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Seoul Initiative Network on Green Growth (SINGG) Evaluation Report
Get PDFCommissioned by Environment and Development Division, ESCAPThe Seoul Initiative Network on Green Growth (SINGG) was adopted at the fifth Ministerial Conference on Environment and Development 2005 to address major policy issues highlighted by the 2005 Ministerial Declaration on Environment and Development in Asia and the Pacific and the Regional Implementation Plan for Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific, 2006–2010, and to further their successful implementation. Since it was adopted in 2005, the SINGG conducts four types of interrelated activities: a.) establishing an action‐based network, b.) promoting policy consultation for green growth, c.) enhancing members’ capacity to pursue green growth, and d.) conducting pilot projects to disseminate the green growth approach. The implementation of activities is reviewed at network meetings, which also provides an important mechanism for promoting information and experiences and enhancing regional cooperation.Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................................... ii
List of Acronyms ..................................................................................................................................... iii
Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................ iv
Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 1
The object and context of the evaluation ....................................................................................... 5
Methodology ................................................................................................................................. 10
Findings ......................................................................................................................................... 13
Conclusions ................................................................................................................................... 31
Recommendations ........................................................................................................................ 35
ANNEXES ............................................................................................................................................... 37
Annex 1: Terms of reference, Results Framework, and Evaluation Matrix ................................... 37
Annex 2: List of the documents reviewed ....................................................................................... 38
Annex 3: List of interviewees ........................................................................................................... 40
Annex 5: Data tables and analysis ................................................................................................... 41
Annex 6: Management response ..................................................................................................... 45</p
Towards sustainable graduation of South Asian LDCs in the aftermath of COVID-19 : challenges, prospects and policy lessons
Get PDFTowards Sustainable Graduation of South Asian LDCs in the aftermath of COVID-19: Challenges, Prospects and Policy Lessons
Three of the least developed countries (LDCs) of South Asia - Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal - are currently at various progressive stages of graduation from LDC status. LDC graduation will bring about a significant milestone in their development journey and new opportunities along with it, while also posing certain challenges with respect to meeting the demands of sustainable transition into the next stages of socio-economic development.
Prepared as part of the UNESCAP Framework on Socio-Economic Response to COVID-19, and also under UNESCAP’s mandate for supporting countries with special needs in the Asia-Pacific region, this paper examines graduation challenges and prospects of the three South Asian LDCs, taking also into account potential impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak. It points out that South Asian LDCs have important avenues and options to enhance preparedness for graduation, utilizing the transition period, through focused planning, domestic institutional reforms, strong governance, sustained pursuit of economic diversification and structural transformation, building public and private capacities, expansion and diversification of trade structures, infrastructural and technological upgradation, consolidation of development financing sources, and by harnessing global partnerships for development. However, the COVID-19 pandemic and its pervasive socio-economic impacts may have adverse consequences for planning and preparations for graduation. The devastations caused by the crisis may exacerbate pre-existing vulnerabilities and slow down recovery. This unprecedented situation calls for due considerations in the graduation processes and timelines, allowing for adequate flexibilities and additional transitional support as required by graduating LDCs
Interpreting SDGS for South Asia : in search of a regional framework - the experience of Bhutan
Get PDFBhutan along with the global community adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015. It is one of the early mover countries in the Asia Pacific region and the country has prioritized SDG 1 on no poverty, SDG 13 on climate action and SDG 15 on life on land as national priorities for implementation. The development philosophy of Gross National Happiness (GNH) guides Bhutan in formulation of policies and the national planning process. There are similarities between GNH and SDGs with the three dimensions of social, economic and environment pillars being embedded in the GNH framework. The country’s Five Year Plans outline the national priorities and needs and provide the major means to address the SDGs. High level of alignment can be seen between national priorities and SDGs at the goal and target level yet gaps exist in case of some of the SDGs. Existing institutional structure tasked with oversight of SDGs implementation in Bhutan needs to be strengthened for better implementation and monitoring. Key implementation challenges faced by Bhutan relate to financing the SDGs and bridging data deficits. The paper identifies the SDGs, viz., SDG 1 on ending poverty, SDG 7 on clean and affordable energy, SDG 8 on decent work and economic growth, SDG 9 on industry, innovation and infrastructure, SDG 13 on climate action and SDG 15 on life on land for prioritization from Bhutan’s perspective. It considers strengthening the means of implementation at regional level to supplement national action through enhanced trade connectivity, energy connectivity and people-to-people connectivity
Financing sustainable infrastructure development in South Asia : the case of Asian infrastructure investment bank (AIIB)
Get PDFAs a subregion with huge unmet needs for physical infrastructure, South Asian countries welcomed the establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) as a new multilateral development bank (MDB) to help close some of their financing gaps, complementing the World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Islamic Development Bank. Not only were the South Asian countries among the founding members of the new Bank, they have also emerged as its important borrowers. Starting operations in January 2016, AIIB has had only three years of operations. Three years is not a long time for evolution of an MDB from scratch, but it can give an indication of the shape of things to come. This note briefly reviews AIIB’s operations in South Asia, a subregion facing some of the widest gaps in providing sustainable and resilient infrastructure to all its people as enunciated in the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development
Strengthening statistical capacities to achieve SDG 14 in selected ESCAP member countries
Get PDFCommissioned by Statistics Division, ESCAPThe importance of the oceans in the Agenda for Sustainable Development is reflected in the inclusion of an exclusive goal for the oceans (SDG 14’ Life under water’) among the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The ten SDG 14 indicators have linkages with measures of ocean ecosystem condition (quality of marine water, nutrients, fish production, biodiversity, etc.). Ocean accounts involve compilation and monitoring of data that can be used to report against several SDG indicators (covering besides SDG 14, 15, 2, 9, 13).
The Development Account project “Strengthening statistical capacity to achieve SDG 14 in selected ESCAP member countries” with a focus on developing technical guidance for and piloting ocean accounts aims to fulfil a global gap: the System of Environmental Economic Accounting (SEEA) does not presently have a statistical standard for ocean accounting (unlike for other themes such as land, energy, waste).Acknowledgments..................................................................................................................3
List of Acronyms.....................................................................................................................4
Executive Summary................................................................................................................6
Introduction.........................................................................................................................9
Subject of the Evaluation .................................................................................................13
Findings..............................................................................................................................18
Conclusions........................................................................................................................52
Recommendations ............................................................................................................58
ANNEXES..............................................................................................................................60
Annex I: Terms of Reference ...........................................................................................60
Annex II: Project Results Framework............................................................................63
Annex III: Evaluation Matrix ..........................................................................................65
Annex IV: List of Documents Perused..........................................................................72
Annex V: List of People Contacted................................................................................76
Annex VI: Questionnaire survey used at GOAP event and Responses ...................79
Annex VII: References to report texts for questions in the evaluation matrix ........85</p
Reaching the farthest first : the state of social enterprise in the Philippines
No full textReaching the Farthest First: The State of Social Enterprise in the Philippine
Scenario-based risk analytics for managing cascading disasters : a pathway to manage risks and protect people in South Asia
Get PDFThe COVID-19 pandemic has made it clear that biological and natural hazards intersect with each other and increase the complexity of overall disaster impacts on populations and economies. But disaster management and risk analytics have been slow to capture the intersections of natural and biological hazards or capture the dimensions of interconnectedness and cascading effects to the social, economic, and environmental ecosystems. These challenging times call for a reformulation and paradigm shift from a single hazard, single sector perspective to a multi-hazard, multi-sectoral and systemic risk perspective.
To achieve this, building multiple and complex risk scenarios that take the converging biological and natural hazard risks will be a priority. This study is a step in this direction. Through the integration of data from multiple sources, this study extends the riskscape of the region and examines the cascading risks that are arising and will arise in the future from the impacts of natural and biological hazards. Specifically, the study provides a methodology for building an integrated scenario assessment for strategic management and policy development in South Asia