The second Assembly of the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) will call for the joint efforts of all countries and regions of the world to meet global environmental challenges, official sources said Monday.

According to a joint announcement from the Ministry of Finance and the State Environmental Protection Administration, the GEF Assembly is to be held in Beijing from October 16 to 18.

Officials from GEF members and international organizations, such as the World Bank, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and regional development banks, will attend the meeting. Some non-government organizations will also send delegates.

The meeting will sum up experiences and draw on lessons in environmental protection and sustainable development over the past decade.

An international grant foundation, the GEF has 173 member states and operates more than 1,000 projects around the world. Launched in 1991, the GEF aims to forge international cooperation and finance to address bio-diversity loss, climate change, degradation of international waters and ozone depletion.

China is a founding member of the GEF and has received more than US$300 million in grants for use on 55 projects, including 14 global and regional projects. The projects involve a wide spectrum of environmental issues, including bio-diversity preservation, industrial energy efficiency, renewable energy, protection of international waters, land degradation and capacity building.

The media office has already begun to take in media registrations from both China and abroad, including Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao. The registration form can be obtained on the website, www.gefchina.org.cn.

(Xinhua News Agency September 9, 2002)