As the keynote speaker of this event, World Scout Bureau/Asia-Pacific Regional Director Abdullah Rasheed joined more than 120 participants from over 90 countries from the six regions: Africa, Arab, Asia-Pacific, Inter America, Eurasia and Europe. Participating countries from the Asia-Pacific were Bangladesh, Fiji, French Polynesia Kiribati, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines and Sri Lanka.

In his address, Abdullah Rasheed, said that his own country, Maldives, faces the effects of global warming and the threat of disappearance if critical environmental issues are not addressed.

Now that the threat of global warming is very clear and now being experienced in different parts of the world, he encouraged Scouts to take every opportunity to lead or be part of an activity that can contribute in saving the environment.

“Scouts don’t have to be at the disaster zones to be of help. As individuals, there are practical things we could do everyday of our lives, and this would have an important impact on our environment,” he said.

As the effects of global warming are becoming real and visible, he stressed the need for every individual, not just to Scouts, to acknowledge the huge challenge and start to do something significant for the environment. He believed that whatever discussed, shared and learned from the forum can be a starting point to contribute in his/her own way.

As the forum participants seen the alarming effects of global warming in many places of the world, they have taken a unified stand by formulating the four-point declaration which includes the urgent need for the Movement to focus on the important issues affecting the future of our planet; the need for young people to receive support through environmental education; to empower them to understand and take proactive steps to take the lead in tackling these environmental challenges; the need for NSOs to engage with environment programme be able to apply the framework for environment education in Scouting to their programme and finally to strengthen unity and partnerships between Scouts and with other organisations.

Just weeks before the forum, the G-8 summit consisting of the heads of state of Japan, US, UK, France Germany, Italy, Canada and European Union President, was held in Hokkaido and mapped out solutions on how to address global warming.

Keynote Address of Regional Director Abdullah Rasheed
International Scout Environmental Forum Narita Declaration

To see the photo gallery, visit http://www.scout.or.jp/isef2008/