JEDDAH, 14 December 2006 — Prince Turki ibn Nasser, head of the Presidency of Meteorology and Environment (PME), said the main goal of the Second Islamic Conference of Environment Ministers, which began yesterday in Jeddah, is to seek cooperative strategies for preserving natural beauty in the Islamic world.
Prince Turki also announced plans to launch the first TV channel specialized in environment.
“The Saudi private sector has agreed to finance the project,” he added.
Interior Minister Prince Naif opened the conference on behalf of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah.
The Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) and the PME organized the conference. Prince Turki said that the parts of the Muslim world that have been worst affected are areas that have been struck with natural disasters and wars.
“When there is an environmental catastrophe, the effect is not only exclusive to that state; it affects all parts of the world,” he said.
Regarding the environmental situation in Iraq, he said there is an agreement among the United Nations, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq and Jordan to form a committee to study the Iraqi situation when it is to be fixed.
The participants at this conference include delegates from Islamic countries, as well as experts and notable figures in the field of environment protection.
The goals of the conference are to enact a joint legislation on sustainable development, develop methodologies to help officials better define measures that will protect the environment and natural resources, and finally establish an environment institution and an Islamic media information network specialized in the environment.
The conference will also address ISESCO’s progress in its effort in the field of environmental protection, health, education, renewable energy, and the steps to achieving sustainable development in the Islamic world.
The first part of the conference focused on reviewing the current draft strategy for sustainable development in the Islamic world.
The second part will be a review of the general framework of the program on natural disasters management. Finally, the conference will focus on the establishment of an environment information center and an Islamic environment network.
In addition, there will be a number of workshops where explanations and discussions on current environmental projects in the region will be discussed.
