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Responding to the COVID-19 pandemic leaving no country behind
Get PDFResponding to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Leaving No Country Behind is the theme report of the Asia-Pacific SDG partnership for 2021. Reflecting on the theme of the 8th Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development, it aims to support regional dialogue, in preparation for the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) and to inform implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It highlights many of the evolving socio-economic impacts of the pandemic, and reviews existing vulnerabilities that the pandemic has exposed. It focuses on the role of digitalization, digital financing and regional cooperation as key elements to building forward from COVID-19 for the SDGs and explores the need for enhanced cooperation among countries to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
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Management plans, monitoring and assessment of marine protected area
Get PDFThis publication is a compilation of studies concerning the marine protected areas of the North-East Asian Marine Protected Areas Network (NEAMPAN) established under the North-East Asian Subregional Programme for Environmental Cooperation (NEASPEC). The network currently consists of 12 marine protected areas (MPAs) in China, Japan, the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the Russian Federation selected by the respective countries.
The twelve marine protected areas of NEAMPAN are diverse, with their sizes ranging from less than 30 km2 (Changyi National Marine Ecology Special Protected Area, China; Suncheon Bay Wetland Protected Area in the Republic of Korea; and marine areas of Sikhote-Alin State Natural Biosphere Reserve in the Russian Federation) to over 600 km2 (Far-Eastern State Marine Biosphere Reserve (FESMBR) in the Russian Federation), locations covering subarctic (Shiretoko National Park in Japan; and FESMBR in the Russian Federation) to tropical climate zones (e.g., Shankou Mangrove National Marine Nature Reserve and Nanji Islands National Marine Nature Reserve, China). Naturally, there are vast variations among the NEAMPAN MPAs in their biological features, target species, and the anthropocentric impact on the protected areas.
While the institutional set up of MPA sites varies within and across the countries, each MPA has its own management plans and systems to monitor its ecological status and to ensure conservation and appropriate use of the marine protected areas. Thus, the studies compiled here are intended to look into the management plansand monitoring of the MPAs in NEAMPAN and explore their linkages.
Some of these features are highlighted below, although this report is not an attempt to make cross-country comparisons - given the diverse nature of institutional settings and the responsibilities in management of the target MPAs in the respective countries.</p
Accelerating implementation of the Paris agreement in Asia-Pacific : a guide for policymakers
Get PDFFive years after the adoption of the Paris Agreement, it is time for countries to step up their commitments to combat the climate crisis. Accelerating Implementation of the Paris Agreement in Asia-Pacific: A Guide for Policymakers is developed to support policy- and decisionmakers in understanding the need and identifying opportunities to accelerate the implementation of the Paris Agreement and to provide tools, measures, policies, actions, and case studies that could be applied to their national circumstances and update of their NDCs during the review process. The existing NDCs take a first step in the direction of the fundamental objectives of the Paris Agreement. However, first assessments of their ambition outline that current measures are not sufficient to achieve the envisaged objective of reducing GHG emissions. A report by the UNFCCC Secretariat finds that aggregate emission reductions communicated in the initial round of NDCs do not fall within the range of least-cost 2°C scenarios defined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
This guide underlines that Asia-Pacific needs to scale up ambition and to improve planning for NDC implementation, using the six transformative actions of the UN Climate Action Summit 2019 to frame specific challenges to accelerating climate action. These are Energy Transition, Climate Finance and Carbon Pricing, Industry Transition, Nature-based Solution, Cities and Local Action, and Resilience and Adaptation. Each section explains what the relevance is of each area to the Paris Agreement and how to accelerate action in each area. Potential opportunities and measures to accelerate the implementation of the Paris Agreement are grouped along the categories Policy Coherence and Planning Processes, Finance and Regulatory Frameworks, and Capacity. </p
Infrastructure corridor development series : part I : in-depth analysis of three promising infrastructure corridors
Get PDFThe Regional Economic Cooperation and Integration (RECI) initiative of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) aims to promote integrated markets for goods, services, information and capital; infrastructure connectivity; financial cooperation; and economic and technical cooperation through a multidimensional and multidisciplinary approach. Promoting seamless connectivity in transport, energy and information and communications technology (ICT) is a central pillar of the RECI initiative.
As part of the RECI initiative, ESCAP is implementing a United Nations Development Account (DA) Project on “Addressing the Transboundary Dimensions of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development through RECI in Asia and the Pacific” from 2018 to 2021. This project aims to develop knowledge products such as analysis reports, and build capacity of member States in promoting seamless regional connectivity with a focus on the co-deployment of ICT, transport and energy infrastructures.
Following the recommendations to national capacity building workshops for policymakers of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, and subregional workshop for countries in East and North-East Asia in October-November 2019, this analysis report is aimed to enhance understanding for planning interstate infrastructure corridors. The scope of this report covers in-depth analysis of the co-deployment of ICT infrastructure along transport and energy infrastructure corridors and support identification of key needs and the selection of the priority projects.
In response to the needs of member States and considering the complex challenges of limited national and regional infrastructures, the key objectives of this research are to: (1) provide in-depth cross-sectoral analysis of three potential interstate infrastructure corridors in the target countries of the RECI project (Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan); (2) provide knowledge and capacity building in determining the most promising scenario for infrastructure corridor development; and (3) promote enabling environments for infrastructure corridor development in the modality of co-deployment of ICT, transport and energy infrastructures.
An integrated infrastructure corridor approach is used as an attractive smart solution to improve regional and transboundary connectivity by linking geographical territories with ICT, transport and energy components. An integrated infrastructure corridor means a high-tech transportation system integrated with a wide range of ICTs and energy to facilitate the flow of goods, services, knowledge and capital in a cost- and time-effective way towards achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
This research paper is a part of the Infrastructure Corridor Development Series that supports decision makers and infrastructure owners in their decisions on the development of new infrastructure corridors. The Infrastructure Corridor Development Series consists of three main parts:
Part 1: An in-depth analysis of three promising infrastructure corridors.
Almaty (Kazakhstan) – Cholpon-Ata (Kyrgyzstan)
Semey (Kazakhstan) – Rubtsovsk (Russian Federation)
Urzhar (Kazakhstan) – Chuguchak (China)
Part 2: A toolkit for determining the most promising scenario for infrastructure corridor development.
Part 3: Calculation results for determining the most promising scenario for infrastructure corridor development</p
Review of developments in transport in Asia and the Pacific 2021 : towards sustainable, inclusive and resilient urban passenger transport in Asian cities
No full textThe ways in which human mobilities are viewed have undergone profound changes. Many government measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic were designed to discourage and even stop people from travelling. This led to unprecedented falls in passenger levels, particularly for aviation, long distance rail travel, and public transport, while more people started walking, cycling, and driving. The pandemic also accelerated the shift towards online shopping, schooling, and work, further dampening travel demand. Meanwhile, the Asia-Pacific region has also witnessed an extraordinary rise in climate-related disasters, ranging from severe flooding, wildfires and haze, intense rainfall and landslides, and typhoons. It is now widely accepted that climate change is driven by greenhouse gas emissions, and that urban transport is a major contributor. The question of how to make urban passenger transport more sustainable has therefore moved centre stage on the climate change agenda. The Review argues that to achieve more sustainable urban transport systems, policymakers should ensure that transport policies and plans are based on environmental sustainability, social inclusiveness, and resilience, and then elaborates measures to achieve this.
The Review offers selected policy recommendations to make urban transport more environmentally sustainable; design inclusive urban transport systems which meet everyone’s needs; integrate resilience into urban and transport planning; harness the power of new technologies to make transport more sustainable; build the capacities of local governments and transport operators; direct more financing to sustainable transport modes; strengthen monitoring and research capacities in the region; and utilize regional fora and cooperative mechanisms.
Policy decisions taken now will directly influence the ability of the region to deliver the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and achieve the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. City and national governments should visualize urban transport systems that best meet the needs of the planet and their people, not only for this generation but also future ones.</p
Climate and disaster resilient infrastructure : building resilience to future uncertainties and shocks
No full textThis policy paper led by ESCAP was jointly written in collaboration with UNDP, UNDRR, UNEP
and UNOPS, with additional contributions from UN Habitat, UN Women, UNFPA, OHCHR,
ILO and FAO, as part of the Asia-Pacific Issue-Based Coalition (IBC) for Building Resilience.
The IBC for Building Resilience is led by the Regional Directors from the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction
(UNDRR)This policy brief aims to enhance understanding of the key features of planning, developing, operating, and maintaining resilient and inclusive infrastructure. This brief highlights the gaps in current approaches to infrastructure development and suggests potential pathways to bridging these gaps.</p
Asia-Pacific tech monitor. Vol. 22, No. 6, Nov - Dec 2005
No full textDevelopment and transfer of advanced technology : The paradigm of equal partnership / Mathew J. Manimala and Raju Thomas K
Technology transfer in pharmaceuticals : The case of the development of an antibiotic in Japan / Takuji Hara
E-commerce for SMEs in Thailand : A myth or reality? / Kasititorn Pooparadai, Phumisak Smutkput
Nanotechnology in the developing world : A driver for economic growth / Joydeep Dutt
Statistical indicators relevant to population ageing and age-disaggregated data in Asia and the Pacific
Get PDFThis paper was drafted by Jessica Gardner, ESCAP consultant, between July 2020-May 2021 based ondesk research and seeking inputs from experts in ageing data. The author would like to thank SarahCrofts, Chair of the Titchfield City Group on Ageing from the UK Office for National Statistics, AlexsandrMihnovits, data expert from HelpAge International, and Camilla Williamson, ESCAP consultant on ageingand older persons for their valuable inputs and guidance. Thanks also to Sabine Henning and VanessaSteinmayer of the ESCAP Social Development Division who guided the work and provided oversight.Adopted in 2002, the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (MIPAA) is the global framework for policy action on ageing focusing on the priorities of (a) older persons and development; (b) advancing health and well-being into old age; and (c) ensuring the existence of enabling and supportive environment. MIPAA is reviewed at the national, regional and global levels every five years. Although it does not provide an indicator framework per se, MIPAA contains a number of refences to data and statistics in MIPAA that can be aligned with indicators of other global guiding documents, such as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Decade of Healthy Ageing, and the Asian and Pacific Ministerial Declaration on Population and Development.
The paper on “Statistical Indicators Relevant to Population Ageing and Age-disaggregated Data in Asia and the Pacific” suggests a set of indicators for the regular and structured assessment of MIPAA in Asia and the Pacific, mostly based on SDG indicators and supplemented by other indicators. The paper also discusses the suitability of indicators that can be used to assess MIPAA implementation and also lists related sources of data and data availability. Data availability and the possibility to collect these data are key considerations in suggesting a set of MIPAA indicators.</p