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Infographic on School-aged child & adolescent road safety in the Asia-Pacific region 2025
No full textRoad traffic injury remains one of the most urgent public health and development challenges in Asia and the Pacific, particularly for children and adolescents. In 2024, an estimated 145 young people aged 5–19 lost their lives on the region’s roads every day, representing nearly 8 per cent of all road traffic deaths. Vulnerable road users continue to face the highest risks, with the majority of fatalities occurring in low- and lower-middle-income countries.
This infographic presents an overview of the latest regional trends in road traffic fatalities among young people aged 5–19, drawing on UNESCAP’s analysis of regional patterns and legislative gaps. It highlights significant disparities across subregions, the disproportionate burden borne by younger populations, and the current status of key road safety laws that directly affect children and adolescents. These insights aim to inform evidence-based policymaking and support accelerated action to make roads safer for all young people across the Asia-Pacific region
Presentation. Briefing on the activities of the SPECA WG on ITSD for 2023-2024. Fifth session of the SPECA Working Group on Innovation and Technology for Sustainable Development
No full textSME green growth toolbook Malaysia
No full textThis toolbook contains tools and templates from the SME Coaching Toolkit for Green Growth in Malaysi
Geospatial data sharing : understanding intergovernmental emergency response data sharing activities
No full textIn this paper, we present short descriptions of multilateral geospatial data sharing mechanisms and how they
fit into the disaster management cycle as well as preliminary analysis of their compiled activities in between
the study period years 2000 and 2024. We study changing dynamics of intergovernmental geospatial data
sharing in terms of mechanisms, countries, geographical regions, time, and level of economic development. We
observe that for the duration of 25 years, the range of countries which requested geospatial data through
multilateral geospatial mechanisms have increased and the overall frequency of requests have increased at an
accelerated pace within the past recent years. We also identified changing and unique dynamics of the data
requests within and between regions and level of economic development. The Asia region not only recorded
the largest number of data requests during the study period but also was the most engaged with all referenced
mechanisms and requests from the Lower Middle income level profile countries increased consistently in most
years during the study period.Table of Contents..................................2
List of Figures.......................................3
Acknowledgement...............................5
Abstract................................................ 6
1. Introduction......................................7
2. Post-disaster Geospatial Data Sharing............... 7
2.1. Disaster Management Cycle..................7
2.2. Multilateral Geospatial Data Sharing Mechanisms........................................................... 7
2.2.1. Regional Space Applications Programme for Sustainable Development................ 8
2.2.2. International Charter 'Space and Major Disasters'...................................................9
2.2.3. Sentinel Asia Project..............9
2.2.4. Copernicus Emergency Management Service.......................................................10
2.2.5. United Nations Satellite Centre..............10
2.3. Post-Disaster Data Sharing Framework......11
2.3.1. Data Sharing Process....... 11
2.3.2. Data Sharing Network..... 11
2.3.2.1. Roles................... 11
3. Data Gathering and Curation........12
3.1. Primary Data.............13
3.2. Supplementary Data....... 13
4. Analysis of Activity.........................14
4.1. Activations by Country or Area................ 14
4.2. Activations by Region......... 14
4.3. Activations by Mechanism........... 16
4.4. Activations by Economic Development........17
5. Interpretation/Discussion............. 17
5.1. Operational Framework........... 17
5.2. Regional Perspectives...... 18
5.3. Maturity of Geospatial Data Sharing Activity. 18
5.4. Limitations..............................18
6. Conclusion..................................... 19
References...................................... 20
APPENDIX I........................................ 22
APPENDIX II............................................................................................................................... 23
APPENDIX III.................................... 24
APPENDIX IV...............................2
ESCAP - PIANC Joint Working Paper on Inland Waterway Transport Development in the Asia-Pacific Region
No full textThis Joint Working Paper by the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure (PIANC) examines the strategic importance of Inland Waterway Transport (IWT) in the Asia-Pacific region and outlines a roadmap for its sustainable development. Despite the region’s extensive river systems and growing demand for low-carbon logistics, IWT remains underutilized and lacks a coordinated regional framework comparable to those governing regional highways and railways. The paper underscores IWT’s potential in promoting climate action, resilient infrastructure, and inclusive economic growth and identifies several strategic opportunities for collective action, where PIANC expertise can be useful. This covers sustainable and resilient inland waterway infrastructure, digitalization strategy for inland waterway transport, Inland waterways classification, management of the navigability of natural rivers, structural guidelines and standards for navigation infrastructures and governance of international waterways.Table of Contents
Summary...........................................................................................................................6
I. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................7
1.1 What is ESCAP? ....................................................................................................................7
1.2 What is PIANC?.....................................................................................................................7
1.3 The objectives of the joint paper. ........................................................................................8
II. TOWARDS GREATER INLAND WATER TRANSPORT DEVELOPMENT IN ASIA AND
THE PACIFIC: Current Issues and Priority Actions .......................................................10
III. SUSTAINABLE AND RESILIENT INLAND WATERWAY INFRASTRUCTURE............14
3.1 Mechanisms to develop Sustainable Waterborne Transport Infrastructure..................15
3.2 Resilience ............................................................................................................................15
IV. DIGITALIZATION STRATEGY FOR INLAND WATERWAY TRANSPORT..................18
4.1 (Feasible) Objectives of a Regional Digitalization Strategy.............................................19
V. INLAND WATERWAYS CLASSIFICATION .................................................................21
5.1 (Feasible) Objectives of an Inland Waterways Classification in the Asia Pacific region
....................................................................................................................................................21
VI. MANAGEMENT OF THE NAVIGABILITY OF NATURAL RIVERS..............................23
VII. NAVIGATION INFRASTRUCTURE - Structural Guidelines and Standards.............24
VIII. GOVERNANCE: International Waterway and River Commissions - Keys to
Success...........................................................................................................................26
IX. CONCLUSION AND PRIORITIZATION FOR INLAND WATERWAY DEVELOPMENT
IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION.......................................................................................28
X. REFERENCES..............................................................................................................30
10.1 ESCAP References ...........................................................................................................30
10.2 PIANC References ............................................................................................................30
10.3 Other references...............................................................................................................32
10.4 References on digitalization ............................................................................................33
10.5 References on IW classification......................................................................................3
Trade implications of digital regulation in Asia-Pacific
No full textDigital trade has been fueling global economic growth. While the significance of the regulatory environment is increasingly acknowledged, empirical evidence on its trade effects remains limited—particularly within the Asia-Pacific context. Drawing on the Asia-Pacific Regional Digital Trade Integration Index 2.0 (RDTII 2.0), developed by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in 2024, this study conducts a regionally grounded and domain-comprehensive analysis across 22 economies and 12 distinct policy areas. Structural gravity models are employed to estimate the effects of both domestic regulation and inter-economy regulatory convergence on trade in ICT goods and digitally deliverable services. A synthetic model integrating elastic net, random forests, and extreme gradient boosting, optimized via nested cross-validation, further uncovers the political economy dynamics underlying regulatory configurations. The results reveal that restrictive regulation significantly curtails digital trade across most policy domains, with identified domains exerting markedly stronger effects. Although regulatory convergence generally enhances trade, its effect is conditional on the domestic regulatory context, which itself appears to reflect a hybrid logic shaped by both political accountability and economic development. These findings advance the global understanding of digital trade governance through an Asia-Pacific lens, offering timely insights for researchers and policymakers seeking to align domestic reform with international cooperation in the digital era.Table of contents ......................................................................3
Abstract ............................................................................................4
I: Digital trade and the regulatory environment............................................................................................................5
II: Approaches to assessing regulatory impacts.....................................................................................................8
III: Mapping the regulatory landscape of digital trade in Asia-Pacific...................................................................13
IV: Empirical strategy...........................................................................................17
IV.A: Gravity specification for the analysis of domestic regulation...............................................................17
IV.B: Gravity specification for the analysis of domestic regulation...............................................................20
V: Results..............................................................................................................21
V.A: Effects of domestic regulation...............................................................................................................21
V.B: Effects of regulatory convergence .........................................................................................................27
V.C: Both the trees and the forest..................................................................................................................31
VI: Conclusion...................................................................................................................36
References......................................................................................................................................38
Appendix Landscape of digital regulation in Asia-Pacific: Evidence from the RDTII 2.0 database......................45
Policy cluster 1: digital governance...............................................................................................................45
Policy cluster 2: traditional trade policy instruments ....................................................................................47
Policy cluster 3: domestic regulations...........................................................................................................4
Power trade for renewable energy development : global best practices, challenges, and ways forward
No full textRegional Commissions have supported member States, under UN Development Account project, to leverage energy connectivity as a tool to enhance energy security and energy system resilience through increased capacity to design and implement policies to increase power system connectivity and cross-border power trade.
This report summarizes the main project findings and highlights how enhanced energy connectivity can accelerate energy transitions, contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and strengthen long-term energy security. The report explores the role of power system connectivity in developing and integrating renewable energy resources, identifies key challenges and risks, and offers policy recommendations for building resilient, secure, and sustainable interconnected energy systems. Drawing from global experiences and focusing on five target countries - Costa Rica, Panama, Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan – the analysis was conducted to examine the benefits of sharing energy and resources across borders compared to operating self-sufficient domestic energy systems. Several capacity building workshops were held to identify key challenges to develop proposed connectivity initiatives in those countries and potential pathways forward.Contents
Introduction ....... 4
Chapter 1. Role of Regional Commissions ............. 5
Chapter 2. Case Studies .................................... 8
Chapter 3. Benefits and opportunities .............. 25
Chapter 4. Challenges and risks ...................... 29
Chapter 5. Policy recommendations ................ 33
Conclusion and way forward ......................... 3
Digital transformation trends in SPECA
No full textThis technical brief presents the methodology and key findings of the Digital Transformation Index for the countries of the United Nations Special Programme for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA), namely, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. It highlights the performance of each country across various dimensions of digital transformation, providing a comparative analysis that reveals regional trends and identifies specific areas for improvement. The technical brief also discusses the implications of these findings for policymakers and offers recommendations to foster a more inclusive and dynamic digital economy in the SPECA region.Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................... 3
Abstract......................................................................................................................... 4
Abbreviations ................................................................................................................ 6
I. Introduction ................................................................................................................ 7
II. Digital Transformation Index ............................................................................................................... 8
A. Data Collection .............................................................................................. 8
B. Key Findings ..................................................................................................................... 8
III. Policy Recommendations ...................................................................................................... 11
References .................................................................................................................. 14
Annex .......................................................................................................................... 16</p
The role of unique identifiers in civil registration & vital statistics and national identification systems
No full textUnique identifiers, often in the form of a unique identification number (UIN), are critical in the
management of administrative records. They provide a unified means of identification across different
systems and over time, facilitating both the statistical use of administrative data and improved service
delivery for individuals, along with streamlining the administrative functions of government. They are
generally, the minimum requirement in the development and maintenance of administrative registers,
given their ability to uniquely identify each unit in the register.
Overall, benefits of unique identifiers include enabling reliable and efficient delivery of government
services through improved identification and targeting of beneficiaries; strengthening linkages and
preventing duplication between registers, thereby ensuring better control over data quality; reducing
leakages in the distribution of welfare and social security benefits; and expanding the inclusivity of
existing systems. Combining and consolidating information from multiple, separate systems or registries
into a single register is both operationally efficient and cost-effective. Moreover, integrating data from
multiple sources allows for cross-validation, further enhancing the accuracy and reliability of information.1. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................ 1
2. SUMMARY ....................................................... 2
3. GLOSSARY ...................................................... 5
4. INTRODUCTION............................................... 8
5. KEY CONCEPTS ................................................ 10
Legal identity ........................................... 10
Foundational and functional registers......... 10
Legal identity management ...................... 12
6. UNIQUE IDENTIFIERS ..................................... 13
Global and regional trends ....................... 13
Applications and benefits ........................... 15
Risks and concerns ................................... 18
Specific risks for people in vulnerable situations .. 21
Core principles for a good identifier .......... 22
7. REFERENCES ................................................ 2