ÿÿ

Following the untimely death of Kong Ha, the CAI-Asia Chairperson, there was a need to fill the vacancy left by this sad event. We appreciate Elisea (Bebet) Gozun's willingness to serve as the Acting Chairperson of CAI-Asia in the coming months.

Bebet comes well prepared to the job. She has been involved with air quality as (i) an environmental campaigner though her participation in NGOs such as the Partnership for Clean Air; (ii) a consultant working on various air quality-related projects for ADB, the World Bank and other international organizations; and (iii) a senior government official when she was the Secretary of the Department of Environment of Natural Resources (DENR) of the Philippine government. Her contributions to promoting environmental sustainability in Asia were recognized by UNEP this year when she was one of the 7 persons who received the prestigous UNEP 2007 Environment Champion Award.

Pending the formation of the CAI-Asia Partnership Council, Bebet -- as Acting Chairperson -- will oversee the new CAI-Asia Partnership that was established by a decision of the CAI-Asia General Assembly on 12 December 2006. The 15-person CAI-Asia Partnership Council (which will be established over the next two months) will convene a 5-person Coordinating Committee that will become the officers of the new Partnership. The new CAI-Asia Chairperson will selected from among these 5 persons.

The CAI-Asia Secretariat looks forward to work with Bebet in the next months. Her involvement is important in ensuring the sustainablity of CAI-Asia.