on 18 May 2006

ASEAN has designated the year 2006 as ASEAN Environment Year (AEY) and the AEY 2006 launch will take place at the Bogor Botanical Gardens in Indonesia on 18 May 2006 in conjunction with the 189th Anniversary of the Bogor Botanical Gardens.

The State Minister for Environment of Indonesia, H.E. Rachmat Witoelar, will preside over the launching along with several Environment Ministers from ASEAN Member Countries. 

The theme of AEY 2006 is "Biodiversity: Our Life, Our Future". The ASEAN region is well-known for its rich and unique biodiversity, with three of the seventeen mega bio-diverse countries in the world, namely, Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines.  Southeast Asia houses approximately 20 per cent of the world's species despite only accounting for 3 per cent of the world’s land coverage. There are approximately 27,000 species that are endemic to the region.

ASEAN Environment Year is celebrated every three years with the aim of promoting environmental awareness at all levels of society; highlighting ASEAN's environmental achievements; and strengthening partnerships among ASEAN Member Countries as well as the private sector, civil society and non-governmental organisations in addressing environmental challenges in the region.

Alongside the 2006 launch will be a four-day exhibition at the Bogor Botanical Gardens highlighting the value of biodiversity, in particular that of Indonesia. The event will be open to the public from 18 to 21 May 2006.

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For media inquiries please contact Suchela Phachaiyapoom, Public Affairs Office, the ASEAN Secretariat, at + (62-21) 726 2991 ext. 420 or email address suchela@aseansec.org.