From August 23rd to 25th, Mr. LIU Rongkun, Program Manager of The Pendeba Society attended a three- day Regional Sharing Workshop on Assessment of Challenges and Opportunities in the Asia Pacific region for Rio +20 at ICIMOD Headquarters in Kathmandu, Nepal.
About 40 plus participants from South East Asia, Hindu Kush-Himalayan (HKH) region, and the island nation of Papua New Guinea representing primarily governments, I/NGO sector, and multilateral organizations gathered at ICIMOD to:
• Discuss 15 commissioned case studies - 10 from HKH and 4 from SE Asia and the Pacific as well as identify good practices;
• Locate “missing links” for prioritizing regional issues; and
• Consolidate specific suggestions on status, challenges, progress and opportunities for sustainable mountain development in the context of Rio+20.
At the Hindu Kush-Himalayas Session II on case studies and discussions chaired by Mr. Batu Krishna Uprety, LIU Rongkun made a brief presentation on Tourism and Environmental Development in Tibet. During the presentation, Mr. LIU Rongkun discussed current tourism market in Tibet and key issues and opportunities in the course of promoting tourism as an economic development strategy in the region. In the meantime, LIU Rongkun also introduced the conservation and development work that The Pendeba Society has been carrying out in the Qomolangma National Nature Preserve. The presentation was well received and followed by interactive discussions pertaining to sustainable development in the region.
The workshop is expected to result in:
• Collation of diverse perspectives to improve 15 commissioned case studies – 10 from HKH and 5 from SE Asia and Papua New Guinea - from policy perspectives as well as validate identified good practices; and
• Framing of key messages and recommendations from the Asia Pacific Region in the Regional Assessment for feeding into the Rio+20 preparatory process.
The Pendeba Society was appreciative of this opportunity to present our work with and learn from other professionals, experts and organizations working in development and conservation fields, which is of great benefit to our current and future work in QNNP.