Humankind is now faced with many serious environmental problems. Some, such as global warming and ozone depletion, affect the entire earth. Others, such as air and water pollution, primarily affect local areas. Resolving these problems is especially critical for the APEC economies, which have seen substantial growth in recent years.

APEC Virtual Center for Environmental Technology Exchange (APEC-VC) is a strong and growing force in the Asia-Pacific region working to address these issues. This project helps APEC economies, municipalities, corporations and environment-related institutions share, via the Internet, information on environmental technologies. Much like an "environmental technology exhibition," APEC-VC disseminates a wide range of information related to protecting the earth. 

APEC-VC was approved as a formal APEC joint research project at the Osaka APEC meeting in November 1995. In May 1996, Supporting Committee for APEC Virtual Center for Environmental Technology Exchange was established in Japan, and in April 1997 APEC-VC Japan began its full operation. APEC-VC Japan is presently supported by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Supporting Committee spearheads its nationwide activities.

A variety of international workshops are held each year for participation by APEC economies. As part of this effort, web site categories are being unified so that information can be retrieved in the same manner from any of the Virtual Centers. APEC Virtual Centers were established in Australia and Chinese Taipei in spring 1998, and plans call for the launch of web sites in New Zealand, Thailand and Malaysia in 1999. These and other developments are making it possible to exchange even more information.
 

The Supporting Committee contributes to environmental conservation in Japan and around the world by supporting APEC-VC Japan and helping establish APEC Virtual Centers in other countries. APEC-VC Japan has a total of 115 member organizations (as of April 1999), including municipalities, corporations, environment-related institutions and economic organizations. Members receive a variety of benefits, and the information exchanged reflects member opinions. Additional members are now being recruited, to allow us to expand our services. We invite all companies doing business in Japan to join the Supporting Committee. Your membership will allow you to contribute to global environmental conservation and to participate more fully in environmental-related business.

In the first stage, an Internet server was set up in Japan and linked with home pages related to environmental technology, conservation and education. Information was initially provided by the organizations in the following chart. This list will later be expanded to include similar organizations in other APEC member nations and regions.