Nairobi,
8 August 2008 - More than two hundred scientists
from six continents converge in Nairobi
today to discuss ways to apply economics
to social and environmental sustainability.
Kenya's Prime Minister,
the Rt. Hon. Raila Odinga, will officially
open the 10th Biennial International Society
for Ecological Economics conference (ISEE
2008) at 6:30pm on 8th August 2008 at the
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
headquarters in Nairobi. UNEP's Deputy Executive
Director and UN Assistant Secretary General
Angela Cropper will also be one of the Chief
Guests at the meeting.
The five day conference,
under the theme 'Applying Ecological Economics
for Social and Environmental Sustainability',
will be attended by over 250 scientists
and practitioners from a broad range of
fields and institutions in six continents.
Ecological economics
recognizes that humans and their economies
are parts of larger natural ecosystems and
emphasizes the importance of mainstreaming
environmental considerations in economic
development planning.
The goal of the conference
is to further trans-disciplinary dialogue
in the face of climate change and globalization,
and particularly to engage young scientists
in developing countries to explore the relationship
between the natural world and human social
systems. The Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen Award
for an outstanding young scientist will
be granted for the first time at the conference.
Notes to editors:
The conference will
be held in collaboration with UNEP, the
African Society for Ecological Economics
(ASEE) and the African Technology Policy
Studies Network (ATPS).
Aside from Rt.
Hon. Raila Odinga and UNEP Deputy Executive
Director Angela Cropper, key guests include
Manfred Max-Neef (Universidad del Sul, Chile),
Arjen Hoekstra (University of Delft, Netherlands),
Zhu Dajian (Tongji University, Shanghai),
Helga Weisz and Marina Fischer-Kowalski
(Klagenfurt University, Austria), William
Beinart (Oxford University, UK), Charles
Okidi (University of Nairobi) and Charles
Perrings (University of Arizona, USA).
Anne-France White, UNEP Associate Information
Officer
