I have often said that Myanmar is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change on the planet. Numerous natural disasters befall the country every year, which stand to be exacerbated by a warming planet. Myanmar’s infrastructure to deal with these impacts is extremely limited, leaving millions of lives and livelihoods exposed to serious danger.
My visit to both Nay Pyi Taw and Yangon was to understand how we can support efforts in the current political environment. I discussed these issues with senior government representatives, including the State Counsellor, Aung Sang Suu Kyi and the Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation, Ohn Win.
Business leaders and NGOs in Myanmar will play a critical role in tackling environmental issues, and so I also held talks with executives in Yangon and witnessed drone technology used by an NGO for mangrove replanting. Needless to say, the broader UN family is also hard at work across a number of priorities in Myanmar. I took the opportunity to be briefed by the UN country team on the current issues, and discussed how UN Environment can play a strategic role in building confidence in the UN with the Myanmar government and population.
While in the region, I traveled through Malaysia. The country's ecology is megadiverse and encompasses vast tropical rainforests. It further holds the world's fifth largest mangrove area. At the same time, it suffers high rates of deforestation and pollution which threaten to destroy this treasure. On my trip to the country for discussions with government partners, the government welcomed further engagement with UN Environment in areas such as providing technology, financing and expertise on urbanization and sustainable cities.
The latter was the dominant topic for my participation at the World Urban forum in Kuala Lumpur. I was proud to sign an Memorandum of Understanding with the World Organization of the Scout Movement. Their 60 million-odd young members present a unique opportunity to engage young people. I look forward to their strong support for World Environment Day this year and at the UN Environment Assembly next year.
The Urban Forum was also an excellent opportunity to expand our work with private sector entities on urban spaces, such as with ENGIE, a French energy company delivering district-energy solutions.
