|
Uchita de Zoysa commenced his professional life as an investigative journalist specializing in investigative environmental journalism. In 1991 to lead the then largest environment & development NGO coalition in Sri Lanka called the “Public Campaign on Environment & Development”. This gave him the opportunity to design and conduct a large public hearing process in Sri Lanka and edit the countries first ever “Citizens’ Report on Environment & Development”. The report was presented to the UNCED in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, and he also represented Sri Lankan civil society and as a member of the International NGO Steering Committee for UNCED. During the past twenty years, he has travelled widely across the world contributing to the largest United Nations global conferences such as the Earth Summit, Social Summit and Sustainable Development Summit as well as over fifty international conferences related environment, sustainability and social justice, etc. He has served on many international Steering Committees, contributed to many international projects and authored several books and reports related sustainability issues. He recently served as an Advisory Board Member and Head of Asian Review on Sustainable Consumption for “SC.Asia” a project coordinated by the United Nations Environment Programme. He wrote the Asian Review on SC in 2004 and was an editorial member of UNEP’s "Advancing Sustainable Consumption in Asia: A Guidance Manual”. Currently, he is a member of the SPACES International Working Group, and the SCORE Scientific Advisory Board.
Uchita is the Executive Director the “Centre for Environment & Development” and also manages his own CSR communications agency called “D&D Strategic Solutions”. He is a writer, speaker, researcher and thinker for the sustainability movement of the world, and also a social entrepreneur, public mobiliser and sustainability strategist for corporate and policy programmes. He has over twenty years of experience in environment & development sustainable development and social justice work at national and international levels. He lives and works towards creating a better and sustainable world.
Direct Contributions to SCP
1. Speaker at the Asia Pacific Expert Meetings on Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns, Yogyakartha, Indonesia (May 2003) & Seoul, Korea (November 2003)
2. A Keynote speaker, Session Chair and co-organizer of the “Regional Cross-Learning Seminar on Sustainable Consumption” organized by UNEP - Manila, Philippines (March 2005)
3. Advisory Board Member & Head of Asian Review - SC.Asia: Capacity Building for Implementation of UN Guidelines on Consumer Protection (Sustainable Consumption) in Asia”, a project coordinated by the United Nations Environment Programme (2004/5).
4. Principle Researcher & Author of the “Asian Review on Sustainable Consumption”. Over 100 organizations from government, civil society, industry and universities in Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam were interviewed, a matching desk research conducted and over 50 case studies were compiled as part of the review.
5. Editorial member of the “Advancing Sustainable Consumption in Asia: A Guidence Manual” published by UNEP, 2005.
6. International Working Group - Sustainable Production and Consumption Systems (SPACES) appointed by the Sustainable Europe Research Institute (SERI) and Chiang Mai University, Thailand (since 2005) and Scientific Advisory Board Sustainable Consumption Research Network (SCORE) convened by TNO, (since 2006)
7. Maintaining a SC Help Desk to assist primarily NGOs and select government institutions and industries in Asia and to provide insight to other regions that network with CED and partners (since 2005).
8. Conducted a two day SC training workshop for Consumer Organizations in Malaysia (July 2006) and helped develop a project for FOMCA in Malaysia for "Research on SC for Youth Behaviour" (2006)
9. Presentations on the Asian Review on SC was made in numerous forums organised in Asia and Europe such as the ISO COPOLCO Meeting, ANPED AGM, NUTU Meeting on SC, SPACES International Dialogue, THT Pakistan's Regional Consumer Protection Conference, etc.
10. Initiating local community projects on SC called "From Poverty to Sustainability” and "Ensuring Wellbeing of Diary Farmers for Sustainability" in Sri Lanka.
11. Co-Author of the Oslo Declaration on Sustainable Consumption (2004)
Planned Activities for the 10YFP on SCP
1. Launching an Asian Alliance for Sustainability and organising a Regional Conference to Advance Sustainable Consumption in Asia themed “Creating Quality Life for All in Asia”
2. Formulating a “Regional Framework towards Advancing Sustainable Consumption in Asia”
3. Initiating a “SCP Stakeholder Global Forum”
Contact details:
Uchita de Zoysa
Executive Director - Centre for Environment & Development
Managing Director - D&D Strategic Solutions
253/10, Stanley Thilakaratne Mawatha, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka
Tel: +94 11 2768459 Mobile: +94 777 372206 Fax: +94 11 5553493
e-mail:ced@sltnet.lk / betterworld@sltnet.lk / uchita@sltnet.lk
skype: uchita.de.zoysa
http://betterworldasia.blogspot.com/
http://centreforenvironmentdevelopment.blogspot.com/
|