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Resilience of transport systems and services
Get PDFTransport and communications bulletin for Asia and the Far East. (0041-1396)For the 90th issue, the Bulletin focuses on the theme of “Resilience”.
Frequency of natural disasters and climate events are increasing in the Asia and the Pacific region. We have witnessed transport infrastructure and services damaged by floods, rising sea levels, cyclones, and earthquakes. Transport infrastructure in mountainous terrain, coastal areas, and near riverbanks are more vulnerable to climate events and natural disasters. Resilience of transport systems and services is vital for socio-economic development as well as in relief operations. The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 9.1 calls to develop quality, reliable, sustainable infrastructure and target 13.1 calls to strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries. Therefore, transport planners, policymakers and designers need to acknowledge the threat posed by the climate events and enhanced intensity and frequency of natural disasters in the region.
Of all the changes brought upon by COVID-19, no other landscape has undergone such a pronounced and sweeping transformation as the city. The increasing urgency of climate change has meant that most cities have already recognised a need for a radical recalibration of people’s urban lifestyles. The speed with which cities have been forced to adapt to COVID-19 proves that such change is possible. Indeed, the experience of cities suggests that successful future mobility will involve a far greater emphasis on active mobility, integrated transport modes, and a more socially inclusive, community-focused system. When COVID-19 first began to spread, people witnessed a dramatic reduction in CO2 levels in many of the world’s most heavily polluted cities. The key now lies in retaining this unquestionably positive side-effect of the pandemic, for our own health and for generations to follow. of the following five papers selected for this issue contribute to different aspects and novel perspectives on the theme of resilience, and include various approaches in improving resilience of transport systems in a particular context. Article 1 - Understanding School Travel Behavior and the Impact of Awareness Raising to Promote Resilient Public Bus System in the Coastal City in Indonesia: A Case of Semarang city... 1 Article 2 - An Analytical Approach on Transport Resilience with Smart Transport Systems ... 20 Article 3 - Resilient Transport Systems and Services: The Case of India’s Railway System ... 37 Article 4 - Assessing the Climate-Related Disaster Resilience of Urban Transport Systems in Asian Cities ... 51 Article 5 - Impact of COVID-19 on Urban Mobility in Indian Cities... 71</p
Ready for the dry years : building resilience to drought in South-East Asia
Get PDFSecond edition : executive summary for policymakersSouth-East Asia has long experienced severe droughts. However, this second edition of Ready for the Dry Years reveals that the severity of two drought events during 2015-2016 and 2018-2020 exceed anything recorded in the past two decades, since the major El Niño of 1997-1998. Evidence presented in the Report shows that this could be set to continue as the climate warms. There is a direct association between high temperatures and droughts in South-East Asia, and multiple climate models project that the region will experience higher temperatures for all emission scenarios. Ultimately this means that growth in the severity and geographic extent of droughts is only expected to continue as the climate crisis deepens.
The Ready for the Dry Years publication series is part of the effort to mobilize a region-wide action as the drought risk intensifies. This edition expands the geographical coverage of the first edition and combines rainfall data with other socio-economic indicators to reveal the hotspots where the populations are most vulnerable to drought. It takes a holistic approach to understanding drought impacts by adopting a standard definition of drought across the region and by examining the issue from socioeconomic, health, environmental, and humanitarian perspectives.
Compared with other disasters, droughts are fairly predictable, yet policy responses still tend to be largely reactive. This Report builds a case for ushering in a paradigm shift towards more proactive drought management across South-East Asia while leveraging the innovative measures underway within Member States. Accordingly, it advocates for policies along three policy tracks: reduce and prevent; prepare and respond; and restore and recover. Many institutions in South-East Asia have extensive expertise in the relevant scientific disciplines which countries can capitalize on through greater regional cooperation.
The Report proposes three further priority actions for reinforcing this cooperation in a regional drought agenda for adapting to risk in a changing climate. Establishing this agenda will require Member States to adopt an ASEAN declaration on drought, support cross-sectoral initiatives for drought adaptation, and address human and ecosystem vulnerabilities in drought hotspots. The findings of the Report will provide important evidence to support each priority action.
This Report comes at a critical time. The cyclical and slow-onset nature of drought provide governments with a critical opportunity to act now with risk-informed measures that will strengthen the capacity of institutions, sectors and populations to cope, before the next drought comes along. ASEAN Member States are seizing this opportunity; the Report is providing evidence for the ASEAN Declaration on the Strengthening of Adaptation to Drought and the subsequent Regional Plan of Action. The economic recovery from the pandemic provides an opportunity for governments to scale-up proactive drought management, as stimulus packages can be expanded to accommodate measures for drought resilience
Fast-tracking the SDGs : driving Asia-Pacific transformations
Get PDFFast-tracking the SDGs: Driving Asia-Pacific transformations is the theme report of the Asia-Pacific SDG partnership for 2020. Reflecting on the theme of the7th Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development, it informs regional and global dialogue on sustainable development as well as national and regional implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It invites governments and stakeholders to align COVID-19 pandemic response and recovery strategies with the achievement of the SDGs and provides insights for the way forward
Inequality of opportunity : who are those left behind in Papua New Guinea?
Get PDFA new policy paper explores available data from Papua New Guinea 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
Assessment of urban transport system in Tehran
Get PDFTehran, which is the largest city of the Islamic Republic of Iran is the capital city of the country and the center of the Tehran province. According to the last population census in 2016, Tehran population was 8.7 million [1], and Tehran Transport Model shows the population of Tehran in 2017 was 9.1 million. The Tehran municipality information shows population density in Tehran in 2017 was, 12,100 per square kilometer.
Greater Tehran is located in the northern center of the country and limits by the southern foothills of Alborz Mountains and its average altitude from the sea level is 1,280 meters. Tehran area is about 750 km² and includes 22 municipal districts [2] and the most length and width of it, is respectively 45 and 27 km.
In 2017, the daily consumption of Gasoline and diesel fuel (for transportation) was respectively 12 and 4.6 million liters. For additional reports or materials on Sustainable urban transport index, please click here
Asia-Pacific tech monitor. Vol. 37, No. 3, Jul - Sep 2020
Get PDFThe year 2020 has been particularly challenging for the world due to
COVID-19. The pandemic has imposed serious challenges for countries
to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
At the same time, this is the year that Science, technology and innovation
have demonstrated its true value by providing innovative solutions
to adapt, manage and mitigate the impacts of the pandemic. The
potential of emerging technologies in coping up with COVID-19 and
post pandemic solutions has been endless specially for recovery of businesses, industries and
economies. These technologies, particularly the fourth industrial revolution technologies, have
helped not only in the healthcare sector but also provided adaptive solutions during lockdown
such as remote working, online learning and indoor workout platforms.Introductory Note ... 2
Technology Market Scan ... 3
Technology Scan: Emerging technologies to fight Covid-19 ... 8
Special Theme: Technological innovations to control
COVID-19 pandemic
Digital innovations for COVI D-19 management
Present applications, gaps and future strategies
Suresh Munuswamy ... 14
The Fourth Industrial Revolution
A new endless frontier
Kalenzi Cornelius, So Young Kim, Sang Yup Lee ... 17
Technological Interventions and Strategies for combating
Covid-19 in India
An overview
H. Purushotham, Bhavya Manjeera ... 24
Innovative technological interventions to respond COV
ID-19 and Flattening the Curve
Experiences of the Republic of Korea
Joon-young Hur ... 36
Tech Events ... 40
Tech Ventures & Opportunities ... 41
Business Coach
Start-up Venture Creation ... 42
Technology Transfer ... 44
Venture Financing ... 48
Managing Innovation ... 51
Green Productivity ... 54
Tech Opportunities
Technology Offers ... 5
South Asia SDG update
No full text1. UNESCAP Executive Secretary visits Bangladesh2. The Third South Asia Forum on SDGs calls to accelerate sustainable development progress3. Sustainable graduation challenges of South Asian LDCs discussed in Kathmandu4. UNESCAP Panel at SDPI Conference focuses on regional cooperation for achieving SDGs5. Bhutan Workshop discusses strategies for Sustainable Graduation of South Asian LDCs6. Policy dialogue highlights relevance of South Asian cooperation for achieving SDGs7. Supporting SDG Achievement through building analytical capacity in South Asian LDCs8. The Bangladesh launch of the E-Commerce capacity-building for women-led MSMEs in South Asia9. Dialogue on Harnessing the Potential of South Asian Cooperation for Sustainable Development10. Civil Society Organizations discuss key challenges faced by South Asian countries in achieving SDGs11. Asian business leaders told to foster job-creating, inclusive and sustainable growth</p
Trade facilitation in times of pandemic : practices from the East and North East Asia
No full textThe COVID-19 pandemic is considered the most serious health crisis and the greatest challenge to humankind since the Second World War. Although countries in East and North-East Asia (ENEA) were the first to be hit by COVID-19, they have so far been successful in controlling the outbreak with relatively low fatalities, partially thanks to various containment measures. The ongoing impact of the pandemic and its local resurgences have caused major disruption to the global economy. The ENEA sub-region is no exception. In this context, the spotlight has been placed on trade facilitation measures to maintain the flow of trade in times of crisis. All ENEA countries have introduced various measures to facilitate trade, although details of how these measures are applied on the ground vary based on the different cultural, societal and economic contexts of each country. This paper provides descriptive yet organized information on the trade facilitation measures taken by countries in the sub-region in response to the pandemic with a focus on China and the Republic of Korea. Typically, these measures include: institutional cooperation to control the virus and facilitate the imports of critical supplies; the simplification of customs procedures and expedited clearance; measures to facilitate transport and logistics; facilitating trade through digital information technologies; measures to support businesses- especially SMEs and the agricultural sector; and cross-border trade finance support. Based on accumulated lessons and practices in ENEA countries during COVID-19 pandemic, the paper asses the measures that can be adopted by other countries in their battle against the pandemic. It also discusses measures that can be maintained in the post-pandemic “new normal”, as well as preparedness that should be institutionalized for future emergencies. As countries in this sub-region begin to reopen and resume work, it is essential that we prevent a second wave of the pandemic, make supply chains more resilient and boost confidence in the global economy through strengthened coordination, as well as improved and holistic trade facilitation measures. Countries that have not yet implemented these trade facilitation measures should accelerate their process
Report. Fifteenth Session of the SPECA Governing Council
No full textThe Governing Council of the United Nations Special Programme for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA) will hold its 15th session on 20 November 2020, on virtual modality. Under the chairmanship of Kyrgyzstan, seven SPECA participating countries, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, will discuss the outcomes of 2020 SPECA Economic Forum and adopt its conclusions and recommendations.The fifteenth session of the Governing Council of the United Nations Special Programme for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA) took place on 20 November 2020 in a virtual modality. The 2020 SPECA Economic Forum entitled “Regional Cooperation to Support Socioeconomic Recovery in the Wake of COVID-19”, also held in a virtual modality on 18 and 19 November 2020, preceded the session of the SPECA Governing Council. The 2020 SPECA high-level events were jointly organized by the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Chair country of SPECA in 2020, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE