Almaty 17 - 22 May 2007 - (United Nations Information Services, Bangkok) — Despite impressive economic growth, Asia-Pacific region still faces daunting challenges in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
As the 62 member governments of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) gathered in Almaty, Kazakhstan, for the annual high-level meeting, this message was underlined by Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kim Hak-Su, Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of UNESCAP, and President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan, who inaugurated the ministerial segment of the Commission session this morning.
In his message, delivered by Under-Secretary-General Jose Antonio Ocampo, Mr. Ban noted that “with Asia-Pacific now home to two thirds of the world’s population, the level of progress achieved in your region will be a critical factor in determining whether our global efforts to reach the Millennium Development Goals will succeed or fail”.
“The ESCAP region has achieved a great deal”, Mr. Ban added, “and yet there is much that remains to be completed.”
In his statement, Mr. Kim observed that, while hundreds of millions of people have been lifted out of poverty, “One out of every three people lives in extreme poverty in our region.”
Improving health – the theme of this year’s meeting – is crucial for tackling poverty, Mr. Kim said. “Half of the world’s maternal deaths still occur in the region. Moreover, the region as a whole is off-track in relation to reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS, with prevalence still on the rise.”
President Nazarbayev said in his inaugural address that economic growth did not always solve old problems – quite often it created new ones.
“High levels of economic activities increasingly lead to the emergence of problems connected with industrial production”, President Nazarbayev noted. “This requires urgent actions in terms of ‘Green Growth’, since environmental stress will limit potential economic growth.” Green Growth is a development strategy promoted by UNESCAP which calls for ecological efficiency – less use of resources and less damage to the environment -- over economic efficiency.
“Besides, rapid economic growth in many cases lead to social stratification and widens income gap between the rich and the poor”, President Nazarbayev added.
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the founding of UNESCAP, which was established in Shanghai, China, in 1947 as ECAFE -- Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East. This is also the first time that the Commission is meeting in Central Asia.
“Since its foundation, the activities of ESCAP were aimed at creating open and equal opportunities for the cooperation of member states in accelerating measures to eliminate social and economic disparity”, President Nazarbayev observed.
Mr. Ban said the annual sessions “have provided a unique forum in which all countries of the region can come together to discuss issues of common concerns, build consensus on the way forward, and foster collaboration in tackling the region’s challenges.”
The three-day ministerial meeting will focus on ways to help poor countries in the region to achieve the MDGs by 2015, and on promoting investment in health services. A study by UNESCAP presented to the meeting points out that investment in health is clearly linked to improved economic performance. Yet, for about 20 developing countries in the region which spend less than $20 per person per year in health, an extra $25 billion a year is needed to meet the minimum requirement. The study also points out that, besides boosting investment, Asia-Pacific nations need to make their health system more accessible to the vulnerable groups.
At a special ceremony on Tuesday, 22 May, the first Asia-Pacific MDG Media Awards will be presented to winners. The awards, jointly sponsored by UNESCAP, the United Nations Development Programme and the Asian Development Bank, aim to encourage journalists to put a human face on the MDGs and to demonstrate how they are related to everyday life. The awards carry a prize of US$7,000 for winners in each category – print, radio and TV - and US$2,000 for runners up.
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Mr. Kim Hak-Su, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of ESCAP, is interviewed by Astana TV news.
Delegates at the 63rd Commission Session in Almaty, Kazakhstan. |
SINGAPORE hosted the The Asia-Pacific Forum on Environment and Development (APFED) Policy Dialogue on “CSR for Environmental Management and Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific” on the 5 – 7 March 2007.
A brief summary of the meeting yields following five focus points:
Firstly, participants at the meeting defined CSR keeping in mind its potential and its challenges. Examples included the ‘triple bottom line’ (addressing economic, social and environmental concerns), Global Compact’s ethical business behaviours (human rights, labour standards, environment, and anti-corruption), Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI), SA8000, and the ISO26000 SR (social responsibility) principles that will be launched in 2008. Apart from the considerations above, the participants agreed that CSR included enhancing sustainable development through the improvement of business operations, good corporate governance and accountability, and responsibility for long-term positive socio-economic impact. Further, a tripartite collaboration among business, civil society and government could generate win-win scenarios or acceptable compromises.
Secondly, the participants agreed that one of the most serious challenges to the economic growth in the region are posed by trans boundary environmental problems such as forest fires in Indonesia whose haze spread across the neighboring countries, sand storms in East Asia that threaten the well being of citizens in several states. The above problems could be a challenge for region wide CSR collaboration efforts.
A third point of focus was present initiatives in the region such as the following: (SMEs), public-private partnerships (PPP), socially responsible investment (SRI), and micro-financing. The participants felt that ways to empowering stakeholders could take many different forms, such as the giving of awards to recognise and encourage good CSR practices, as practiced by the Asian Institute of Management (AIM), Philippines, the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), and Singapore Compact.
Fourth, the participants emphasized the importance of civil society such as private consumer groups and the role that these may play in promoting awareness about CSR For example, these players can spearhead initiatives such as CSR campaigns to raise public awareness (e.g., Singapore’s Climate Change Organisation), CSR ratings to catalyse additional activities, and promote market development with an aim to influence consumers (e.g., Korea’s Eco-Products Institute).
Finally, the participants agreed on the importance of policy makers, because it is they who can further promote CSR through policy measures, legislatives and labeling schemes that in sum could substantially promote the emergence of CSR as an important factor to facilitate the growth of sustainable development policies.
Click to download the co-chair's summary here
Click to download the list of participants
Click to download a PPT about Green Growth
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