TEHRAN - Environment Minister Imdat Sutluoglu who came to Iranian capital Tehran to attend Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) Environment Ministers First Meeting has said that ECO had not carried out an important work in field of environment yet.
Speaking to the A.A correspondent late on Saturday, Sutluoglu said that he had met with Iranian Vice President Masumeh Ebtekar for Environmental Protection, and they had exchanged opinions about some joint projects, adding that he hoped a Tehran declaration would be released at the end of Sunday's environment ministers meeting.
Noting that ECO which included nearly 320 million people on nearly 7 million square kilometers area focused mainly on mining and energy and neglected environment projects, Sutluoglu said, ''we are trying to make ECO more active in field of environment. We want to take concrete steps and develop joint projects with Iran. We can work on joint projects with other ECO members, too.''
Recalling that he had presented Ebtekar a draft agreement and Ebtekar would give a response after observing it, Sutluoglu said that they wanted to carry out a joint environmental work with Iran on Aras River basin and he hoped this work would be followed by other works in addition to a project in Yuksekova region.
Sutluoglu who will open ''Nevruz and Public Culture Photograph Exhibition'' at the Imperial Palace after attending ECO meeting will return to Turkey after wrapping up his contacts on Monday.
SUTLUOGLU: ''INDUSTRIALIZATION AND UNCONSCIOUS PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION HAVE BROUGHT NATURAL RESOURCES TO THE THRESHOLD OF EXHAUSTION''
Environment Minister Imdat Sutluoglu said on Sunday, ''industrialization and unconscious production and consumption have brought natural resources to the threshold of exhaustion in the last decade. Under-developed and developing countries have been enduring results of it rather than industrialized countries.''
Speaking at the First Meeting of Environment Ministers of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) in Iranian capital Tehran, Sutluoglu said, ''the gap between the industrialized countries and under-developed and developing countries have been deepening. This gap entails us to take serious measures in order to protect the environment. It also increased economic and social requirements.''
Sutluoglu noted, ''I believe that there cannot be any list of priority between environment protection and development. Recent summit meetings and international initiatives revealed that economic and social development and environment are the parts of a whole. And this whole is to reach a sustainable development without destroying next generations' right to live. We should focus on policies to prevent pollution instead of measures to remove existing pollution. We should re-arrange our production and consumption habits to this end. Also, international cooperation in transfer of clean technologies should be given priority.''
''A rapid process has been experienced in environment regulations in Turkey since the beginning of 1980s. The Article 56 of the Constitution adopted in 1982 says, 'everyone has the right to live in a healthy, balanced environment. It is the duty of the State and citizens to improve the natural environment, and to prevent environmental pollution.' In fact, this article puts forward target of today's meeting. Due to its geographical position, Turkey shelters many different ecosystems. Turkey's being surrounded by seas on its three sides entails us to give priority to environmental issues such as coastal urbanization, coast administration, passage from the Straits, maritime transportation, risks of traffic of hazardous substances and cross-border environment problems,'' he said.
Sutluoglu said, ''nearly all international organizations especially the United Nations, the ECO and the World Bank, have launched initiatives on the issue of environment. National and regional efforts about environment protection should be supported by international finance organizations to reach our target of sustainable development. Turkey has gained a considerable experience about environment and developments for the last 25 years. The United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Bank have supported the Mediterranean Action Plan and the Black Sea Environment Programme financially and technically. A similar regional initiative can be beneficial for the ECO.''
Highlighting the importance of developing joint projects and launching joint initiatives by taking into consideration results of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg, Sutluoglu said, ''I call on all ECO members to attribute importance to environmental protection. I believe that environmental protection will make a valuable contribution to development of transparency and understanding of cooperation in our societies.''
''All kinds of training programmes will be beneficial to create a conscious of sustainable development. We should develop the necessary technical structure and information-communication technologies to provide easy access to information. We should assist Afghanistan which has experienced a war and natural disaster. If we can develop concrete projects by determining primary problems of our region, we can obtain international support,'' he added.
Meanwhile, Sutluoglu held bilateral contacts with United Nations Environment Programme Executive Director Dr. Klaus Toepfer, Environment Minister Osman Kulsakirov of Tajikistan, Ecology and Natural Resources Minister Huseyin Bagirov of Azerbaijan, and Environment, Local Government and Rural Development Minister Tahir Iqbal of Pakistan.