Taiwan stages lead-up seminar at Rio Earth Summit

A seminar on “Forests, Livelihoods and Green Economy” organized by the Taiwan delegation to the third U.N. Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro attracted representatives of ROC allies and international institutions June 16.

The symposium was one of more than 500 on-site side events preceding the June 20-22 conference, also known as the Earth Summit, the ROC Environmental Protection Administration said June 17.

EPA Deputy Minister Yeh Shin-cheng elaborated on Taiwan’s sustainable development policies, while Yang Hung-chin, deputy director-general of the Forestry Bureau, spoke about the country’s forest management and conservation.

Guest speakers included Marco Jonathan Lainez Ordonez, deputy secretary of natural resources and environment for Honduras, and Maria Fernanda Gebara Abifadel, a researcher with the Program on Law and the Environment at FGV Direito Rio, a private law school in Brazil, according to organizer the Environmental Quality Protection Foundation.

At the 1992 U.N. Conference on Environment and Development the 178 participating nations adopted Agenda 21, a blueprint to rethink economic growth, advance social equity and ensure environmental protection, sources noted.

More than 18,000 government officials and delegates from the private sector, academic institutions and nongovernmental organizations are expected to attend this year’s event, the EPA said.

Official discussions will focus on two main themes: how to build a green economy to achieve sustainable development and lift people out of poverty; and how to improve international coordination for sustainable development, sources said. (THN)

•Publication Date：06/18/2012
•Source： Taiwan Today
•By Kwangyin Liu