INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR
INTEGRATED MOUNTAIN DEVELOPMENT
On the occasion of the
International Year of MOUNTAINS 2002
presents the:
HIGH SUMMIT VIDEOCONFERENCE
day one, Water
(Nature and Environment)
PRESS RELEASE No. 2
Kathmandu, 06 May 2002
The first ever Asia-Pacific
conference to address key issues facing mountain people and
environment in a policy-oriented setting began today in
Kathmandu. The Asia High Summit 2002 inaugurated by Honourable
Minister Mr. P. L. Singh, is the first mountain conference to
link scientists, policy makers, and mountain people to a global
audience through live, web broadcasting and interactive video
conferencing. The summit, marking the International Year of the
mountains, today convened on the theme of water, a symbol of
nature and environment.
As all life depends
on water, today's deliberations focused on forests and
sustainability, water and transboundary users, and
forests and the economy presented by 3 experts from
India, Korea and Nepal. Forests, reservoirs of water,
have been degraded and over exploited due to the absence
of clear property rights and lack of appropriate
institutions for managing common property resources. The
experts discussed the need to evolve suitable
institutional frameworks to increase rural communities
stake in restoring forests; the need for regional
cooperation for an empowered 'supernational' institution
to resolve water conflicts between upland mountain and
lowland people; and also the need for national consensus
of mountain countries on forest resource utilization and
details of political options to its realization.
Renowned geographer Dr. Harka
Gurung who chaired the inauguration wished the summit
participants that their "own stories and experiences across
mountains contribute towards realistic development policies and
strategies. We are realizing that we need to find new ways to
share information and solutions to learn from each other and
build regional cooperation that can turn these solutions into
reality on the ground. These are the kind of issues this
conference is all about the issues for which solutions can be
found" stated Dr. J. Gabriel Campbell, Director General of
ICIMOD.
Commenting on the High Summit being
held simultaneously in 4 different continents linked
together through live Internet web cast and video
conferencing, Honourable Minister Mr. P. L. Singh said
"participation is key to understanding any situation
and will undoubtedly help us develop a comprehensive
policy document on the future of a significant portion of
Asia as a preparatory document for the Bishkek Mountain
Summit that is to come."
The
remaining 4 days of the summit will discuss culture,
economy, risk and policy and will result in a synthesis
policy document encompassing all policy recommendations
made from 6-10 May.
The international multivideoconference worked
succesfully as per plan connecting Kathmandu with Milan, Nairobi,
Mendoza and Trento. The speakers gave their report of the work
carried out in Asia to the entire network during the slotted time
during the High Summit News, which is held every day between 6:15
pm and 7:15 pm (12:30 - 1:30 pm UTC), which is also broadcasted
throught the Italian Television Webcast Network www.rainet.it.
In addition to the video onference, the Asian
participants of the High Summit are opening their forum to the
rest of the world through live webcast at www.asiahs.org to encourage global interaction.
or contact:
Ms. Armila C. Shakya, Coordinator International Year of
Mountains/Overall
Coordinator Asia High Summit
Ms. Moushumi Chaudhury, Assistant Coordinator Asia High
Summit
E-mail: ashakva@.icimod.org.np mchaudhurv@.icimod.orgl.np
Phone: 525317 (ext. 677/688)
ICIMOD
INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR INTEGRATED MOUNTAIN DEVELOPMENT
Mail: Po 0. Box 3226, Kathmandu, Nepal
Office: Jawalakhel, Lalitpur (Kathmandu)
Cable: ICIMOD, Kathmandu, Nepal
Tel: 977-1-525313
Fax: 977-1-524509/536747
e-mail : icimod@icimod.org.np
Homepage: www.icimod.org
