Nearly 200 leaders and environmental activists from Taiwan and abroad met in Taipei yesterday at the start of a regional forum to highlight the importance of shared responsibility in protecting natural resources.
“Our interdependence is integral to our survival. Our resources as well as our responsibilities need to be equitably distributed in order to sustain the quality of life for future generations,” said the Taiwanese organizers of the Second Congress of the Asia Pacific Greens Network (APGN).
The first APGN congress was held in Kyoto in 2005, days before the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement designed to fight global warming, came into force.
PHOTO: YANG YI-MIN, TAIPEI TIMES
“We have convened the second congress five years later — five years that have seen unprecedented growth of chaos and denial,” said Robin Winkler, a co-convener of the event and a local environmentalist, in his opening remarks.
There has been an “escalation of wars and military expansion, short-sighted corporate control of more and more of the world’s resources, media repression, and all manner of social, economic and environmental abuse,” he said.
Australian Greens leader and senator Bob Brown said that “we have a big burden on our shoulders, but a warmth in our hearts and a smile on our face. We must replace the old politics of development, consumption and greed.”
Brown showed a photograph of an Australian lake that he said had nearly disappeared 40 years ago after the construction of a dam. He said he hoped that people had learned the lesson.
High-profile participants at the conference include Tuvaluan Prime Minister Apisai Ielemia and Indian environmentalist Vandana Shiva. Both are scheduled to deliver speeches related to climate change this morning.
The three-day congress will also see discussions on major challenges, policies and strategies for dealing with climate change in the Asia Pacific region.
Organizers hope to set an eco-friendly example by using bamboo cups, cotton handkerchiefs and recycled bags at the event. They have also provided bicycles as transportation for participants. Meals are made with in-season produce and delivered with minimal packaging.
A landscape garden consisting of edible plants and a rainwater recycling system are also on display.
The forum will be streamed live on the Internet.
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