|
|
 |
 |
| Sunday, 15 June 2003 |
 |
|
 |
Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
Kandy student wins UN Environment Programme competition Bangkok, June 4, 2003 - For World Environment Day young people have shown there are many practical solutions to the problems of water scarcity, pollution and resource conflict.
The two winners received their awards during a World Environment Day seminar on Water Management at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok, organised by the Thailand Department of Environmental quality Promotion (DEQP). Mg Zin Ko Ko (13) of Basic Education High School in Yangon, Myanmar used crayons to illustrate the collection of rainwater from house roofs and careful crop irrigation. Lakshika Chamini Weragoda (12) of Pushpadana Girls' College in Kandy, Sri Lanka wrote about the wisdom of ancient kings who constructed reservoirs to store seasonal rains and urged people to take similar conservation measures today. The prizes were awarded by UNEP Deputy Regional Director Choi Konda and Chairman and Managing Director of Bayer Thai Co. Ltd. Peter Glaessel. Educational Liang Jiaxin (16) of Zhixin High School in Guangzhou, China will receive a book prize for second place for "A Story of Miss Water" along with Radhika Bharathi (7) of Vidyabhavan High School and Junior College in Pune, India for her third placed poem "Water". The shortlisted entries for the competition can be viewed at www.roap.unep.org, and will be displayed in the UNCC until Friday. Some will be also be used to illustrate a new educational children's book being produced by UNEP. Konda said: "the competition showed the depth of awareness and creativity young people possess in helping respond to the environmental challenges around us." On Friday, at the UN Conference Centre, 500 Thai young people attended the launch of a Youth Thailand State of the Environment Report, prepared by the DEQP with support from UNEP. Youth from organisations throughout the kingdom also launched a Thai Youth Environment Network, to strengthen their ability to engage in environmental policymaking and activities. The theme for this year's World Environment Day was Water - Two Billion People are Dying for It! and called on each of us to help safeguard the most precious source of life on our planet. In his message for World Environment Day, UNEP Executive Director Kalus Toepfer said, "The slogan emphasizes the urgency of providing an adequate supply of water to all the people of the world. It is a sad fact that one third of our fellow human beings face lives of disease and hardship simply because they lack access to safe water or proper sanitation the most important elements for a healthy and productive life. Those who suffer most are overwhelmingly the poorest people of the developing world especially their children." The main global World Environment Day celebrations were hosted in Beirut, Lebanon, the first time the event has been hosted in the Arab world. UNEP ROAP News Release |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security Produced by Lake House |
Hundreds of six to 16-year-olds illustrated and wrote about how water
conservation is being carried out in schools, communities and homes across
Asia and the Pacific for an arts and writing competition organised by the
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and sponsored by Bayer.
