Representatives from Asian Pacific countries on Dec. 8 agreed to integrate environmental issues into their national strategies for economic development to ensure sustainable growth.
The agreement was reached after a three-day meeting of Asia Pacific’s Economic and Social Committee (ESCAP) in Bangkok, Thailand.
During the conference, the participants discussed current environmental and developmental concerns. They also reviewed an ESCAP study which suggested that poverty and pollution should not go together and that environmentally friendly industries are capable of bringing in huge benefits.
A model of an “ecological village” where natural resources of all types – liquid, solid or gas – are recycled and used to produce energy and fertiliser was presented as a good example of how to use redundant sources of energy to the advantage of local people.
At the “Fair of ideas” – the first ever such event held in the region, ten green development projects that have already proved successful from both a community and governmental point of view were examined. They are expected to be applied in many countries around the region and other parts of the world.
ESCAP called on all the countries in the Asia-Pacific region to “go green” when developing their economies as well as stepping up cooperation in the region on environmental protection issues and speeding up the transfer of modern technologies with developed countries.