CONFERENCE ON COOPERATION OF CITIES AND CITIZENS TO CULTIVATE 'ECO-SOCIETY' TO BE HELD AT TOKYO, 26 - 29 MAY
Press Release
ECO/4
SOC/4452
CONFERENCE ON COOPERATION OF CITIES AND CITIZENS TO CULTIVATE 'ECO-SOCIETY' TO BE HELD AT TOKYO, 26 - 29 MAY
19980522 NEW YORK, 22 May (Department for Economic and Social Affairs) -- The World Conference on International Cooperation of Cities and Citizens for Cultivating an Eco-Society, known as "Eco Partnership Tokyo", will be held in Tokyo under the joint auspices of the United Nations and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government from 26 to 29 May.The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has taken the initiative to organize this Conference. Its support for advancing the goal of achieving sustainable urban development will refine many of United Nations previous commitments and expedite international efforts to achieve this end at a local level.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, will deliver his opening statement to the Conference through a video tape, and Yukio Aoshima, Governor of Tokyo, will host the Conference. About 1,000 delegates from all over the world are expected to attend, including heads of cities, municipal administrators, senior central government officials and prominent experts, as well as representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), private enterprises, relevant United Nations entities and other intergovernmental bodies and citizens concerned with urban environmental issues.
The Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Nitin Desai, will deliver a keynote speech on "Cultivating an Urban Eco-Society: the United Nations Response". Governor Aoshima of Tokyo, who has introduced a recycling policy in Tokyo, will also deliver a keynote speech on "Towards the Creation of an Eco-Society". Eco-Society is defined for this Conference as a society that pursues, as much as possible, the adapting of human activities to the natural cycles of the environment.
The objective of the Eco-Partnership Tokyo Conference is to provide a forum for representatives from the world cities, as well as governmental, non- governmental and private sector organizations and citizens to clarify and strengthen partnerships towards the creation of an eco-society. It aims to promote the sharing of experiences and best practices in cultivating sustainable eco-society to reduce the burden on the natural ecology, to encourage all participants to make commitment in cultivating an eco-society, and to identify mechanisms which will promote international cooperation for cultivating an eco-society.
- 2 - Press Release ECO/4 ENVDEV/480 SOC/4452 22 May 1998
Eco-Partnership Tokyo is the first large conference recently convened jointly by the United Nations and a local government to deal with urban problems and challenges which are critical to the quality of life. In its role to promote development worldwide, the United Nations is actively emphasizing the role of cities and citizens in addressing these urban and environmental problems. Such United Nations conferences, as the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), the 1995 World Conference on Women, the 1995 Social Summit, Habitat II (1996), and the resumed fiftieth session of the General Assembly on public administration and development (1996), have focused on the need for cooperation among all parties, including governments, local authorities, individual citizens, NGOs, private enterprises and urban organizations in addressing global issues.
The Conference will focus on three major themes. Each theme will be further divided into sub-themes to clarify critical discussion points. Theme I is dedicated to "Establishing Regional Recycling Systems: Collaboration among Citizens/NGOs, Enterprises and Administrations", and will touch upon the following four topics: waste management; urban transportation from an environmental viewpoint; water resources and the eco-systems; and resources and energy. Theme II concerns "International cooperation towards the Realization of an Eco-Society", and will discuss the following topics: technical cooperation to solve environmental problems; channels for enhancing international collaboration; and system creation for international cooperation by local authorities and NGOs. Theme III will encompass "The Civilization of an Eco-Society towards New Patterns of Consumption and Production" and is divided into the following four topics: environmental education: sustainable consumption and lifestyle; the environment and gender; the environment and culture; and creation of a new civilization. All these topics will be discussed during the Conference by respective sub-working groups on its second and third day.
One of the highlights of the Conference will be the Mayors' forum in which about 70 local government heads will discuss the sustainable policies and programmes that their cities have implemented, as well as their plans for future efforts to cultivate an eco-society for the twenty-first century. Another highlight will be a Symposium on Endocrine Disruptions of Chemical Substances, a subject related to the impact of environment on human health. The Symposium will be held on the last day of the Conference. In addition, exhibitions on approaches in cultivating an eco-society will be arranged by several companies and NGOs. The exhibitions will provide excellent opportunity to provide participants with new information on the promotion of an eco-society, including environmentally sound technologies.
- 3 - Press Release ECO/4 ENVDEV/480 SOC/4452 22 May 1998
Eco-Partnership Tokyo has been under preparation for the past year by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and United Nations entities, including the Department of Economic and Social Affairs; United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat); United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP); and the United Nations University. Other United Nations agencies, which will participate in the Conference, include the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), International Labour Organization (ILO), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). Japanese government organizations, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs, and Japan International Cooperation Agency, as well as several NGOs, have also been supporting this undertaking.
A comprehensive brochure on the Eco-Partnership Tokyo, published in both English and Japanese, is being made available in hard copy from the secretariat of the Conference in Tokyo. It can also be obtained through the home page and of the Secretariat to World Conference on International Cooperation of Cities and Citizens, at http://www.tokyoteleport.co.jp/world-ccc/; and by e-mail, at ccc-info@tokyo-teleport.co.jp.
Further information may be obtained from International Conference, International Affairs Division, Bureau of Citizens and Cultural Affairs, Tokyo Metropolitan Government, at the following address: 8-1 Nishi-Shinjuku 2-chome, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 163-01, Japan; (tel: 81-3-5388-3097 or 3155; fax: 81-3-5388-1329). Information may also be obtained from the Governance and Public Administration Branch, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations, New York 10017, U.S.A. (tel: 1-212-963-8418, fax: 1-212- 963-2916).
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