The Islamic Conference of Environment Ministers (ICEM) held its fifth session on 17-18 May 2012, in Astana, Republic of Kazakhstan. The Conference was organized by the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) and the General Presidency of Meteorology and Environment Protection (PMEP) of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in coordination with the General Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment Protection of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The 5th ICEM comes ten years after the convening of the first session in June 2002, in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, during which a founding document entitled “Jeddah Commitments on Sustainable Development” was adopted, laying down the first pillars of joint Islamic action in the field of the environment.

The Conference started in the first day with Experts Meeting Session where senior officials from the ministries of environment of the OIC member countries and experts from relevant OIC and other international and regional institutions reviewed and discussed a number of reference documents aimed at developing joint Islamic action in the field of the environment at the level of OIC member countries. These documents included the draft updated version of the “General Framework of the Islamic Agenda for Sustainable Development”, the draft “Executive Plan for the Implementation of the Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management in Islamic Countries”, and the draft “Islamic Declaration on Sustainable Development within the framework of the Islamic world’s participation in the Rio+20 Summit”. The Experts Meeting also examined the draft document on “Green Economy: its Role and Relevance in Islamic Countries” and a progress report on implementation of the project of “Islamic Academy for the Environment and Sustainable Development”.

At the official opening ceremony of the Ministerial Session, statements have been made by H.E. Mr. S. Ahmetov, First Deputy Prime Minister of Republic of Kazakhstan, His Royal Highness Prince Turki bin Nasser bin Abdulaziz, President of the 5th ICEM, Chairman of the Islamic Executive Bureau for Environment (IEBE) and President of General Presidency of Meteorology and Environment Protection of Saudi Arabia (PMEP), H.E. Mr. Nurlan Kaparov, Minister of Environment Protection of Republic of Kazakhstan, H.E. Dr Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri, Director General of ISESCO, and H.E. Ambassador Abdul Muiz Bukhari, Assistant Secretary General of the OIC for Since and Technology.

Following the opening ceremony, the Ministerial Working Sessions started under the Chairmanship of His Royal Highness Prince Turki bin Nasser bin Abdulaziz, where in the first sessions, the Ministers and Head of Delegations reviewed and discussed the reference documents of the conference and adopted the “Islamic Declaration on Sustainable Development within the framework of the Islamic world’s participation in the Rio+20 Summit”, which will be presented as part of the participation of the Islamic world in the Rio+20 Summit, due to be held by the United Nations in Brazil, in June 2012. They also adopted a set of resolutions on various areas of joint Islamic action in the field of the environment at the level of OIC member countries, such as Green Economy and its role and relevance in Islamic countries, the work plan for the implementation of the “Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management in Islamic Countries”, the updated version of the General Framework of the Islamic Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the project of the Islamic Academy for Environment and Sustainable Development.

In the second Ministerial Working Session, statements and reports were made by the Heads of Delegations of the member countries and international institutions. In this session, the Head of Delegation of SESRIC, Mr. Nabil Dabour, Director of Research Department, made a statement, in which he briefed the Conference on the activities of SESRIC in the field of environment under the three mandated areas of the Centre; statistics, research and training. In the area of statistics, he mentioned that the Centre has developed and regularly updated a section on “Environment” in the Centre’s main database “BASEIND” which includes major statistical indicators on environment issues in OIC countries. In the area of research, he mentioned that the Centre has so far prepared a number of technical background reports on various aspects of environment in the member countries, such as “Environmental Sustainability and Performance in the OIC Countries”, “Climate Change and Kyoto Protocol: Implications for the OIC Member Countries”, “Climate Change: Challenges in the OIC Member Countries”, and “Climate Change: Impacts on Agriculture in OIC Countries”. He also briefed the Conference on the currently prepared technical document by the Centre, in collaboration with the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and other relevant international organizations titled “Strategic Framework for Disaster Risk Management in OIC Countries”. In the area of training, Mr. Dabour briefed the Conference on the Environment Capacity Building Programme of the Centre.

During the closing session, the Conference elected the members of the Islamic Executive Bureau for Environment and decided to hold the 6th Session of the Conference in 2014 in a member country to be decided on in due course based on the communications which will be undertaken by the ISESCO and the OIC General Secretariat with the member countries.

Documents

• Draft Agenda (English)
• Draft Programme (English)
• Draft Updated Version of the General Framework of the Islamic Agenda for Sustainable Development (English)
• Draft Document on Green Economy: Its Role and Relevance in Islamic Countries (English)
• Report on ISESCO's Activities in the Field of Sustainable Development over the Period 2002-2012 (English)
• Progress Report on Implementation of the Project of “Islamic Academy for the Environment and Sustainable Development (English)
• Report of the Second Meeting of the Islamic Executive Bureau for Environment (English)
• Draft Executive Work Plan for the Implementation of the Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management in Islamic Countries (English)