP/PINA Nius =
Online.
*** Information on the Ministerial meeting is available from =
the
web site - www.unescap.org/mced2000
# The online news and feature service for members of the Pacific =
Islands
News Association (PINA)/Association des M=E9dias des =EEles du =
Pacifique (PINA)
# For more information contact Nina RATULELE, PINA administrator,
pina@is.com.fj Or visit our Website at: http://www.pinanius.org
# Developed with support from the United Nations Educational, =
Scientific and
Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), its International Programme for the
Development of Communication (IPDC), and its Regional Communication =
Adviser
=8B Nina RATULELE
Administrator, Pacific Islands News Association (PINA)/Association =
des M=E9dias des =CEles du 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 M=E9dias des =CEles =
du Pacifique (PINA)
Level 2, Damodar Centre
46 Gordon Street, Suva, Fiji Islands
Phone: (679) 303 623 Fax: (679) 303 943
E-mail: pina@is.com.fj or pinapjdc@is.com.fj
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