The Forum co-organized by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (M0NRE) of Thailand, the Ministry of the Environment of the Government of Japan (MOB), and the United Nations Centre for Regional Development (UNCRD) of Division for Sustainable Development Goals (DSDG)/UN DESA, said a statement issued here.

The event is being held in Bangkok from March 4 to 6, being attended by the mayors of Asian cities and other representatives. The 9th Regional 3R Forum in Asia and the Pacific, under the theme of 3R as a way for moving toward sufficiency economy- Implications for SDGs" aims to address how 3R and resource efficiency could play a critical role in achieving sufficiency of economy.

Worldwide there is a growing recognition of circular economic development approach as one of the key drivers towards achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the underlined SDGs.

While the Asia-Pacific countries are progressively addressing and adopting 3R policies and programmes including technological interventions, the region still faces several challenges in achieving sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12), among others.