8/1/2012 10:30:00 AM

The 4th TAI Asia Regional Meeting was held in Bangkok from 28th February to 3rd March 2012. The meeting was attended by representatives of TAI Coalitions from SE Asia including Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. The representatives from Yunan Province of China which shares many environmental issues with the SE Region were present at the meeting, too. Two experts from VACNE, a leading organization of the Vietnam TAI Coalition, represented Vietnam at the meeting.

 

Following activities on environmental access rights assessment that above mentioned countries has pursued in previous years, this meeting has marked a turning point in the development of TAI activities in the whole region. A new direction of activities aims at the community activities promoting improvement and changes of  wrong or ineffective methods of environmental management and decision-making.

During 4 days of the meeting, the participants heard a number of presentations from experts coming from UNDP, Sida, Chile, and Thailand and discussed about TAI advocacy activities and steps for their implementation, learned about the concepts of RBM (Result Based Management) developed by UNDP and accepted by Sida for management of projects funded by Sida. A preparatory process of the Rio+20 Summit to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June 2010, particularly the result of the TAI 3D campaign aiming to contribute to the main document of the Rio+20 Summit through national governments and key UN institutions were also introduced to the participants.

Through presentations and exercises conducted at the meeting, participants had a great opportunity in receiving valuable information on community activities. With a financial support from Sida and strong assistance from Thailand Environmental Institute, a TAI core member representing SE Asia TAI Network, all representatives of TAI national coalitions participated in the meeting have commit themselves in promoting TAI advocacy activities which are in line with the content of the Principle 10 of the Rio-92 Declaration. These activities should aim at making necessary changes in environmental policies, strategies, legislations, and practices in environmental governance and management and thus to implement the right of the community to fully receive information on environmental issues, to participate in processes of decision-making, and to have access to justice to protect their rightful interests in the environmental field.

Together with other countries in the region, in the coming time, VACNE and partner members in the Vietnam TAI Coalition will enhance community activities to promote the implementation of environmental access rights of the community and to contribute to the success of the Rio+20 Summit on Environment and Development.

VACNE

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