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Nature-based solutions to multiple crises : scaling urban implementation in cities in Asia and the Pacific
No full textLoss of biodiversity, climate adaptation needs, and unsustainable urbanization represent multiple crises felt in the Asia-Pacific region. These interconnected challenges threaten natural and built ecosystems and human wellbeing. There is a pressing need for transformative, multi-level actions. This brief examines the potential for nature-based solutions (NbS) to address these crises holistically and provide economic, social, biodiversity, and resilience benefits. To achieve Target 12 of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), this brief recommends strengthening NbS integration in urban planning and policy, encouraging NbS Localization, using blended finance mechanisms, and harnessing scientific and local indigenous knowledge to scale NbS implementation in Asia and the Pacific cities and communities.I. A multi-crisis for cities in Asia and the Pacific.................................................................... 1
II. NbS in the built environment ............................................................................................... 3
III. Challenges in implementing NbS in Asia and the Pacific .................................................9
IV. NbS opportunities and recommendations ......................................................................11
Defining nature-based solutions ......................................................................................11
NbS Localization ...............................................................................................................11
Mainstreaming NbS in land-use and urban planning .................................................... 12
Multilevel governance ...................................................................................................... 13
Finance ............................................................................................................................. 14
References ............................................................................................................................. 15
List of Figures
Figure 1: Primary urban ecosystem services ....................................................................... 3
Figure 2: Sponge city infrastructure in Laiwu City ............................................................... 4
Figure 3: Co-benefits of nature-based solutions .................................................................. 6
Figure 4: Nature-based solutions in various urban and rural contexts ...............................
Spatial and temporal assessment of agriculture in Lower Mekong countries
Get PDFThis report provides a comprehensive assessment of the spatial distribution of Lower Mekong Countries (Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, and Viet Nam) regarding their agro-climatic environment and crop production of rice, cassava, and maize quantity and expansion within the region. It highlights the impact of El Niño Southern Oscillations (ENSO) events on farming capacity using 30 years of temporal data and discusses vegetation conditions during these events. Additionally, the report acknowledges the implementation of policies in Lower Mekong Countries to support agricultural production and ensure food security.
Key Findings:
• Agro-climatic adaptations: The Impact of ENSO events on agricultural practices shows the need to improve climate resilience using practices like climate-smart agriculture, integrated farming management systems, and eco-friendly intensification.
• Patterns of vegetation: The variation of vegetation indices dynamically reflects the seasonal changes depending on the crop life cycles and the climatic patterns. The environmental variables associated with hydrology show that the water holding capacity determines the vegetation conditions.
• Agro-climatic conditions: The environment is adapted to various crops specific to its geographical distribution and climatic conditions. Climatic conditions like temperature, soil moisture, precipitation, and evapotranspiration were key factors in the selection of crops grown in the region.
• Cultural influences: Prioritizing agricultural product exportation has uplifted livelihoods across scales, emphasizing the economic importance of smallholder farmers and the need for refined agricultural strategies.
• Food security: Vulnerability to climatic variations and ENSO events put forward the need for farming concepts and policies to adapt at a regional level. As country-wise production doesn’t refer to the conservation of nature, the need for sustainable practices is highlighted.
Recommendations:
The document proposes several key interventions:
• Enhancing the cropping mechanism through the integration of concepts like climate-smart agriculture, low-input cropping systems, agroforestry, and integrated farming.
• Identification of social gaps within the existing generation to implement cropping management systems.
• Enhancing the disaster reduction mechanism to cope with the ENSO events that impact the countries.
• Renewal and continuous monitoring of the policy implications that the countries have agreed upon supporting the livelihood of agricultural farmers and crop production.
• Empowerment of the youth to adopt new mechanisms and concepts to uplift the agricultural production and export industry.
Conclusion:
Proactive implementation of policies in Lower Mekong countries reflects a collective commitment to bolstering agricultural production and ensuring food security. Analysis of the agro-climatic conditions not only enhances our understanding of regional agricultural dynamics but also emphasizes the necessity of adaptive measures to navigate the complexities of climatic variability and sustainably support the vital sector of food production.Acknowledgements ...........................................................................................................................iii
Executive Summary: ........................................................................................................................ iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................................................... v
Chapter 1: Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1
1.1. Background information on the agro-climate environment ................................................. 1
1.1. Importance of assessing spatial and temporal aspects ...................................................... 1
1.2. Overview of the targeted countries (Lao PDR, Cambodia, Viet Nam) ................................ 3
1.2.1. Lao PDR .................................................................................................................... 5
1.2.2. Cambodia .................................................................................................................. 5
1.2.3. Viet Nam .................................................................................................................... 6
Chapter 2: Methodology .................................................................................................................... 7
2.1. Data collection sources ......................................................................................................... 7
2.2. Selection criteria for study areas within the countries ............................................................ 8
2.3. Analytical techniques and tools utilized. .............................................................................. 10
2.4. Variables and indicators considered in the assessment. ...................................................... 12
Chapter 3: Spatial Assessment of Agro-Climate Environment ......................................................... 14
3.1. Description of the spatial distribution of Agro-climate variables ........................................... 14
3.1.1. Precipitation patterns ............................................................................................... 14
3.1.2. Temperature variations ............................................................................................ 15
3.1.3. Evapotranspiration rates .......................................................................................... 15
3.1.4. Soil moisture levels .................................................................................................. 15
3.2. Mapping techniques that are used to represent spatial patterns .......................................... 16
3.3. Indices for assessment of spatial patterns in drought and flood risk .................................... 16
3.4. Identification of hotspots or regions with specific climatic challenges .................................. 17
3.5. Comparison of the three countries in terms of spatial characteristics .................................. 17
3.5.1. Temperature ............................................................................................................ 18
3.5.2. Precipitation ............................................................................................................. 18
3.5.3. Evapotranspiration ................................................................................................... 19
3.5.4. Soil moisture ............................................................................................................ 21
3.5.5. Cropping conditions based on indices: Vegetation Condition Index (VCI) and
Vegetation Health Index (VHI).................................................................................................. 22
3.5.6. Major crop production in the Lower Mekong Region ................................................ 23
3.5.7. Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) ..................................................................... 23
Chapter 4: Temporal Assessment of Agro-Climate Environment ..................................................... 25
4.1. Analysis of temporal trends and variability ........................................................................... 25
4.1.1. Long-term climate data analysis .............................................................................. 26
4.1.2. Seasonal climate patterns ........................................................................................ 29
4.2. Identification of climate change impacts on the agro-climate environment ........................... 30
Chapter 5: El Niño Southern Oscillations (ENSO) ........................................................................... 32
5.1. El Niño and La Niña Events ................................................................................................. 32
5.2. Distribution of Agroclimatic variables and cropping intensity measurements compared with
ENSO events ................................................................................................................................. 33
Chapter 6. Implications of Agricultural Practices and Food Security ................................................ 36
6.1. Discussion of the agro-climate challenges faced by each country ....................................... 36
6.2. Implications of temporal changes on agricultural practices .................................................. 38
6.3. Assessment of the impacts on crop production, livestock, and fisheries .............................. 40
6.4. Adaptation strategies and practices implemented by the countries ...................................... 43
6.5. Evaluation of the effectiveness of existing adaptation measures ......................................... 43
Chapter 7: Policy Recommendations .............................................................................................. 45
7.1. Strategies for enhancing agro-climate resilience ................................................................. 45
7.2. Integration of Climate Information into Agricultural Planning ................................................ 46
7.3. Strengthening of Institutional Capacities and Knowledge Transfer ...................................... 46
7.4. Collaboration and Regional Initiatives for Addressing Common Challenges ........................ 47
Chapter 8: Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 48
8.1. Summary of Key Findings from the Spatial and Temporal Assessments .............................. 48
8.2. Importance of Continuous Monitoring and Assessment ....................................................... 48
8.3. Final Remarks on the Agro-Climate Environment in Lao PDR, Cambodia, and Viet Nam .... 4
E-commerce in trade agreements : India’s strategies and options
No full textThe e-commerce sector is rapidly growing globally with the Asia-Pacific region accounting for 58 per cent of global retail e-commerce in 2022, and India, Singapore, China, and Japan leading this growth. The discussion on e-commerce and trade at the global level began in 1998 with the establishment of the Working Programme on E-commerce (WPEC) at the World Trade Organization (WTO), under which members agreed to a moratorium on customs duties for electronic transmissions. Progress on broader e-commerce trade rules within WPEC has been slow, which prompted the creation of the Joint Statement Initiative (JSI) on E-commerce in 2019. On July 26, 2024, 80 member countries reached a consensus on trade rules in a “stabilized text.” Simultaneously, many nations have pursued standalone digital trade agreements or included digital trade chapters in broader trade agreements. India has not joined the JSI and opposes a permanent moratorium, citing evolving definitions of e-commerce and potential tariff revenue losses for developing countries. However, India has signed an agreement with a digital trade chapter with the United Arab Emirates and is negotiating similar chapters with other important trade partners.
Given this background, the paper presents the discussions on e-commerce in the WPEC and the JSI. It presents India’s position in the WTO and trade agreements, its concerns, domestic regime and negotiating strategies and options. It provides data driven analysis of the impact of the moratorium on India’s e-commerce trade and suggests why digital taxation may be better than a tariff for revenue collection. It compares India’s autonomous regime (AR) with JSI obligations. It analyses trade agreements across parameters related to cross-border e-commerce trade, with a focus on agreements in the APAC region, in terms of their scope, coverage and depth of commitments. The paper concludes by providing a roadmap to move forward with discussions in the JSI and recommendations for India to find its stand in global negotiations.Table of Contents
Abstract........................................................................................................................ 1
1. List of Tables...................................................................................................... i
List of Figures.............................................................................................................. ii
List of Abbreviations .................................................................................................. iii
1. Introduction....................................................................................................... 1
1.1. Objective ............................................................................................................. 3
1.2. Methodology........................................................................................................ 3
1.3. Layout of the Paper ............................................................................................. 4
2. WTO and JSI on E-Commerce and India......................................................... 5
2.1. WTO Work Programme on E-Commerce (WPEC)............................................... 5
2.2. India, WPEC and JSI......................................................................................... 12
3. Bilateral/Regional Trade Agreements: Digital Trade and E-commerce...... 30
3.1. Different Types of Bilateral/Regional Trade Agreements on E- commerce and
Digital Trade................................................................................................................ 30
3.2. Scope, Coverage and Depth of Commitments in Digital Trade under Different
Comprehensive Agreements....................................................................................... 32
3.3. Key Takeaways from Bilateral Agreements ....................................................... 37
4. Conclusion and the Way Forward ................................................................. 39
4.1. Future discussion on e-commerce at the global level ........................................ 39
4.2. India’s stand on JSI, the moratorium and domestic reforms............................... 42
References ................................................................................................................. 47
Appendix A................................................................................................................. 5
Digital public services for small and medium-sized enterprises in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan
Get PDFThe materials presented in this working paper are based on outcomes from the First Subregional Meeting on
Innovation and Technology for Sustainable Development of Central Asia and the United Nations Special
Programme for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA), held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on 26–28 June 2024.This working paper presents the outcomes of a study on digital public services for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in three countries – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan and developed both in English and Russian languages. This working paper was prepared under the ESCAP project on Strengthening Policies and Regulatory Frameworks for Digital Public Services for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in North and Central Asia in Support of APIS, in alignment with the Asia-Pacific Information Superhighway (APIS) Action Plan 2022–2026. The working paper is based on outcomes from the First Subregional Meeting on Innovation and Technology for Sustainable Development of Central Asia and the United Nations Special Programme for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA), held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on 26–28 June 2024. Highlights from this working paper were presented at the Regional Capacity Building Workshop in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on 14–15 November 2024 during the Uzbekistan Innoweek2024Russian FederationContents
Acknowledgements ..............................................................................................................................................3
Executive Summary..............................................................................................................................................7
1. Introduction .............................................................................................................................................9
2. Analytical tool to explore the current state of digital public services for SMEs ..........................10
2.1 Elements in the analysis of digital public services for SMEs ............................................................10
2.2 Definition of SMEs............................................................................................................................11
2.3 Types of digital public services for SMEs .........................................................................................12
2.4 Principles for the development of digital public services for SMEs..................................................14
3. Digital public services in Kazakhstan .....................................................................................................15
3.1 International and national statistics....................................................................................................15
3.2 Legal framework and actors...............................................................................................................17
3.3 Classification of SMEs.......................................................................................................................18
3.4 Core digital public services for SMEs................................................................................................18
3.5 Additional digital public services for SMEs ......................................................................................20
3.6 Digital public service needs of SMEs ................................................................................................22
4. Digital public services in Kyrgyzstan .....................................................................................................25
4.1 International and national statistics....................................................................................................25
4.2 Legal framework, actors and digital platforms...................................................................................26
4.3 Characteristics of digital public services............................................................................................27
4.4 Classification of SMEs.......................................................................................................................28
4.5 Core digital public services for SMEs................................................................................................28
4.6 Additional digital public services for SMEs ......................................................................................30
4.7 Digital public service needs of SMEs ................................................................................................32
5. Digital public services in Uzbekistan ......................................................................................................35
Digital Public Services for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan 5
5.1 International and national statistics....................................................................................................35
5.2 Legal framework and actors...............................................................................................................37
5.3 Classification of SMEs.......................................................................................................................39
5.4 Core digital public services for SMEs................................................................................................39
5.5 Additional digital public services for SMEs ......................................................................................42
5.6 Digital public service needs of SMEs ................................................................................................44
6. Recommendations and next steps.............................................................................................................46
7. References....................................................................................................................................................4
Analytical study on the challenges and opportunities for clean cooking in Nepal
No full textSeveral challenges are impeding quick expansion of the eCooking market in Nepal. Clear long-term resource planning is needed for reaching the goals, despite the strong commitment and prominence of the policy. There is a lack of a mass awareness campaign to increase demand more quickly and development partners' efforts to increase public awareness have only touched a small portion of the population.
This report recommends that the Government of Nepal, through the Alternative Energy Promotion Centre (AEPC), extends technical expertise support and collaborates closely with subnational governments to prioritize eCooking in their plans and policies with coherent beneficiary packages. Enhancing testing capabilities has become pressing to ensure the quality of eCooking products. Equally important is to establishing collaboration between AEPC, Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology (NBSM), and Department of Commerce, Supplies and Consumer Protection (DoCSCP) for the same purpose.
To increase demand, a public awareness campaign should be launched by empowering women and young people to be local advocates for eCooking and by pursuing in-person approach such as live demonstration and utilizing social media and the mass media.This material has been funded by UKAid from the UK governmentAcknowledgements ............................................................................................ iv
Abbreviations and acronyms ............................................................................... v
Executive summary ............................................................................................ ix
1 Introduction ................................................................................................. 1
1.1 Clean cooking: the evolving concerns in the Nepal context ........................... 1
1.2 The energy transition agenda and clean cooking ........................................... 2
1.3 Objectives of the study ............................................................................... 3
1.4 Methodology .............................................................................................. 3
2 Electric cooking market in Nepal ................................................................... 4
2.1 Product ..................................................................................................... 4
2.2 Core market functions ................................................................................ 6
2.3 Enabling policy environment ....................................................................... 7
International commitments ............................................................................... 7
Energy policies .................................................................................................. 8
Climate change policies .................................................................................. 10
Energy business regulatory framework .............................................................. 11
2.4 Demand .................................................................................................. 11
2.5 Supply ..................................................................................................... 12
2.6 Financing ................................................................................................. 14
2.7 Climate finance ....................................................................................... 15
2.8 Infrastructure: supply of electricity ............................................................ 15
3 Baseline and current progress in clean cooking ........................................... 16
4 Clean cooking support in Nepal .................................................................. 18
4.1 Research and knowledge building ............................................................. 18
4.2 Piloting and scaled up implementation ...................................................... 19
4.3 Building the ecosystem for clean cooking .................................................. 22
5 Scope for capacity building on standards and testing of clean cookstoves .... 25
5.1 Standards in place ..................................................................................... 25
5.2 Testing needs ............................................................................................ 25
5.3 Testing capacity ......................................................................................... 26
5.4 Capacity building areas ............................................................................... 26
6 International best practices and their applicability to Nepal ......................... 28
6.1 Policy and enabling environment ............................................................... 29
6.2 Financing ................................................................................................. 29
6.3 Supply chains .......................................................................................... 30
6.4 Demand creation ..................................................................................... 31
6.5 Standards development and implementation ............................................. 31
7 Conclusions ................................................................................................ 32
7.1 Policy ....................................................................................................... 32
7.2 Demand side ............................................................................................. 33
7.3 Supply side ............................................................................................... 33
7.4 Financing .................................................................................................. 34
7.5 Infrastructure-electricity ............................................................................. 34
8 Recommendations ..................................................................................... 36
Annex A................................................................................................................ a
International Best Practices for Accelerating Transitions to Modern Energy Cooking Solutions
Annex B ............................................................................................................. cc
Global Electric Cooking Coalition (GeCCo)
Nepal County Level Readiness Assessment for Scaled Electric Cooking - Version 1.0 .
Trade and investment policies on mechanization of agriculture : case studies of selected countries: Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, Philippines, Türkiye
No full textI. Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 3
1.1. Objectives of the study .....................................................................................................................................4
1.2. Selected countries ............................................................................................................................................4
1.3. Study methodology ...........................................................................................................................................5
1.4. Report structure ................................................................................................................................................5
II. Enablers of sustainable agricultural mechanization .......................................................................... 6
2.1. Sustainable agricultural mechanization .........................................................................................................7
2.2. Trade and investment policies for agriculture and agricultural mechanization ..........................................8
III. Case studies from selected countries ........................................................................................... 10
3.1. Bangladesh .................................................................................................................................................... 10
3.2. Indonesia ........................................................................................................................................................ 26
3.3. Pakistan .......................................................................................................................................................... 61
3.4. Philippines ...................................................................................................................................................... 88
3.5. Türkiye .......................................................................................................................................................... 120
IV. Summary of findings, conclusions and recommendations ........................................................... 160
4.1. Summary of findings ................................................................................................................................... 160
4.2. Conclusions ................................................................................................................................................. 164
4.3. Recommendations ...................................................................................................................................... 165
Index............................................................................................................................................. 168
Tables .................................................................................................................................................................. 168
Figures ................................................................................................................................................................. 171
Acronyms ............................................................................................................................................................ 172
References .................................................................................................................................... 17
Building bankable green project pipelines in the non-infrastructure sectors of Cambodia
No full textThis report examines the potential for building bankable green project pipelines in Cambodia’s non-infrastructure sectors, drawing on a national mapping exercise, outreach to 20 financial institutions, and consultations with government and development partners. It identifies opportunities to mobilize climate-aligned investment while addressing challenges such as fragmented policies, limited capacity, and insufficient financial incentives. The study underscores the need for a national green taxonomy, stronger links between strategies and projects, and greater engagement from the domestic banking sector. By strengthening collaboration and creating an enabling policy and regulatory environment, Cambodia can accelerate its transition to a low-carbon economy, advance its NDC targets, and foster long-term resilience and inclusive growth
