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Energy data collection in Tonga - processes, challenges and opportunities
Get PDFTonga belongs to the Small Island Developing States (SIDS). The UN General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a resolution on the outcome document of the Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS), the ‘SIDS Accelerated Modalities of Action (SAMOA) Pathway’ (A/69/L.6). “The Samoa Pathway” using SAMOA as an example of SIDS, recognizes the adverse impacts of climate change and the rise of sea-levels on SIDS’ efforts to achieve sustainable development.
Improvement of energy security through sustainable channels is one of such efforts in Tonga for achieving economic prosperity. According to “Tonga Country Energy Security Indicator Profile 2009” prepared by the SPC, the total electrification rate was 89% and rural energy access to modern forms of energy was still at 73%. The electricity tariff in 2009 amounted to USD 0.36/kWh in 2009 as the household energy burden averaged 14%. This data is based on the census of 2006. Taking the case of electrification rate, the improvement has reached 97% in the latest census of 2016.
Another important issue to be considered in the improvement of energy security is the role of renewables. According to Tonga Power Limited (“Combined Utilities Business Plan 2018-2022”), the current share of fuel cost in the electricity tariff is about 48% (41.51 seniti/kWh) of the total (85.86 seniti/kWh – about 0.38 USD/kWh). This part can be reduced by using domestic renewables such as solar power to replace imported diesel fuels. Thus, the contribution of renewable PV to energy security and energy access is significant. But how significant?
To understand the significance of the role of various aspects of energy on national economy and national security, data is of critical importance. Particularly quantitative data that enables ‘evidence-based practices’. It also helps to think about substantive measures in mitigating associated risks. Without quantitative data on energy supply and demand, it is difficult to identify the sources of these risks and their impact on welfare. By the same token, if data is available, there are chances to mitigate and improve the status of energy security using appropriate policy responses and ensuring that the country meets the “Tonga Energy Road Map” and “Sustainable Development Goals”</p
Readiness assessment for cross-border paperless trade : Timor-Leste
Get PDFThis report provides an assessment of Timor-Leste’s readiness for cross-border paperless trade, i.e., the conduct of international trade transactions on the basis of electronic data and documents – as opposed to paper-based data and documents. The assessment has been conducted by a team of international experts following the readiness checklist developed by the ESCAP Interim Intergovernmental Steering Group on Cross-Border Paperless Trade Facilitation, of which Timor-Leste is a member. The team visited Timor-Leste in June 2019 to conduct interviews with relevant government agencies and private sector stakeholders. A national consultation on facilitating cross-border paperless trade was co-organized by the Ministry of Tourism, Commerce & Industry, Timor-Leste and ESCAP on 9 September 2019, where preliminary findings from the visits were further reviewed, consolidated and validated. Final findings and recommendations incorporating input and suggestions received during and following the consultation are presented in this report. Based on these findings and recommendations, an initial action plan for moving towards cross-border paperless trade for Timor-Leste has been prepared and is also 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
Evidence based policies for sustainable use of energy resources in Asia and the Pacific
No full textCommissioned by Energy Division, ESCAPThe project ‘Evidence Based Policies for Sustainable Use of Energy Resources in Asia and
the Pacific’ was designed and implemented by the Energy Division of the Economic and
Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and partners, funded by the
Development Account (DA). The project has been running from June 2016 and terminated
in December 2019. The primary objective of the project was to strengthen capacities of
policymakers in Asia and the Pacific to develop evidence-based policy and planning for
sustainable use of energy resources at national and regional levels and to support
implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), in particular SDG 7 on
affordable and clean energy. The project supported activities in five partner countries,
including Fiji, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Thailand and Tonga, which all developed their own
initiatives in response to the project objective. Towards the end of the project period an end
of project evaluation was conducted, commissioned by the Energy Division of ESCAP.
List of Tables ...................................................................................................................................iv
Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................v
Abbreviations and Acronyms ......................................................................................................vi
Executive Summary..................................................................................................................... vii
Introduction .................................................................................................................................1
Subject of the Evaluation .........................................................................................................5
Findings ........................................................................................................................................9
Lesson Learned..........................................................................................................................25
Conclusions................................................................................................................................26
Recommendations.....................................................................................................................28
ANNEX 1: Terms of Reference of the Evaluation.....................................................................30
ANNEX 2: Mapping of Stakeholders and their Roles..............................................................45
ANNEX 3: Details on Methodology...........................................................................................49
Annex 4: Details on the Subject of the Evaluation....................................................................55
Annex 5: Results and Analysis of the Mini-Survey..................................................................58
ANNEX 6: Details on Country Level Project Initiatives..........................................................69
ANNEX 7: Evaluation Matrix......................................................................................................74
ANNEX 8: Country Level Results ..............................................................................................79
ANNEX 9: References...................................................................................................................99</p
Marine plastic pollution in South Asia
Get PDFMarine plastic pollution has increasingly been a concerning issue around the globe as the initial impact of marine plastic
pollution is gradually emerging. But, where does plastic originate? Inadequate and overwhelmed waste management
systems, open dumping, storms, and rain cause land-based sources of pollution to leak into rivers, the coastal areas, and
oceans. An estimated 80 percent of all plastic waste in the oceans comes from land-based activities, and the remaining
20 percent comes from marine activities. The extent of sea-based sources of pollution, including abandoned, lost and
discarded fishing gear and waste from ships and ports and its devastating impacts to ecosystems and marine species
remains underexplored.
Footages and news of the extent to which wildlife is being affected by marine plastic litter have shocked the world. The
global community is beginning to understand the consequences of marine plastic pollution, but regional impact studies
are still lacking. The paper finds that the main driving forces behind the severe marine plastic pollution in the South Asia
region are primarily due to poor practices of waste management systems and inefficient informal plastic recycling sector.
The consequences of marine plastic pollution in South Asia has been enormous, leading to threats to wildlife, community
health concerns, and economic losses due to the severity of plastic litter and associated clean-up cost.
With a loosely implemented partial plastic bans in most of the countries in South Asia, our analysis shows that the
existing measures are insufficient to slow down or even alleviate the situation as plastic production and consumption is
expected to increase in the coming years. Also, we find that although the impact of plastic pollution in the marine
ecosystem and climate change is known in the region, its quantification with respect to baseline at the city, national and
regional level is lacking and unable to identify interventions related to technologies, mitigation, and management
strategies. Likewise, due to significant income differences between the population in coastal and mainland areas, the
socioeconomic impact needs to be assessed in the region because coastal tourism is affected, especially when tourists
avoid beaches known to have high concentrations of plastic litter.
In order to increase the ability of countries to curb marine plastic pollution effectively in South Asia, the paper
recommends that South Asian countries should: 1) improve and modernize waste management systems; 2) apply better
enforcement mechanism on plastic use prohibitions, 3) introduce or straighten economic instruments, e.g., resource tax,
technology for recycling mixed plastics, thermosets, alternate materials, etc.; 4) establish baseline data across region,
including indicator monitoring, impact assessments across the terrestrial, aquatic, marine ecosystem, health and socio-
economics; 5) closely cooperation among each other and between non-government organizations and the governments
at local and national levels; and 6) more proactively participate in regional and international initiatives.</p
Healthcare products trade and external shocks : the US-China trade war and COVID-19 pandemics
No full textIn 2019 and the early months of 2020, global trade faced two major albeit very different shocks, namely the United States-China trade war and the cascading response of the countries around the world to the COVID-19 pandemic. While the former situation involved a pair of centrally-placed trading partners introducing tariffs and retaliatory measures across a broad swathe of tradeables that made a global trade environment highly unpredictable, the latter has seen entire production networks and supply value chains debilitated and transactions across the borders halted. This paper examines the trade impacts of these two external shocks from the perspective of the healthcare sector. The paper also analyses likely impacts of the trade tensions on the healthcare sector and the economy at large through secondary impacts on, for example, adoption rates of key technologies. We find that the trade war has led to an increase in tariffs that face several upstream inputs, such as active pharmaceutical ingredients, as well as technological components including those required for 5G adoption. While the COVID-19 policy responses based on the “Great Lockdown” have led to immediate short-term disruptions in the supply and trade of critical healthcare products, in the mid- and long-term, we posit that certain changes in consumption patterns may emerge in response and impact trade patterns. The paper draws attention to harmful effects of export restrictions and calls for a coordinated collective action in building back more robust and resilient ecosystems including in the healthcare sector
The impact and policy responses for COVID-19 in Asia and the Pacific
Get PDFAt the start of 2020, COVID-19 has spread across the world at an unyielding pace. What began as global jitters has evolved into unprecedented disturbances in the economy, health systems and daily life. In Asia and the Pacific, the impacts of the pandemic have reverberated soundly among its population of more than 4 billion and in its network of vital supply chains. In the face of such challenges, the region must respond quickly and collectively to save lives and build resilience against future pandemics. This policy note summarizes the key impacts of COVID-19 in the Asia-Pacific region and suggests short- and medium-term recommendations for consideration by member States to shape responses for a sustainable future
An integrated approach for assessing national e-commerce performance
No full textThis paper aims to support policy makers and general public to better understand UNCTAD’s Business-to-Consumer index (B2C). While B2C index provides very useful comparison on e-commerce development among countries, further question can be asked on how a country perform given the national resources underpinning e-commerce development.
A methodology called Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is adopted in this paper to capture not only the national e-commerce performance but also the national resources underpinning e-commerce development. Results from the DEA reveal that Singapore is on the performance frontier of e-commerce. More interestingly, some countries such as Mongolia and Viet Nam, which do not rank high according to B2C index, are also on or very close the performance frontier, indicating that these countries are good performers given the resources available to them. However, this also indicates that given the available resources, it would be difficult for these countries to further improve the performance without long term economic and social development
แนวปฏิบัติระดับภูมิภาคเอเชียแปซิฟิกว่าด้วยการประเมินระดับท้องถิ่นโดยสมัครใจ(VLR)
No full textFull-text in Thai translated by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)As part of its follow-up and review mechanisms, the 2030 Agenda encourages member States to "conduct regular and inclusive reviews of progress at the national and subnational levels, which are country-led and country-driven". As part of this review, starting in 2016, countries have presented their Voluntary National Reviews to the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development. Inspired by the VNRs, local and regional governments are increasingly engaging in their own subnational reviews – the Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs), which have proven useful for cities and regions to foster SDG localization and demonstrate local governments’ capacity and commitments.
Although gaining in momentum, the VLR process does not have any official status as part of the formal follow-up and review processes hosted by the UN. There exists no specific template or official format that cities can follow if they choose to undertake a VLR. Developed in partnership with the Penang Platform for Sustainable Urbanization, the Asia-Pacific Regional Guidelines on Voluntary Local Reviews builds on existing resources and provides practical tools, checklists, and templates that local governments and other stakeholders can use when reviewing local progress against the SDGs. The content is designed to provide cities with context regarding the 2030 Agenda as well as guidance specific to the region to help them decide where to start, how to start and what to keep in mind when conducting a VLR
Inequality of opportunity : who are those left behind in Kyrgyzstan?
Get PDFA new policy paper explores available data from Kyrgyzstan to identify those groups that have been left furthest behind in a range of indicators. Using innovative methodologies and analytical tools, the paper reveals gaps between those who have access to basic opportunities and services, and those who don't