The CNAO hosts the 13th meeting of INTOSAI Working Group on Environmental Auditing (WGEA) in Guilin, capital city of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in West-Southern China from June 7th to 11th 2010, in which a total of 127 participants from 57 SAIs and international organizations in attendance.
In his welcoming address, Mr. Liu Jiayi, Auditor General of the CNAO remarks that environment is the foundation for subsistence and development of the human beings. Caring the earth, maintaining the ecology and protecting the environment is the responsibility of each and every country, nation and individual. As a large developing country, China has made environmental protection as its basic national policy over 30 years ago and has been committed to building a resource-conservative and environmental-friendly society with a view of achieving ecological civilization. Since saving energy and reduction of emission was made a binding objective in China s 11th Five-Year plan outline programme, efforts of pollution control and environmental protection have been further strengthened with remarkable achievements made at both the central government and local government levels.
Mr. Liu notes that In recent years, based on the actual situation of China, the CNAO made implementation of the basic state policy of resources conservation and environmental protection as its aim, and has conducted active explorations in auditing China s ecological resources, mineral resources, land resources, water pollution control and treatment, energy saving and emission reduction and safety of drinking water with some relevant experiences accumulated.
These audits have also enabled auditing to play its role in ensuring national resources and environmental security and in promoting conservation culture in China. The CNAO will continue to step up its exploration efforts on environmental auditing so as to find the suitable practices of environmental auditing with a Chinese characteristic, with a view to making contributions to the improvement of China s environment, to the harmony between human being and the nature, and to more rational social and economic development.
He highlights that environmental problems are a common challenge faced by all countries in the world without any exceptions. To address this challenge, concerted efforts with international cooperation is needed. For the same reason, international environmental auditing cooperation and mutual experience sharing is necessary.
In 2000, the CNAO became the Chair of ASOSAI WGEA. In 2008, the CNAO was appointed Chair of Theme II of the incoming INCOSAI XX Environmental Auditing and Sustainable Development and has since spared no efforts in promoting international exchanges in the field of environmental auditing. In the future, the CNAO will continue to participate actively in work of international environmental auditing under the framework established by INTOSAI WGEA and to engage in increased international exchanges with other SAIs in this area, so as to make more contributions to the protection of the environment of the entire human being through environmental auditing.
Mr. Zhou Shengxian, China s Minister of Environmental Protection, and Mr. Ma Biao, Governor of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, are also invited to be present at the opening ceremony and deliver a speech. As the chair of INTOSAI WGEA, Mr. Mihkel Oviir, Auditor General of the National Audit Office of Estonia, opens the meeting.
As the preliminary part of the meeting, the CNAO arranged an environmental excursion of Lijiang River cruise and visit to the Yangshuo County on June 7
th. During the four-days meeting, the participants will discuss the developments and achievements of current projects in the forms of regional meetings and parallel sessions, and determine new work plan 2010-2013. The discussion on INCOSAI XX Theme II Discussion Paper and Steering Committee meeting will also be held.
