Lead Partner: Government of Indonesia - Ministry of Forestry - Government of Japan - Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan - The Nature Conservancy (TNC) - Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR)
Geographical Scope: Regional
- Asia and the Pacific Summary: Asia Forest Partnership(AFP) promotes sustainable forest management in Asia through addressing the following 5 urgent issues;
- Good governance and forest law enforcement
- Developing capacity for effective forest management
- Control of illegal logging
- Control of forest fires
- Rehabilitation and reforestation of degraded lands
The partnership acts as a catalyst for already existing initiatives by increasing synergies and reducing duplication between programs and ongoing efforts. At this stage the AFP provides a formal framework for the exchange of information and experiences. Beyond strengthening existing programs this will facilitate joint identification of new programs and research needed.
[more]
Lead Partner: Government of Australia - Department of Environment and Heritage - Government of Japan - Ministry of the Environment - Wetlands International
Geographical Scope: Regional
- Asia and the Pacific Summary: This partnership provides a cooperative framework for conservation of migratory waterbirds and their inland and coastal habitats across the region. The partnership is guided by the Asia-Pacific Migratory Waterbird Conservation Strategy and associated Action Plans for conservation of Anatidae (Ducks, Swans and Geese), Cranes and Shorebirds. Each of these Action Plan calls for recognition of internationally important habitat for the relevant species group through inclusion in 'Site Networks'. The site network concept links internationally important sites across country boundaries and provides for exchange of information and training opportunities. It provides a powerful tool for cooperation to ensure that the chain of sites required by migratory birds along their migration route is conserved.
In order to achieve their potential, the site networks need to include at least 25% of internationally important sites across the migratory flyways. At present the networks include approximately 10% of internationally important sites. The WSSD partnership provides for expansion of the site networks across the region. [more]
Lead Partner: Government of Japan - Ministry of Environment
Geographical Scope: Regional
- Asia and the Pacific Summary: Greenhouse gases emissions from the Asia-Pacific region are increasing while climate change can have serious impact on some countries in the region. In order to implement the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol, which is a first step for addressing climate change, the region requires fruitful policy dialogues among countries. Further, it needs to develop and implement a regional strategy addressing climate change. The Asia-Pacific Network on Climate Change (AP-Net) aims to facilitate policy dialogue, exchange of experiences, data, and information among all relevant actors in the region to build institutional capacity. The AP-Net has been operational since 1998, as both a gateway website and an individual website. The partnership will be formed to elaborate the AP-Net cooperatively and utilize it for implementation of joint activities among participant countries and organization. [more]
Lead Partner: Government of Australia - Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources - Government of Mexico - Secretaria de Energia
Geographical Scope: Regional
- Asia and the Pacific Summary: The United Nations Economic and Social Councils notes that:
"Access to energy is crucial to economic and social development, and alleviation of poverty. Improving accessibility of energy implies finding ways and means by which energy services can be delivered reliably, affordably and in an environmentally sound and socially acceptable manner, particularly in meeting the energy requirements of developing countries, including their rural areas."
"Furthermore, accessibility of energy is conditioned by security of supply and demand as well as by market stability, all of which need to be addressed in terms of their regional and international dimensions, which include cross-border energy transport infrastructure, storage and shipment by tankers."
The EWG has long noted that ongoing initiatives must demonstrate added value in the context of the World Summit. As such, new partnership initiatives to be undertaken by the EWG, in the context of its ongoing activities, are particularly influenced by the need to improve accessibility to energy and the security of energy supplies.
In consideration of the challenges to improving accessibility to energy, and in response to the directives of APEC Energy Ministers, the EWG will pursue new initiatives to:
(a) Undertake longer-term actions to improve regional energy security
(b) Advance regional energy security through short-term actions
(c) Improve access to energy by addressing the barriers to the interconnection of power grids between APEC member economies
(d) Address sustainability through practical responses that encompass burning fuels more cleanly, capture and geological sequestration of carbon dioxide, the use of new and renewable energy technologies, and improving energy efficiency
(e) Explore new mechanisms for working more closely with international financial institutions to facilitate infrastructure development within the APEC region.
These activities will complement the EWG's ongoing efforts to diversify its energy mix, improve energy efficiency, deploy new and renewable energy technologies, promote clean energy, facilitate energy business and trade, improve data collection and information sharing and encourage private investment through policy and regulatory reform. [more]
Lead Partner: Partnership for Environmental Management of Seas East Asia (PEMSEA)
Geographical Scope: Sub-regional East Asia Summary: Main objectives of the Partnership/Initiative
The overall objective of the partnership initiative is to implement the Sustainable Development Strategy for the Seas of East Asia (SDS-SEA). The objective will be achieved with the accomplishment of the following:
1. Endorsement of the SDS-SEA by national governments;
2. Development and adoption of complementary national coastal and ocean strategies and policies;
3. Formulation and implementation of national action programs, putting national ocean and coastal strategies and policies into operation; and
4. Creation of a sustainable financing mechanism to support the implementation of action programs focusing on transboundary concerns at the sub-regional and regional levels.
The main result of the partnership initiative will be the establishment of a non-convention, partnership arrangement among governments of the East Asian Seas region for the implementation of improved coastal and ocean governance of their shared sea areas and resources. [more]
Lead Partner: Government of Japan - Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: The objectives of IFNet are to help break the vicious cycle of poverty, assist developing countries to achieve sustainable development and contribute to economic stability by improving the coordination and effectiveness of measures to manage flood and reduce the loss of life and property damage that they cause. [more]
Lead Partner: Geographical Scope: Global Summary: The Methane to Markets Partnership is an international initiative that advances cost-effective, near-term methane recovery and use as a clean energy source. The goal of the Partnership is to reduce global methane emissions in order to enhance economic growth, strengthen energy security, improve air quality, improve industrial safety, and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.
The Partnership currently focuses on four sources of methane emissions:
- Agriculture (animal waste management)
- Coal mines
- Landfills
- Oil and gas systems [more]
Lead Partner: Government of Philippines - Partnership for Environmental Management of Seas East Asia (PEMSEA)
Geographical Scope: Sub-regional East Asia Summary: The initiative is focused on accelerating investments in environmental facilities and services at the community/local government level, for the protection and sustainable use of the marine and coastal resources of the Seas of East Asia using public-private partnership (PPP) arrangements. The project entails the establishment of partnerships between the public and private sectors, at the local, national and international levels, employing a procedure that was developed and tested by
PEMSEA in Batangas Bay, Philippines. The PPP process will be applied at six pilot sites, to refine, verify and demonstrate the approach under a variety of political, social, economic and environmental scenarios. The pilot site locations include: Bali (Indonesia), Bohai Sea (China), Danang (Vietnam), Klang (Malaysia), Manila Bay (Philippines) and Xiamen (China). Each identified pilot site has already embarked on a program of integrated marine and coastal resource management, and has created a policy and investment climate that is conducive to private sector investment and partnership.
The objectives of the initiative are as follows:
1. To verify the PPP procedure for developing pipeline projects for environmental investments at the local government level;
2. To build confidence and capabilities in public-private partnership (PPP) arrangements as an alternative delivery mechanism for financing and sustaining environmental facilities and services;
3. To establish PPP working models at selected sites in the region; and
4. To develop capacities within and among the public and private sectors to effectively implement and sustain new environmental investments in the East Asian region and elsewhere, using the experience, lessons and good practices derived from this initiative; and
5. To engage local and national governments, the private sector, national and international financial institutions, international agencies, donors, the private sector and civil society in development projects that result in practical benefits to the environment, and the social and economic well-being of coastal communities. [more]
Lead Partner: REEEP International Secretariat
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: Accelerate a global market for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficient Systems (REES).
Tremendous financial resources from the private and public sector will be needed to meet developing and transition countries' future energy demand in a sustainable way. Obstacles prohibiting this development include a lack of reliable policies and regulatory measures, and the perceived high risk and low return investments in REES.
The removal of the obstacles to sustainable energy is urgently needed:
- Robust policies and favourable, transparent and stable regulatory frameworks are required to attract private investors and to guarantee affordable energy services to the consumers.
- New forms of financing, risk mitigation and guarantee models will be necessary to make small sized renewables and energy efficiency projects bankable and economically attractive.
REEEP aims to work as an enabler, multiplier and catalyser of institutional change, and to have a real impact over the next decade with the following objectives:
1. Significant global increase of investments in renewable energy
2. Significant global increase of energy efficiency measures
3. Significant increase in access to sustainable energy services for the poor
[more]
Lead Partner: Government of Japan - Ministry of the Environment
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: The Scientific Capacity Building and Enhancement for Sustainable Development in Developing Countries (CAPaBLE) Programme is a concrete initiative introduced by the Ministry of the Environment, Japan and Hyogo Prefecture Government, Japan to specifically realize parts 107 to 114 of the Plan of Implementation for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), and was registered as a WSSD Type II Partnership/Initiative by the Japanese Government in Johannesburg, September 2002. The programme was endorsed by the APNâs Inter-Governmental Meeting in March 2003 and launched in April, 2003. The objectives of the Programme are targeted to enhance scientific capacity in developing countries in the Asia-Pacific Region to improve their decision-making in target areas related to climate change, water and food security, and global change that are directly linked to their sustainable development. Of particular relevance to the CAPaBLE Programme is Part 111 of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation: Establish regular channels between policy-makers and the scientific community for requesting and receiving science and technology advice for the implementation of Agenda 21, and create and strengthen networks for science and education for sustainable development, at all levels, with the aim of sharing experiences and best practices, and building scientific capacities, particularly in developing countries. [more]
Lead Partner: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: This is a civil society led, government supported, FAO facilitated undertaking.The preliminary focus of the SARD Initiative has currently been focusing on three themes, which were discussed in the International Conference on Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development in Mountain Regions (Adelboden, Switzerland, 6/2002), in the SARD Electronic Forum (6/2002-present) and in a number of local consultations in different regions of the developing world and among some of the NGOs/CSOs attending the World Food Summit: five years later (6/2002). Sub-Initiatives can be organized around the following or other thematic areas of action, based on the interests, priorities, commitment and resources of specific partners involved:
* Access to resources
* Fair conditions of employment
* Good Agricultural Practices for SARD
Given the critical mass of Mountain Governments supporting the SARD Initiative in the Adelboden Declaration, the relevant sub-Initiatives outlined in the Adelboden Plan of Action, and that 2002 is the International Year of the Mountains, it has been proposed that the Initiative should begin with a mountain focus, subject to the interest and resources of concerned stakeholders. The Initiative may capitalize on other key conferences and International Years, for instance, 2003 is the International Year of Fresh Water. [more]
Lead Partner: World Nuclear Association
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: The mission of the World Nuclear University (WNU) is to strengthen the international community of people and institutions so as to guide and further develop:
- The safe and increasing use of nuclear power as the one proven technology able to produce clean energy on a large global scale; and
- The many valuable applications of nuclear science and technology that contribute to sustainable agriculture, medicine, nutrition, industrial development, management of fresh water resources and environmental protection.
Through a worldwide network that coordinates, supports and draws on the strengths of established institutions of nuclear learning, the WNU promotes academic rigour and high professional ethics in all phases of nuclear activity, from fuel and isotope supply to decommissioning and waste management.
While looking to the future, the WNU will strengthen capabilities to manage, and responsibly dispose of, the waste legacy of early weapons and power programmes in compliance with rigorous standards of custodianship and environmental protection. [more]
to collapse the Summary of Partnerships.