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1.	Multilateral Sustainable Development
	In economic terms, APEC is like a trading bloc on steroids: its 18 member economies account for 55 per cent of total global income and 46 per cent of global trade. Since its inception in 1989, economic growth has clearly remained the chief raison d'être of APEC, despite warnings about the environmental impact of such a vigorous approach to growth. Still, there have been attempts to "green" APEC. These have centred on a brand of multilateral environmental diplomacy relying mostly on summit meetings of heads-of-state or government ministers responsible for SD-related issues. The first leaders' meeting, held in November, 1993 on Blake Island in Washington state, provided the political jolt to put SD on the APEC agenda. Leaders acknowledged the need to manage resources and to protect air, water and green space. Later, at the first environment ministers' meeting in Vancouver in 1994, these ideas were enshrined in a 'Vision Statement and Framework of Principles for Integrating Economy and Environment in APEC.` Progress continued to be made at subsequent meetings, including the Ministerial Meeting on Sustainable Development held in Manila in July, 1996, where the issues of sustainable cities, cleaner production and technologies, and sustainability of the marine environment were identified as key areas for co-operation. The downside of this leadership-driven strategy is that organizations of civil society have no assured role. NGO input has been accepted only at the whim of governments: while NGOs had a lengthy meeting with Philippine President Ramos during the Manila talks, and parallel NGO "peoples' summits" have taken place alongside some of the government confabs, in other cases non-governmental representatives have been rebuffed. The most striking example of this was during the 1994 Bogor talks in Indonesia when NGO participants were denied visas and forced to move their meetings to Thailand. New Zealand law professor Jane Kelsey believes the lack of channels for citizen input makes APEC the most "anti-democratic, secret, invisible and inaccessible" of global trading regimes. However, some environmentalists feel that APEC is a work-in-progress which could be reformed if enough governments gave voice to their own citizen's SD concerns. Nicanor "Nicky" Perlas, head of the Centre for Alternative Development Initiatives (CADI) in the Philippines, is hopeful his country will "move APEC in the direction of a focus on economic justice and stability… If the government is prepared to support the position taken by the civil society organizations," he says, "then we will support the government's involvement in APEC." [sustainable development informs multilateral talks]
	APEC's SD Principles Framework Drafted by APEC Environment Ministers in 1994 the SD principles call for the "integration of economy and environment" in all sectors and at all levels and seek to"reconcile the objectives of economic growth and efficiency with improved environmental outcomes". The Principles are: Sustainable Development – should be promoted with environmental protection & reduction of poverty integral to the process Internalization – environmental costs should be internalized and polluters should bear the cost of pollution Science and Research – should be fostered to increase understanding of ecological systems & their interactions with development Technology Transfer – members economies should cooperate to strengthen capacity building for SD through technology transfer Precautionary Approach – should be widely applied Trade & Environment – multilateral efforts to make trade & environmental policies mutually supportive should be sustained Environmental Education & Information – should provide education & information opportunities to enhance informed choices Financing Sustainable Development – member economies should cooperate to meet the goal of mobilizing financial resources Role of APEC – APEC members should make the best use of existing multilateral and bilateral initiatives for sustainable development and seek to add concrete value to these ongoing activities thus avoiding duplication of efforts. APEC members should consider ways to better incorporate sustainable development into the work of APEC Working Groups and Committees and include them for consideration at Senior Officials Meetings and Ministerial Meetings.
	APEC Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation n. a fora for the promotion of trade and investment among several Pacific Rim states.
	National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy et al. The Environment and the Economy in APEC: Realizing Convergence – full report of the March 25-26, 1996 Workshop. Ottawa: NRTEE, 1996. 168p.
Virtual Ideas	Sustainable Developments report on the 1997 Environment Ministerial Meeting