INT'L MUSLIM CONFERENCE ON CLIMATE CHANGE IN BOGOR APRIL 9-10

Jakarta, Apr 5 (ANTARA) - Muslim organizations and communities from 14 countries are to take part in an international Muslim conference on climate change in Bogor, West Java, on April 9-10, committee chairman, Ismid Hadad, said.

"There are Muslim organizations and communities representing 14 countries that will take part in the conference," he said at a press conference here on Monday.

The countries include United Arab Emirates, Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, India, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuwait, Egypt, Britain, France, the US, Spain, the Philippines and Indonesia.

Ismid who is also head of the advisory board of KEHATI Foundation said around 200 environmental experts, scientists, religious clerics, organization leaders and Muslim groups including Islamic boarding schools would attend the first ever Muslim conference on climate change.

He said the conference was a continuation of the agenda of the Muslim Seven Year Action Plan for Climate Change (M7YAP) declared in Istanbul, Turkey, early in June 2009.

He said the conference will discuss three issues, namely climate change and actions Muslims in the world could take with regard to it, the formation of a Muslim Association for Climate Change Action (MACCA) which is expected to become the organizational umbrella that will lead the activities and implementation of the seven year action plan in various countries and by Muslim communities in the world and the declaration of cities in Muslim countries as green cities or "Al Khaer City" including Bogor in West Java, Indonesia.

Forestry minister's expert staff for economic affairs, Fauzi Masud, meanwhile said three other cities to be declared green cities are Madinah in Saudi Arabia, Sale in Morocco and Sanaa in Yemen.

The development of the four cities will be supervised by MACCA for the next seven years.

Fauzi said the organizing committee would also invite several mayors from several Muslim countries such as the mayors of Madinah, Sale and Sanaa.

Fachruddin Mangunjaya from the Conservation International Indonesia meanwhile said that the M7YAP had a vision of mobilizing fund resources from Muslims in the world to be contributed to climate change actions.

The programs the M7YAP would carry out include forming a waqf foundation in the year to come to implement their action plan on climate change and development of Muslim cities in the world into green cities.

The conference is held in cooperation with several private organizations such as Muhammadiyah, Nahdlatul Ulama, the Indonesian Council of Ulemas, Kehati and the Conservation International Indonesia and supported by the ministry of forestry, the ministry of the environment, Bogor city administration, the ministry of religious affairs and the National Council on Climate Change.

The event also has support from the Earth Mate Dialogue Centre (EMDC) based in London.