5 March, 2008 - Environment
Minister Trevor Mallard today announced
that Dr Rajendra Pachauri (UN Inter-governmental
Panel on Climate
Change Nobel laureate), President Tong of
Kiribati and Achim Steiner (United Nations
Environment Programme Executive Director)
will be coming to New Zealand to help celebrate
the internationally recognised World Environment
Day on 5 June this year.
"This is the first
time New Zealand has hosted the United Nations
Environment Programme event since its establishment
in 1972. Dr Pachauri, President Tong and
Mr Steiner will be joining other guests
and international journalists at New Zealand’s
celebrations. (biographies are attached)
"The World Environment
Day theme for 2008 is ‘Working Towards a
Low Carbon Economy’. New Zealand has already
indicated its intention to lead the charge
internationally in becoming carbon neutral.
We have announced a carbon emissions trading
scheme as well as around 170 initiatives
by government agencies targeting action
at many levels from the household to the
international arena – all part of the Labour-led
government's goal of New Zealand being the
first truly sustainable country," Trevor
Mallard said.
"Hosting World
Environment Day is a tremendous opportunity
for New Zealand to showcase the great things
we are doing nationally, regionally and
internationally to reduce the impacts of
climate change. On 5 June, when heads of
state, prime ministers, ministers, VIPs
and organisations across the world mark
World Environment Day, all eyes will be
on New Zealand.
"We are encouraging
community groups, district and regional
councils, industry, business, sports teams,
and schools to organise and participate
in regional and local events. World Environment
Day is intended to be a people’s event celebrated
with colourful activities such as street
parades, bike parades, essay and poster
competitions in schools, tree planting,
as well as recycling and clean-up campaigns.
"The core programme
includes the Art for the Environment Exhibition
with works from renowned international artists;
a photographic exhibition from the International
Photographic Competition on the Environment;
and an international children’s painting
competition. More information on the event
and how to get involved is at www.world.environment.govt.nz.
"This is also a
great chance for New Zealanders to increase
their environmental awareness and put it
into action. For practical information on
how to be eco-friendly, (and often save
money and be healthier at the same time),
check out www.sustainability.govt.nz/. This
interactive website has practical information
and also invites people to register some
steps for sustainability, at the section
'My Next Step'."
Biographies – World
Environment Day
ACHIM STEINER
Following the nomination by the Secretary-General,
the General Assembly, on 16 March 2006,
elected Achim Steiner of Germany as Executive
Director of the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP) for a four-year term.
Mr Steiner is currently
the Director-General of IUCN -- the World
Conservation Union -- the world’s largest
environmental network with over 1000 members
including States, government agencies, and
non-governmental organizations in 140 countries.
He has worked both at
the grass-roots level and at the highest
levels of international policy making to
address the interface between environmental
sustainability, social equity, and economic
development.
His professional career
has included assignments with governmental
and non-governmental, as well as international
organizations in different parts of the
world. In Washington, where he was Senior
Policy Adviser of the IUCN Global Policy
Unit, he led the development of new partnerships
between the environment community and the
World Bank and United Nations system. In
South-East Asia, he worked as Chief Technical
Adviser on a programme for sustainable management
of Mekong River watersheds and community-based
natural resources management. In 1998, he
was appointed Secretary-General of the World
Commission on Dams, based in South Africa,
where he managed a global programme of work
to bring together the public sector, civil
society, and the private sector in a global
policy process on dams and development.
In 2001, he was appointed
Director-General of the World Conservation
Union, widely regarded as one of the most
influential and highly respected organisations
in the field of conservation, environment
and natural resources management. As Chief
Executive, he has held responsibility for
the management and oversight of 1000 staff
located in 42 countries, implementing the
Union’s global work programme.
His professional track
record in the fields of sustainable development
policy and environmental management, his
first-hand knowledge of civil society, governmental
and international organizations, as well
as his global experience spanning five continents
make him an excellent choice to lead the
United Nations Environment Programme.
Mr Steiner was born
in Brazil in 1961 where he lived for 10
years. His educational background includes
a Bachelor of Arts from the University of
Oxford, as well as a Master of Arts from
the University of London with specialization
in development economics, regional planning,
and international development and environment
policy. He also studied at the German Development
Institute in Berlin, as well as the Harvard
Business School.
Mr Steiner serves on
a number of international advisory boards,
including the China Council for International
Cooperation on Environment and Development
(CCICED) and the Environmental Advisory
Council (ENVAC) of the European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
RAJENDRA PACHAURI
Rajendra Pachauri is director-general for
The Energy and Resources Institute, which
conducts research and provides professional
support in the areas of energy, environment,
forestry, biotechnology and the conservation
of natural resources.
Prior to this, Pachauri
held managerial positions with the Diesel
Locomotive works in Varanasi, and served
as assistant professor and visiting faculty
member in the Department of Economics and
Business at North Carolina State University.
In 2002, he was elected
Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change, and in 2001, he was awarded
the Padma Bhushan by the president of India
for his contributions to the environment.
Pachauri taught at Yale University's School
of Forestry and Environmental Studies in
2000 as a McCluskey Fellow.
In 1999, he was appointed
by Japan to the Board of Directors of the
Institute for Global Environmental Strategies,
Environment Agency. He is also president
of the India Habitat Centre.
Pachauri has sat on
various international and national committees
and boards, including the International
Solar Energy Society, the World Resources
Institute Council, the International Association
for Energy Economics, and the Asian Energy
Institute.
He has also contributed
to the Economic Advisory Council to the
Prime Minister of India; the Panel of Eminent
Persons on Power, the Ministry of Power;
Delhi Vision - Core Planning Group; the
Advisory Board on Energy, reporting directly
to the Prime Minister; the National Environmental
Council, under the chairmanship of the Prime
Minister; and the Oil Industry Restructuring
Group, 'R' Group.
Pachauri earned an M.S.
in industrial engineering, a Ph.D. in industrial
engineering, and a Ph.D. in economics from
North Carolina State University.
PRESIDENT ANOTE TONG,
KIRIBATI
Anote Tong is serving his second term as
President (Te Beretitenti) of Kiribati,
after being re-elected in October last year.
He also holds the cabinet portfolio of Foreign
Affairs and Immigration. His constituency
is Maiana Island, an outer island within
sailing distance of Tarawa, the capital
island.
President Tong was educated
in Kiribati before attending St Bede’s College,
Christchurch and graduating from Canterbury
University with a Bachelor of Science degree.
He later gained a Masters in Economics degree
from the London School of Economics.
Before entering politics
in 1994, President Tong worked in the Kiribati
government sector, the Pacific Islands Forum
Secretariat and a research and development
unit at the University of the South Pacific,
Fiji.
President Tong is noted
as a leader in environmental and sustainability
discussions, notably in the Pacific Islands
Forum, with his country vulnerable to the
impacts of climate change.
Kiribati comprises 32
atolls and one high island (Banaba Island)
scattered across almost 4000km of the Pacific
Ocean, straddling the equator and with the
majority of atolls little more than six
metres above sea level. Kiribati has recently
created the world’s largest marine reserve,
the Phoenix Islands Protected Area which
is 410,500 square kilometres in size.
Kiribati’s population
is around 100,000, with forty percent aged
under 15. Economic development prospects
are limited and urban population growth,
overcrowding and sustainable development
pose a challenge, particularly in Tarawa
where half the population lives. There are
also challenges with potable water, sanitation
and waste disposal, coastal erosion, over-fishing
and depletion of natural resources. Parts
of Kiribati are currently experiencing a
severe drought.
+ More
Te Mihi call-in - Board
of Inquiry appointed
6 March, 2008 - Environment
Minister Trevor Mallard today announced
the members of a Board of Inquiry to consider
Contact Energy’s proposal for a new geothermal
power station at Te Mihi near Taupo.
Trevor Mallard has appointed
a four-person board with Judge Gordon Whiting
as the chairperson and Dr Patrick Browne,
Denis Nugent and Glenice Paine as the board
members.
The role of the board
is to consider submissions on Contact’s
applications for resource consent, to hold
a public hearing and to make a final decision
on its Te Mihi geothermal power station
proposal.
"I am pleased to
have a board chairperson and board members
of such high calibre. In appointing the
board members, I have considered their individual
and collective expertise including technical
skills about geothermal generation and their
understanding of the Resource Management
Act (RMA), hearing procedures and of tikanga
Maori," said Trevor Mallard.
"I am confident
the board members bring the appropriate
skills and knowledge to this decision making
process," he said.
On 22 January Trevor
Mallard called in Contact’s applications
for the Te Mihi proposal because of the
proposal’s national significance. The call-in
combines the council’s consideration and
a potential Environment Court appeal process
into a single consideration by a Board of
Inquiry. The board will make final decisions
on the application in accordance with district
and regional plans.
Biographical information:
Judge Gordon Whiting
was admitted to the bar in 1968 and is experienced
in resource management law. He has been
a District Court and an Environment Court
judge since 1997. As an Environment Court
judge he presided over many resource management
cases, including applications for geothermal
developments.
Dr Patrick Browne is
a geologist and geochemist specialising
in geothermal fields. He is an Honorary
Research Fellow with the Institute of Earth
Sciences and Engineering at Auckland University.
He has been involved in considering and
assessing geothermal developments in the
Waikato and in the Bay of Plenty. Dr Browne
will bring a technical understanding of
geothermal systems and geothermal field
development to the Board.
Denis Nugent is an independent
planning and resource management consultant.
He is an accredited RMA decision maker.
Mr Nugent was appointed in 1992 as a member
of the Board of Inquiry into the draft New
Zealand Coastal Policy Statement. He has
provided independent planning advice to
Environment Waikato on geothermal proposals.
He will bring a wide range of planning and
resource management expertise to the Board.
Glenice Paine is of
Te Atiawa and Ngai Tahu descent. She has
RMA experience serving as Te Atiawa’s Resource
Management Officer. She was appointed in
2006 as a member of the special tribunal
to consider an application to amend the
Buller Water Conservation Order. She was
appointed to Nga Kahiautu Tikanga Taioa
(Maori Advisory Committee to the Environmental
Risk Management Authority) in 2003 and was
reappointed for a further term in 2006.
Ms Paine will bring a strong understanding
of tikanga Maori, community and conservation
values to the Board. She is accredited under
the RMA Making Good Decisions programme.
