Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng yesterday announced that Achim Steiner, executive director of United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) was now the honorary consultant to Shanghai's environment protection and construction.

Han said the theme of the World Expo 2010 Shanghai "Better City, Better Life" required a human-oriented principle of economic development that made environmental protection a priority.

"Shanghai has enacted a series of rules to safeguard the environment," Han said. "We hope UNEP can strengthen the cooperation with Shanghai and Mr Steiner, as our special consultant, can give the city more attention and offer more advice."

Steiner said he felt honored to have the title.

"Shanghai is a dynamic city full of opportunities and challenges. The cooperation between UNEP and Shanghai will be a broad field for our organization," said Steiner, who showed a willingness to share his global experience with Shanghai.

Steiner said he also expected Shanghai to achieve a win-win solution in environmental protection and economic development.

Wan Gang, minister of China's Ministry of Science and Technology and president of Tongji University, was present when the announcement was made.

(www.eastday.com May 18, 2007)