On November 20 and 21, 2009 the Ninth Asia-Pacific NGO Environmental Conference (APNEC 9 in Kyoto) was held with a substantial program and about 200 participants from 14 countries and regions including Japan, as well as participants from Korea, China, Taiwan, Nepal, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Australia, Federated States of Micronesia, the United States, and Germany.

Nearly 20 years have passed since the Asia-Pacific NGO Environmental Conference (APNEC) held its first meeting (APNEC 1) in Bangkok, Thailand in December 1991, and APNEC has steadily built its own unique network for encouraging information exchange and mutual cooperation among researchers, experts, NGOs, and involved members of the public in the environmental field throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

This ninth meeting was the first in 15 years held in Kyoto, which was the venue of APNEC 3 in November 1994, and which is also a world-class city of history and culture, and recently known to the world as the city where the Kyoto Protocol was adopted.

At this time in the first decade of the 21st century, the Asia-Pacific region has an enormous population and with some countries experiencing dramatic economic growth, and others remaining in abject poverty. With the advance of globalization in this region during recent years, grave economic disparities are increasing, while there is also a pressing need to solve a variety of problems related to pollution-caused damage, resource depletion, and environmental degradation. In particular, this region faces a number of problems which could be regarded as symptomatic of today’s global society, and therefore it is no exaggeration to say that the way in which economic development proceeds in this region from here on will decisively reflect not only problems such as climate change and biodiversity conservation, but even the near future of the global environment.

As such, APNEC9 in Kyoto held sessions which focused on four vital themes: (1) “Democratization, Decentralization and Environmental Governance,” (2) “Environmental Public Interest Litigation and Remedies for Victims of Environmental Pollution,” (3) “Waste Control and International Recycling Toward a Sustainable Economy in Asia,” and (4) “The New Challenge of APNEC for Environmental Cooperation in the Asian Region,” as well as three free-discussion sessions (“Country Reports and Various Environmental Issues in Asia I, II, and III”), in which participants had productive information exchange and meaningful deliberation.

On the afternoon of the second day (November 21) we joined Kyoto City and Kyoto Prefecture in co-hosting a public symposium called “Towards a Sustainable Low-Carbon Society in Asia,” and issued a citizen appeal called “Kyoto Climate Change Appeal for Tackling Climate Change” from Kyoto to COP 15 in Copenhagen. The appeal asks all countries to show their leadership so as to win an ambitious agreement at COP 15 that would significantly accelerate climate policies and measures, and to show the will to achieve a sustainable low-carbon society.

APNEC affirms and hereby declares that, while building on the achievements of this meeting, it will move ahead with the following initiatives.

1. Throughout Asia we shall facilitate concrete initiatives to combat climate change, conserve biodiversity, and promote the sustainable use of natural resources, and work towards the transition to a “sustainable Asia.”
   
2. To bring about a “sustainable Asia,” it is increasingly important to further promote and develop multilateral and multilevel networking for information exchange and mutual cooperation among researchers, experts, and NGOs across national borders, as well as involved members of civil society who are working on relief for various types of environmental damage and on solutions for resource and environmental problems in Asia-Pacific countries and regions. APNEC recognizes the role of such independent networks, and shall carry on with even greater efforts to build strong networks.
   
3. With the rapid advance of globalization in recent years, there is increasingly strong economic interdependence among Asia-Pacific countries and regions. There is growing discussion on an “East Asian Community” and “Asian Economic Community” in this context, but as a prerequisite for a community, it is vital to have a basic awareness that the Asia-Pacific region is highly interdependent environmentally as well. Based on this awareness, APNEC shall pursue initiatives in collaboration with international organizations, such as UN organizations and APEC, aimed at creating “Asian Common Environmental Policy” for global environmental conservation that transcends the national interests and business interests of countries and regions.
   
4. In addition to these efforts to provide for APNEC’s organizational and institutional development and capacity building, additional efforts shall be focused on bringing together a broad variety of concerned citizens to sustain this organization and network, and to pass it on to the next generation.
   

Finally, participants confirmed that our next meeting (APNEC 10) will, in response to a proposal by Taiwan, be held in 2011 in Taiwan.

Saturday, November 21, 2009
Ninth Asia-Pacific NGO Environmental Conference (APNEC9 in Kyoto)