We would like to invite all of you on Interaction Program on "Malé Declaration on Control and Prevention of Air Pollution and its Likely Transboundary Effects for South Asia", which is going to be organized in following date and venue.

Venue: Center for Pollution Studies, Institute of Engineering, Pulchowk
Date: 8 September 2006, Friday,3:00 PM– 5:00

The seventh meeting of the Governing Council of SACEP was held in April 1998 in Malé, the Republic of Maldives, and adopted the declaration naming it the "Malé Declaration on Control and Prevention of Air Pollution and its likely Transboundary Effects for South Asia" . Participating countries are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Iran, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

The major objectives of this declaration are:

• To achieve intergovernmental cooperation
• Formulate the general principles of intergovernmental cooperation
• Set up an institutional framework linking scientific research and policy formulation.
• To draw up and implement national and regional action plans and protocols based on a fuller understanding of transboundary air pollution issues.

In the case of Nepal, Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology is working as National Focal Point (NFP) and ICIMOD is National Implementing Agency (NIA) to implement this declaration.

To enhance coordination and information sharing among the ongoing initiatives on air in the region as well as from other regions, every year regional stakeholders meeting and regional coordination meeting is organized. The first regional stakeholder meeting was held in October 2003 in Dhaka, Bangladesh and second meeting in New Delhi 2005.The third Regional Stakeholders meetings cum regional coordination meeting is going to be held on September 11-15 in Bhutan. On this occasion we are going to organize an interaction program on " A Malé Declaration on Control and Prevention of Air Pollution and its Likely Tran boundary Effects for South Asia" .

The main aims of interaction program include:

• Increase the awareness on the transboundary air pollution;
• Share and receive the stakeholders views and ideas on the implementation of Malé Declaration;
• Highlight the initiation and achievement made till date in Nepal under Male Declaration
• Review of air pollution related initiatives in South Asia by the intergovernmental meeting of the Malé Declaration.
• Enhance coordination and information sharing among different stakeholders at national level