The conference will include the 29th sessions of the Convention’s subsidiary bodies – SBSTA and SBI – as well as the 4th session of the AWG-LCA and the 2nd part of the 6th session of the AWG-KP. The Poznań meeting, which is expected to draw around eight thousand participants, will both advance international cooperation on a future climate change regime and ensure progress on key issues.

Statistics shows that mangrove forests once covered 3/4 of the coastlines of tropical and sub-tropical countries. Today, less than 50% remain, and of this remaining forest, over 50% is degraded and not in good form. There needs be greater protection on primary or high quality mangrove sites knowing that the total remaining area will continue to decrease. (http://www.earthisland.org/map/)

In the Philippines today, mangrove ecology is declining including the coastal areas in Davao City. That is why this project definitely resolves the continuous declination of the mangrove forest, and would sustain its development.

This project proposal is addressing the problem of the coastal area wherein, as of today the seashore is limited with mangrove tress, and full of garbage. Dirty seashore and lack of mangrove tress in the area (Lasang, Davao City) are the environmental problems, and are the current situation in that area that needs the management of the people in preserving its resources, and to maintain the cleanliness and greenness of the coastal area. Indeed, the environment needs the help of the people in preserving its resources. In fact, one of the major goals of the UN Millennium goals for the environment is to preserve our natural resources, and promote a clean and green environment. Now, with this project, it would address and help in the preservation of our environment.

“This year’s conference was a strong impetus for the international environmental youth movement” said UNEP Communications Director Eric Falt. “New members who share the same passion for the environment have joined the community of young environmentalists.”

“Bayer was delighted to host UNEP’s Youth Conference” said company spokesperson Michael Schade. “The participants’ dedication was impressive: They not only had stimulating discussions, they also came up with concrete proposals to address environmental problems in their home countries.”

Participants from 85 countries spent four days exchanging ideas on “Technology in Service of the Environment” and key global environmental issues such as climate change and the importance of renewable energies. They also gained firsthand experience through visits to Bayer sites and external model environmental facilities. They take new ideas for their environmental activities back home with them, and some have already formulated concrete action plans. Following a discussion in Germany, some Chinese participants are planning a pilot project to produce fuel from rapeseed oil.

Conference participants also elected some of their own to serve on the Tunza Youth Advisory Council, which will advise UNEP on issues relating to youth environmental work for the next two years. Its members were elected according to the UN’s principle of “One Member Country, One Voice.” Elected were two representatives each from North America, Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe, Africa, West Asia and Asia and the Pacific. 22-year-old Sara Svensson from Sweden and 19-year-old Dimitri Tasmali from Turkey will in future represent Europe. “My goal is to promote environmental protection and a sustainable lifestyle and be a trendy role model, in order to motivate more youth to get involved” said the young Swede, who is active in the organization Youth and Environment Europe. As for Dimitri Tasmali, he takes part in environmental education projects for school students in Turkey, and wants to tie these activities with similar projects in other European countries.

Bayer and UNEP also used the conference in order to extend their cooperation agreement in the area of youth and environment by another three years. The two partners will further expand and jointly implement about a dozen international environmental projects for youth and children. Bayer will provide funding for these projects of EUR 1.2 million per year, thereby increasing its annual financial contribution by EUR 200,000. In 2004 the Leverkusen-based company became the first and the primary private-sector partner to UNEP in youth and the environment.

The projects of the Tunza program sponsored within the context of the Bayer-UNEP partnership include the Tunza International Youth and Children’s Conferences, which take place in alternate years, youth networks in various regions of the world, the Tunza magazine and the annual International Children’s Painting Competition on the Environment. Alone this year, more than 13,000 children from over 100 countries submitted paintings.

Find more information at www.tunza2007.unep.bayer.com .

This year, Asia-Pacific Regional Civil Society Meeting is to discuss four major issues including:

Globalization and the environment: Mobilizing finance to meet the climate challenge
UNEP Medium Term Strategy
Enhancing Major Groups Participation at UNEP’s Governance Level
Global Environment Outlook 4th Assessment (GEO-4) Issues
Participants are comprised of 9 major groups defined in the Agenda 21, that is farmers, women, the scientific and technological community, children and youth, indigenous peoples and their communities, workers and trade unions, business and industry, non-governmental organizations as well as local authorities, as well as other relevant stakeholders.

The meeting will also have wide representation of Asia-Pacific countries including:

Central Asia: Kazakhstan and Tajikstan
South Asia: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka
Southeast Asia: Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam
South Pacific: Australia and Cook Islands
Northeast Asia: China, Japan, Mongolia and the host country, the Republic of Korea
The 2007 Asia-Pacific Regional Civil Society Meeting is organized in collaboration with the UNEP Eco-Peace Leadership Centre (EPLC), which was launched in the Republic of Korea in August 2006. More information on UNEP EPLC is available at http://www.unep-eplc.org/en_main.htm

It is the vision of the organization to “foster a generation of environmentally conscious citizens who will better influence decision-making processes and act responsilbly to create a sustainable world”.

The fourth TUNZA Global Youth Retreat marked twenty years of cooperation between UNEP and its youth partners from around the world. It took place in Nairobi, where young people will rub shoulders with decision makers and environmentalists from around the world.

Young people participated at the Global Civil Society Forum as a major group, and also delivered a Statement to the Governing Council / Global Ministerial Environment Forum (GC/GMEF), where they voiced their concerns and promoted their perspectives regarding the main thematic areas in discussion.

The program contains:

Discussions around the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD)
Full range of different workshops
(details)

Intercultural evening and live music
Excursions in Bonn and surroundings
Handing over of resolution to COP9
Making of a conference movie
Open space and planning of actions

The World Environment Day slogan for 2008 is Kick the Habit! Towards a Low Carbon Economy. Recognizing that climate change is becoming the defining issue of our era, UNEP is asking countries, companies and communities to focus on greenhouse gas emissions and how to reduce them.

World Environment Day will highlight resources and initiatives that promote low carbon economies and life-styles in the following ways of changing our lives:

o improved energy efficiency
o alternative energy sources
o forest conservation
o sustainable and eco-friendly consumption

• Make One Voice on 5 June

In 2008, Youth from All Over Asia Pacific will unite to save the climate by showing how Asians can live low carbon lifestyles!

As UNEP adopted a long-term youth engagement strategy called TUNZA, in 2003. Since then, there have been five sub-regional youth environment networks in Asia and the Pacific to provide perspectives on environmental issues and promote youth activities in Central Asia, Northeast Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and South Pacific Asia. Youth in NEAYEN, SEAYEN and SAYEN, CAYEN will promote WED agenda to public in creative, fun, innovative ways. Youth groups in YENs will organize various campaigns in their cities under same slogan.

• How to join

Encourage Youth Organizations in the Sub-regional Networks to complete and fill up the registration forms in two stages:

· (1) Youth organizations fill up the registration form in Annex I of this document and send to the respective YEN Secretariat.

· (2) YEN Secretariats register the collective actions at the global World Environment Day database
http://www.unep.org/wed/2008/english/Around_the_World/index.asp

• Timetable for 2008 WED

Month Process
May Release information kit on WED
Call and finalize youth network and organization registration from every country/city <ANNEX 1>
Select at least one contact person (NFPs) for each country/city
Develop WED slogan in local Asian language and finalize collective (national and sub-regional) action through online groups/forum/email/chat
June DO WED Action!!!! In every city/country participating
Press Release in the AP/ every country
July Collect pictures and multi-media clips to HyunJin at NEAYEN Secretariat
Evaluation
Sept Release edited Asia Pacific United multi-media clip on WED 2008
Release Booklet on Youth actions for WED 2008 (Electronic version)

• Roles and Contact Information

Responsibility

WED 2008 Steering Committee * 8 people (2-3 Secretariat, 2 Youth Advisors, 1 UNEP)* Organizing monthly online meeting
UNEP * Release information Kit on WED and registration format* Press Release
Secretariat * Contact point between Steering Committee and NFPs*Collect registration information and monitor youth action* Collect outcomes (pictures, articles, multi-media clip) of WED
Youth Advisor * Spread WED campaign in AP at regional and international level * Support booklet development
NFPs/youth * Organize youth actions! * Press release at national level* Collect pictures & Multi-media clip

Northeast Asia: Ms. Jeon HyunJin (jeon@unep.or.kr, Tunza NEAYEN)
Ms. Wang Feng Zhu (wangerlover2007@yahoo.com.cn, Youth Adviser)
South Asia: Mr. Gopal Jain (gopal.jain@ceeindia.org, TUNZA SAYEN)
Southeast Asia: Ms. Aileen Yap (aileenyap@nyaa.org, Tunza SEAYEN)
Mr. Jessie James Marcellones (marcellones_jl2003@yahoo.com, Youth Adviser)
Central Asia: Ms. Anna Kirilenko/Mr. Rustam Murzakhanov (annakir7@mail.ru, naraspashku@gmail.com, TUNZA CAYEN)
UNEP: Ms. Catherine Candano (catherine.candano@rrcap.unep.org, UNEP)

Registration Form for Youth Campaign World Environment Day 2008
Information

Tunza Youth Network (Tunza-YEN and Website URL)
Country City
Main Organization (Name)
Main Coordinator (Name)
(Telephone number)
(Email Address)
(Yahoo messenger ID)
Sub-coordinator (Name)
(Telephone Number)
(Email Address)
(Yahoo messenger ID)
World Environment Day Campaign 2008
Place/Date
Description of activity (not more than 1500 characters)
l If coordinators do not have yahoo messenger ID, please join in since we have a plan to hold online meetings through yahoo messengerl After the WED campaign, please send the pictures with description and multimedia clips with a short report to HyunJin (Korea) at jeonjeon@gmail.com.

The HKCCC Asian Youth Summit on Climate Change will be held from July 15 to 19, 2008 at the University of Hong Kong, China. Its main objective is to provide a platform for Asian university students to discuss climate change and investigate possible solutions. The goal is to have student delegates benefit from their participation as much as possible. The conference should not only be expanding the participants’ knowledge on climate change: it should empower them to take action on climate change upon returning home. The organisers aim to achieve this through a mix of workshops and expert panel discussions . Equally important are our social events that will foster a sense of belonging to one Asian community. This is important as climate change is a global problem that requires people from different places to work together.

HKCCC is originated from the Univeristy of Hong Kong. Previously we have organized activities like film show, forum and study trip to raise students’ awareness on climate change. We are also active in participating decision – making of green policy in the University.

In this summer, we are ready to organise a Youth Summit to gather Asian youth and voice out our opinions on climate change.

Should you be interested, please visit http://hkclimatechangecoalition.org/aycs08 for more information.

regards,

Jessie James L. Marcellones
UNEP TYAC for Asia and the Pacific
www.unep.org/tunza/youth