KANAGAWA PREFECTURE, JAPAN
Program Name
International Environmental Symposium for Asian Local Governments
Municipal Profile
Population: 8,641,565
Budget: US$12.4 billion
Land Area: 2,413 square kilometers
Economic Activities: electric machinery and appliances manufacture, transport equipment manufacture
Environmental Expertise: air and water pollution
Issue Addressed
Environmental Education
Key Management Concept
Organizing regional gatherings of local governments can strengthen cooperation and knowledge exchange and inspire action towards sustainability.
Program Goals
The goals of the symposium were to summarize how Asian local governments have addressed global environmental issues during the ten years following the 1992 Earth Summit, identify current challenges facing Asian local governments and strategies to resolve them, and define a direction for the role to be played by Asian local governments in resolving global environmental issues during the next ten years.
Program Abstract
In April 2002, Kanagawa Prefecture and the Japanese Ministry of the Environment hosted a two-day international environmental symposium for Asian local governments in Yokohama City entitled "Sustainable Development in Asia and the Role of Local Governments." Two hundred and twenty-five participants attended the symposium including representatives of 38 Japanese local governments and 14 Asian local governments, members of the 20% Club for Sustainable Cities and the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI), representatives from 3 international organizations and 26 Japanese and international non-governmental organizations, and 31 corporate sponsors.
The conference opened with welcoming remarks from Japan's Vice-President of the Ministry of the Environment, a keynote speech from the Governor of Kanagawa Prefecture, and a keynote report from Professor Onishi of the University of Tokyo. The speeches were followed by 27 case reports. Participants from different local governments presented their municipality's initiatives relating to sustainable urban planning and development, environmental management systems, waste management, water management, and energy.
Heated debate in four subcommittees followed, focused on four themes: the role of local government in local environmental conservation activities, coordinating tangible pollution and waste-related measures for environmental improvement, coordinating tangible natural resources-related measures for environmental improvement, and promoting international environmental cooperation at the local level.
Based on the debate during the subcommittee meetings, on the second day of the symposium the Kanagawa Declaration on Sustainable Development Measures Taken by Asian Local Governments, was adopted, which reaffirmed the role of local governments in addressing environmental issues and the importance of implementing local environmental initiatives.
Financing
Kanagawa Prefecture covered project costs of US$25,423 in the 2001 fiscal year. In the 2002 fiscal year, Kanagawa Prefecture assumed $127,118 in project costs while the Japanese Ministry of the Environment contributed $127,118 and private organizations provided $42,372.
Staff
The symposium's steering committee consisted of five members representing Kanagawa Prefecture, the Japanese Ministry of the Environment, the 20% Club for Sustainable Cities, the Institute for Global Environmental Studies (IGES), and the Kanagawa Global Environmental Conservation Promotion Conference. The symposium planning committee (established to discuss the symposium's structure and specific programs) included five members from universities, ICLEI, and IGES.
The symposium secretariat consisting of seven staff was housed in the Environmental Planning Division of Kanagawa Prefecture's Environment and Agriculture Department.
Lessons Learned
Holding a domestic workshop several months prior to a symposium can help raise local governments' awareness of the event and allow them to provide input into the structure of the event.
Key Publications
Steering Committee of the International Environmental Symposium for Asian Local Governments. 2002. Kanagawa Declaration on Asian Local Government Initiatives for Sustainable Development.
Contact
Junnosuke Amano, Staff member
Global Environment Team, Environmental Planning Section
1 Nihon-Ohdori, Naka-ku
Yokohama City
Kanagawa Prefecture
231-8588 Japan
Tel: +81-45/210-4065
Fax: +81-45/210-8845
Email: junnosuke.hy5r@pref.kanagawa.jp
Website
www.pref.kanagawa.jp
International Environmental Symposium for Asian Local Governments
Municipal Profile
Population: 8,641,565
Budget: US$12.4 billion
Land Area: 2,413 square kilometers
Economic Activities: electric machinery and appliances manufacture, transport equipment manufacture
Environmental Expertise: air and water pollution
Issue Addressed
Environmental Education
Key Management Concept
Organizing regional gatherings of local governments can strengthen cooperation and knowledge exchange and inspire action towards sustainability.
Program Goals
The goals of the symposium were to summarize how Asian local governments have addressed global environmental issues during the ten years following the 1992 Earth Summit, identify current challenges facing Asian local governments and strategies to resolve them, and define a direction for the role to be played by Asian local governments in resolving global environmental issues during the next ten years.
Program Abstract
In April 2002, Kanagawa Prefecture and the Japanese Ministry of the Environment hosted a two-day international environmental symposium for Asian local governments in Yokohama City entitled "Sustainable Development in Asia and the Role of Local Governments." Two hundred and twenty-five participants attended the symposium including representatives of 38 Japanese local governments and 14 Asian local governments, members of the 20% Club for Sustainable Cities and the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI), representatives from 3 international organizations and 26 Japanese and international non-governmental organizations, and 31 corporate sponsors.
The conference opened with welcoming remarks from Japan's Vice-President of the Ministry of the Environment, a keynote speech from the Governor of Kanagawa Prefecture, and a keynote report from Professor Onishi of the University of Tokyo. The speeches were followed by 27 case reports. Participants from different local governments presented their municipality's initiatives relating to sustainable urban planning and development, environmental management systems, waste management, water management, and energy.
Heated debate in four subcommittees followed, focused on four themes: the role of local government in local environmental conservation activities, coordinating tangible pollution and waste-related measures for environmental improvement, coordinating tangible natural resources-related measures for environmental improvement, and promoting international environmental cooperation at the local level.
Based on the debate during the subcommittee meetings, on the second day of the symposium the Kanagawa Declaration on Sustainable Development Measures Taken by Asian Local Governments, was adopted, which reaffirmed the role of local governments in addressing environmental issues and the importance of implementing local environmental initiatives.
Financing
Kanagawa Prefecture covered project costs of US$25,423 in the 2001 fiscal year. In the 2002 fiscal year, Kanagawa Prefecture assumed $127,118 in project costs while the Japanese Ministry of the Environment contributed $127,118 and private organizations provided $42,372.
Staff
The symposium's steering committee consisted of five members representing Kanagawa Prefecture, the Japanese Ministry of the Environment, the 20% Club for Sustainable Cities, the Institute for Global Environmental Studies (IGES), and the Kanagawa Global Environmental Conservation Promotion Conference. The symposium planning committee (established to discuss the symposium's structure and specific programs) included five members from universities, ICLEI, and IGES.
The symposium secretariat consisting of seven staff was housed in the Environmental Planning Division of Kanagawa Prefecture's Environment and Agriculture Department.
Lessons Learned
Holding a domestic workshop several months prior to a symposium can help raise local governments' awareness of the event and allow them to provide input into the structure of the event.
Key Publications
Steering Committee of the International Environmental Symposium for Asian Local Governments. 2002. Kanagawa Declaration on Asian Local Government Initiatives for Sustainable Development.
Contact
Junnosuke Amano, Staff member
Global Environment Team, Environmental Planning Section
1 Nihon-Ohdori, Naka-ku
Yokohama City
Kanagawa Prefecture
231-8588 Japan
Tel: +81-45/210-4065
Fax: +81-45/210-8845
Email: junnosuke.hy5r@pref.kanagawa.jp
Website
www.pref.kanagawa.jp
