Asia is key to saving planet from environmental disaster, experts say
Copyright 2001 Associated Press
November 28, 2001
By Denis D. Gray, Associated Press
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — The world's war for sustainable development will be won or lost in Asia — and the prospects for victory are far from certain, delegates to a major environmental conference said Tuesday.
At the three-day meeting, more than 300 officials, experts, and activists are hammering out Asia's agenda for next year's World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa.
"The region's environment continues to deteriorate, and we continue to have the largest population of the world's poor, numbering about 1 billion people," said Kim Hak-Su, who heads the U.N. Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).
Home to more than half the world's population and a region of great biodiversity, Asia has the largest land area affected by soil degradation, the greatest depletion of water for agriculture, and air pollution levels eight times those of cities in developed nations, conference documents said.
More than 2 billion Asians, one-third of humanity, earn less than US$2 a day.
"This region faces every conceivable challenge in attaining sustainable development," said Shahid Ahmed, another ESCAP official, who cited six initiatives to be worked into an Asian platform for the 2002 summit. These include reduction of poverty, cleaning up industry and reducing energy consumption, protection of biodiversity, better management of water resources, guarding the marine environment, spreading environmental awareness, and building institutions that can translate goals into action.
The Johannesburg conference is to assess what has happened to the world's environment 10 years after ambitious green targets were set at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. The South African summit is also to chart new courses toward sustainable development, defined by the United Nations as development which "meets the needs of present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."
Cambodia's Environment Minister Mok Mareth, reviewing the past decade, warned, "Billions of dollars are spent on identifying problems, but these problems are not being solved."
He also sounded another common theme among officials and representatives of nongovernmental organizations: The environment can only be improved if poverty and social inequalities are sharply reduced. "The Asian region must work together to win the war on poverty," the minister said, adding that help was needed from developed nations.
"Asia-Pacific does not want charity but greater understanding to let the universal spirit prevail in matters like aid, exchange of technologies, and moderation of consumerism," said R. Rajamani, a former environment secretary of India.
Conference documents noted that the region's gross domestic product grew at an average annual rate of 3.8 percent between 1965 and 1990, and that some progress had also been notched in environmental policy, legislation, and awareness.
But negative forces have also come into play: the 1997 financial crisis which swelled the ranks of the poor, the continued mushrooming of Asian populations, and the downsides of globalization. "Globalization, with its potential adverse impacts on the region's trade, employment, social and cultural practices, has emerged as a predominant sustainable development issue in the region," an ESCAP paper said.
It said Asia's unique social, environmental, and economic features "make it a compelling case for special global attention at the World Summit." Several delegates quoted Maurice Strong, who chaired the Rio summit, as saying, "The battle for sustainable development will be won or lost in Asia."
The Phnom Penh meeting, which has attracted ministerial-level delegations from 19 countries, will finalize the Asian platform for Johannesburg on Thursday. It follows five subregional meetings and two regional roundtables of noted environmental experts.
"Together we should light a candle rather than curse the darkness," ESCAP chief Kim said. "These lighted candles can provide the illumination needed to guide us on the road to sustainable development."