Swedish Environment Secretariat in Asia

Background
How to contact us
The strive for sustainable development with all its facets is
By mail:
SENSA
one of the most complex and difficult undertakings ever
Embassy of Sweden
attempted by the global community. Environment is one of
P O Box 1324
the pillars upon which sustainable development is built.
Nana Post Office
Sida has for many years been an important partner to
Bangkok 10112
assist the efforts by governments and regional organizations
Thailand
Swedish Environment
in South-East Asia to solve environment problems. During
the past ten to fifteen years national capacity to deal with
By Phone:
Secretariat in Asia
such issues have been created in almost all countries in the
Tel: (66) 2 263-7200
region. The countries in South-East Asia have similar
Tel: (66) 2 263-7251 (Direct Bo Gohl)
problems and problems that do not recognize national
Tel: (66) 2 263-7252 (Direct Anders Thurén)
borders. Therefore Sida has also directly supported organiza-
Tel: (66) 2 263-7258 (Direct Secretary)
(SENSA)
tions that are active on a regional basis, e g IUCN, the
Mobile: 099684505 (Bo Gohl)
Mobile: 099684506 (Anders Thurén)
Mekong River Commission and the Asian Institute of
Technology, just to mention a few.
By Fax:
The Swedish Government has decided that cooperation
(66) 2 263-7260
between Sweden and Asia shall be intensified with respect to
Bangkok, Thailand
environment and sustainable development. Institutional
By E-mail:
cooperation, research cooperation, cooperation with civil
bo.gohl@sida.se
society and training will be part of this. Specifically, a
anders.thuren@sida.se
Swedish Environment Secretariat in Asia shall be created to
assist Sweden to further improve the quality of work in the
region.
How to visit us
SENSA is part of the Swedish International Development
17th Floor, One Pacific Place
Cooperation Agency, but has no resources of its own to fund
140 Sukhumvit Road (Between Soi 4 and 6)
projects. SENSA will be able to recruit consultants, organize
Bangkok 10110
workshops and function as a think tank. SENSA is initially
Thailand
staffed by two professionals plus local staff and is in this
(Next to Landmark Hotel)
initial phase part of the Swedish Embassy in Bangkok and
located in the same building.
Head Quarter Contact
Erik Skoglund
Department for Natural Resources and the Environment, Sida, 105
25 Stockholm,
Sweden
Tel: (46) 8 6985318
SWEDISH INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
E-mail: Erik.Skoglund@sida.se
COOPERATION AGENCY

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What is SENSA?
pollutants that have entered the groundwater, a steady
Environment and poverty
exhaustion of soils, etc. Quality of life is affected and
Economic growth alone is not enough to alleviate poverty.
SENSA is the Swedish ENvironment Secretariat in Asia and
economic growth is reduced. Many problems are not
Socio-economic and environmental concerns are both
is located in Bangkok, Thailand. SENSA is a regional
confined to one area or one country.
factors that have to be included in the fight to alleviate
advisory unit both for Sida HQs and the Swedish embassies
Governments and organizations in the region are taking
poverty.
located in the region.
these problems seriously and manpower and huge sums of
money are mobilized on a scale never seen before to change
Environment and disaster mitigation
Why was SENSA established?
the situation towards a more sustainable development. Many
Humanitarian aid is a rapidly growing part of the world’s
– SENSA will improve and increase the Swedish presence
organizations in the region are involved in the work to stop
development budget. Asia and Oceania is responsible for a
in South East Asia
and revert the trend of environmental destruction and to
rapidly increasing and disproportionately large part (60%)
– SENSA will facilitate networking between Swedish
mainstream environmental concerns into the development
of the world’s natural disasters. Many natural disasters have
activities in different countries in the region
of the region. Sometimes the excellent work of these
their roots in environmental changes and can thus be
– SENSA will strengthen interaction between Swedish
organizations can be better utilized.
mitigated or prevented.
organizations and South-East Asia
Some problems are best solved on a regional scale. The
– SENSA and its network will be a resource base for
causes are often complex and solutions can only be found
Environment and democracy
strategic analysis and assessment
when many aspects are tackled together. Many specialised
The connection between democracy and damage to the
– SENSA will ensure better use of existing regional
organisations are involved and it is sometimes difficult to get
environment is obvious both at macro and local level.
knowledge bases and resources
an overview of who is doing what and what possibilities for
Without a mechanism where the local community can
– SENSA has Agenda 21 and the Multilateral Environ-
synergy exist between actors and subjects.
influence its own situation, environment will inevitably
ment Agreements as a base for its work.
suffer.
How will SENSA work?
Where are we working?
The main task of SENSA is to strengthen Sida´s work in
Environment and health
Poor people are those who are most severely affected from a
The Sida program countries in the region are Cambodia,
environment-related issues in South-East Asia.
health point of view by environmental degradation like air
Laos, and Vietnam. Sweden has decided that in the coopera-
SENSA works through networks both to get access to
and water pollution, loss of biological resources and unsuit-
tion with Peoples Republic of China, the Philippines,
relevant information and further contacts between Sweden
able disposal of solid waste.
Thailand and Indonesia environment issues will be of
and the region. The civil society is an important partner in
priority.
this work. Processes emanating from Agenda 21 and the
Multilateral Environment Agreements will be supported and
What is done about
methods to improve decision-making related to regional
environment issues will be elaborated.
environment in Asia?
Of special concern to SENSA is strategic and cross-
cutting issues, e g
Damage to the environment in Asia is visible to anyone –
polluted rivers, dirty air, waste handling problems, depleted
forests and loss of biodiversity. There is also damage that is
less visible – persistent organic pollutants in the food chain,

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