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August 6, 1997
(Tourism, Culture and Recreation)

Elizabeth Dowdeswell to Address Summit of the Sea
Three heads of UN agencies to speak at conference

Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), will be addressing the Summit of the Sea Conference in St. John's on Friday, September 5, 1997.

Ms. Dowdeswell is one of three heads of UN agencies scheduled to speak at the conference. Also speaking will be Dr. Federico Mayor, Director General of UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and William O'Neil, Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the UN agency governing shipping and non-living resource development.

The mandate of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) is to provide leadership and encourage partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations. Ms. Dowdeswell will be speaking on these and other oceans issues.

She will be accompanied by a delegation from the UNEP Regional Seas Programme. The Regional Seas Programme is focussed on the mitigation or elimination of the causes and consequences of environmental degradation in the world's oceans. It includes 13 regions world-wide with well over 140 coastal states and territories participating.

Before joining the United Nations, Ms. Dowdeswell was an assistant deputy minister with the Canadian federal department of Environment, responsible for the national weather and atmosphere agency. She played a leading role in the negotiations of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio.

Contact: Jan Woodford, Public Relations, (709) 729-4323, Email: jwoodfor@cabot500.gov.nf.ca

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Biography
ELIZABETH DOWDESWELL

As Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Elizabeth Dowdeswell has set in motion the transformation of the organization from one that dealt in a traditional manner with environment issues to one that confronts environmental challenges within the context of globalization, economic development and social well-being.

Today, UNEP's competence lies in its analytical capacity and in its facilitating and catalytic role. UNEP's programmes in areas of environmental law, sustainable production and consumption, state of environment assessment and reporting, human-health and well-being, globalization, natural resources, and environmental technology are reflective of its new focus and direction. It is interesting to note that UNEP was the first UN agency to totally reorient itself to the mandate entrusted to it in the Earth Summit's Agenda 21.

Ms. Dowdeswell has worked hard to build stronger alliances within the United Nations system and with international organizations. One example of UNEP's strong emphasis on partnerships within the UN family is UNEP's relationship with the world Bank and the United Nations Development Programme in the global Environment facility, a fund for cost-effective, environmentally sound projects in developing countries.

Ms. Dowdeswell is also known as a tireless champion for building public awareness of environmental issues and for improves environmental education. In this regard, UNEP has launched a Global Environmental Citizenship Programme designed to engage and educate civil society to respond to environmental challenges.

Before joining the United Nations, Ms. Dowdeswell was Assistant Deputy Minister responsible for the national weather and atmosphere agency of the Canadian Department of Environment. In this capacity, Ms. Dowdeswell played a leading role in the establishment of the Intergovernmental Panel on climate Change and the negotiation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change adopted in 1992 at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro.

Ms. Dowdeswell has also been Canadian Chair of the Canada-United States International Joint Commission's Great Lakes Water Quality Board. She has worked as a management consultant to the federal government and led a number of public inquiries into such politically sensitive areas as Canada's unemployment benefits programme and water policy including water pricing.

Ms. Dowdeswell has served as Deputy Minister of Culture and Youth of the Province of Saskatchewan. Her early career included terms as a human rights ombudsman and educational consultant, university lecturer and high school teacher.

She holds a Master of Science degree in behavioural sciences from Utah State University, a Bachelor of Science in home economics; a teaching certificate from the University of Saskatchewan; and numerous honorary degrees.

Background
The UNEP Regional Seas Programme

The Regional Seas Programme was created in 1974 as a global programme for the management of marine and coastal resources, the control of marine pollution and the development of action plans. implemented through regional components. Agenda 21, the UN General Assembly and the Governing Council of UNEP have endorsed the regional approach taken by the Programme.

The Regional Seas Programme is an action-oriented and focussed not only on the mitigation or elimination of the consequences but also of the causes of environmental degradation. It has a comprehensive, integrated, result oriented approach to combatting environmental problems through the rational management of marine and coastal areas.

It includes 13 regions world-wide with well over 140 coastal States and Territories participating. The various action plans include:

Mediterranean Action Plan
Kuwait Action Plan
West and Central African Action Plan
Caribbean Action Plan
East Asian Seas Action Plan
South-East Pacific Action Plan
Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Action Plan
South Pacific Action Plan
Eastern African Action Plan
South Asian Seas Action Plan
North-West Pacific Action Plan
Black Sea Action Plan

Cooperation under the auspices of UNEP is also being developed in the South-West Atlantic, but no action plan exists yet.

The Regional Seas Program operates under the Oceans and Coastal Areas Unit of UNEP, which is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya. This also serves as Secretariat for the Regional Seas Action Plans for regions where, at present, financial constraints prevent the establishment of a Secretariat in the Region. The location of the Regional Seas Coordinating Units is determined by governments and have been established in Athens, Greece; Kingston, Jamaica and Bangkok, Thailand. Secretariats hosted by regional organizations function in Kuwait, Jeddah, Western Samoa and Lima. Preparations are ongoing for the establishment of Regional Coordinating Units in the Seychelles and Ivory Coast.

For more information on the Regional Seas Programme, visit their website at: //www.unep.org/unep/program/natres/water/oca/home.htm

Background
THE SUMMIT OF THE SEA
A Global Effort to Sustain the Seas

The Summit of the Sea, it is the key environmental event of Newfoundland and Labrador's Cabot 500th Anniversary Celebrations, and the acknowledged precursor of the United Nations' 1998 International Year of the Ocean.

With a focus on achieving sustainable oceans development, the Summit will set the tone for oceans policy discussion throughout the coming year. It will have long-term influence, not only for the 30,000 fishery workers of Newfoundland and Labrador, but for 20 million fishers world-wide who depend on the ocean's bounty for their livelihoods.

A series of conferences will see a stellar list of participants and speakers, including Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Federico Mayor, Director General of UNESCO, Pulitzer Prize-winning author E. Annie Proulx, James Baker of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, prominent American oceans advocate and scientist Sylvia Earle, and Elisabeth Mann Borgese, founder and honorary chair of the International Ocean Institute.

They, along with a host of government and industry representatives, scientists and conservation activists, will address 3,000 international delegates in 12 conferences between August 27th and September 19th, and a core conference from September 1st to the 6th.

Where 5,000 humpback whales cross paths with 10,000 year-old icebergs, Newfoundland and Labrador is an unrivaled site for the Summit which seeks a truly sustainable relationship between humanity and the oceans.

Conference Information:

David Finn
Conference Coordinator
Summit of the Sea
Phone: (709) 729-1997
Fax: (709) 579-2067
E-mail: dfinn@cabot500.gov.nf.ca

Jan Woodford
Public Relations
Summit of the Sea
Phone: (709) 729-2343
Fax: (709) 579-2067
E-mail: jwoodfor@cabot500.gov.nf.ca

Summit of the Sea Website: //www.cabot500.nf.ca/summit