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..Press Release................................
UNESCAP News Services
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Date: 22 June 2012
Press Release No: G/36/2012
Rebalancing pillars key to sustainable development
Rio de Janeiro (UN ESCAP Strategic Communications and
Advocacy Section) - "The message from the countries of Asia
and the Pacific is that getting it right means that Rio+20
must rebalance the pillars of sustainable development -
ensuring that people are placed more firmly at the centre
of the post-Rio+20 agenda," Dr. Noeleen Heyzer, United
Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of
the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
(ESCAP) told an audience that included heads of State and
Government and senior Ministers at a Rio+20 side event
focused on regional approaches to sustainable development.
The discussion, "Green Growth and Sustainable Development:
Regional Perspectives" was organized by the UN's five
regional commissions, including ESCAP, the Economic
Commission for Africa (ECA), the Economic Commission for
Europe (ECE), the Economic Commission for Latin America and
the Caribbean (ECLAC), the Economic Commission for West
Asia (ESCWA), and the UN Regional Commissions Office in New
York.
The Rio+20 outcome document explicitly mandates the
regional commissions to operationalize and implement
sustainable development at the regional and subregional
level - promoting a balanced integration of its economic,
social and environmental dimensions. The multidisciplinary
expertise and platforms of the commissions provides a
comparative advantage, in promoting green economy policies
for instance, in the context of poverty eradication.
Addressing the event on the challenges of Asia-Pacific
poverty and inequality, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono observed that: "Economic growth should go hand in
hand with social development and environmental protection.
Education is central to eradicating poverty as well as in
promoting the green economy. The poor must be empowered and
the best way to empower the poor is through education." The
President added that, "in Indonesia, this was why the
Government is constitutionally mandated to allocate at
least 20% of the national budget to education."
President Yudhoyono also focused on food security and
agriculture as one of the key sectors, from the Indonesian
experience, to drive implementation of green economy
practices, saying: "We need to find ways to simplify the
way we live and the way we manufacture goods and raise
crops and livestock. This effort will mean moving to
greener, more resilient options."
The wide-ranging discussion by the Executive Secretaries of
all of the regional commissions touched on many issues,
including the need for a third industrial revolution;
policies that promote eco-efficient economic growth and
reduce pressures on natural resources; youth employment;
natural resource governance; and human security in the
context of man-made disasters. The forum provided an
opportunity for the regional commissions to focus on
elements of the green economy which are critical and
specific to their regions and highlight the challenges to
and opportunities for effectively implementing an
integrated approach to sustainable development.
In her statement, Dr. Heyzer pointed out some of the many
initiatives undertaken by Asia-Pacific countries who have
adopted green economy policies and strategies to achieve
sustainable development, noting, "There are now a number of
national and sub-national Asia-Pacific examples of
effective green growth policies and strategies, including
those from Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan
and the Republic of Korea. There is a need to build on
these 'green shoots', to replicate and scale-up the
practices that are making a difference."
In closing, the ESCAP Executive Secretary pointed out that
green growth is a tool for sustainable development. "As
important as green growth can be, it will not solve the
root causes of persistent poverty alone. In keeping with
the aim of placing people at the centre of sustainable
development, green growth must be integrated with inclusive
social policies to ensure that the costs and benefits of
transitions are justly shared."
For further information, please contact:
Bangkok:
Ms. Francyne Harrigan, Chief, Strategic Communications and
Advocacy Section, M: (66) 81 835 8677 / E: harriganf@un.org
Rio de Janeiro:
Mr. Robert Spaull, External Relations Officer, M: +55 (0)
21 8414 2581 / E: spaull@un.org
* *** *
Headquartered in Bangkok, United Nations ESCAP is the
largest of the UN's five Regional Commissions in terms
of its membership, population served and area covered. The
only inter-governmental forum covering the entire
Asia-Pacific region, ESCAP works to promote sustainable and
inclusive economic and social progress.www.unescap.org
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