26th PPSEAWA International Conference 2016 Report

The 26th PPSEAWA International Conference held at the Royale Chulan Hotel from, 22nd to 30 August 2016 saw a gathering of 181 PPSEAWA members from twelve PPSEAWA countries and about 50 local guests.

The planning of the technical presentations of the conference was done under the guidance of the Main Organising Committee and the International Council. The conference format followed the traditional format of PPSEAWA International Conferences except that it was shortened by a day.

The conference based on the theme RESPECT THE ENVIRONMENT FOR A SUSTAINABLE AND PEACEFUL FUTURE began with three days of preconference sessions addressing the following topics.

  • 22nd August YOUTH AND ENVIRONMENT
  • 23rd August WOMEN AND ENVIRONMENT
  • 24th August LOCAL GOVERNMENT, COMMUNITIES AND THE ENVIRONMENT

The main conference began on 25th August with the first day dedicated to the conference opening sessions

The conference was formatted beginning with business meetings in the morning wherein countries in turn presented their country reports. These were followed by plenary sessions where special guests were invited to speak on interesting initiatives with panel presentations based on the topic of the day.

Afternoon sessions were dedicated to sharing of experiences by selected persons invited who were working on local initiatives to preserve the environment. These sessions were participatory and generated a lot of interest from participants.

Another interesting feature of the conference were the live shows at the exhibition booths which demonstrated environment friendly initiative such as No Fuel Cooking, cooking of local recipes using garden grown herbs and spa and beauty sessions. Delegates enjoyed the display and sales of arts and crafts specially brought in by PPSEAWA country delegates.

The evenings were filled with dinners which gave delegates the opportunity to mingle with their fellow sisters and rekindle fond memories of previous conferences. They enjoyed the array of food and entertainment including the impromptu durian feast hosted by President PPSEAWA Malaysia. The highlight of the Cultural night was the showcase of traditional folklore princesses of the respective countries with stories told of their origins; both tales and costumes were colourful and delightful.

This report contains only the proceedings of the main conference. The other sessions will be reported in the full conference proceedings.

Paper presentations and country reports that were made available at the time of printing are contained in the annexes.

The technical committee would like to thank PPSEAWA Malaysia Patron Her Excellency MDM Rafidah Aziz for her continuing support and guidance throughout the conference, for gracing the opening session and for hosting the Patron’s dinner

Grateful thanks are also due to the invited guest speakers especially Her Excellency Tun Jean Abdullah and Prof Emerita Dr Sharifah Habsah for giving up their busy schedule for PPSEAWA.

Thank you to all plenary and panel speakers for their interesting and inspiring presentations, Thank you to PPSEAWA country representatives for sharing their country reports.

We are grateful to all PPSEAWA UN representatives and experts of the UN for an informative UN Day session and for their updates on current relevant issues in the international arena.

To all the chairs and moderators of the sessions we say thank you for so ably guiding the sessions and the discussions.

We are indebted to the rapporteurs for their painstaking efforts in recording the proceedings of the sessions under the able leadership of the chief rapporteur Mr Prabha. .

Thank you to President PPSEAWA Malaysia Mdm. Dato Rahmah Abdul Hamid who steered the organising committee and ensured the smooth running of the conference.

To members of the organising, technical, finance and other committees, we say a big thank you to each of you! YOU were the backbone of the conference!

We are also grateful to all volunteers and exhibitors who added variety to the conference

Grateful thanks are also due to the hosts of the field visits in Putrajaya and Melaka. Pictorial reports of field visits speak for themselves and delegates were happy to be able to visit other cities to learn from first hand experiences.

Last but not least we wish to express our heartfelt gratitude to the management and staff of Hotel Royale Chulan for their cooperation in meeting the needs of the conference and delegates and for all the logistic support provided.

To My Events and Services we are grateful for the communications and publicity, printing work and for your other support in sourcing out for sponsorships and for helping solve issues that may have arisen.

Thank you to all delegates for your active participation and support.

We hope you find this brief report informative and that it will provide some inspiration to continue PPSEAWA's journey as we move forward together to make our environment more safe and healthy for our future generations.

Thank you. Happy Reading!

Warm Regards from the Technical team
Datuk Raj Abdul Karim
Chair Technical Committee

Elected Office Bearers

  • President: Rahmah Abdul Hamid (Malaysia)
  • Immediate Past President: Teresa Hintzke (USA)
  • First Vice-President: Mondhiya Bhangsbha (Thailand)
  • Second Vice-President: Akari Yamada (USA)
  • Treasurer: Susan Iwamura (Hawaii)
  • Secretary: Mei-Chuan Chao (USA)
  • Vice-Presidents: Polly Chang (Taiwan R.O.C.), Kazuko Kano (Japan), Jean Bennett (Australia), Beryl Vincent (New Zealand)
  • Directors: Reapi Masau (Fiji), Sumiko Fukushima (Japan), Dr Pratiwi Sudarmono (Indonesia)
  • UN Representatives: Eleanor Schlesinger (USA) UN/NY, Kesinee Dulyatrat (USA): UN/NY, Dr Chaiskran Hiranpruk (Thailand): ESCAP, Dr Vanee MEisinger (Thailand): UN Vienna, Clarissa Starrey (Australia): UN Geneva, Dr Sumon Vangchuay (Thailand): UN Geneva, Teresa Hintzke (USA): CONGO, Mondhiya Bhangsbha (Thailand): Alternative CONGO Rep. for Asia Pacific