Sou Asia Co-operative Environment Programme Volume 2 July 1984 INDEX
MESSAGE FROM STJEPAN KECKES 1 MESSA GE FROM NAY HTUN 2 EDITORIAL 3 RESOLUTION ADOPTED AT THE 11TH GOV ERNING COUNCIL MEETING OF UNEP ON THE SOUTH ASIAN SEAS 4 MEETING OF NATIONAL FOCAL POINTS ON DEVELOP MENT OF AN ACTI ON PLAN FOR TH E PROT ECTION OF SOUTH ASIAN SEAS 5 SAS WINS FIRST TEST 7 ESCAP/SACEP REGI ONAL SYMPOSIUM ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT OF MANGROV ES, CORALS AND ISLAND ECO- SYSTEMS IN SOUTH ASIA 8 NEWS OF OTHER PROJECTS UNDER IMPLEMENTATION 9 AUSTRIAN CONNECTION 10 NEWS ABOUT THE NEXT ISSUE 11 SACEP SUBJECT MATTER A REAS 12 AD DRESSES OF SACEP FOCAL POINTS 13
2 3
EDITORIAL
The Stockholm Conference in The UN EP's approach to the 1972 on th e Human Environment Regional Seas Programme is most was the spiritual father of the United flexibl e. It recognises the fact th at Nations Environment Programme. human civilizat ion is a patch work of This conference underlined the.vital different cultures and econo mic importance' for humanity of the seas structures. It is also aware of the f act and all t he living organisms which that people have differing dem ands the oceans support . UN EP in its very on the world around them. It also First Governing Council Sessions in believes that each society has to 1973 set the 'H ealt h of the Oceans' learn to manage its own eco-system. as one of its priorit y conce rn s. Even The success of the Regional Seas today th is remains as one of its seven Programme is mainly due to t his ima major concerns. ginative, innovat ive and very sens i Tw o of the recommendations tive approach. of the Act ion Plan of the Stockholm Action Plan of each individual Conf erence were t he need for re Regional Seas Programme, reflects giona l co -ord inat ion in controlling the particular priorit ies, needs and pollution of the seas and that resources available in the region in Government should take "effective order to cope with its special en nat ional measures fo r the co nt ro l of vironmental problems. The enthu all signif icant sources of mari ne siasm shown by SACEP mem ber pollut ion including land-based countries coupled wit h experience sources and co ncert and co-ordinat e and guidance of th e Regional Seas their actions regionally and where Programme Act ivit y Centre would appropriate, on a wider international result in the t wo organizat ions, basis". As a f ol low up to this in co-opera t ing to brine forth CLyerv 1974, the Regio nal Seas Programme meani ngfu l progr amme of a&frlJlty was init iat ed. for the Sout h Asian Seas. At present, there are 11 region As the first step towards the al seas involvi ng 125 states, 14 format ion of the Sout h Asian United Nations Agencie s and 12 Regional Seas Programme, a meeti ng ot her Internationa I Organisations. A of the Nat ional Focal Points was Regional Seas Programme Activity held in March 1984 at Bangkok. Th is Cent re was also set up in 1977, to meet ing decided on a framework for co-ordinat e t he work carried out develo ping an Act ion Plan for the under this programme. Sout h Asian Seas. For a variety of historical Based on th ese recommenda reasons a regional pro gramme for the tions, t here wil l be preparat ory acti South Asia n Seas was not initiated. vities leading to an intergovermental The emergence of SACEP saw with it meet ing which will review th e draft the revival of int erests t oward s the act ion plan and recommend it alo ng establishment of Regional Seas with t he necessary legal inst ruments Programme f or the South Asian Seas. to a meet ing of pl eni potentiaries. 4
RESOLUTIO ADOPTED AT THE 11 H GOVERNING COUNCIL MEETING OF UNEP 0 THE SOUTH ASIAN SEAS DECISION 11/7 TAKEN ON 24.05.1983 Noting also the consultations carried out in accordance with Council decision 10/20 among members of the South Asia Co-opera tive Environment Programme concerning a Regional Seas Programme. 1. Requests the Executive Director to desig nate the South Asian Seas as a region to be included in the Regional Seas Programme in cl ose collaboration with the South Asia Co operative Environment Programme and Gov ernments in the region, and to assist in the formulation of a Plan of Action for the en vironmental protection of the South Asian Seas, 2. Urges all member states to give fullest support to the adoption and ratification of relevant conventions and protocols for the protection and development of the regional marine environment and coastal areas; 3. Invit es participating member St ates to pay their contributions in support of the im plementation of the existing regional action plans; 4. Urges all Governments, the organizat io ns of th e U nit ed Nations system, and other int er governmental, non-governmental and other organiszations to extend their full support to the cou nt ries co ncern ed in their effots to combat coast al erosion and marine poll ution; 5. Calls upon the Executive Director to provide adequate fu nds t o the Regio nal Seas Pro gramme as a high pr iority 5
E
On t he 24th of May 1983, the experts from the five member 11th Governing Council of UI\IEP states, (Bangladesh, India, Maldives, requested "the Executive Director Pakistan and Sri Lanka) & represen to designate the South Asian Seas as tatives from 9 UN bodies, and a region to be included in the Inter-Governmental and Non Regional Seas Programme, in close Governmental Organisations. collaborat io n with the South Asia The meeting commenced with Co-operat ive Environment Pro opening statements from the gramme and Governments in the Director, UNEP Regional Seas Pro Regions, and t o assist in t he for gramme Activity Centre and mation of a planof actio n for the Director SACEP. After the cust om pro t ect io n o f the South Asian ary procedural matter were agreed Seas" . upon, participants from each of the As a first follow up activity to 5 member states made general stat e this decision, a me et ing of Nati o nal ments expressing the view of t heir Focal Points of the States of t he governments as to the objectives regio n was convened by th e Execu of the Act io n Plan for the So ut h t ive Director of UNEP, in co -o pera Asian Seas. Their statements were t ion with SAC EP, to ascertain how supportive of UNEP's Governing to proceed in developing a comp re Council decision and also endorsed hensive Act io n Pla n for the South the broad o bjectives of the pro Asian Seas. posed programme. This me et ing was held in the Next was the presentation of 2 United Nat io ns Building in documents. Th e first by the Execu Bangko k, T hailand fro m 19-21 st tive Director, UNE P titled 'Proce March 198 4. Partic ipation includ ed dures & Act ivit ies that may be 6
followed in Developi ng an Action d) Inst it ut io nal arrangements Plan' and the second by the e) Financial arrangements Director SACEP, where a review was given on the' Regional and f) Documentation National Activities relevant to the g) Schedule of future meet ings development of an Action Plan for the South Asian Seas'. Finally, the meeting recom The representatives of the mended that, United Nations, the special ized or ganisations and other organisations a) The Governments & UN EP attending the meeting were then in should initiate the preparation vited to info rm the meeting of their of documents as discussed. past, ongoing and proposed acti b) The result of this meeting vities in which they may be able to shou Id be brought to the assist in the development and im attention of the next session plementation of an Action Plan for of UN EP's Governing Council th e South Asian Seas. in May 1984, with a reque st After much discussion, a for adequate financial support consensus was reached on the to complete the pr eparatory items that shou Id be considered in phase leading to the adoption the further development of the of the Action Plan. Action Plan. The broad areas agreed c) UNEP should bring to the upon were attention of rei evant Interna a) Geograph ic scope ti onal 0 rgan isations, the resuIt of this meeting, with a view to b) Objectives obtain their assistance in c) Priority areas of regional achieving the goals of the concern Action Plan.
Statement made by Air Marshall Han . Inamul Haque Khan, Min ister for H ousing and Works , Water. & Power, Pakistan T he basic causes of our environmental t roubles are thus complex and deeply imbe dded. They include ou r past tendency t o emphasize quant itat ive gro wth at the expense of qualit y , the failure o f our economy to provide full accounting fo r t he social cost s o f environmental pollution; th e failure to t ake envi ronme t al factors int o accou nt as a normal and inte gral part of our plan ni ng and decisi on making; the inadequac y of our inst it ut io ns for dealing with prob lems that cut across traditional po li tical boundaries; our dependence on exp endiencies, w it h out regard to t heir imp act on the environment; and mo re fundamenta lly our fail ure to perceive the envi ronment as a totality and to understand or recognise the fundamental interdependence of all its parts, including man himself . 7
WI FIRST TE T Five countries of South Asia mentioned above, outlining possible are launching an eight-p ron ged att ack solutions, and descrlbin q avail able on th eir common environmental inst itut ional and human resources. problems. In the ir enthusiasm to develop At a meeting of nat ional as action pl an, the South Asian focal points (Bangkok, 19-21 March States set themselves a chall enging 1984), Bangaladesh, India, Maldi ves, timetable. With help from the Sout h Pakistan and Sri Lanka committed Asia Co-operative Envi ronmen t Pro t hemselves t o the development of an gramme (SACEP) and UNEP, the action plan to protect and manage five countries want t o have their t he marine environment of the reports ready during 1984. On the Sout h A sian Seas (SAS) region and basis of these, UN EP, in co-operation to promote environmental awareness with SA CEP. and other internat iona l among its people. organizat ions, wi ll draf t an overview Eight "priority areasof region of t he region's environmental pro al concern" were defined by the blems and a p reliminary action plan. meeting: National expert s wi ll the n meet in late 1984 t o review and revise the - environmenta l assessment o f regional report and the draft acti on pol lution f rom human settlements, pl an, and to consider a document bv oil from coastal and mari ti me wh ich UN EP w ill prepare in the sources, f rom agricu lture and from meantime on legislative aspects 0 f industrial sources; the act ion plan. At this time, a re - management o f the coastal commendat ion could be made con zone and marine ecosy stems; cern ing the development of a region al convention and prot ocols all ied - co nservat ion of endangered wi th the plan. and t hreatened species, includ ing establishm ent of marine parks, re The Sout h Asian States hope serves and sanctuaries; to co nvene an int ergovernment al meet ing to adopt the action plan - study o f envi ronment al no later than mid-1985. aspects o f renewab le sources of energy from the sea ; The meet ing requested that UNEP provide fin ancial assistance - exchange of informat ion, in for the preparat ory phase of the cludin g establ ishment of data banks action plan, noti ng that the Govern and clearing houses; ments would be expected to gradual - development of human re ly assume fin ancial responsibility for sources t hrough educati on and its implementat ion. It also asked that training; natio nal inst itutions and experts - promot ion of environmental from the region be fully involved awareness; and in development of the pl an. - considerat ion of essential Results of th e Bangkok meet legislative aspects relevant t o the ing will be brought to the atten acti on plan. tion of the UNEP Governing Council at its May 1984 session , j ust one Preparat ory activities for the year after th e Council voted t o in plan will center arou nd the preparation clud e South Asian Seas in its Region of country report s reviewing environ al Seas Programme. mental problems in each of th e areas - Courtesy The Siren 8
E ACEP REGIO Al YMPOSIUM E E TAL .•. ,.." ...AGE ENT OF A C D IS D ECO-SYSTE AUGUST 1983 DHAKA A successfu l sy mposium on Uni t , ESCA P M r. Mohammad t he Env ironmental Management of Siddiquer Rahaman, Secretary, Mangroves, Corals and Island Eco M inist ry of Local Government , Ru syste ms in South Asia was held in ral Development and Co -op eratives Augu st 1983 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. gave the welcome address and Dr. The host fac ilities for this very Leslie Herath, Executive Director, important symposium was provided SACEP, made the int roductory by the Government of the People's statement. The vo te of thanks was Republ ic of Bangladesh through the given by Dr M A Kari m, Directo r, Department of Environmental Department of Env ironment' Pollution Control. Th e symposium Pollut ion Contro l. w as joi ntl y sponsored by ESCAP The deliberat io ns of th e and SACEP. symposium wh ich incl uded pr esen tation of country papers, panel di s The participants at th is sym cussions on the main themes and posium included representatives f ield trips cu lm inated with th e fr om the 5 Maritim e states of adoption of a draft report. SACEP, namely Bangladesh, India, T his symposium served a very Ma ld ives, Pakist an and Sri Lanka, useful purpose as it identi fi ed th e FAO, UNESCO (UNDP/ UN ESCO critical areas for attention in th e Regio nal Mangrove Proje ct), Mangroves, Corals and Island Eco USA I 0 & UN EP ( Region al Seas systems in South Asia. Its draft Programme) . report con tai ns many recommenda The inaugural address at th e t ions which w ill eventually QO to symposium was del ivered by Hon. form an integral part of th e pro M r. Mahbubur Rahman, Mini ster po sed action plan for t he Sou th o f Loca l Government, Rural Deve As ian Seas. It is also envi saged that lop ment, Co -operatives and there wi ll be follow up to th is sy m Reli giou s Affairs, wh ile the key note posi um, so that an action pro address was bv Mr. K F. .Jalal , gramme w oul d be pre sented to an Chief , Environmen tal Co -ordinat io n appropriate co nsort ium of dono rs.
INAUGURA L ADDRESS BY HON. MR MA HBUBUR RA HMA N. MIN ISTE ROF LOCA L GOV ERNME T. RUR A L DEVELOPMENT . CO·OPERA TI VES & REL IGIOUS A FFAI RS. BANGLADESH 9
NEWS OF OTHER PROJECTS UNDER I PLEMEN TATION
ENVIRONME NTAL LEGISLATION I PLANNING AND A DMINIST This programme which was RATION O F A SPECIA L Y OUT H unanimously approved by the 1st ENVIRONMENT REFORESTA TION Governing Council of SACEP is lLANO RECLA MAT ION SCH EM E now adopted by the UN DP. Th e participating member countries have This project has been formulated no minated their country consu ltants at the request of SACEP by Dr. David who w il l draw up a status report on Dichter of the Institute of Technology the Environmental Legislation in their fo r People stationed in Geneva. Fun ds' respective countries. UN DP at present for this project is expected from is in the process of finalising the terms various sources and it is hoped to o f reference for t hese Cou nt ry Re implement this project early. ports. They are also in th e process of The Project document has been cir nominating a consul tant who will culated among the member count ries look into th ese reports at a work shop for their approval. to be held later on . INTEG RATED ENERGY SAVING ENVI RONMENT A ND DOM ESTIC STO V ES & FUE LWOOD DE V ELOPM ENT SYST EMS. The project s and sub-projects This is a project formulated by the formulated unde r the focal po int SA CEP/ U NDPProject Formulatory Environment Impact Assessment and Mi ssion. UNDP has consented to field Cost Benefit Analysis/ Environment a con sult ant to visit the member and Development was forwarded to co unt ries in order to draw up the East-West Centre, Hawaii for their modalities of op eration. Meanwhile consideration. Discussio ns are under the Netherlands Government has indi way regarding the modalities of opera cat ed her interest to examine this tion of th is set of p rojects. The project. The first phase is expected to Government of India was also con last 2% years and should the result be tacted to assist in implementing encouraging the 2nd phase is expected act ivities in this area. to be an ambitious oper ation where appropriate st oves wou Id be fabricated A STU DY ON V ECTOR-BORN E in the par t icip ating countries and DISEAS E PROB LEMS IN SMA L L disse m inat ed amo ng a major sect ion SCA L E WA T ER RESOURCES of the population. DEVELO PM ENT PROJECTS IN RICE HUSK A SH CEMENT FO R SRI SRI LA NKA . LA NKA, FEED BLOCKS FROM At the second annual meeting of A GRI CU LTU RAL RESIDUES FOR the Panel of Experts on Environment al PAK ISTA N , BUILDING MATERIAL Management for Vector Cont ral FROM WA ST E BRICKS FOR N EPAL (PEEM) held in 1982, Sri Lan ka was These 3 projects which were for selected as an area fo r Pilot Stu dies mulated by th e UN DP/ SA CEP Mi ssion in t he assessment of the magnitude for the utilization of Agricultural and of vect or-borne di sease problems and Industrial Waste in Nepal, Pakistan the effects of ecological changes and Sri Lanka, have now been adopted resul t ing from small sca le water r-e by UNEP as suita b le projects fo r sou rces development projects. assistance. Th e Netherlands Govern T his project is funded by th e ment has in formed UNEP on its WHO and is expected to be co mp leted willingness to assist t wo ofthese by m id 1985. Dependi ng on th e fi nal project s under their Clearing House evalution, th is pr oject w ill be extended Programme. to other member count ries o f SAC EP. 10
USTRIAN C NNECTION
T he First Govern ing Council Energy Commission of Austria. On of SACEP di rected the Secretariat a direct ive made by th e Con sult a to expl ore possib ilities of expan tive Committee, a formal request di ng the activit ies of the "Energy for assistance to t he SAC EP and Enviro nment" f ocal point in Secret ariat was made to His Excell order speciall y to formulate pro ency th e Chancellor of Austria. A jects and programmes f or the utili warm, prompt and a posit ive res zation of renewable energy re ponse was received f rom the Chan sources. At t he instance of the Con cellor ind icating th at he would vie w sultative Com mittee, the Secretariat sympathet ically the est ablishment approached a number of dono r of a SACEPoffice in V ienna to assist agencies for this purpose. T he En the activities of this Organization. vi ronm ent and Energy Commission The Viennese auth or ities have now of Austria was one such Organiza informed this Organi zat ion that a ti on that was approached by eight member team will undert ake a SACEP. The Director was invited mission to vi sit selected mem ber to visit Austria whe re arr angements countries of SA CEP in order to were made for him to pr sent th e identify the felt needs of the objectives and the work programm e member countries w ith a view to of SA CEP to a number of leading formulating suitable projects. The institutions and individuals by SACEPoffice in Vienna would assist organising a seri es of seminars. A in the location of suitable donors to two-member A ustr ian t eam late r the projects identified and formu visit ed the SACEP Office in lated when these have been finally ' olombo to further discuss th e mo app ro ved by th e respective govern dal ities of fu ture co-operat ion of ments of member countries of SACEP with th e Environment and SA CEP.
Statement made b y Hon. Mohamed Mustafa Hussain, Minister of Health, Mald ives , .. But strangely enough, all this time we have not paid much heed, and have somew hat forg otten or neglected the fact th at , enviro nment keeps providing us an ind ispensabl e power. A power which is essential to our lives. Environmen t protects us "from cradle to grave". Now it is time that we began to protect the environment.
State ment by the Hon. Obaidullah Khan, Minister of Agriculture & Forestry of the Govt. of Bangladesh. T he South Asian sub-region bounded by th e towering Himalayas at one end and the rumbli ng Ind ian Ocean at the other has both ecological similarit ies and diversit ies. In t he co ntext of recent collective efforts to build a regional fabric of co oper at ion in Sout h Asia, the need fo r attention to environment manage mern in this region acquires a significant d im ension. 11
EWS ABOUT THE NEXT ISSUE 1988 - Y EAR OF THE TREES FOR SOUTH ASIA A resolution unanimously adopted at the First Governing Coun cil of SACEP has now received positive re actions from a number of donor agencies. UNEP at its 11th Governing Coun cil held in May 1983 adopted a resolution designating 1988 as the Year of the T rees for Asia and the Pacific. A mission is expected t o visit the member cou ntries in earl y 1985 to formulate projects under this pro gramme. Meanwhile SACE P is in the process of formulating a wor plan for t he Year of t he T rees for 1988 in accordance with it s GC- l resolut ion. The Year of the T rees wil l form the Theme for the 3rd Issue of the SAC EP News Letter.
us
nd Alsophiia erinita (Tree Fern)
" The tree is a peculiar organism ofunlim ited kindness and benevolence that makes n o demand fo r its sustenance, and extends generously the p roducts of its activity: it af fords protection to all beings, of fering shade even to the axe-man who destroys it" - Gautam a Buddha. 12
CE JEC E
(1) Environmental Im pact Assessment and Cost/B enefit A nalysis ; Environ ment and Development (Focal Point - Sri Lanka)
(2) Environmental Quality St andards (Focal Poi nt - Iran)
(3) T echnology for Development o f Renewable and Reusable Resources (Focal Point - ESCAP/ RCTT)
(4) Environmental Legislat ion (F ocal Point - India)
(5) Conservat ior of Montane Eco-system s and Watersheds (Focal ( Focal Point - Pakistan)
(6 ) Social Fo rest ry ( Focal Point - Afghanistan with ass istance of I nelia)
(7 ) Regio nal Co-o perat ion in Wild Life and Genet ic Resources Conservation ( Focal Point - Iran)
(8) Conse rvat ion of Corals, Mangroves, Deltas, Coastal Areas and
(9) Island Eco-Systems (Focal Point - Bangladesh & Maldives)
(10 ) Touri sm & Environ ment (Focal Point Nepal)
(11) Deserti fication ( Focal Point UN EP)
(12) Regional Seas Progra mme (Focal Point - UNEP)
( 13 ) Ene rgy & Environment (Focal Point - Iran in co-operation w ith Pakistan and In dia)
( 14 ) Educat ion and T rain ing (Focal Point - India)
(15) Trainin g in Wild Life Management (Focal Point - India)
Statement bv Hon Mohamed Zahir Hussain, Minister of Education of the Repu blic of Maldives We note w it h sa t isfaction and pl easu re th at inspite of variou s f inancial and other constraints SA CEP has mad e fa st and remarkable strides in its endeavours to establi sh it self as a regiona l body capat ) of achieving it s aims and objectives as set forth at it s incept io n. 13
E F HE L AFGHANISTAN Resident Repr esentative 1 UNDP, POBox 5 Sardar Shah Mahmoud Ghazi Wat, Kabul A FGHANISTA N
BANGLADESH Directo r Depart ment of Environment Pollution Control Lo cal Govt . Division Ministry of Local Government Ru ral Development of Co-operatives 6/11/F Lalmat ia Hou sing Estat e Satmasjid Road Dhaka- 7 BANGLADESH on BH UT AN Ministry of Foreign Affairs Royal Govern ment of Bhutan Th imphu BH UTA N
INDIA Secretary Department of Environment Bikaner House Shahjahan Road New Del hi -110003 INDI A
IRAN His Excellency R H Mirza Taheri Assistant Prime Minister & Director Department of the Environment POBox 1430, Tehran IR AN
MALDIVES Director of Nation al Health Services Ministry of Health, MALE REPUBLIC OF MA LDIVES
N EPAL Chair man Nepal Nat ional Committee for - I th e Man & The Biosphere C/o Ministry of Educat ion & Culture Kaisher Mahal , GPO Box 1071 Kathmandu NEPAL
PAKISTAN Secretary Ministry of Housing & Works 263 Street 17, F 7/ 2 Islamabad POBox 128 2 PAKISTAN
SRI LANKA Chairman Central Envi ronmental Authority Maligawatte New Town Colombo 10 SRI LANKA •
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