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2.	'Adhocracy'
	The low-key, consensus-building style which APEC applies to environmental stewardship – known alternately as 'adhocracy,' 'the APEC way' and 'governance without government' – is intended to avoid the conflict which may otherwise be inevitable within such a complex organization. APEC's members bring to the table stunningly diverse historical, political, and cultural perspectives: they represent the schisms between North and South, East and West, ASEAN and non-ASEAN economies; they were on opposite sides of the Cold War; their ideas are informed by traditions including Confucianism, Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity, by state-directed and laissez-faire economics. More importantly, APEC countries – although uniformly influential in the emerging global economy – are divided between those countries with high average living standards (such as Canada, the U.S. and Japan), and other economies in Asia and Latin America where rapid economic growth is perceived as the cure for poverty. Given the daunting potential for these differences to create dispute, APEC has consciously sidestepped formal, rules-based procedures and avoided long policy debates by seeking hands-on initiatives in areas where parties can agree. Ad hoc working groups, task forces and expert groups have emerged to tackle mostly technical issues, many focusing on capacity building through technology transfer and information exchange, in areas such as sustainable cities, sustainability of the marine environment, cleaner production, and the impact of growth on food, energy and the environment (known as FEEEP). The idea is to avoid "Euro-sclerosis" – an affliction of the European Union (EU), where policy is often lost in the bureaucratic machinery or bogged down in debate. There are indications this new "adhocracy" model has partly achieved that goal. APEC's ability to advance about 40 environmental initiatives – at a time when the WTO's attempts to link environmental and trade policies have been mired in the debate over whether environmental standards are intended as a cover for northern protectionism – indicates that the adhocracy approach may be more productive. On the other hand, critics lament that this method has provided no SD benchmarks or concrete goals (unlike the trade track, which lays down a clear time frame for the elimination of trade barriers), has attracted inadequate funding, and has not been integrated into broader trade policies which have enormous environmental implications. Already, APEC nations collectively account for the majority of greenhouse gas emissions, and with many developing APEC economies growing by up to 10 per cent annually, the crises of global warming, deforestation, and water and air pollution are expected to deepen dramatically. Given the World Bank's conclusion that (in Asia) "rapid growth has combined with high population densities and widespread poverty to produce excessive environmental degradation," it remains to be seen whether ad hoc is adequate. [ad hoc approach to multilateral agreement]
	Lead Shepherds The leaders of APEC's 10 working groups are better known as Lead Shepherds and they wield considerable influence. The Working Groups, are organized by sector and composed primarily of trade-orientated bureaucrats who have wide latitude in designing and undertaking specific projects. Along with the Senior Officials and the three Official Committees – Budget & Administration, Trade & Investment and Economics – they form the backbone of the APEC structure. Lead Shepherds also make-up the Joint Fora, a major decision-making body, with representatives from the Economic Committee and Committee on Trade and Investment and the SMO Chair. It would seem that APEC's sustainable development strategy may largely rest in their hands as member economies have agreed not to create a new, discreet working group on the environment and decided instead to utilize mechanisms already in place such as the Working Groups and the Joint Fora.
	ASEAN-Association of South East Asian Nations n. joint cooperative effort of Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand & Vietnam to promote peace & prosperity in the region. Tiger economics n. fast growing economies that are rapidly closing the standard-of-living gap with developed countries (eg. South Korea).
	O'Meara, Molly. "Riding the Dragon". World Watch (March/April 1997): 8-18.
Virtual Ideas	The APEC Secretariat site APEC ‘97 & Vancouver Leader’s Meeting Site