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Programme. Capacity Building for SPECA Countries, Effective Management and Development of Business Incubators and Accelerators
No full textEvaluation of the implementation of the Asia-Pacific plan of action on space applications for sustainable development (2018-2030) in its phase I (2018-2022)
Get PDFThe Asia-Pacific Plan of Action on Space Applications for Sustainable Development (2018–2030) was adopted at the Third Ministerial Conference on Space Applications for Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific, held in Bangkok on 10 October 2018. The Plan of Action is inclusive and based on countries’ needs with the aim of harnessing innovations in space, geospatial and digital applications to support countries, in particular those with special needs, in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Plan of Action is divided into three implementation phases, each lasting four years, with a ministerial conference to be convened at the end of each phase.
ESCAP resolution 75/6 requested the Executive Secretary of ESCAP to carry out an evaluation of the implementation by member States of phase I of the Asia-Pacific Plan of Action on Space Applications for Sustainable Development (2018–2030) and to submit a report with recommendations to the fourth Ministerial Conference on Space Applications for Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific to be held on 26 October 2022.
The present document contains the findings, conclusions and recommendations of an independent evaluation of the implementation of phase I (2018-2022). The report finds that i) the design and implementation of the Plan of Action (Phase I) is highly relevant to the strategic development needs and priorities of the member States; ii) the results achieved through the implementation of the Plan of Action and its interventions are tangible with definite scale-up potential; iii) the Plan of Action served as an effective platform for accumulating and sharing knowledge on issues and building member States’ capacity; and iv) the technical support and capacity-building activities offered by the secretariat within each of the thematic areas of the Plan of Action proved to be a successful model for further replication to cover existing and potentially new areas (including resilience and recovery from the impacts of COVID-19).</p
ESCAP Trust Fund for Tsunami, Disaster and Climate Preparedness : brochure
No full textThis is the brochure of the ESCAP Trust Fund for Tsunami, Disaster and Climate Preparedness in Indian Ocean and Southeast Asian countries
Toward sustainable energy connectivity in Asia and the Pacific : status, trends, and opportunities
Get PDFSustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7) targets universal access to energy, an increased share of renewable energy in the global energy mix, and doubling the rate of energy efficiency improvement. While the Asia-Pacific region has made considerable progress in meeting SDG 7 targets, much more work needs to be done if the region is to achieve the 2030 Agenda.
Deployment of renewable energy and complementary technologies like energy efficiency, battery storage and, in particular, grids must increase significantly if the SDG 7 targets are to be met. However, there are many positive signs that suggest the transition to clean energy is accelerating. Renewable energy is more cost-competitive than ever, especially compared with the relatively high cost of oil, natural gas and coal, and these technologies are increasingly being recognized as contributors to energy security.
The focus of this Regional Trends Report 2022 is on one strategy that can enable a more rapid, more secure and more affordable transition to clean energy, i.e., power system connectivity. Energy connectivity supports the integration of variable renewables, and enables access to a more diverse and lower cost set of resources. This strategy is widely recognized, including by ESCAP member States, which in 2021 endorsed the “Regional Road Map on Power System Connectivity”. The vision, principles and nine strategies detailed in that document have guided the development of this report.
Accelerating progress on power system connectivity can, in turn, accelerate the energy transition. ESCAP will continue to work with stakeholders in the region and its member States to implement the Road Map strategies, and enable more secure, more efficient and more sustainable connectivity in the region. This report will provide a useful set of case studies and recommendations for enhancing policies in support of power system connectivity and the energy transition.</p
The impact of ageing on accessibility, affordability and availability of healthcare services in Asia and the Pacific
Get PDFThe Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development (United Nations, 2015) is a call for “[a] world with equitable and universal access to… health care and social protection, where physical, mental and social well-being are assured”. While some challenges to the meeting of this goal are difficult to predict, and outwith the scope of modelling, a key potential driver of this is the changing age profile of populations.
This paper summarises the likely challenges to the delivery of this goal arising from changes in the age structure of countries in Asia and the Pacific. It then seeks to model the extent to which future healthcare expenditures (HCEs) may vary according to changes in the observable determinants of HCEs.
While modelling is subject to significant uncertainty, we provide scenario estimates of future healthcare expenditures according to variation in the age profile of populations, the extent to which future ageing may be healthier, future gross domestic product (GDP), changes in the age profile of per-capita spending, and population preferences for spending on healthcare.
Our central estimates are that HCEs as a proportion of GDP are likely to increase from around 5.3% to 9.7% by 2060, rising to 13.2% if assumptions regarding future healthy ageing do not hold. For high income countries in the region, this is likely to peak and level off at around 11% of GDP, while for medium income countries this is projected to reach 9.6% by 2060.</p
Enhancing digital G2P transfer capacities in the Asian LDCs
Get PDFIn response to the COVID-19 pandemic, globally, there has been a rapid scale up of Government-to-Person (G2P) payments, especially digital cash transfers via mobile money agents and e-wallets. Many least developed countries (LDCs) have relied on robust mobile money agent networks, and high levels of mobile connectivity and ownership which enable G2P transactions. Such transfers are particularly advantageous in emergency situations like the COVID-19 pandemic as they allow for digital payments to take place in situations of social distancing and lockdowns.
Digital payments can offer multiple benefits to various stakeholders, including governments, recipients, and service providers. Digital payments are a driver of financial inclusion, with payments often serving as a gateway to account ownerships and access to savings and loan products. Furthermore, evidence suggests that shifting government payments to digital platforms results in substantial government savings for cash transfer programmes. For example, in 2018, the Government of India estimated that using digital payments for social cash transfers resulted in savings of over $12.7 billion (Pazarbasioglu and others, 2020). Many countries, including LDCs in Asia, have started to strengthen and improve their G2P cash transfer systems.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, 1,414 social protection measures have been either planned or implemented across 222 countries or territories as of December 2021. These included various social assistance, social insurance, and labor market measures. Social assistance measures constituted 55 per cent of such measures on average (in East Asia and Pacific, it is higher at 61 per cent and South Asia, it is at 70 per cent) and within that, 42 per cent were cash transfers (Gentilini and others, 2020). The capacity of countries to manage G2P transfers effectively as well as to ensure inclusion, especially of informal workers, has become more important in light of the use of cash transfers as a policy response to the pandemic. Lessons from the rapid scale-up of G2P systems in various countries suggest three building blocks for a system: a unique ID (preferably digital with biometrics), socio-economic databases that are linked to the unique ID, and a channel for digital delivery.
This paper reviews the three building blocks in eight Asian LDCs – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Nepal, and Timor-Leste – and discusses measures that can enhance the capacity of these countries. It also looks at whether the reviewed LDCs offer any lessons for others in the region. The paper also reviews the regulatory frameworks for digital payments and digital delivery channels in the reviewed LDCs.</p
Resource mobilization for sustainable LDC graduation of Bhutan in the context of emerging challenges to development financing
Get PDFThis paper evaluates Bhutan’s challenges related to resource mobilization for sustainable graduation in the aftermath of COVID-19 and potential avenues to overcome them. Bhutan will be graduating from LDC category in 2023. Its 12th Five Year Plan, conceived as an integral transition strategy, faces severe challenges due to disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.Delivering on the national development goals and implementing the SDGs amidst the looming pandemic require improvements in both scale and mix of development financing. ODA remains critical, especially as Bhutan’s structural challenges remains to be addressed even as it gears up for LDC graduation in 2023. It is critical for development partners to deliver on long-standing commitments and the ODA targets reaffirmed on target 17.2 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Various modes of innovative financing have been explored recently to fill up financing gaps and to enhance the role of private sector. Upscaling such initiatives and exploring alternative financing instruments will be critical for Bhutan. Accelerating the progress of critical SDGs with accurate assessment of cost of implementation, commensurate resource mobilization and investment strategies is important. As the scale of financing required to achieve the SDGs may be beyond the scope of public finance, SDG investment mapping must be used to attract private capital. As Bhutan embarks on preparation of its 13th Five Year Plan, considerations must be made for enhancing meaningful technical cooperation between the government and its development partners such as the United Nations Development System and multilateral development banks. Costing of critical SDGs, SDG investment mapping, reframing of FDI Policy, development of policy guidelines for green financing and exploring alternative innovative financing instruments are some of the key areas that must be prioritized for Bhutan’s sustainable graduation. </p
Compendium of best practices on low-carbon cities in North-East Asia
Get PDFDeveloping low carbon and resilient cities serves as an important pathway for realizing national and
local mitigation targets while assuring long-term economic growth and improving the quality of life.
This compendium collates a total of 20 cases from North-East Asia on how cities and urban centres
are making efforts to reduce their carbon emissions and build resilience through the following 4
Categories: • Governance and Policy • Stakeholder Engagement• Nature Based and Innovative Solutions • Circular Economy</p
Readiness assessment for cross-border paperless trade : Lao People’s Democratic Republic
Get PDFThis report provides an assessment of Lao People's Democratic Republic’s technical and legal readiness for cross-border paperless trade, i.e., the conduct of international trade transactions on the basis of electronic data and documents, and offers recommendations aimed at supporting the advancement of Lao People's Democratic Republic towards further digitalization of its trade-related procedures.
Several meetings were organized for data collection and validation, and a national consultation on facilitating cross-border paperless trade took place on 1 March 2022. At this meeting, preliminary findings from the visits were further reviewed, consolidated and validated. Final findings and recommendations incorporating inputs and suggestions received during and following the consultation are presented in this report. Based on these findings and recommendations, an initial action plan towards cross-border paperless trade for Lao People's Democratic Republic has been prepared and presented in this report.The complete set of Cross-Border Paperless Trade Readiness Assessment reports can be accessed : Readiness Assessments for Cross-Border Paperless Trade.</p
2022 : Leaving no one behind : Turkmenistan country brief
No full textLeaving No One Behind (LNOB) tool helps discover how different circumstances interact to create unequal access to basic opportunities in Asia and the Pacific. The LNOB country brief for Turkmenistan provides insights into which groups are further ahead and further behind in various SDG indicators and where the biggest gaps are found in terms of access to opportunities or prevalence of barriers between the furthest behind and the furthest ahead groups in Turkmenistan. </p