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Closing the loop : Sai Mai district, Bangkok case study
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Thailand is one of the five countries globally contributing the most plastic waste pollution into the oceans. Thailand has critical problems with improper waste management infrastructure, poor waste management practices and low public awareness of how or why individuals should be responsible waste generators. In the country’s large and growing capital, Bangkok, the situation is becoming increasingly acute.
This case study explores the plastic waste value chain in Bangkok to better understand the contributions of – and links between – formal and informal actors in plastic waste management. The insights from this study hopefully will help determine a range of policy measures that work to enhance the contributions of all level of waste collectors and thus the environmental and economic benefits of an integrated plastic waste management system.
The study centred on plastic waste management in the Bangkok metropolitan area, and specifically in Sai Mai District for more in-depth research. Sai Mai District is one of three waste collection and transportation systems run by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), with waste composition and waste stream flows comparable to many of the city’s 50 other districts.
This case study was produced under the Closing the Loop initiative of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). The initiative is gathering evidence in cities in the Asia-Pacific region in search of opportunities to return plastic resources to the production cycle by linking informal and formal waste processes. The case studies in Sai Mai District, Bangkok (Thailand) and Pune (India) were produced in close partnership with the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) Asia Centre and Kashtakari Panchayat – the local partner of Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO) in Pune
Enhancing e-resilience for digital economy in Central Asia
Get PDFInformation and Communications Technology (ICT) is a foundation for the digital economy and inclusive development. Capitalizing on its geographical reach and instantaneous delivery of digital content, the technology has been recognized as a foundation and enabler of sustainable development worldwide. ICT infrastructure is also considered as meta-infrastructure which supports other infrastructure, such as intelligent transport systems, smart grids, single windows among others. The role of ICT is important particularly among developing countries, such as landlocked developing countries (LLDC). The technology plays a critical role to connect LLDCs with the rest of the world and helps provide social and economic services and information so that no one is left behind
The state of social enterprise in Malaysia 2018
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In February 2017, the British Council and United Nations ESCAP signed a collaborative agreement to promote the growth of social enterprise and impact investment across the Asia-Pacific region as a means of supporting progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Together we are co-operating to provide research, analysis, training, policy dialogues and offer guidance to support policy makers and other stakeholders in formulating and implementing policies and strategies that foster social enterprise and create enabling environments for impact investment.
The social enterprise survey in Malaysia is an example of this work and will provide information as to the size and scale of the social enterprise sector in the country.
Social enterprises harness trade, investment and business activity towards social and environmental objectives and are increasingly recognised as critical drivers of innovation for sustainable development
Digital and sustainable trade facilitation in East and North-East Asia : sub-regional report 2019
No full textThe UN Global Survey on Digital and Sustainable Trade Facilitation 2019 reveals that the average implementation of a common set of 31 trade facilitation and paperless trade measures by East and North-East Asian countries stands at 79.3%, significantly higher than the Asia-Pacific regional average of 59.7%. Within the region, East and North-East Asia have the second highest average level of implementation after Australia and New Zealand.
The overall implementation levels of four East and North-East Asian countries are quite different in regard to the specific country. Japan and the Republic of Korea achieve world-leading implementation rates of over 90%. Implementation rate in China stands at slightly over 80% but it has not increased from 2017 at all. Mongolia is the exception in East and North-East Asian countries as its implementation rates are just slightly over 46%.
For more reports please visit our resource page UN Global Survey on Digital and Sustainable Trade Facilitation 2019 or untfsurvey.org
Report. Fourteenth Session of the SPECA Governing Council
No full textThe fourteenth session of the Governing Council of the United Nations Special Programme for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA) took place on 21 November 2019 in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. The 2019 SPECA Economic Forum entitled “Connectivity: Sustainable Transport and Trade Facilitation in the SPECA Subregion”, held on 20–21 November 2019, preceded the session of the Governing Council. The 2019 SPECA events were jointly organized by the Government of Turkmenistan, the Chair country of SPECA in 2019, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)
Environmental change through participation : a closer look at how inclusive engagement can achieve environmental outcomes
No full textEnvironment-related sustainable development goals have shown the least progress across Asia-Pacific countries. In tandem, regional reports, civil society and the news call attention to the increased vulnerability and marginality of specific groups of people in society: such as those exposed to climate change, migrant workers, or those affected by air pollution. More understanding is needed regarding the engagement of marginal and vulnerable groups who lie at the frontiers of environmental change. While poverty, vulnerability and environmental degradation are highly correlated, the knowledge base around their engagement, beyond participatory field research, remains limited. The objectives of this report are to identify the factors that lead to impactful engagement of vulnerable groups around environmental issues, to highlight some successful cases of engaging these groups from the region and to present recommendations for moving forward on participation in environmental decision-making in Asia and the Pacific, at both policy and practice levels. The report is delivered under a joint initiative by ESCAP and the Embassy of Sweden in Bangkok, under a project of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency. It draws on discussions from the regional workshop "Empowering People for a Sustainable Future" held on 25-26 March 2019, in Bangkok , a review of literature and an analysis of 112 initiatives from the Asia-Pacific region. The report contributes to the knowledge and evidence base of the impact of increased participation and engagement on enhanced environmental outcomes
Implementation of the WTO trade facilitation agreement in Asia and the Pacific : 2 years on
Get PDFThe WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) entered into force in 2017. The analysis of official notifications submitted to the WTO by ESCAP members and associate members reveals that significant progress has been made by Asia-Pacific developing economies in implementing the agreement. Highlights of the analysis include the following:
37 Asia-Pacific economies included in this analysis have, on average, notified 65% of the substantive provisions in the WTO TFA in category A. In other words, 65% of the WTO TFA has already been implemented in the region, a 6-percentage point increase from 2017.
Measures most notified in category B, i.e. indicating more time is needed for their implementation, are measures related to Sub-article 1.4 “Notifications”, Sub-article 2.2 “Consultations” and Sub-article 6.1 “General Disciplines on Fees and Charges”.
5 measures most notified under category C, i.e. requiring technical assistance and capacity building, are: Article 10.4 “Single Window”, Article 7.7 “Trade Facilitation measures for Authorized Operators”, Article 7.4 “Risk Management”, Article 10.3 “Use of International Standards” and Article 8 “Border Agency Cooperation”.
Asia-Pacific LDCs’ average rate of implementation is 27%, according to their category A notification. They require capacity building and technical assistance for 50% of the WTO TFA provisions.
Transparency notifications, where countries are supposed to provide information on actual implementation of several TFA measures, are very useful but are not fully complied with.
Some developing countries are at risk of losing access to implementation flexibilities and technical assistance, as they have yet to notify definitive dates of implementation of some provisions (deadline: 22 August 2019).
Given the best-endeavour nature of many WTO TFA provisions, as well as incentives for developing countries to notify under other categories, category A notifications provide an imperfect picture of implementation of trade facilitation measures
Women ICT Frontier Initiative (WIFI) in the Philippines
No full textThis case study illustrates the women empowerment initiatives in ICT and entrepreneurship in the Philippines, scrutinises the implementation of the Women ICT Frontier Initiative (WIFI) flagship programme in the Philippines and provides important insights into the further development of the WIFI.</p
Sustainable energy and gender
No full textEnergy access is a critical enabler to development because it transforms productivity at home and at work. Renewable sources of energy could be time saving and improves health outcomes of women. Further, promoting women’s participation as decision-makers in energy sector and stakeholders in energy initiatives would be critical to promote gender mainstreaming in the sector.
Addressing gender issues in energy interventions extends the potential to contribute towards achieving the SDGs, including poverty alleviation (SDG 1), improved health and well-being (SDG 3), gender equality (SDG 5), good livelihoods and economic opportunity (SDG 8), sustainable urban environments (SDG 11) and climate action (SDG 13) and ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all (SDG 7)