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Government technologies and innovations in the Russian Federation : insights from the Bureau of Working Group 2 of the Asia-Pacific Information Superhighway
No full textIn recent years, Asia-Pacific countries have rapidly advanced toward digital societies, harnessing innovative technologies to boost economic growth and enhance public service delivery. Many nations in the region have effectively integrated cutting-edge tools, such as artificial intelligence and big data, to improve access to reliable public information, strengthen healthcare systems, and expand online learning opportunities.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, several Asia-Pacific countries deployed robust digital government services to disseminate credible information on the virus, vaccinations, treatments, and other medical services while facilitating e-learning. These solutions also provided critical licensing and regulatory information for small businesses and streamlined access to public administration services for citizens.
This policy brief highlights successful digital government initiatives implemented by the Government of the Russian Federation, offering inspiration and actionable policy insights for other Asia-Pacific countries seeking to enhance their e-government services. As part of the Asia-Pacific Information Superhighway (APIS)1 Working Group 2 on Digital Technologies and Applications, this brief supports the implementation of the APIS Action Plan 2022-2026.Summary ...............................................................................................................................................................4
FRONTIER GOVERNMENT TECHNOLOGIES AND IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES ...................................... 5
GosOblako: The State Unified Cloud Platform (GEOP) ......................................................................................5
LESSONS LEARNED & POLICY IMPLICATIONS FOR ASIA-PACIFIC COUNTRIES ............................................
The use of macroeconomic indicators in climate action
No full textThe ever-expanding variety of economic data provides increasingly better and more precise information on how climate change and climate action impact economies. Based on this information, climate policies might not only address the needs of climate mitigation and climate adaptation but also ensure that economic development is not dwarfed by misinformed decarbonization policies. At the same time, the guidance provided by analysis based on macroeconomic data ensures that fiscal and social obligations during the green transition are met without risking the social wellbeing of people. This paper discusses aspects of climate change and climate action that can be currently seen in the commonly used macroeconomic indicators, and what are the applications of this information for climate action. The paper also outlines major limitations of the use of macroeconomic indicators as well as uncertainties emanating from the nature of climate change. The discussion on selected indicators is followed by main messages of the paper and sectoral policy options
Building resilience through the climate–food–health nexus : policy pathways for integrated action in Asia and the Pacific
No full textThe Asia-Pacific region faces growing and compounding challenges at the intersection of climate change, food systems, and health. Climate impacts are intensifying vulnerabilities in food systems, impacting health and nutrition outcomes, while also enhancing socio-economic stresses and inequality.
This report advocates for an integrated climate-food-health nexus approach to strengthen resilience, recognizing that climate resilience, food system resilience, and human health resilience are deeply interlinked; and siloed strategies are insufficient to respond to today’s interconnected crises.
The report presents:
• Regional evidence of climate-related risks to food systems and health outcomes.
• Analysis of national policies and multilateral frameworks, including Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs), and Health National Adaptation Plans (HNAPs) in mainstreaming the nexus.
• Strategic entry points for operationalizing integrated approaches, such as climate-health vulnerability assessments and cross-sectoral financing mechanisms.
• Case studies and emerging practices across the region that showcase innovative responses and cross-cutting solutions.Acknowledgements IV
Explanatory notes V
Executive summary VI
Abbreviations XII
CHAPTER 1
Why a climate–food–health nexus approach matters 1
1.1 Purpose and scope of the report 2
1.2 Rationale for a nexus approach 4
1.3 Mapping the converging risks in Asia and the Pacific 10
1.4 Toward resilient development through a nexus approach and alignment with
global commitments
14
CHAPTER 2
Mainstreaming the climate-food-health nexus: from gaps to policy
opportunities
19
2.1 Scope of the analysis 20
2.2 Opportunities for strengthening synergies and comprehensiveness 21
2.3 Policy alignment and integration opportunities for resilience planning 40
CHAPTER 3
Operationalizing integrated climate-food-health strategies 47
3.1 More effective target setting for vulnerability and risk assessment 48
3.2 Data and monitoring 53
3.3 Scaling up financing 56
3.4 Stakeholder engagement 59
3.5 Knowledge, innovation, and technology 61
3.6 Regional collaboration 62
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 4
Conclusion: synergies for climate-food-health resilience 6
Case study : fostering sustainable growth and catalyzing women’s economic entrepreneurship in the Republic of Fiji
No full textThis case study was developed under two complementary programmes led by ESCAP, as part of a publication highlighting good practices from Investment Promotion Agencies in the Asia-Pacific and Latin American regions.This case study features Investment Fiji’s investment promotion efforts aimed at advancing gender equality. Through a series of voluntary initiatives, Investment Fiji integrated gender considerations into its internal systems, investor-facing processes, and support to women entrepreneurs. These efforts include revising HR policies, collecting gender-disaggregated investment data, and ensuring women-led businesses are visible in trade and investment missions. Investment Fiji’s approach demonstrates how targeted actions, supported by leadership commitment, can enhance institutional impact and position Fiji as an inclusive investment destination.The case studies were developed with generous support from the United Kingdom Mission to ASEAN through the ASEAN-UK Green Transition Fund, and from the Government of Colombia, Presidential Agency for International Cooperation of Colombia (APC Colombia), and the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism (MINCIT) of Colombia
Case study : using compliance tool as an initiative to promote gender and development program
No full textThe case studies were developed with generous support from the United Kingdom Mission to ASEAN through the ASEAN-UK Green Transition Fund, and from the
Government of Colombia, Presidential Agency for International Cooperation of Colombia (APC Colombia), and the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism (MINCIT) of ColombiaThis case study features the Board of Investments (BOI) in the Philippines and its initiative to integrate gender considerations into investment promotion by embedding sex-disaggregated employment data into the mandatory annual operations report (Form S-1) for registered business enterprises. Building on the country’s Magna Carta of Women and existing Gender and Development (GAD) plans, BOI has institutionalized gender mainstreaming across its operations and used compliance tools to promote inclusive growth in a cost-effective and replicable way. The revised Form S-1, required from reporting year 2025, will provide critical evidence to identify gender issues, inform GAD programmes, and encourage companies to expand opportunities for women. By leveraging existing mechanisms and aligning with international commitments such as the IPA Pledge, BOI demonstrates how targeted actions supported by leadership can strengthen institutional capacity, position the Philippines as an inclusive investment destination, and serve as a model for other investment promotion agencies
CRVS Inclusivity Report for the workshop of Inclusive CRVS Systems with a Focus on Forced Displacement, Statelessness and Children on the Move (18-21 March 2024)
No full textCRVS Inclusivity Report for the workshop of Inclusive CRVS Systems with a Focus on Forced Displacement, Statelessness and Children on the Move (18-21 March 2024)
This report outlines the key discussions and action points from the workshop to provide a starter for discussions on ensuring inclusive CRVS systems across Asia, the Pacific and beyond. The report is more elaborate than a regular workshop report as it outlines the key global and regional recommendations and guidance related to the different aspects of how to support inclusive CRVS systems.Co-funded by the European UnionEXECUTIVE SUMMARY........................................................................................................ iv 1 BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES...................................................................................1 2 ACTION POINTS AND RELEVANT GUIDANCE/MANDATES ................................3
2.1 National coordination ....................................................................................3
2.2 Inequality assessments....................................................................5
2.3 Production of vital statistics and development indicators ............................6
2.4 Integration of displaced and stateless persons into national statistical systems ..........8 2.5 Legal identity and inclusion in identity management systems ..........................10
2.6 Regional and international coordination ................................................... 12
2.7 Increasing data availability.................................................................... 13
2.8 Resource mobilization and Sustainable funding.................................14
2.9 Data protection and privacy ................................................... 14
2.10 Capacity building...................................................... 17
2.11 Community engagement, outreach and awareness.................................. 19
2.12 Strengthening legal frameworks and legal review ............................20
3 ANNEX ...........................................................................................2
Disaster-related Statistics and Civil Registration and Vital Statistics systems : working paper on the nexus between disaster-related statistics and civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS)
No full textThis background paper introduces the existing and potential contributions of Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) systems to the production of disaster-related statistics. Understanding the nexus between CRVS and official disaster-related statistics requires an understanding of the different methodologies and sources used to produce official statistics, an overview of which is presented here.
This paper highlights the fact that CRVS systems can be used to enhance official population and demography exposure estimation that forms a key element of disaster-related statistics. This includes the combination of data from CRVS systems with complementary sources, such as population censuses and other sources of administrative data. Many countries in Asia and the Pacific are shifting towards more continuously updated official population and demography data via population registers, which depend directly on CRVS systems, with advantages of more timely and granulated exposure information for disaster response, recovery, preparedness and mitigation.
Also presented in this paper is a detailed clarification on the conceptual and measurement basis on evacuated, relocated, internally displaced and internationally displaced populations due to disasters. Registration of displaced individuals, including via mobile registration and emergency shelter registration, is understood to be a powerful source of data to be utilised to support the production of statistics for population displacement-related impacts.
The paper then explores various methods of directly and indirectly attributing impacts to disaster events. Direct attribution can be achieved by monitoring trends on cause-of-death, reported in CRVS systems. One challenge of this is that many deaths go unregistered or are not assigned a cause of death according to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD). Indirect attribution can be estimated via the use of excess mortality, or via excess impacts, a concept defined in this paper, which extends excess mortality to other disaster impact types by looking at other vital statistics such as marriage rates
Digital trade regulatory review for Asia and the Pacific, 2025
No full textESCAP-ECA-ECLAC Initiative on Digital Trade Regulatory IntegrationThe report provides a comparative overview of digital trade regulatory practices across the Asia-Pacific region. The analysis is based on the Regional Digital Trade Integration Index (RDTII 2.1) framework, a comprehensive tool that helps identify patterns of convergence and divergence to inform evidence-based policymaking. Furthermore, to quantify the alignment among economies, the Digital Trade Regulatory Similarity (DTRS) Index is calculated from the RDTII 2.1 data to assess potential complexity of digital trade integration across the Asia-Pacifi