The Seventh “Environment for Europe” Ministerial Conference, convened by the UN Economic Commission for Europe (ECE, or UNECE) Committee on Environmental Policy, is being prepared in accordance with the provisions of Reform Plan of the “Environment for Europe” process. This Conference will consider two main themes: “the sustainable management of water and water-related ecosystems” and “greening the economy: mainstreaming the environment into economic development.” Under the second theme, discussions will focus on the reduction of carbon emissions, energy efficiency, sustainable consumption and production, and the reconfiguration of financing and infrastructure to better accommodate environmental considerations. While the Astana Ministerial Conference is expected to address identified environmental issues of common concern in the UNECE region, the Conference provides an opportunity to address priority environmental issues in the Central Asian sub-region.  

dates: 21-23 September 2011   venue: Independence Palace   location: Astana, Kazakhstan   contact: Ministry of Environmental Protection   phone: +7 7172 74 00 09   fax: +7 7172 74 07 77   e-mail: anara_bulzhanova@eco.gov.kz   www: http://enb.iisd.org/crs/unece/efe7/