October 2003: At its eleventh session, the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) invited the United Nations Regional Commissions to consider organizing regional implementation meetings to contribute to the work of the CSD. In response to this invitation, the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) convened a Regional Implementation Meeting from 27-28 October 2003, at the UN Conference Centre in Bangkok, Thailand. This meetings aimed to provide input on CSD-12’s thematic focus, namely water, sanitation and human settlements.

Approximately 90 participants representing 28 governments and several UN bodies, intergovernmental organizations and Major Groups attended the ESCAP forum, which was jointly organized with the DESA and in collaboration with the UN Development Programme. Participants heard panel presentations, engaged in multi-stakeholder discussions, and shared experiences and lessons learned in the CSD-12 thematic issue areas. Three break-out sessions focused on experiences in the Asia, Central Asia and the Pacific regions. Participants also heard a presentation on and discussed partnerships for sustainable development.

Meeting coverage by Earth Negotiations Bulletin can be found at: http://enb.iisd.org/csd/rim/escap/