Synthesis Report for Asia and the Pacific
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2002 World Summit on Sustainable Johannesburg Summit Development Synthesis Report for Asia and the Pacific November 2001 Task Force for the Preparations of WSSD 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development Synthesis Report for Asia and the Pacific November 2001 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) Task Force for the Preparation of WSSD in Asia and the Pacific Contents 1. Synthesis report 1-16 2. Subregional report for North East Asia 17-64 3. Subregional report for Pacific 65-128 4. Subregional report for Central Asia 129-166 5. Subregional report for South Asia 167-196 6. Subregional report for Southeast Asia 197-264 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) Task Force for the Preparation of WSSD in Asia and the Pacific SYNTHESIS REPORT FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC Asia Pacific Preparatory Meeting Phnom Penh, Cambodia 27-29 November 2001 CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION 1 2. PROCESS FOR DEVELOPING SUBREGIONAL REPORTS AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ACTION PLANS 3 Northeast Asia Consultation Meetings 3 South Pacific Consultation Meetings 4 Central Asia Consultation Meetings 5 South Asia Consultation Meetings 5 Southeast Asia Consultation Meetings 6 Regional Roundtable for East Asia and the Pacific Region 6 Regional Roundtable for Central and South Asia 7 3. ANALYSIS OF SUBREGIONAL REPORTS 8 Subregional Reports 8 Northeast Asia 8 South Pacific 10 Central Asian Republics 10 South Asia 11 Southeast Asia 12 Analysis 14 I SYNTHESIS REPORT FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC ACRONYMS ADB Asian Development Bank AIT Asian Institute of Technology ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations ARCBC ASEAN Regional Centre for Biodiversity Conservation CARs Central Asian Republics ESCAP Economic and Social Council for Asia and the Pacific MRC Mekong River Commission NGO nongovernment organization PEMSEA Partnerships for Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia SAARC South Asian Association for Environmental Cooperation SACEP South Asia Cooperative Environment Programme SPREP South Pacific Regional Environment Programme SRAP subregional action plan UNCED United Nations Conference on Environment and Development UNCCD United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNEP United Nations Environment Programme UNIDO United Nations Industrial Development Organization WCED The World Commission on Environment and Development WSSD World Summit on Sustainable Development WWF World Wildlife Fund SYNTHESIS REPORT FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC II EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Over the past decade since the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio, there has been only modest progress in the Asia-Pacific Region towards sustainable development. Since 1992, environmental quality in the Region has deteriorated. In advance of the September, 2002, World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), a number of agencies active in the Asia-Pacific Region, including ADB, ESCAP, UNDP, and UNEP, agreed to co-ordinate a series of subregional and regional preparatory meetings. The inter-agency Task Force undertook consultations with representatives of government and civil society organizations to formulate action plans for sustainable development in the five subregions of Asia-Pacific: Central Asia, Northeast Asia, South Asia, South Pacific, and Southeast Asia. This synthesis report summarizes the process adopted and the substantive results from the five subregional consultations and two subregional roundtables. The report is a companion document to the Asia-Pacific Regional Platform paper that will be discussed at the Asia Pacific Regional Meeting in Cambodia, Nov. 27-29, 2001, and at the WSSD in September, 2002. Future implementation of the subregional action plans is necessary to arrest widespread environmental degradation in the Region. In order to achieve sustainable development, additional efforts and practical solutions are required for major socio-economic problems, including the widespread poverty and the distributional inequalities that pervade the Asia-Pacific Region. III SYNTHESIS REPORT FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC Synthesis of Subregional Consultations For The World Summit on Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific 1. Introduction 1. The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio in June of 1992 represented the world's most significant attempt to address the environmental crisis facing humanity. The principal outcome of UNCED was Agenda 21, a comprehensive blueprint for sustainable development of the world. Agenda 21 expresses the principles of UNCED as six core themes: enhancement of the quality of life on earth; efficient use of the earth's resources; protection of global commons; management of human settlements; management of chemicals and wastes; and promotion of sustainable economic growth. In effect, Agenda 21 is a comprehensive plan of action to be undertaken globally, nationally, and locally by organizations of the UN system, governments, and major groups in every area in which humans impact on the environment. 2. At Rio + 5, a Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly convened in June of 1997, it was determined that despite modest progress in some areas, the global environment continued to deteriorate and that little had been accomplished in moving the world towards sustainable development. Between 1992-1997, there was little progress in implementing the key components of Agenda 21. Rio + 5 re-iterated and amplified some of the main themes of Agenda 21, including those related to eradication of poverty, changing consumption and production patterns, making trade and environment mutually supportive, population, health, sustainable human settlements, as well as a number of important sectoral issues. To reverse the disappointing record of implementation of Agenda 21, Rio + 5 focused attention on the urgent fulfillment of financial commitments, the transfer of environmentally sound technologies, as well as capacity building in developing countries and economies in transition. 3. The General Assembly of the United Nations at its 55th Session in 2000 called for the 10-year review of progress achieved in the implementation of the UNCED recommendations. The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) will be held in September 2002 in Johannesburg, South Africa (also called Rio + 10) to reinvigorate, at the highest political level, the global commitment to sustainable development. Major objectives of WSSD will include review of areas where further efforts are needed to implement Agenda 21. The review will focus on action-oriented decisions in areas where further efforts are needed, address new challenges and opportunities, and result in renewed commitment and support for sustainable development. 4. In Asia and the Pacific region, preparations for the WSSD started with the Ministerial Conference on Environment and Development in Asia and the Pacific 2000 held in Kitakyushu, Japan. At this Conference, the Ministers adopted both the Regional Action Programme for Environmentally Sound and Sustainable Development and the Regional Message for the Ten-year Review of the Implementation of the Outcome of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. 5. Asia-Pacific, the world's most populated region, comprises 54 countries. Because of the vastness and diversity in terms of geography, topography, climatic, ecological, and other natural conditions, as well as differences in socio-cultural, economic and political systems, the region is grouped into 5 sub- regions: Central Asia, Northeast Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and South Pacific. The growing complexity and scope of environmental problems facing Asia-Pacific makes the region critically important in terms of future global sustainable development. 6. There are a number of existing constraints for sustainable development that are particularly relevant within the Asia-Pacific region: ë Population is growing rapidly in developing countries and world population will increase from 6 billion to 7.5 billion by 2015 (much of this increase will occur in the Asia-Pacific region). ë There is an over-riding requirement to reduce poverty, since: "Poverty is a major cause and effect of global environmental problems. It is therefore futile to attempt to deal with environmental problems SYNTHESIS REPORT FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC 1 without a broader perspective that encompasses the factors underlying world poverty and international inequality." (WCED 1987). ë There is a requirement to fundamentally alter the status quo and adopt environmental, economic and social development policies that are different from those of the present. Sustainable development requires that environmental considerations become tightly integrated together with economic and social development policies. ë There is a requirement to reduce global inequalities; at present, globalization is reinforcing these inequalities and there is a persistent gap between developed and developing countries. There is a need for more equitable sharing of the benefits of economic growth in such a way as to protect environmental, social and cultural values of all nations. ë Within the Asia-Pacific region, institutional capacities for sustainable development are generally weak, and there is low public awareness of sustainable development issues. ë A major paradigm shift is required so that balanced, sustainable development outcomes are viewed as preferable to more narrowly focused economic, environmental, or social objectives. 7. In short, the