Disaster risk reduction essential for sustainable development

Ministers of Environment from Asia and the Pacific will meet from 24 to 29 March 2005 in Seoul, Republic of Korea, at the Fifth Ministerial Conference on Environment and Development in Asia and the Pacific convened by the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific of the United Nations. The Conference, which is held every five years, will explore ways and means by which environmental considerations could become an opportunity for economic growth and industrial competitiveness rather than a constraint and additional cost.