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| Sunday, 29 August 2004 |
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20th anniversary of World Environment prize : Prof. Suriyakumaran invited to China Prof. C. Suriyakumaran, the 1995 winner of the United Nations Sasakawa World Environment prize, the equivalent of the Nobel prize in that field, has been invited along with all other living laureates, in the words of the Prize Secretariat based in the United Nations, 'To a special event commemorating the 20th anniversary of the prize'. The celebrations are scheduled to take place in Beijing, China in a three-day programme late September. In addition to the laureates, members of the award committee and other noted environmentalists are also invited.As a laureate, Prof. Suriyakumaran remains as Sri Lanka's first and so far the only winner, in a galaxy that included figures such as Thor Heyerdahl, Jaques Cousteau, Maurice Strong, Aurelio Peccei (of the Club of Rome fame), Gilbert R. White, Ms. Gro Brundtland, Lester Brown, Francisco 'Chico' Mendes, Mostafa Tolba, M. S. Swaminathan and Prof. Mario Molina. The citation on Suriyakumaran, also Visiting Professor at the London School of Economics, referred to him as "a pioneer in the Environment field for shaping the nature of our responses to environment challenges ... and was responsible in great part for the new perception of multi-sectoralism with his observation long ago that Environment is not a sector but a dimension in all sectors. He played a key role in promoting Global Environment programmes within the United Nations system. For his outstanding services, he was honoured by the King of Thailand as Knight Commander of the Most Noble Order of the Crown". As in Development Economics, Prof. Suriyakumaran has also written extensively on means and methodologies of Environment and Development Management, at both macro and micro levels for adoption by countries: such as on a United Nations Enlarged Environment Development GDP Computation system; joint ED Assessment at micro level; Resources Balance Sheets at macro levels; autonomous Firm Level Environment Development Audit system; and others. His Autumn 1991 London School of Economics lectures on Environment and Development Management were considered pioneering at many levels. In a letter he addressed globally, together with several Environment Laureates at the dawn of the millennium, he stated that "Environment and Development were not two separate tasks, but the same task, which cannot be performed except together!" A career International Civil Servant, Prof. Suriyakumaran was Deputy Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission, and Regional Director of the United Nations Environment Programme for Asia and the Pacific. In his former role, he was associated directly in the creation of such institutions as the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Asian Clearing Union, the Bangkok Trade Agreement, the Asian Coconut Community and the Asian Highway Network. |
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