C'wealth Environment Ministers to meet in Accra

Accra, March 26, GNA - Commonwealth Environment Ministers would meet on Sunday, March 28 to exchange views and experiences on the effectiveness of partnerships in human settlements, water, sanitation and waste management, a statement issued by the Commonwealth in Accra on Friday said.

It said the Commonwealth Consultative Group on Environment (CCGE) would also meet in Jeju, in the Republic of Korea on the eve of the Global Ministerial Environment Forum of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Mr Marion Hobbs, New Zealand's Minister for the Environment, would chair the meeting.

The statement said governments were increasingly employing partnerships to fulfil their development objectives in recognition that the effective participation of stakeholders could help raise new and innovative resources.

"Ministers will share their experiences on what makes partnerships effective, how partnerships can best be supported and nurtured and what steps are needed to replicate good examples", it said. The statement said a range of different partnerships including public-private partnerships and public-community partnerships would be discussed.

It said the Ministers were also expected to consider the work of ComHabitat- a Commonwealth partnership that supports member states in their implementation of the UN's Habitat Agenda.

The CCGE established in 1993, provides a forum for Commonwealth governments to canvass a broad range of views before the UNEP sessions. Environment Ministers would also discuss priority concerns for a major international meeting that would take place later in the year in Mauritius to review the Barbados Programme of Action.

It is a blue print for sustainable development for Small Island Developing States that was agreed in 1994 following the Rio Earth Summit. 26 March 04