Bangkok--11 Dec--UNISBKK
UN Office on Drugs and Crime to launch report at FCCT on Monday, 14 December
Southeast Asia’s progress in reducing opium production is under threat, according to an extensive survey conducted by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) that also reveals a recent upswing in opium poppy cultivation during the 2009 growing season.
To present the findings of “Opium Poppy Cultivation in South East Asia” — which has been carried out in coordination with the governments of Lao PDR and Myanmar — UNODC will hold a press conference Monday, 14 December, with the UNODC Regional Representative for East Asia and the Pacific, Gary Lewis, and the Representative of the Country Office in Lao PDR, Leik Boonwaat, on-hand to answer questions.
According to the report, Southeast Asia’s opium poppy reduction successes have been built upon decades of successful alternative development work in rural communities. Milestones during the previous decade have been the elimination of opium production in Viet Nam (2000) and Thailand (2003). In 2005, Lao PDR was declared opium-free. Until 2006 Myanmar had also witnessed a steep decline in opium poppy cultivation, but the information for the last three years has been less encouraging.
Several factors contribute to sustaining the high level of attention on poppy production in the area that was once called the Golden Triangle.
Families which used to grow opium are now facing increasingly difficult living conditions — often with widespread food shortages for several months of the year. With steep levels of poverty, the recent rapid increase in the price of raw opium and an absence of effective law enforcement, there is a high risk of a return to opium poppy cultivation in these communities.
Members of the media are invited to attend the press conference at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, 14 December, at:
The Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand (FCCT) Penthouse, Maneeya Center 518/5 Ploenchit Road (connected to the BTS Skytrain Chitlom station) Patumwan, Bangkok, 10330
Advance registration is appreciated.
For more information, or to register for the event, please contact:
Ms. Ajarie Salilasiri
UN Office on Drugs and Crime — Bangkok Tel: (66) 2 288 2083
Fax: (66) 281 2129
Email:
[email protected]