ASEAN Environment Year 2006 "launched" in Indonesia

From: PRESS RELEASE from the ASEAN Secretariat

ASEAN launches Environment Year 2006 at Bogor, Indonesia, on 18 May 2006

ASEAN has designated the year 2006 as ASEAN Environment Year (AEY) with the theme, “Biodiversity: Our Life, Our Future”. The official launch of AEY 2006 was held at the Bogor Botanical Gardens, Bogor, Indonesia, on 18 May 2006 in conjunction with the 189th Anniversary of the Bogor Botanical Gardens.

The launch of AEY 2006 aims to raise people awareness of the region’s rich biodiversity, and strengthen regional cooperation and implementation of actions on environment conservation. It supports ASEAN’s commitment to achieve the goals of sustainable development envisaged in ASEAN Vision 2020 on the establishment of a ‘clean and green ASEAN’.

For a copy of the complete press release go here: ASEAN launches Environment Year 2006 at Bogor, Indonesia, on 18 May 2006

The aims described in the press release are very worthy goals. It remains to be seen what results will come from the efforts. If the "cooperation" on the regional haze problem is any indicator the aims may be too ambitious as ASEAN clearly has not been able to control the haze problem as agreed to previously and if so how can it be effective in implementing environmental conservation? Maybe I am too pessimistic in my view and that some very good results will come from these efforts.

The ASEAN Vision 2020 is also an ambitious plan, but here I am more optimistic that ASEAN can to a high degree have some impact in meeting their objectives set forth. ASEAN has 14 years to accomplish the goal and as the evidence for human induced climate change becomes stronger and stronger so hiopefully will the governments will to do something about it increase. It is hopefully just a matter of time (and hopefully not too late) before governments will concur with the world's leading scientists that the global climate change is indeed caused by human activities and thus take action to counteract the current trends. To read more about ASEAN's Vision 2020 check out these websites:

ASEAN Vision 2020
An Assessment Study on the Progress of ASEAN Vision 2020