The rules and modalities of the Kyoto Protocol were laid out in the 7th Conference of Parties of the UNFCCC, and Annex I countries (except the US) are in the process of preparing the ratification. Participants at the Roundtable will discuss issues and problems of the implementation of the Protocol, including the implementation strategies of Japan in comparison with those of the EU (Germany). A particular emphasis will be put on the problems of sinks, including the impact on biodiversity.

A wide range of participants from government, industry, NGOs and academia will attend the 9 May Roundtable. Featured speakers will include Robert Watson, head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), from the World Bank, Norman Myers (Oxford University, Asahi Blue Planet Prize 2001 winner) and Hideaki Shiroyama (Tokyo University) and Joy A. Kim (UNU/IAS). A detailed programme is available on the IAS website (http://www.ias.unu.edu).

The Roundtable seminars are part of the UNU/IAS lecture series and contribute to its aim to foster multidisciplinary and imaginative approaches to the solution of pressing issues of global concern. These seminars provide the setting for in-depth discussions of key aspects of the sustainable development challenge from a perspective that is both policy-relevant and in accordance with the highest standards of academic rigor. The Roundtables bring together a diversity of pertinent views on core elements of the institute's research on sustainable development, and are aimed at policy makers, members of the Japanese authorities, and the academic and diplomatic communities in Tokyo. Roundtables will take place regularly - please refer to our website for updated information.

The next Roundtable will be on May 16th on "New Consumers and the Sustainability Dilemma". At the same time as preparations for the World Summit on Sustainable Development 2002 go ahead, it is obvious that unsustainable patterns of production and consumption still remain. The crucial point is how to reconcile poverty reduction with sustainable development. The Roundtable will discuss the identification of existing future courses of action in both the developed and developing world that could support the shift to a more sustainable global society.