[asia-apec 688] Correction! APPA Forest Forum

[A. Paige Fischer]

Actually, Pacific Environment and Resources Center (PERC) does plan to
organize a meeting on FORESTS and TRADE on November 11 and 12. 

PERC will co-organize the meeting with American Lands Alliance and any
interested Malaysian group.

This meeting will bring together forest activists and community members from
many APEC countries.  We will discuss APEC's current plan to remove tariffs
and regulations on forest product trade.  We will also develop
community-based strategies for protecting Pacific Rim forests and
forest-dependent people from the increased exploitation and consumption of
forests that will result from free trade. 

For more information, please contact Paige Fischer, Pacific Environment and
Resources Center, <perc at igc.org>.  


At 03:11 PM 9/21/98, PAN Asia Pacific wrote:
>Labour
>Date: 11&12 November 1998
>Local lead organisers: Labour Resource Centre, National Union of Transport
Equipment
>
>Workers are most affected by the globalisation phenomena. The Asia Pacific
Economic 
>Cooperation (APEC), was specifically set up to speed up the pace of trade
liberalisation and to 
>create the world's most resourceful and liberal market that is conducive to
capital movement and 
>profit maximisation. The emphasis on export-oriented production, rapid
growth and a complete 
>reliance on foreign investment has  led to the denial of union rights,
heavy workload, lack of social 
>security, inadequate wages and poor health and safety standards for
millions of workers around the 
>region.
>
>The major themes of the labour forum are: 
>-linking the current economic crisis with globalisation and liberalisation 
>-assessing the full impact of the economic crisis on workers 
>-To develop strategies for workers around the region against globalisation.
>
>Human Rights, Democracy and Militarisation 
>Date: 11&12 November 1998 
>Local lead organisers: Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM)
>
>Globalisation and its impact on citizens, manifested more directly through
the economic crisis, has 
>further deteriorated human rights in the region. The human rights forum
will be broken up into two 
>parts: 
>-Exposure and discussion on the local human rights situation, followed by 
>-An international meeting
>
>The meeting will be a gathering of human rights victims and activists from
around the Asia Pacific, 
>to discuss issues and trends affecting human rights in the region. A
serious reflection of the UDHR 
>after 50 years, will be done to help capture and analyse the actual human
rights situation in our 
>respective countries. There will also be case presentations from South
Korea, Indonesia and 
>perhaps a Latin American country.
>
>Privatisation and Financial Deregulation
>Date: 11 &12 November 1998
>Local lead organisers: Charles Santiago
>
>The theme for this forum is 'The Peoples Alternative to Financial
Deregulation and Privatisation'.  
>Several  major issues will be addressed with the following topics:
>-Government, Civil Society and the Retrenchment of the Public Sector: The
Privatisation of 
>Healthcare and Social Services.
>-People's Response and Action Against Financial Deregulation and Privatisation
>-Alternative Models of Development - alternative international financial
architecture that is sustain-
>able and people centred.
>-The Fight Against the MAI and WTO
>-The Future of the State and Civil Society in the Era of Financial
Deregulation and Privatisation.
>
>The 3rd Women's Conference Against APEC
>Date: 8-9 November 1998
>Local lead organisers: Pesticide Action Network- Asia and the Pacific
(PAN-AP), Tenaganita
>
>The third International Women's Conference Against APEC, has the theme:
'Women Resist 
>Globalisation. Assert Women's Rights'. The women's groups around the Asia
Pacific have kicked 
>off their own campaigns against globalisation and have convened meetings in
the last two parallel 
>peoples summits held in Manila, 1996 and Vancouver, 1997. The main
objectives of the conference 
>are:
>- To assess new emerging trends of globalisation and liberalisation, which
will have major 
>implications on the lives of women and women's rights.
>-To enhance women's participation and leadership in forwarding development
alternatives with 
>women's vision
>-To strengthen women's global perspective and analysis
>-To develop strategies for resistance against globalisation
>-To strengthen solidarity among women
>
>Student & Youth
>Date: 7-10 November 1998 
>Local lead organisers: Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall Youth, Selangor
Graduates Society, Youth 
>Centre
>
>This forum will address three main areas of concern:
>-Privatisation and Education
>-Job Security
>-Human Rights
>
>
>Urban Poor
>Date: 11&12 November 1998
>Local lead organisers: Parti Rakyat Malaysia, Nadi Komunikasi, Support
Committee for Urban 
>Settlers (JSPB)
>
>Globalisation and industrialisation can be said to be directly responsible
for the rapidly growing 
>urban poor communities around the region. TNC's, by setting base in
developing countries, have 
>created huge demands for industrial workers, causing massive population
shifts from rural to urban 
>areas. Although these rural migrants were encouraged to come live in the
city, through several 
>major economic policies adopted by government, the infrastructure needed to
accommodate a 
>bigger population, especially for housing, went unnoticed. Housing needs
became a huge problem, 
>leaving large numbers of people to build their own shelters which later
grew into communes, known 
>as squatter areas.
>The urban poor forum, which will be held at a squatter community, will
address these 
>contradictions. It will focus on forced evictions and involuntary
displacement of communities that 
>make way for rapid development. There will be a visit to several urban poor
communities around 
>Kuala Lumpur. The forum will bring together leaders of urban poor
communities in Malaysia and 
>around the region, peoples' organisations and NGOs working on land rights
and housing rights 
>issues. Common regional trends of involuntary displacement will be
assessed, to develop a 
>common response and strategy to protect the rights of urban poor
communities with the growing 
>threat of globalisation.
>
>Indigenous People
>Date: 6-7 November 1998
>Local lead organisers: Borneo Research Institute
>
>The indigenous peoples' forum will have the theme of displacement from
their native lands, and 
>involuntarily relocated into commercial plantation schemes, as a result of
development projects. 
>Case studies
>from around the region will be presented.
>
>Migrant Labour
>Date: 11 & 12 November 1998
>Local lead organisers: Tenaganita
>
>The forum will focus on 3 main areas facing migrant workers in the region.
They are: 
>-the increasing erosion of the rights of migrant workers, especially in the
context of globalisation, 
>and the Asian economic crisis;
>-the continuous decline on the quality of life of the migrants and their
families. This includes 
>healthcare, education, housing and other amenities;
>- the control and lack of democratic participation of migrants in decision
making, in the right to form 
>associations or join unions, especially with receiving countries that are
becoming more repressive.
>There will be a photo exhibition, from November 10-15, the launch of
posters and the migrant 
>yearbook on 11 November, a press conference on November 15, and will close
with a solidarity 
>evening with migrant workers.
>
>Globalisation and Children 
>Date: 11 & 12 November 1998 
>Local lead organiser: Salinlahi (Philippines)
>
>Participants of this forum would comprise street children, child workers
and children of migrant 
>workers, within the age group of 11-15 years old. Participants will be
divided into five workshops of 
>15 children each where a specific module will be used which will view these
children as survivors 
>rather than victims.
>
>Consumers
>Date: 11 November 1998
>Local lead organiser: Third World Network
>
>The forum will dwell on the nature and risks of globalisation and
liberalisation on consumers.  It will 
>focus on latest developments by major institutions such as the World Bank,
World Trade 
>Organisation, International Monetary Fund etc. where further liberalisation
initiatives are being 
>launched by the TNCs and G7 countries. The forum will also explore ways in
which citizens of the 
>Asia-Pacific region can link up better to avoid further crises.
>
>Land, Food Security and Agriculture 
>Date: 11 & 12 November 1998 
>Local lead organiser: PAN-AP
>
>The forum on food security and agriculture is a two-day event to examine
the impacts of 
>globalisation on food security and agriculture and to develop alternatives.
The forum will open with 
>an overview of trade agreements and reports from representatives of
farmers' movements from 
>Chiapas, Korea, Philippines, Thailand, and Malaysia. In the afternoon,
participants will break into 
>workshops. There will be five workshops on land issues and resources,
aquatic resources, trade 
>agreements and institutions, agribusiness TNCs, and grassroots resistance
and alternatives. On 
>the second day, participants will join in a plenary session to build a
common analysis and share 
>action plans from the workshops.
>(Please note that the Strategies of Peasant Movements Forum has amalgamated
with this forum)
>
>Community Livelihood 
>Date: 11 & 12 November 1998 
>Local lead organiser: Sustainable Development Network (SUSDEN)
>
>There is a fundamental flaw in our development approach. This is because
our current economic 
>model is dominantly capital-centred and not people-centred. To remedy the
flaw, the strategy is to 
>transform the decision-making framework to a people-centred approach. Then
and only then can 
>we attain a development that is socially just, ecologically sustainable,
economically viable, politically 
>participatory and culturally vibrant.
>
>The APEC meeting in November in Malaysia is a timely forum to bring
together development 
>practitioners and community entrepreneurs in the region to see how regional
groupings such as 
>APEC impact on the people.   The forum will not only examine the impacts on
livelihoods 
>maintained through community enterprises but also on options for fair
trade, environmental 
>conservation and people-centred sustainable development.
>
>Media
>Date: 11 &12 November 1998
>Local lead organiser: None
>
>The media forum will have two main issues: the globalisation of information
and press freedom in 
>the region.
>
>Environment and Forestry
>CANCELLED
>
>Please contact the APPA Secreatariat for registration information
>at <appasec at tm.net.my>
>
>
>