Asia-Pacific Regional Civil Society Meeting
Seoul, Republic of Korea
25-26 October 2007

Representatives from Asia-Pacific region covering the five sub-regions of Central Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia and the South Pacific are gathering in Seoul from 25-26 October 2007 to discuss the region’s input to the 9th Global Civil Society Forum (GCSF) to be held on 20-22 February 2008 As associated meeting of UNEP Governing Council / Global Ministerial Forum, the 9th GCSF will take place in Monaco on 19 February 2008.

This year, Asia-Pacific Regional Civil Society Meeting is to discuss four major issues including:

1. Globalization and the environment: Mobilizing finance to meet the climate challenge
2. UNEP Medium Term Strategy
3. Enhancing Major Groups Participation at UNEP’s Governance Level
4. Global Environment Outlook 4th Assessment (GEO-4) Issues

Participants are comprised of 9 major groups defined in the Agenda 21, that is farmers, women, the scientific and technological community, children and youth, indigenous peoples and their communities, workers and trade unions, business and industry, non-governmental organizations as well as local authorities, as well as other relevant stakeholders.

The meeting will also have wide representation of Asia-Pacific countries including:

1. Central Asia:  Kazakhstan and Tajikstan
2. South Asia: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka
3. Southeast Asia:  Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam
4. South Pacific:  Australia and Cook Islands
5. Northeast Asia:  China, Japan, Mongolia and the host country, the Republic of Korea

The 2007 Asia-Pacific Regional Civil Society Meeting is organized in collaboration with the UNEP Eco-Peace Leadership Centre (EPLC), which was launched in the Republic of Korea in August 2006.  More information on UNEP EPLC is available at http://www.unep-eplc.org/en_main.htm