CAPSA GOVERNING COUNCIL MEETS TO ENHANCE LIVING CONDITIONS OF RURAL POOR

Promotes Agro-Related Research, Development to Alleviate Poverty in Asia-Pacific

(Reissued as received.)

BANGKOK, 5 April (UN Information Service) -- The newly-constituted Governing Council of the UNESCAP’s Centre for Alleviation of Poverty through Secondary Crops’ Development in Asia and the Pacific (CAPSA) met for the first time in Bogor, Indonesia today.  At the top of the Council’s agenda was an ambitious three-year plan to revitalize CAPSA as the leading institute in the region for poverty alleviation through agriculture, particularly secondary crops.

The refocusing of CAPSA as a major player in UNESCAP’s work to achieve the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, specifically poverty reduction, in the region was highlighted by UNESCAP’s Executive Secretary, Kim Hak-Su, who opened the meeting.

“Asia and the Pacific today is home to two thirds of the world’s poor and a majority of the region’s poor lives and works in rural areas”, he said.  “The realignment of the Centre aims precisely at strengthening its capability to examine the multiple dimensions of rural poverty.  The CAPSA and its partners are in a unique position to examine linkages between agriculture and all the other factors affecting the living conditions of the rural poor and to develop innovative solutions.”

In a speech delivered on his behalf, Indonesian Agriculture Minister, H.E. Dr. Anton Apriantono, reiterated his country’s support of CAPSA and its mandate.  He noted the importance that agriculture plays in many Asian countries, with more than half of Indonesia’s population earning a living from agriculture.  He called UNESCAP’s membership to vigorously fund the Centre.

The Chairman of Governing Council, Natigor Siagian, called on CAPSA to work on a programme of reconstruction and rehabilitation following the recent earthquakes and tsunami.  “We believe that the Centre is well placed to assist”, he said, “combining strengths in a very wide range of ecosystems.”  He cited CAPSA’s expertise in island and atoll agriculture, as well as local diversified agriculture, and its strong network of strategic partners from the region and Europe.

The current membership of the CAPSA Governing Council includes Bangladesh, France, India, Indonesia, Japan, Pakistan, Philippines, Republic of Korea and Thailand.

The CAPSA is a subsidiary body of the Bangkok-based United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP).  The Governing Council will meet from 5 to 6 April 2005 at CAPSA headquarters located in Bogor.

For further information please contact:  Taco Bottema, Director, CAPSA, tel.:  +(62-251) 356813, 343277, fax:  +(62-251) 336290, e-mail:  capsa@uncapsa.org; or United Nations Information Services, Bangkok, tel.:  +(66-2) 288-1861-66, fax:  +(66-2) 288-1052, e-mail: unisbkk.unescap@un.org

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