Mayor Karachi signs declaration for pollution control in big Asian cities

KARACHI: Mayor Karachi Wasim Akhtar representing Karachi in the 9th Regional (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle-3R) Forum in Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok on Tuesday signed a declaration of Asian Mayors for adopting measures to control water, air and land pollution in big cities of Asia.

The forum was co-organized by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (M0NRE) of Thailand, the Ministry of the Environment of the Government of Japan (MOB), and the United Nations Centre for Regional Development (UNCRD) of Division for Sustainable Development Goals (DSDG)/UN DESA.

According to a press release, the event is being held in Bangkok from March 4 to 6, being attended by the mayors of Asian cities and other representatives. The 9th Regional 3R Forum in Asia and the Pacific, under the theme of 3R, is a way of moving towards the issue that how 3R and resource efficiency could play a critical role in achieving sufficiency of economy.

“Worldwide there is a growing recognition of circular economic development approach as one of the key drivers towards achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” the press released added.

While the Asia-Pacific countries are progressively addressing and adopting 3R policies and programmes including technological interventions, the press release noted that the region still faces several challenges in achieving sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12), among others.