열린장관실

  The Honorable Won Hye-Young, President of the APPCED(압세드), The Honorable Lim Chae-jung, Speaker of National Assembly, The Honorable Lee Hae-chan,His Exellency Lee Chi-beom, Minister of Environment, Honorable Parliamentary Representatives,Ambassadors, and Distinguished Guests,

  It is a great honour and privilege for me to deliver these congratulatory remarks to such a distinguished gathering on the occasion of the First Parliamentarian Workshop of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentarians' Conference on Environment and Development (APPCED). I wish to extend, in particular, my warmest welcome to the participants who have traveled a long way for this meaningful event. Taking this opportunity, I would also like to express my deep gratitude to the Korean Parliamentary League on Children, Population and Environment(CPE) who have worked so hard as a secretariat for the successful holding of this Workshop.

 Ladies and Gentlemen,

 Over the last thirteen years, the APPCED has grown to include 46 member countries, thereby encompassing almost all the countries in this Region and developing into a major forum in the field of environment and development for Parliamentarians of the Asia-Pacific Region.

 Not only has the APPCED expanded in terms of geography, but also in terms of substance. The APPCED has continuously broadened its domains by dealing with diverse development-related environmental issues, ranging from tourism, forests, environmental technology to most recently natural disasters.  

As such, taking into consideration the nature of the urgent challenges confronting the international community today, I believe that the theme for today's Workshop, "Millennium Development Goals(MDGs) and International Development Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific Region," is particularly  opportune.

 Ladies and Gentlemen,

 In September 2000, at a special assembly at the United Nations, 147 world leaders made an important promise to the world's poor - a promise to fight against and eradicate poverty. Based on this promise, we agreed upon the Millennium Development Goals(MDGs) which consist of eight goals that should be met by 2015. The eight goals, directed at reducing poverty in all its forms, are mutually reinforcing, with Goal 7, "Ensuring Environmental Sustainability" serving as the foundation upon which  achieving the other MDGs should be built.

 The Millennium Development Goals are sensational, yet we must recall that many of these goals were set years ago for earlier target dates, but were not achieved. The MDGs are our recommitment that this time it will, and should, be different.

 Last year, the World Summit assessed the progress made towards the achievement of the MDGs. The good news is that we are on track to achieve some of the goals, such as primary education and education of girls; however, we are off track on other goals. Nonetheless, the UN Millennium Project's report tells us that all the MDGs can indeed be achieved, as long as the international community consolidates and coordinates their most earnest efforts and commitment under these common objectives.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 As we are all aware, environmental sustainability is fundamental to the pursuit of the MDGs. For example, most of the people in extreme poverty and hunger consuming less than 1 $ a day depend on natural resources for their subsistence and income, and often live in ecologically fragile areas. As a result, the poor are asymmetrically vulnerable to environmental degradation, as was highlighted recently in the case of the 2004 Tsunami.

 However, awareness on the importance of environmental sustainability alone is not enough. Although environmental issues receive increasing public and media attention, it seems that many development decision-makers are still not persuaded that investing in environmental protection can make as much contribution to poverty reduction as can conventional measures, such as infrastructure and education. As a result, over the last three decades since the 1972 Stockholm Conference on Human Environment, the environment has been continuously degraded, with forests disappearing, greenhouse gases accumulating and air and water pollution rising.  

 Hence, it is critical at this point in time to fully understand the mechanism of the environment-poverty nexus and take appropriate actions in response. I am sure that through this workshop we will become more well-informed and will clearly recognize the environment as an essential basis for achieving the MDGs. Stemming from this common understanding, we will be able to find practical ways to invest in environmental management and integrate the principles of environmental sustainability into development policies and programmes.

 Finally, to fight against poverty, all countries, including developing and developed ones, must work together, as set out in Goal 8. In a globalized world of interconnected challenges and opportunities, no country can thrive on its own. We have to cope with the challenges and seize the opportunities together.

 As stipulated in Goal 8, developed countries should assist developing countries in achieving the other seven goals through a combination of additional official development assistance(ODA), improved access to markets and debt relief. In response, developing countries should improve their governance, uphold the rule of law, and implement sound socioeconomic policies. Our own development experiences demonstrate that development is something largely determined by the developing countries themselves.

 Ladies and Gentlemen,

 Korea has gone from being a recipient country of international aid in the past to now being a donor country and we know from experience how developed countries' assistance, including ODA, can play a crucial role in overcoming the hurdles of development by cutting the vicious cycle of environment degradation and poverty. We are progressively increasing our ODA volume to achieve the MDGs and hope to share the lessons from our experience as a recipient country with the international community.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 Before closing, I want to emphasize that you are in a position to determine national policies and to give valuable guidance. In this respect, I hope that you will take the lead in pursuing environmentally sound development strategies at a national, local and international level.

 I am confident that your extensive wisdom and insight, as well as our collective experiences and ideas, will prove invaluable for the resounding success of the Workshop.

 I wish this Workshop all the success.  Thank you very much.