Bangkok--2 Oct--UNIS Bangkok
The United Nations Economic
and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) is holding a
seminar to help Cambodia to adopt development policies which protect the
environment without limiting economic growth.
The seminar, which takes place from 1 to 4 October in Sihanoukville, is
attended by senior policymakers including Mok Mareth, Senior Minister of
Environment, and Say Hak, Governor of Sihanoukville. Christer Holtsberg,
Director of the Swedish Environment Secretariat for Asia (SENSA) of the
Embassy of Sweden in Thailand, is also attending.
The workshop provides tools and approaches for the government to introduce
green tax and budget reforms which take into account environmental costs,
develop sustainable infrastructure such as public transport, promote
cleaner production and more sustainable consumption patterns, and develop
eco-efficiency indicators.
All these policy measures are parts of the Green Growth approach promoted
by UNESCAP. The rapid economic growth in Asia-Pacific has come at a high
environmental price. The Green Growth approach points to the fact that
economic growth and environmental protection need not be mutually
exclusive; what is required is a paradigm shift, with governments moving
away from the current “grow first, clean up later” mentality.
The seminar in Cambodia is the second in a series of five aimed at help
countries in the Asia-Pacific region which have requested assistance in
designing and implementing Green Growth policies. The first took place in
Kazakhstan. These countries have acknowledged that the current focus on
measuring development in terms of GDP growth is not enough, and there is a
critical need to change the mindset and to embrace measures which take
quality of life and well-being into consideration.
More information is available at:
http://www.greengrowth.org/ and www.unescap/esd/environment
For further information on UNESCAP’s work on Green Growth, please contact:
Environment and Sustainable Development Division, UNESCAP
Tel: (662) 288 — 2250
E-mail: [email protected]