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08/03/2006 - Economic development all too often brings with it environmental degradation, damaging the interests of the very people it is supposed to help. To examine how best to coordinate development aid with policies to safeguard the environment, ministers of development and environment from the main aid-giving countries of the OECD will meet in Paris on 4 April.
Environmental issues are of particular concern in developing countries, where the need to raise levels of prosperity is most urgent. With millions of the world's poorest people dependent on natural resources for water, food, fuel and livelihoods, governments that give development aid want to work with developing countries to ensure that environmental issues are taken into account in the context of economic development.
In discussions led by Lena Sommestad, Sweden's minister of the environment, and Richard Manning, chair of the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee, participants in the Paris meeting will discuss ways to integrate concerns about environmental challenges such as climate change, desertification, and pollution into policies on funding for specific sectors, programmes and projects in developing countries.
More information on this meeting , including background material, is available on the OECD web site at www.oecd.org/epocdacmin2006 where further details on news conferences and media opportunities will be provided closer to the date. For further information, journalists are invited to contact the OECD Media Division (tel. + 331 45 24 97 00).
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