Remarks by Elena TischenkoCountry Director, UNDP CambodiaLaunch of study onYouth Civic Participation in CambodiaKnowledge, Attitudes, Practices and MediaMedia Briefing21 July 2011

Remarks by Elena Tischenko, UNDP Cambodia Country Directorat the Stakeholder Meeting onCambodia Human Development Report 20116 July 2011, Cambodiana Hotel Excellency THUK Kroeun Vutha, Secretary of State of Ministry of  Environment Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, Very warm welcome to this stakeholder meeting on the 2011 Cambodia Human Development Report. It is my pleasure and privilege to say a few open remarks at this important meeting as we come very close to the launch of the Cambodian Human Development Report 2011.  Thank you for taking time from your busy schedules to join us today.

I would like to welcome all of you to this round-table session for the scalability study in which you have all been participating over the last few months. It is a pleasure for me to see so many development partners joining in to discuss, develop and move forward with this initiative.

Good morning!  I am pleased to welcome all the participants to this important workshop.It is my special pleasure to welcome participation of government counterparts from: 1) The Council for the Development of Cambodia 2) Ministry of Interior 3) Ministry of Women’s Affairs 4) Forestry Administration 5) Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries 6) Ministry of Environment 7) Ministry of Planning 8) Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority And colleagues from the UNDP Country Office, This National Implementation Modality (NIM) Orientation training for our Implementing Partners comes very timely.  The Royal Government of Cambodia and UNDP agreed on the new five-year Country Programme and launched its implementation early this year.

- Venerable the Buddhist Monks, - Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, distinguished national and international guests, - All the participants. On behalf of the UNDP Country Office in Cambodia, I have the honor and privilege to participate today in the climate change awareness raising campaign to celebrate the National and the World Environment Day 2011 with the theme “Forests: Nature at Your Service.” As you all know, natural resources including forests, mountains, valleys, rivers, streams, lakes and wildlife, significantly contribute to socio-economic development and support local livelihoods. In connection with the theme for World Environment Day, I would like to highlight the importance of forests, which are natural assets serving our needs.