2^nd Meeting of ECO Working Group on Environment for the Implementation of the Plan of Action for Cooperation among the Member States

PRESS RELEASE

The Second Meeting of ECO Working Group on Environment for the Implementation of the Plan of Action for Cooperation among the Member States on Environment (2003-2007) was held on 4-5 August 2004 in Tehran.   It was attended by the representatives of the Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan, Islamic Republic of Iran., Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Republic of Tajikistan and Republic of Turkey. 

The meeting was inaugurated by H.E. Dr. Ebtekar, Vice President and Head of the Department of the Environment of the Islamic Republic of Iran. H.E. Mr. Askhat Orazbay, Secretary General of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), made an opening statement.  Director General of the Multilateral Economic Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran H.E. Ambassador Kia Tabatabaei made welcoming remarks and wished success for the meeting.

In her statement, H.E. Dr. Ebtekar stressed the importance of the protection of the environment in the process of sustainable development.  She also emphasized that ECO Member Countries had common environmental goals and thus they should work together to find out ways and means to decrease the negative environmental impact of economic development, and in responding to this challenge it is necessary to use the global experience. 

The meeting, chaired by Senior Adviser to the Head of the Department of the Environment of the Islamic Republic of Iran Dr. M. Shafie-Pour, considered the report of the ECO Director for Energy, Minerals and Environment Dr. S. Aleskerov on the progress of the implementation of the Plan of Action on Cooperation among the Member States, ECO environment related meetings held in the period under review, recent cooperation with concerned international organisations and state of submission of proposals for the implementation of different provisions of the Plan of Action by the concerned authorities of the member states. A particular attention was given to the statement of the Afghanistan delegate concerning ECO assistance in development of the national environment institutional infrastructure and capacity building. 

The participants, while recognizing national progress reports on environment as an important instrument for monitoring implementation of the Plan of Action and exchange of information and experiences on the environmental management, agreed on the single format to be used for preparation of the national progressive report on environment and stressed the importance of timely preparation and submission of these reports.

The meeting was presented with ten new proposals of the Islamic Republic of Iran for activities/projects with indication of the partnership requirements covering management plans for ecosystems, establishment of joint data base to monitor nature reserves, monitoring the marine environment, etc and the proposal of the Republic of Turkey on establishing e-mail groups on different sections of the plan of Action using the ECO Secretariat Web-site. These proposals should be followed up by the member states and the Secretariat. It was found expedient to strive for publishing of the first issue of an ECO quarterly bulletin on Environment before the end of September 2004. In respect to establishment of ECO Environmental College, the delegation of the Islamic Republic of Iran reiterated its offer to host this educational institution.

The outcomes of the two meetings of the Working Group will be reported to the 2^nd ECO Ministerial Meeting on Environment to be held in October 2004 in Istanbul.       

[Home]  [Contact us]  [Feedback]  [Back]