The second Assembly of the
Global
Environmental Facility (GEF) will call for the joint efforts of
all countries and regions of the world to meet global environmental
challenges, official sources said Monday.
According to a joint announcement from the Ministry of Finance and
the State
Environmental Protection Administration, the GEF Assembly is to
be held in Beijing from October 16 to 18.
Officials from GEF members and international organizations, such as
the World Bank, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the
United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and regional development
banks, will attend the meeting. Some non-government organizations
will also send delegates.
The meeting will sum up experiences and draw on lessons in
environmental protection and sustainable development over the past
decade.
An
international grant foundation, the GEF has 173 member states and
operates more than 1,000 projects around the world. Launched in
1991, the GEF aims to forge international cooperation and finance
to address bio-diversity loss, climate change, degradation of
international waters and ozone depletion.
China is a founding member of the GEF and has received more than
US$300 million in grants for use on 55 projects, including 14
global and regional projects. The projects involve a wide spectrum
of environmental issues, including bio-diversity preservation,
industrial energy efficiency, renewable energy, protection of
international waters, land degradation and capacity building.
The media office has already begun to take in media registrations
from both China and abroad, including Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao.
The registration form can be obtained on the website,
www.gefchina.org.cn.
(Xinhua News
Agency September 9, 2002)