Dr. W.L. Chan
Programme Operations Officer
Fisheries Department
FAO Rome
On behalf of the Fisheries Department of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome, it is both my very pleasant duty and privilege to attend this Third Meeting of the Provisional Council. As I understand it, this may be the last sitting of the Provisional Council before it becomes intergovernmental.
This meeting is thus of great importance to all of us as you will consider and deliberate over the next three days various major issues necessary for the transformation of NACA from a UNDP/FAO project to an independent intergovernmental regional institution, one that will continue and take on the many great challenges of aquacultural development in the region on a collective and cooperative arrangement.
Conceived eight years ago as an integral part of the UNDP/FAO global and inter-regional ADCP, or the Aquaculture Development and Coordination Programme, NACA has been a pioneer-effort of regional cooperation in undertaking high priority support activities for the development of aquaculture in the Asia-Pacific region.
Through a network of regional lead centres and national centres linked to these regional lead centres, considerable achievements have been made, with your excellent cooperation, in the development of functional aquaculture manpower of various levels through training, in the research and development of existing culture systems, in technology transfer, and in a wide-ranging aspect pertinent to our collective aquaculture development needs.
Of particular note, NACA has generated over the eight years a cost effective regional mechanism which has enabled cooperative efforts in addressing common aquaculture development problems in the region. This alone is a major achievement which can only be realized with your active and positive participation in sharing responsibilities in the spirit of Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries.
With this situation maintained, I am sure the forthcoming intergovernmental NACA would be able to sustain and even surpass its present performance.
In FAO, we follow very closely the development of your cooperation and support for NACA. For this Meeting, we have studied with great interest and concern the Programme of Work of NACA for 1990-1994, prepared by the Three-Man Working Group appointed by yourselves in the Second Meeting of this Council. Your Work Programme is heavy but extremely meaningful. Your need of advisory assistance and centralized coordination in ensuring a fully functional status of the new intergovernmental NACA is a realistic choice.
While national development priorities may vary for differing reasons, aquaculture development in the main is being emphasized in many countries in the region. Aquaculture has indeed much to offer. Apart from its meaningful role in rural development, its potentials in increasing aquatic protein production and economic returns to the operator are real. These and other benefits can continue to be facilitated by the forthcoming intergovernmental NACA.
I wish to express may gratitude to the members of the participating governments and institutions, members of the Provisional Governing Council of NACA, Dr. T.V.R. Pillay, and all international and national staff of NACA, especially the Coordinator, Mr. Chen Foo Yan for their highly cooperative efforts in making it possible what NACA represents today. I also wish to say that we do look forward to continuing to serve you in whatever way you may deem necessary.
And to you, Mr. Minister, I wish you to accept my most heartfelt gratitude for kindly consenting to grace this important occasion. My appreciation also goes to Mr. S.S. Puri and his staff for facilitating the organisation of this Meeting and the use of the RAPA facilities.
Finally, I wish you every success in your Third Meeting of the Provisional Governing Council.
