"Global Sustainablility - Challenges and Responses for the New Millennium"

09:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Thursday, 22 February 2001
U Thant International Conference Hall, 3F, United nations University Headquarters
(5-53-70 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo)

February 2, 2001

The World Bank and United Nations University will jointly organize a public forum entitled "Global Sustainability - Challenges and Responses for the New Millennium." The Forum will focus on two dimensions of development, natural capital and social capital, and will address the main concern of global sustainability. Current projections point to a massive depletion of natural resources in the coming decades, while growing poverty raises complex challenges for natural resource management. The Forum will address:

• Natural disaster management in light of the long-term effects of climate change
• Agricultural research and food security
• Work on social capital, as a complementary issue to natural capital
• Understanding the role of civil society in sustainable development, particularly in the context of globalization
• Global public policy for sustainable development

To allow us to finalize the number of participants in advance, it would be highly appreciated if you could inform us of your attendance by Friday, 16 February. Please reply by fax, at your earliest convenience, with the attached Fax Reply Sheet to Mmes. Sasaki, Takamura or Maruyama of the World Bank Tokyo Office at 03-3597-6695.

We welcome this opportunity for an open dialogue with our development partners in Japan.

Sincerely yours,