UNDP Joins Hands with Multinational Company Partnering for Sustainable Development

UNDP Joins Hands with Multinational Company Partnering for Sustainable Development

March 29, 2006

UNDP Teams up with Stora Enso to Promote Sustainable Development and Social Welfare in Local Communities in Guangxi

    NANNING, Guangxi, China, March 29 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/
-- To strengthen Public-Private Partnerships and promote
the contributions of the private sector to sustainable
development in China, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
was signed today in Nanning, Guangxi between the United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Stora Enso, a
multinational company of paper products. 

    Through the MoU, a framework of cooperation (2006-2010)
will be established between UNDP and Stora Enso, focusing on
promoting sustainable development in local communities in
the following areas: conservation of biodiversity in
Guangxi, social engagement through rural communication and
information centers, and improving community social
well-being in areas of health, safe water, hygiene
practice, basic education and skills development.

    This initiative is an immediate follow-up of an
Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) conducted
by UNDP on Stora Enso's forest plantation project in Guangxi
Zhuang Autonomous Region.  A multi-stakeholder dialogue was
also held following the signing in which the methodology,
process and key findings of the ESIA were presented to the
representatives from the local government, academic and
local community. 

    "UNDP's decision to undertake this ESIA was based
on our previous experience in ESIA analyses and on our
poverty alleviation and environmental experience in China
during the past 26 years," said Renaud Meyer, UNDP
Deputy Resident Representative in China.  "We would
like to use this opportunity to demonstrate the potential
of these ESIAs to promote sustainable development and the
importance of public and private partnerships to China's
development."

    He noted that environmental and social impact
assessments are still relatively new in China.  "We
hope that the ESIA will prompt interest from other large
scale commercial and public projects and serve as a model
for similar ESIAs to be conducted in other places in the
country." 

    The ESIA report does not highlight any major social and
environmental `show-stoppers' but identifies issues in the
social dimension of the Stora Enso project while the
potential environmental impacts relate to plantation
operations and therefore could be mitigated through good
management.  Top priorities in the social area include the
need for Stora Enso to intensify communication with local
communities (potentially 100,000 households in land leasing
alone) to ensure that information reaches all levels of
affected communities effectively and transparently. 

    Meyer emphasized that community-oriented investments
are crucially important to create local employment and
wealth, while sustaining the environment.  "UNDP hopes
the ESIA and the MOU can help Stora Enso make a positive
contribution to the expanding estate of commercial
plantations in China and offer a benchmark for operational
best practices for large-scale investment projects.  It may
also play a role in Chinese Government's goal of
establishing criteria for "Green GDP," a
development concept strengthening effective biodiversity
management, and mainstreaming biodiversity in the planning
and investment process," he said. 

    For more information, please contact:

     Zhang Wei
     United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
     Tel:   [phone] ext.228
     Fax:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]

SOURCE  United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)