Joint Press Statement (ADB, UNDP, UNEP, UNESCAP) 29 November 2001

Preparatory Meeting for the World Summit on Sustainable Development
Thursday 29 November 2001, Phnom Penh

PHNOM PENH REGIONAL PLATFORM ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC ADOPTED

Phnom Penh, 29 November 2001 - Government ministers and representatives from throughout Asia-and the Pacific today adopted the Phnom Penh Regional Platform statement on sustainable development for Asia and the Pacific.

The document was adopted after three days of meetings and negotiations involving nearly 500 Government and civil society representatives in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh. It will be submitted to the global preparatory process for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) to be held in Johannesburg, South Africa, in September 2001.

In its assessment of the implementation of Agenda 21 - the blueprint for sustainable development developed at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 - the platform states that while significant achievements have been made in many sectors, the environment continues to deteriorate and the number of poor in the region continues to increase.

The platform highlights several critical environment and natural resource issues for the region: land and biodiversity, oceans and coastal resources, freshwater resources and atmosphere and climate change.

On the economic and social front it highlights chronic and persistent poverty, the impacts of globalization, sustainable energy development, human settlements development, unsustainable consumption and production and natural disasters as key areas of concern.

To address these issues it recognises the need for policy and institutional reform, capacity building, informed decision-making, technology transfer and the participation and partnership of all major groups.

The platform identifies follow- up actions in relation to achieving international development goals developed through the United Nations, full implementation of the Regional Action Programme adopted at the fourth Ministerial Conference on Environment and Development held in Kitakyushu, Japan , last year, the development and implementation of regional initiatives for sustainable development, and the use of various implementation mechanisms at different levels.
In a forward-looking document, several regional initiatives have been identified relating to poverty reduction , cleaner production and sustainable energy , land management and biodiversity conservation , protection and management of and access to freshwater resources , oceans, marine resources and sustainable development of small island states, atmosphere, climate change and capacity building.

To encourage greater financing for sustainable development in the region the platform identified the need for strengthening the Global Environment Facility as well as the use of economic instruments and strategic alliances with civil society, in the framework of a 'new global partnership'.

The three-day high-level regional meeting for the World Summit on Sustainable Development was organised by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Closing Statements by senior participants

Cambodian Environment Minister HE Dr Mok Mareth, chaired of the ministerial-level segment of the meeting, which concluded today with the adoption of the platform paper.

Chairman of the regional roundtable meeting held on Tuesday, which focussed on the perspectives of civil society groups, Professor Cielito Habito, welcomed the fact that the roundtable was the first time civil society organisations, business sector and government representatives were active participants together in an official meeting of this nature in this region. "While much scope remains for improving the participatory process, the stakeholders in this meeting found an opportunity to have concerns reflected in the regional platform through their direct interaction with the governmental officials in the roundtable," Mr Habito said.

UN ESCAP Executive Secretary Kim Hak-Su said in his closing statement: "The Phnom Penh Platform on Sustainable Development for Asia and the Pacific that this meeting has adopted constitutes the region's collective message to the World Summit on Sustainable Development.
"We must now ensure timely and appropriate actions are taken for the region to attain its goals, "he said.

UNEP Deputy Executive Director Shafqat Kakakhel said that UNEP had been actively involved in all five of the regional preparatory meetings and a common theme was emerging of the need to address the nexus between environment, poverty and trade. "We must ensure that the central issue of poverty is meaningfully addressed and the process of globalization happens within the limits of our natural resource base and its benefits are shared equitably."

UNDP Assistant Administrator and UNDP Regional Director for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States, Mr. Kalman Mizsei, emphasised the importance of capacity building for sustainable development. He said that the UNDP/Capacity 21 initiative launched at Rio in 1992 had been very successful, even if resources were limited.

Mr. Miszei noted that UNDP has provided technical and financial support to over 130 developing countries to prepare their national assessments for the Johannesburg Summit in 2001. Critical issues emerging from these assessments had identified the importance of the role of capacity building for sustainable development and partnerships among all stakeholders - including central and local government, civil society, businesses and the media.

"Successful sustainable development," he said, "must be founded on a more inclusive globalization that stretches from national governments to local communities, enabling people to harness its enormous potential as a driver of human development."

ADB's Chief of Environment and Social Development Rolf Zelius said that ADB's long-term strategy is intended to respond to the challenges of poverty and to help achieve the international development goals in the Asia and Pacific region.

"Financing sustainable development has been the focus of ADB lending and technical assistance. ADB has been assisting its developing member countries in meeting their commitments to the Earth Summit. ADB also sees the importance to build countries' capacity to ensure sustainable development using their available resources, addressing relevant policy adjustments, as well as to involve private sector participation.

"ADB also considers the need to strengthen cooperation with ESCAP, UNEP and UNDP to assist countries in the region. This is the kind of alliances needed to meet this very challenging agenda of moving towards sustainable development in ADB's developing member countries," Mr Zelius said.

For more information, please contact:
Mr David Lazarus, Chief, United Nations Information Services, UN/ESCAP Bangkok,
Tel: 662--288--1866. FAX:662--288--1052. Email: UNISBKK.UNESCAP@UN.ORG,

Tim Higham, Information Officer,United Nations Environment Programme
Tel +66 2 2882127. Email: higham.unescap@un.org

John Brittain, Public Information Officer, UNDP Cambodia
Tel: (855) 12 818 766; (855) 23 216 167. Fax: 023 216 257.
Email: john.brittain@undp.org

Edy Brotoisworo, Senior Environment Specialist, Asian Development Bank, tel (632) 632-6775,
email: ebrotoisworo@adb.org