United Nations Environment Programme
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Conference
First Forum of Ministers and Environment Authorities of Asia Pacific
19 - 20 May 2015
Bangkok, Thailand
- Overview
- Documents
The first Forum of Ministers and Environmental Authorities of Asia Pacific will take place from 19 to 20 May 2015 in Bangkok, Thailand. The Ministerial Forum will provide a platform for Ministers to discuss issues of strategic importance for Asia and the Pacific, including the Post-2015 Development Agenda and environmental components of the Sustainable Development Goals, the region’s environment outlook and emerging priorities, and tackling pressing health and environmental challenges. The Forum will also guide UNEP on regional implementation of the resolutions and decisions of the first session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-1) and help identify the region’s inputs to the next UNEA and UNEP’s medium-term strategy for 2018-2021. Environment Ministers, Environment Authorities, key intergovernmental organizations, UN organizations, and UNEP’s strategic partners, and major group stakeholders are expected to attend the event. The Forum will be run back to back with the Asia Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development organized by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific from 21 to 22 May 2015.
A BRIEF HISTORY
The organization of the First Forum is a response to a decision of the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20), which convened in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 13-22 June 2012. Paragraph 88(g) of the Rio+20 Outcome, The Future We Want, called for strengthening UNEP’s regional presence in order to assist countries, upon request, in the implementation of their national environmental policies.
The strengthening of UNEP’s regional presence takes place in the context of the overall strengthening of UNEP, based on outcomes of Rio+20 and the UN General Assembly (UNGA) that same year.
UNEA-1: The first UNEA was held at UNEP headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, from 23-27 June 2014, with more than 1,200 participants. The overarching theme of UNEA-1 was ‘Sustainable Development Goals and the Post-2015 Development Agenda, including sustainable consumption and production.’ Delegates adopted one decision and 17 resolutions on, inter alia: strengthening UNEP’s role in promoting air quality; the science-policy interface (SPI); ecosystem-based adaptation (EBA); implementation of Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development; illegal trade in wildlife; chemicals and waste; and marine debris and microplastics. Many delegates called for continued efforts to strengthen UNEP to support the implementation of the post-2015 development agenda.
The First Forum replaces the Subregional Environmental Policy Dialogue organized by UNEP since 2003.
