Pembangunan Berkelanjutan: Waktunya Mengubah Retorika Menjadi Tindakan Nyata oleh Fardah

   Jakarta, 31/10/2007 (ANTARA) - Surendra Shrestha terkenang masa kecilnya di Katmandu, ibu kota Nepal, ketika udara masih bersih dan sejuk, pegunungan Himalaya tampak putih dan jelas, serta lingkungan sekitar rumahnya masih hijau.
    "Waktu saya masih kecil di Katmandu, kami hanya perlu 15 menit untuk pergi ke mana-mana, namun kini kami perlu dua jam untuk bepergian karena macet," kata Shrestha, Direktur Regional Program Lingkungan Hidup PBB (UNEP) untuk Wilayah Asia-Pasifik, yang berkedudukan di Bangkok, Thailand.

GEO-4 SAYS ECOSYSTEMS AND HUMAN HEALTH IN ASIA PACIFIC CONTINUE TO DETERIORATE

    Bangkok, Oct. 26, 2007 (ANTARA) - The United Environment Program (UNEP) in its comprehensive report called '4th Global Environment Outlook (GEO-4): Environment for Development' says that ecosystems and human health in Asia and the Pacific continue to deteriorate, while population growth and rapid economic development have driven significant environmental degradation and loss of natural resources.
      "The world as a whole is living far beyond its means. The human population is now so  large that the amount of resources needed to sustain it exceeds what is available. Humanity's footprint (its environmental demand) is 21.9 hectares per person, while the Earth's biological capacity is, on average, only 15.7 ha/person.." according to GEO-4 report, which was simultaneously launched in 40 cities, including in Bangkok on Friday.

QUALITY OF ECONOMIC GROWTH MORE IMPORTANT FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

     Bangkok, Oct. 25. 2007 (ANTARA) - An ESCAP official said from the viewpoint of protection of the environment and implementation of sustainable development, the quality of economic growth was more important than  its number or percentage.
     "Economic growth has to be green. The quality of economic growth is the matter, not its number. Focusing on the percentage of economic growth is wrong," Rae Kwon Chung, Director of the Environment and Sustainable Development Division of ESCAP (UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific), said when speaking a seminar themed  "Back to Our Common Future" here on Friday.

IF OCCUPATION PROBLEM RESOLVED, MUSLIM COUNTRIES MAY ESTABLISH TIES WITH ISRAEL: ENVOY

      Jakarta, Oct. 24, 2007 (ANTARA) - If the Israeli occupation of Palestine can be resolved, Israel will be accepted and can have full diplomatic relations with some 57 Muslim countries, Palestinian Ambassador to Indonesia Fariz Mehdawi said.
        "The Palestinian issue is the concern of the entire world. For instance, what's wrong between Israel and Indonesia? Nothing. So, after the Palestinian issue has been resolved, there will be nothing wrong if Indonesia establishes relations with Israel. The same goes for Malaysia and other countries," Ambassador Mehdawi said here following Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's visit in Indonesia from Oct. 21 to 23, 2007.

Indonesia, Palestine Move Toward Concrete Cooperation: Envoy

     Jakarta, Oct. 23, 2007 (ANTARA) - Palestinian Ambassador to Indonesia Fariz Mehdawi said the visit of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was successful as the two nations had agreed to embark on concrete cooperation.
        Palestine and Indonesia signed a number of Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) which would be implemented and followed by concrete actions, Ambassador Mehdawi told ANTARA after the conclusion of the state visit of President Mahmoud Abbas to Jakarta, from October 21 to 23, 2007.