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UNU/IAS TO HOST "KATOOMBA V"
CONFERENCE ON FOREST ECOSYSTEM SERVICES
On 5-6 November, the United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies (UNU/IAS) will host the Katoomba V Conference at the UN House in Tokyo. The theme of this international conference is "Capturing the Value of Ecosystem Services: Developing Markets for Environmental Assets."
"Katoomba" is the name given to the series of meetings on sustainable forest management that was launched in Katoomba, Australia, in April 2000. Katoomba V, the fifth in the series, will be the first major Japan-based event specifically addressing the business potential offered by forest ecosystems. The conference will focus on new markets and opportunities related to carbon and the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism, biodiversity, and ecosystem-based water management, as well as opportunities for socially responsible investment in ecosystem services enterprises.
Katoomba V is being organized by The Katoomba Group and Forest Trends, a US-based nonprofit organization (http://www.forest-trends.org). The meeting will be attended by representatives of forestry and finance companies, environmental policy and research organizations, governmental agencies, and private and nonprofit groups. Participants will review the latest concepts in developing markets for ecosystem services; examine international case studies on markets involving ecosystem assets and services; identify potential partners and investments associated with emerging markets for carbon, water management and biodiversity habitat; explore the risks to investors arising ecosystem degradation; and debate the future interplay of financial and environmental interests.
Keynote speakers at the conference will be Minoru Makihara, Chairman of Mitsubishi Corporation, and Phil Cottle, Partner, Re Agricultural Services. Conference sessions will examine "Green Investment Opportunities in Asia" (with individual session focusing on opportunities related to "carbon," "water" and "biodiversity") and "Environmental Investment Opportunities in Asia." Session speakers will include representatives from corporations in Japan and abroad, international organizations and government.
More information about Katoomba V, including the conference programme, is available online at http://www.katoombagroup.org.
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For further information, or to reserve a media seat at the Katoomba V conference, please contact:
UNU Public Affairs Section
Tel. (03) 5467-1243, -1246;
Fax (03) 3406-7346
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