ESCAP Repository (United Nations ESCAP)
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Digital government and transformation
Get PDFThere has been a quantitative and qualitative shift in the use of digital technologies in our everyday lives. Our ability to store, compute, and communicate digital data has increased exponentially. Governments are increasingly using digital technologies to improve governance in different areas such as health, education, livelihood, public order, finance, business regulation, tax collection, etc. Recognizing the opportunities provided by digital government, multilateral and bilateral development agencies have actively engaged in research, policy advocacy, and evaluation on many aspects of digital government.KEY TOPICS
Infrastructure sharing for expanding broadband
Advantages of infrastruc[1]ture sharing across sectors.
Approaches for regulation and major business models.
Fair competition among sectoral operators.
Broadband network as a ‘common utility’.
Various models of cross-sectoral sharing.
Cooperation and collaboration among the sectoral players.</p
Harmonization of national laws with the convention on the rights of persons with disabilities overview of trends in Asia and the Pacific
Get PDFThis series of publications, including an analytical regional overview and five country case studies (Australia, China, India, Republic of Korea and Thailand), emanates from an ESCAP research project to study the trends of the Asian and Pacific countries in harmonizing their national laws with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It examines the extent to which reporting obligations have been fulfilled in a timely and substantive manner and the ways in which national human rights institutions and civil society organizations, in particular organizations of persons with disabilities, have been involved in that process. It further analyses good practices in harmonization, and challenges which have commonly arisen in relation to the implementation of the Convention in the region and the five countries covered under the research project. This series of publication is issued for the attention of members and associate members in the ESCAP region towards further enhancement of the effective harmonization of national legislation with the Convention and the implementation of the Convention.</p
SDG 17 : Partnerships for the goals : strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development
No full textAs envisaged in Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 17, partnerships are a fundamental enabler of the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The concept of partnerships is comprehensive, encompassing not only finance, information and communications technology (ICT), and capacity building, but also international trade and data monitoring. This profile for SDG 17- strengthening the means of implementation and revitalizing the global partnership for sustainable development- briefly assesses the status of partnerships and cooperation in Asia and the Pacific and examines how they can be furthered, nurtured, and made more inclusive so that no one is left behind and so they become a transformational enabler of the 2030 Agenda. The profile is organised into four sections. Section II presents the status of partnerships and cooperation as well as other Targets and indicators of SDG 17. It provides a basis for outlining the areas where good progress has been made and those that require further attention. The section is complemented by analysis of the integration of human rights and gender considerations. Section III offers a brief account of some promising interventions in the region. The profile ends with a proposal of priority actions necessary to achieve the Goal in Section IV. These actions range from increasing resources, building capabilities, and furthering trade, to protecting human rights, fostering women's participation, and enhancing the capacity of developing countries in the areas of disaggregated data collection and analysis
Valuing and investing in unpaid care and domestic work - country case study : Philippines
No full textThis case study on Philippines enhances ESCAP’s technical and advisory assistance to its member States, in particular aligning with the ASEAN region’s efforts to bring care to the centre of public policy. The ASEAN Comprehensive Framework on Care Economy was developed with inputs from ASEAN countries and sectoral, regional and international bodies, such as ESCAP, to ensure that a care-responsive recovery strategy leaves no one behind. The scope of care in this framework takes a broad lens towards direct and relational care work (paid and unpaid) as well as other areas needed to build back better: reskilling and upskilling employability in care sectors, embracing the digital transformation of the care economy, promoting active ageing and lifelong learning, developing the creative industry and encouraging social entrepreneurship and smart cities.</p
ICT project management theory and application for digital transformation and sustainable development
Get PDFThis module explores ICT project management and the theories and practices to deliver digital transformation for sustainable development outcomes. It introduces the international standards, bodies of knowledge and principles in project management to support organizations in the successful initiation, planning, implementation, monitoring and closing of projects that aim to strategically leverage ICTs to achieve Agenda 2030. The module provides guidance on tailoring the project management methodology to match the operational context and complexity of a project. It aims to ensure that projects are able to achieve their intended objectives with value, effectiveness, efficiency, security and sustainability.4th ed
2022 : Leaving no one behind : Bangladesh 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 Bangladesh 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 Bangladesh. </p
Energy transition pathways for the 2030 agenda : SDG 7 roadmap for Pakistan
Get PDFDeveloped using the National Expert SDG7 Tool for Energy Planning (NEXSTEP)The key objective of this SDG 7 Road Map for Pakistan is to assist the Government of Pakistan to develop enabling policy measures to achieve the SDG 7 targets. This Road Map contains a matrix of technological options and enabling-policy measures for the Government of Pakistan to consider. It presents three core scenarios (BAU, CPS and SDG scenarios) and two ambitious scenarios that have been developed using national data, and which consider existing energy policies and strategies and reflect on other development plans. These scenarios are expected to enable the Government to make an informed decision to develop and implement a set of policies to achieve SDG 7 by 2030, together with the NDC
Food loss in international trade : a case study of Indonesian tuna exported to the European Union, the United States, and Japan
Get PDFThe knowledge of the drivers of food losses in international trade and possible mitigation strategies is still limited. This study focused on the prevalence and drivers of food loss in Indonesian tuna exported to the European Union, the United States, and Japan. The results showed that various existing Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs) are in place to ensure food safety. However, standards and regulations differ significantly among trade partners, and are somewhat more strict than international standards, leading to higher rejection levels. Food loss is evident in the cross-border tuna trade as 20 to 30 per cent of Indonesian tuna is rejected annually. Drivers of food loss are classified as micro-level drivers consisting of post-harvest damages, lack of infrastructure and facilities; improper sanitation and hygiene in the processing unit, inability to fulfil food safety standards, and socialization of the standards and regulation. Macro-level drivers are related to the increasing use of NTMs, varying and relatively stricter food safety standards, transparency issues, trading procedures, and institutional factors. At the micro-level, it is important to improve tuna export quality infrastructure and boost the capacity of actors in the value chains to implement best practices. Increasing the socialization about the food safety standard and import regulations and international standards (particularly Codex Alimentarius) is also needed. Meanwhile, NTM streamlining and improving transparency with national trade portals and help desk services are also important to facilitate trade and reduce food loss
Sustainable freight transport in Bangladesh
Get PDFIn Bangladesh, the demand for freight transportation is rising. At the same time however, the country’s transportation and logistics networks have reached capacity and are in various states of disarray. Investments into alternative modes of transportation such as rail and waterborne freight have also not risen accordingly to absorb this demand. This all comes on the backdrop of excessive levels of transportation-related pollution, unsafe road conditions, and unnerving projected climate change impacts that all make freight transportation fundamentally unsustainable in Bangladesh. As such, taking stock of Bangladesh’s situation as it relates to sustainable freight transportation is important for this country of over 160 million people and for the South Asian subregion.
The purpose of this study is to encourage the Government of Bangladesh and other relevant stakeholders to make planning, policy, and investment decisions in freight transportation based on the three dimensions of sustainable development: the environmental, economic, and social dimensions. This study uses an understanding of the three dimensions and their interlinkages as elaborated by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including its 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To achieve this, comprehensive research was conducted to inform its direction and recommendations. The desk study reviewed existing government documents and other reports and articles that overlap with the subject of sustainable freight transportation in Bangladesh. Ultimately, it suggests that a national sustainable freight transportation strategy would be required to achieve optimal results.
There is a special emphasis in the study on emissions reduction, including greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (primarily CO2 in this context). With over 20 per cent of global CO2 emissions being derived from transportation and 40-50 per cent of that percentage coming from the transportation of freight, it is important to target the sector in the fight against climate change. This is particularly relevant to Bangladesh, as the country’s total freight transportation in ton-km continues to rise amid an outdated trucking fleet, a lack of economies of scale, poor road conditions and congestion, limited modal share (another major emphasis in this report), and a dependence on imported fossil fuel.
All these factors contribute to emissions, negative externalities, and economic losses that can otherwise be avoided in a world where Bangladesh stands as one of the most vulnerable countries to GHG-induced climate change. In addition, there has not been a significant global energy transition in the transportation sector, where there is an overreliance on fossil fuels and a lack of greener alternatives that fundamentally prohibits the genuine sustainability of transportation.
This study is divided into five sections, before ending in a conclusion. To start, Section 1 provides a background, with the impetus behind the study being briefly summarized before defining what sustainable freight transportation is. Broadly speaking, sustainable freight systems are those that capture the linkages and intersections between the economic, environmental, and social dimensions of sustainable development.
The section also describes the role of efficient logistics in the economy and its implications for Bangladesh. While economic growth itself drives the demand for freight transportation, the supporting logistical environment’s level of efficiency and quality can also act as a cap on this economic growth. Section 1 concludes with a short discussion on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on freight transportation.
Section 2 then follows with a short review of the major “actors” in sustainable freight transportation: the government and the private sector. Through regulation, planning, financing, and overseeing state transportation systems and public infrastructure, the government plays a key role in sustainable freight transportation. The private sector, meanwhile, is an equally important actor in sustainable freight transportation. In Bangladesh, the private sector is engaged in freight transportation activities across the sector as providers of logistics services and operators of trucks, port terminals, and inland container depots (ICDs). Where the public and private sector merge can be found public-private partnerships (PPPs). Such PPPs are often touted as a way for poorly resourced governments to construct infrastructure and the idea appears to have support in Bangladesh.
Following this background on the actors, Section 3 moves on to provide the rational for tackling the challenge of freight transportation in a sustainable manner and sustainable freight’s linkages to existing national plans and international commitments. There exists a strong case for sustainable freight transportation in Bangladesh. Given the holism of sustainability, with the myriad of interconnected factors that must be considered to meet the criteria of “sustainable,” sustainable development is ideal for tackling and linking together the complex and interconnected issues facing societies. As such, sustainable freight transportation can respond to many of Bangladesh’s pressing issues.
These include but are not limited to effectively meeting the demand for goods transportation with quality, reliable, and cost-effective service levels; cutting down on GHG and other fuel-related pollution; reducing accidents and fatalities on the road; and enhancing connectivity and economic growth across the country. Additionally, Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change and sustainable freight transportation would also need to consider the impacts of climate change on transportation and logistics infrastructure. These needs are all identified in one way or another in Bangladesh’s existing plans. Section 3.B identifies some of these national plans. In terms of linkages to international commitments, Section 3.C discusses two of the major ones: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement. Achieving the SDGs in Bangladesh necessitates a shift to sustainable freight transportation. There are numerous SDGs that are relevant to sustainable freight transportation and some of the most relevant include SDGs 3.6, 3.9, 7.2, 7.3, 9.1, 9.a, 11.6, 12.c, 13.1, and 13.2.
The Paris Agreement requests each country to outline and communicate their post-2020 climate actions, known as their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). Some listed measures to achieve the unconditional target are to reduce congestion (thereby enhancing fuel efficiency) and to promote modal shift. On modal shift, listed measures are the purchase of modern rolling stock and signaling for railways, electrification, and double tracking of the railway, and improved and enhanced inland water transport (IWT). For IWT, this means better navigation, improved maintenance of vessels, enhanced engine performance, and the introduction of electric water vessels.
Next, Section 4 then lays out the challenges facing Bangladesh’s freight sector that need to be addressed to realize a more sustainable freight transport system. These challenges relate to climate change, road transport, rail transport, inland water transport, air transport, seaports, shipbreaking, warehousing, fuel and emissions, retiring old trucks, truck types and size, operator resistance, technology platforms, e-commerce, customs, planning, costs, and road safety. Going through these challenges, the key issues identified are summarized on the following page.
Last, Section 5 presents a list of performance indicators that can be refined to define and track sustainable freight transportation. The list is divided into several pillars organized under means ofimplementation (e.g., finance; science, technology, and innovation; and data and statistics) and other relevant themes such as emissions, climate adaptation/resilience, inclusion, health and safety, infrastructure, economic considerations, logistics facilities, and “others.</p