SAARC summit ends, pledges ‘green and happy South Asia’
By Sarwar Kashani, IANSThursday, April 29, 2010
THIMPHU - Vowing to plant “10 million trees over the next five years” to build a “green and happy South Asia” and boost trade cooperation, the 16th SAARC summit concluded Thursday in this scenic capital city of an environment-conscious Bhutan.
Heads of states and governemnts of eight member-states of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) also pledged to concentrate on the uplift of poverty stricken people in the region that is home to 1.5 billion humans - a fourth of the world population.
“Ten million trees will be planted over the next five years (2010-15) in the region as part of a regional forestation and reforestation campaign of the member states,” a statement issued at the end of the two-day summit said.
Expressing deep concern over the adverse effects of climate change, the statement called for commissioning a SAARC Inter-governmental Climate-related Disasters Initiative.
Bhutanese Prime Minister and SAARC chairman Jigmi Thinley said the summit achieved its agenda for regional cooperation with the signing of two key documents - on environment and trade.
“I have sensed strong commitment amid member-states. I hope the intra-government body will be able to meet the aim of the regional cooperation,” Thinley said.
The statement mentioned that the SAARC member-states face the dual challenge of addressing the negative impacts of climate change and pursuing socio-economic development.
Noting that South Asia was prone to the ill-effects of climate change and related disasters, the statement urged the member-states to urgently meet the challenge.
The South Asian leaders decided to commission a study on climate risk in the region to find ways to comprehensively address the related social, economic and environmental challenges.
Seeking a fresh approach to global climate talks, the SAARC leaders have pitched for observer status to the bloc at the Cancun conference in Mexico on global warming later this year.
The leaders who attended the summit, besides Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, were Pakistan Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Sri Lanka President Mahenda Rajapaksa, Nepal Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, the Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed and Bhutan Prime Minister Lyonchhen Jigmi Thinley.
The Thimphu summit also marked the silver jubilee celebration of SAARC that was formed in Bangladesh in December 1985 with the aim of eradicating poverty and improving the living standard of 1.5 billion people of the region through mutual cooperation. This was the first SAARC summit Bhutan has hosted.
