2019 – Posted in: Daily News – Tags: South Asia, UNEP’s Regional Seas Programme.

South Asia Co-operative Environment Programme

For: Preliminary & Mains

Topics covered:

The 15th meeting of the Governing Council of South Asia Co-operative Environment Programme (SACEP) is going to be organised in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

SACEP

SACEP is an inter-governmental organization, established in 1982 by the governments of South Asia.
The objective is to promote and support protection, management and enhancement of the environment in the region
Member countries include Afghanistan , Bangladesh , Bhutan , India , Maldives , Nepal , Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
SACEP acts as the Secretariat for the South Asian Seas Programme, which comes under the purview of UNEP’s Regional Seas Programme.
SACEP supports the national government’s efforts for environmental protection and sustainable development.
Since its creation, SACEP has implemented a number of projects and programs in the areas of environmental education, environment legislation, biodiversity, air pollution, and the protection and management of the coastal environment.
SACEP is also the secretariat for the South Asian Seas Programme.

The region covers almost one twentieth of the earth’s surface and provides a home for about one fifth of the world population.
South asia is home to 14 percent of the world’s remaining mangrove forests and the sundarbans found between Bangladesh and India is one of the largest continuous mangrove stretch in the world .
6 percent of the world’s coral reefs are in the South Asian seas. The atolls of Maldives and Lakshadweep islands of the region, are biodiversity rich marine habitats.
Hindu Kush Himalayan belt is home to over 25,000 major plant species, comprising 10 percent of the world’s flora.
The region is prone to natural disasters such as cyclones, floods and landslides. From 1990-1999, the region accounted for over 60 percent of disaster-related deaths worldwide.

Important Information

India has signed an MoU with SACEP for cooperation on the response to Oil and Chemical Pollution in the South Asian Seas Region.