UN, Korea to help Cambodia tackle pollution

30 December 2010

UN, Korea to help Cambodia tackle pollution

Floating house on the Mekong Delta in Cambodia. © Andesign101 

The United Nations has announced a new partnership with the Republic of Korea's international development agency to facilitate the transfer of environmentally sound technologies to help Cambodia tackle pollution.

The agreement signed in Vienna is the first between the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).

Under its terms, KOICA will provide UNIDO with USD900,000 to set up a trust fund that will be used for the identification, assessment and prioritization of pollution "hot spots" and transfer of environmentally sound technologies in the Cambodian section of the Mekong River.

The project will help improve the water quality of the Mekong River and reduce the negative impacts from industrial activities through the introduction of UNIDO's integrated approach for the transfer of environmentally sound technology.

The two-year project will be implemented by UNIDO in cooperation with the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy, and the Ministry of Environment of Cambodia.

It is funded by the East Asia Climate Partnership, which was established by the Republic of Korea in 2008 to assist developing countries in East Asia that are coping with both economic growth and climate change simultaneously.

The Vienna-based UNIDO helps developing countries to secure resource-efficient low-carbon growth, which creates new jobs while protecting the environment.

It also helps them move to clean technologies and implement environmental agreements, and provides them with services and expertise to promote sustainable patterns of production.

All of this is part of the agency's efforts to promote 'Green Industry' - industry that does not harm the environment.

Source: Energy Enviro Finland