Asia and the Pacific with 5 Sub-regions

Asia-Pacific, the world most populated region, comprise 54 countries. The region is grouped into 5 sub-regions:

South Asia,
Southeast Asia,
Northwest Pacific,
Central Asia, and
South Pacific (with Australia and New Zealand).

The intergovernmental agencies at the sub-regional level include: SAARC and SACEP for South Asia; ASEAN for Southeast Asia; and SPREP for South Pacific. Intergovernmental level action programs include: the Northeast Asia Sub-regional Programme on Environmental Cooperation (NEASPEC) and Central Asian Regional Environment Action Plan (REAP).

WSSD Preparation Partnership

The four key agencies (ADB, ESCAP,UNDP and UNEP) in the region have agreed and confirmed to assist in the preparations for WSSD on equal partnership basis. A Steering Committee and a Task Force with senior representative from all Agencies has been established. The four Agencies have designated a senior staff to the Task Force. The UNEP office at AIT, Bangkok will serve as the focal point and Secretariat for the four agencies. This agreement will be communicated to all concerned governments, sub-regional, regional and global concerned agencies bearing logos of the four agencies. The Task Force is charged with responsibility for both substantive as well as logistical arrangements.

Sub-regional/Regional Preparations

At the sub-regional level, it is proposed that the three agencies work and build on the intergovernmental bodies and existing cooperation mechanisms. A comprehensive report for each of the sub-regions will need to be prepared following a common guideline. The report is proposed to be reviewed by a roundtable discussion with major stakeholders at the sub-regional levels. Five sub-regional reports is proposed to be consolidated into a regional report. The regional synthesis report is also proposed to be reviewed at a roundtable of major stakeholders followed with a review by an intergovernmental review.