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CRVS Phase 5
No full textThe UN ESCAP project, ‘Getting Everyone in the Picture: Strengthening Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Systems in Asia and the Pacific (Data for Health Initiative Phase 5)’ is the fifth collaborative phase with Bloomberg Philanthropies aimed at bolstering Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) systems for Member States. Building on lessons from previous phases, the project’s core objectives were to strengthen civil registration and vital statistics, and support the Regional Action Framework for CRVS in Asia and the Pacific. It achieved these objectives through targeted activities including inequality assessments, CRVS business process improvement, producing vital statistics reports, building demographic and research capacity among practitioners, supporting regional networks of CRVS practitioners, and the organisation of the Third Ministerial Conference on CRVS in Asia and the Pacific held in June 2025.
The evaluation was conducted between July and October 2025 and covered Members and Associate Members of ESCAP, across the Asia-Pacific region as a whole. The assessment was structured around the widely accepted OECD-DAC criteria—examining Relevance, Coherence, Effectiveness, Efficiency, Impact, and Sustainability—and was further expanded to include cross-cutting criteria on gender mainstreaming, the promotion of human rights, and support for disability inclusion. This framework guided the formulation of numerous retrospective and forward-looking evaluation questions designed to assess the project's alignment with national goals, its achievement of objectives, and the potential for long-term benefits.
The evaluation employed a mixed-methods approach utilizing documentary evidence, stakeholder surveys, and semi-structured interviews with a diverse group of 30 individuals, including national stakeholders, UN staff, and CRVS Applied Research Training (CART) participants, ensuring a majority of interviewees came from national departments and agencies. Specific attention was paid to the CART initiative, examining both the first cohort (already drafting or publishing research) and the second cohort (still undergoing training). A systematic triangulation of evidence—comparing information from documents, interviews, and surveys (including an independent survey and post workshop feedback)—was conducted to ensure the credibility and impartiality of findings, with data analysis supported by coding text extracts and sentiment analysis of free-text responses.
The project successfully delivered its outputs within the forecasted time and budget, continuing to raise and maintain national, regional and international awareness of CRVS issues, successfully fostering networks of experts, and supporting increased intra-national and international cooperation. While recipient countries have made considerable, albeit uneven, progress towards the aims of the Regional Action Framework, the project helped sustain national and regional momentum in an increasingly uncertain environment, addressing infrastructure and capacity gaps around data collection and use, and mitigating the medium-term risk posed by short funding cycles and reliance on a single donor. The new CART initiative was effective in developing practitioner research competencies, with participants finding the training highly relevant, though finalisation of participant research projects is on-going along with support in translating the research into policy and operational decision making.Table of contents
Table of contents ..................................................................................................................................... i
Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................................... ii
List of acronyms ..................................................................................................................................... iii
Executive summary ................................................................................................................................ iv
1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Overview of the project ............................................................................................................ 1
1.2 Purpose of the evaluation......................................................................................................... 1
1.3 Scope and timeline of the evaluation ....................................................................................... 2
2. Description of the Project ............................................................................................................... 3
2.1 Background ............................................................................................................................... 3
2.2 Project theory of change .......................................................................................................... 5
2.3 Project strategies ...................................................................................................................... 8
2.4 Innovative elements ............................................................................................................... 10
2.5 Beneficiaries, target countries and key partners .................................................................... 11
2.6 Resources ................................................................................................................................ 12
3. Evaluation Scope and Methodology ............................................................................................. 13
3.1 Evaluation scope ..................................................................................................................... 13
3.2 Evaluation approach ............................................................................................................... 15
3.3 Data collection and analysis.................................................................................................... 15
3.4 Stakeholder analysis ............................................................................................................... 17
3.5 Sampling ................................................................................................................................. 18
3.6 Risks and limitations ............................................................................................................... 18
4. Evaluation Findings ....................................................................................................................... 19
4.1 Impact ..................................................................................................................................... 19
4.2 Effectiveness ........................................................................................................................... 27
4.3 Relevance ................................................................................................................................ 38
4.4 Efficiency ................................................................................................................................. 50
4.5 Sustainability ........................................................................................................................... 54
4.6 Cross-cutting Issues ................................................................................................................ 57
5. Conclusions ................................................................................................................................... 61
6. Recommendations ........................................................................................................................ 64
ANNEXES ............................................................................................................................................... 66
Annex 1: Evaluation TORs ............................................................................................................ 66
Annex 2: Project’s theory of change ............................................................................................ 78
Annex 3: Project progress ............................................................................................................ 79
Annex 4: Data collection instruments ......................................................................................... 82
Annex 5: List of individuals interviewed ..................................................................................... 9
Digital Trade Regulatory Review for South and South-West Asia, 2025
No full textThe report provides a comparative overview of digital trade regulatory practices across the South and South-West Asia region. The analysis is based on the Regional Digital Trade Integration Index (RDTII 2.1) framework, a comprehensive tool that helps identify patterns to 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 potential complexity of digital trade integration across the South and South-West Asia
Digital trade regulatory review for North and Central Asia, 2025
No full textThe report provides a comparative overview of digital trade regulatory practices across the North and Central Asia 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 North and Central Asia
Pan-Asia Partnership for Geospatial Air Pollution information : assessment of air quality remote sensing in Thailand
No full textAir pollution in Thailand is a serious issue with a multitude of local sources that make data driven policy interventions for air pollution control imperative. To mitigate the deteriorating air quality, efficient resource utilization by integrating spatial information with the ground observations of emissions and sources is crucial. Data from satellites and airborne remote sensing technologies can aid effective decision-making during extreme air pollution episodes as well as help in tracking long-term air pollution abatement and mitigation plans and programmes.List of Abbreviations ......................................................................... 4 List of Figures........................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. I. Air Pollution in Thailand: Background and Mitigation Strategies ............ 7 II. Existing Use of Remote Sensing for Long-range Transport..................... 8 III. Status of Pandora and GEMS ........................................................ 13 Recommendations .......................................................................... 22 References .................................................................................... 2
Supporting a Regional Dialogue on Sustainable Maritime Connectivity : Results of the 2025 Asia-Pacific Regional Dialogue on Sustainable Maritime Connectivity
No full textThe 2025 Asia-Pacific Regional Dialogue on Sustainable Maritime Connectivity, held in Mumbai and online on 28–29 October under the theme “Navigating Uncertainty, Advancing Together,” brought together policymakers, industry leaders, and international organizations to address pressing challenges in global shipping. Discussions focused on advancing green and digital transitions, strengthening regional cooperation, and enhancing resilience amid geopolitical tensions, climate risks, and supply chain shifts. Key priorities included maritime decarbonization, smart port development, multimodal connectivity for landlocked and island nations, and gender inclusiveness in the maritime sector. The Dialogue reaffirmed ESCAP’s role in coordinating regional action and set the stage for inputs to the next Regional Action Programme and the Fifth Asia-Pacific Transport Ministerial Conference in 2026.Table of Contents....................................................................................................................................3
I. Executive Summary................................................................................................................................4
II. Background............................................................................................................................................5
III. Thematic Sessions.................................................................................................................................6
A. Current trends and strategic responses to the rapidly changing global and Asia-Pacific maritime
transport landscape.................................................................................................................................... 6
B. Current Regional cooperation for promoting sustainable maritime transport in Asia and the Pacific 7
C. Advancing green shipping corridors, port digitalization and inclusive transport in Asia and the
Pacific......................................................................................................................................................... 8
D. Enhancing port-hinterland connectivity for landlocked developing countries and promoting inland
waterway transport ................................................................................................................................... 9
E. National strategy and action plan for sustainable maritime transport ................................................. 10
F. Special Session and Keynote Speech....................................................................................................... 11
V. Commitment to Continued Regional Dialogue.................................................................................12
ANNEX.....................................................................................................................................................1
Enhancing tax revenues in Asia and the Pacific
No full textIn episodes of swift tax revenue enhancement, Asia-Pacific experience suggests a central role of rationalized tax structure, strengthened tax administration, and reduced wasteful tax exemptions. Nevertheless, to achieve greater and sustained results in the longer term, broader socioeconomic progress and improvements in public governance are equally indispensable. Meanwhile, better exploration of tax potentials of direct income and wealth taxes and of the region’s booming real estate markets can be important for further public revenue enhancement.
Key messages:
• Rationalized tax structure, strengthened tax administration and reduction in wasteful tax exemptions played a central role in tax revenue enhancement in several developing Asia-Pacific countries. In particular, the adoption of digital solutions in tax administration contributed to swift and robust tax revenue enhancement.
• Revenue potentials of income and wealth taxes remain under-tapped in developing Asia-Pacific countries, while the public demand for fairer tax systems and continued improvements in tax administration capacity may have created new opportunities for bolder actions.
• Weak property taxation is probably the greatest missed opportunity of public revenue mobilization for developing Asia-Pacific countries. Additionally, land value capture, which is more front-loaded in revenue flows and less visible to taxpayers, can potentially complement traditional recurrent property taxes.
• For sustained public revenue enhancement in the longer term, broader socioeconomic progress and improvements in the quality and accountability of public governance are equally indispensable as revenue mobilization itself.
• Despite some encouraging progress, equal representation of poorer and smaller developing countries in international tax cooperation and norm-setting processes remains an unfinished job. The United Nations system can and should play a more prominent role on this front.Table of Contents
Summary ............................................................................................................................ 4
I. MAIN ISSUES ................................................................................................................... 5
A. Lessons from recent successes in tax revenue enhancement .............................................. 5
B. Gaps in personal income taxes (PIT) and property and wealth taxes (PWT) ......................... 5
C. Tax potentials and the underlying forces affecting it ............................................................. 7
D. Equal representation in international tax cooperation ............................................................ 7
II. POLICY CONSIDERATIONS...............................................................................................
Banking sector climate scenario analysis results 2024-25
No full textThis report presents the findings of Mongolia’s first climate scenario analysis (CSA), conducted by the Bank of Mongolia between October 2024 and July 2025, to assess climate-related risks to the banking sector. Using transition scenarios aligned with Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) pathways and Mongolia-specific physical risk scenarios—including dzuds, droughts, and floods—the analysis evaluates potential impacts on credit risk across seven commercial banks. The results indicate that both transition and physical climate risks could significantly increase expected credit losses, with particularly high exposures under delayed transition and severe physical shock scenarios. Flood risk assessments reveal substantial concentrations of mortgage and collateralized lending in high-risk areas. The analysis also finds that bank-financed emissions account for around 23 per cent of Mongolia’s national emissions, underscoring the banking sector’s role in supporting the low-carbon transition. While climate risk management practices remain at an early stage, this first CSA represents an important step in strengthening financial sector resilience and provides a foundation for future supervisory and policy development.The Partnership Action fund of the NDC PartnershipAbout this document ..................................................................................................... 1
List of figures and tables ................................................................................................ 3
Abbreviations and acronyms .......................................................................................... 4
Executive summary ....................................................................................................... 5
Introduction ................................................................................................................. 7
Overview of climate scenario analysis ............................................................................ 8
Objectives................................................................................................................. 8
Participating institutions ............................................................................................ 8
Financial risks ........................................................................................................... 9
Balance sheet method ............................................................................................... 9
Methodological approach ........................................................................................ 10
Scenario narrative ....................................................................................................... 10
Transition scenarios ................................................................................................. 10
Flood scenario ........................................................................................................ 16
Dzud + drought scenario .......................................................................................... 17
Transition risks as financed emissions ...................................................................... 19
Climate scenario analysis results ................................................................................. 20
Credit risks in transition scenarios ............................................................................ 20
Credit risk under drought and dzud scenario .............................................................. 24
Credit risks from floods ............................................................................................ 26
Transition risks as financed emissions ...................................................................... 28
Qualitative findings .................................................................................................. 29
Key insights and lessons learned .................................................................................. 34
Conclusion and next steps .......................................................................................... 3
Complementarities Initiative 2.0
No full textThe Complementarities Initiative, launched in 2015, represents a collaborative effort between ASEAN and ESCAP to align ASEAN’s community-building agenda with the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Building on the achievements of the first phase, which strengthened synergies under the ASEAN Community Vision 2025, the second phase, the Complementarities Initiative 2.0, supports the implementation of the ASEAN Community Vision 2045 with a renewed focus on fostering a greener, more resilient, and inclusive region. The Complementarities Initiative 2.0 further integrates ASEAN’s green strategic measures with the Sustainable Development Goals, emphasizing sustainable economic growth, climate resilience, and social equity while embedding gender equality, technological innovation, and environmental sustainability across all three ASEAN community pillars.
The Complementarities Initiative 2.0 introduces five new priority areas - Green Finance, Resilience against Climate Change, Energy Transition, Effective Digital Transformation, and Networking and Partnerships - forming a comprehensive “GREEN” agenda to accelerate progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals. Key recommendations include operationalizing the ASEAN Centre for Climate Change, advancing the ASEAN Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance, strengthening regional data systems, enhancing digital governance, and improving institutional coordination to promote a more coherent, evidence-based, and sustainable development pathway for ASEAN
