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..Press
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UNESCAP News Services
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Date 31
January 2005
Press Release No: N/03/2005
FIRST BIO-DIVERSITY PARK OF ITS KIND LAUNCHED
IN RAWALPINDI
Pioneering public-private partnership
gives poor access to bio-diversity
Bangkok (United Nations Information Services)
-- The first bio-diversity park of its kind in the world was
officially opened today by representatives of UNESCAP, the Government
of Pakistan and the private sector in Morgah, Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
Participating in the launch was H.E. Ms. Hina
Rabbani Khar, Minister of State for Economic Affairs, Government
of Pakistan, Mr. Kim Hak-Su, UNESCAP Executive Secretary, Mr.
Shuja Shah, Permanent Secretary, Economic Affairs Division,
Government of Pakistan, Mr. Ziaul Haq, Additional Secretary,
Economic Affairs Division, Ministry of Finance and Economic
Affairs, Government of Pakistan and Chairman National Steering
Committee of the Project, and Mr. M. Raziuddin, Chief Executive
Officer, Attock Refinery Limited.
“In Asia and Pacific, conservation of bio-diversity
has assumed renewed importance after the recent Tsunami which
destroyed considerable parts of the region’s reserves
of bio-diversity such as forests, fish stocks, coral reefs and
mangrove swamps,” Mr. Kim told the gathering. “Efforts
like the one in Morgah can serve as models for restoring the
bio-diversity of devastated countries and help prevent further
loss of the sustainable livelihoods of the people.”
The Morgah Bio-diversity Park Project is the brainchild
of the Bangkok-based UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia
and the Pacific (UNESCAP). It brings together participants from
the private sector, national and local governments, and the
local community. A part of UNESCAP's Pro-Poor Public Private
Partnership for poverty reduction, it is a follow up of the
World Summit on Sustainable Development, held in Johannesburg,
South Africa in 2002.
Mr. Kim commended the Government of Pakistan and
Attock Refinery Limited for the bold steps they had taken in
pioneering this first public-private partnership in providing
the poor with access to bio-diversity. He also noted the commitments
made by senior officials of the Economic Affairs Division, Pakistan
Museum of Natural History and other agencies of the Government
in implementing this challenging and historic project.
“It is my firm belief that experiences from
this UNESCAP project will make a very important contribution
to achieving the objectives of Pakistan’s National Environmental
Action Plan, namely that of improving the state of environment
in Pakistan, to safeguard public health, promote sustainable
livelihoods and enhance the quality of life of people,”
he said. “I believe projects such as these are key to
meeting the target of reversing losses of environmental resources
by 2015, as set out in the UN Millennium Development Goals.”
In her remarks Minister Hina Rabbani Khar noted
that Government resources alone are not sufficient to promote
sustainable development and alleviate poverty. “This initiative
of mobilizing private sector represents a flexible solution
to delivery of basic services and provides an alternative to
the budgetary constraints on Government. We hope that the establishment
of the Morgah Bio-diversity park in partnership with linked
institutions will act as a major launching pad not only for
conversation of species but also create awareness on the important
role stakeholders can play in protecting bio-diversity resources
in Pakistan in general and Potohar region in particular.”
She said the income generation activities created
in the project through development of compost from organic waste
and development of community gardens would go a long way in
improving the income and environment of the two large villages,
Morgah and Kotha Kalan, inhabited by 40,000 people.
Mr. M. Raziuddin, Chief Executive Officer, Attock
Refinery Limited, said the Morgah Bio-diversity Park is a living
example that such diverse partners can work together efficiently.
“It is also evidence that bio-diversity conservation is
both good business and solid contribution to nation-building
by giving poor people access to basic services,” he said.
The project was made possible by the generous
financial support of the Royal Government of the Netherlands.
For further information please contact:
UN Information Centre Islamabad
Mr. Tetsuo M. Ohno, Director, Tel: 0300-854.0058
Mr. Amin Ahmed, National Information Officer, Tel: 0320-426.3862
UN Information Services Bangkok
Tel: +(66-2) 288-1861/66; Fax: +(66-2) 288-1052
E-mail: unisbkk.unescap@un.org
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