| Media Note Office of the Spokesman Washington, DC September 21, 2001 Forest Law Enforcement and Governance East Asia Ministerial ConferenceThe Forest Law Enforcement and Governance East Asia Ministerial Conference concluded last week with the adoption by acclamation of a historic Ministerial Declaration committing participating governments to concrete actions to combat illegal logging, related illegal trade, and corruption in the forest sector. The Declaration acknowledges the serious problem of forest crime, makes strong political commitments to address the issue, and defines specific steps countries will take as part of a coordinated plan of action. It also invites member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum to inform world leaders at the upcoming meetings about the outcome of the conference and invites their support. This Declaration is a significant advance in implementing the G-8 leaders’ call for action on forest crime initiated in Birmingham in 1999, and their renewed commitment in Okinawa in 2000. The Declaration calls for a follow-up conference in 2003 to review progress. Delegations from twelve nations including the United States attended the East Asia Ministerial Conference on Forest Law Enforcement and Governance. Ministers and senior policy officials from East Asia and were joined by ministerial level officials and experts from Africa, Latin America, and G-8 and European Union member countries. The 150 participants at the conference from 20 countries included representatives from non-governmental organizations, the private sector and government institutions. Patrick Cronin, Assistant Administrator for Policy and Resource Planning at the U.S. Agency for International Development, led the U.S. delegation. Senior officials from the State Department’s Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs (OES) participated actively in the conference and the work on the Declaration. The conference took place in Bali, Indonesia, September 11-13, 2001. It was sponsored by the United States and the United Kingdom, and was co-hosted by Indonesia and the World Bank. Countries participating in the conference were Cambodia, China, Congo-Brazzaville, Ghana, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, the Philippines, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Vietnam. Information about the conference is available at www.iisd.ca (click on Current Coverage, Forest Law Enforcement Conference). For further information, please contact Susan Povenmire, U.S. Department of State, OES Bureau, at 202-647-3486. |
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