Lead Partner: Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities (CAI-Asia) Center, Inc.
Geographical Scope: Regional
- Asia and the Pacific Summary: The CAI-Asia Partnership is a multi-sector forum on urban air quality in Asia where partners from different sectors can meet, exchange experiences and engage in dialogue on urban air quality with the aim to promote better urban AQM in Asian cities.
The main goals of the CAI-Asia Partnership are:
(i) Encourage the development and adoption of sound science as the basis of urban air quality management (AQM);
(ii) Stimulate the development and implementation of policies, programs and projects on urban air quality;
(iii) Review progress in urban AQM in Asia and outline future priorities for urban AQM; and
(iv) Foster coordination and cooperation with other regional programs and initiatives on urban air quality management in Asia.
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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 Italy - Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Directorate General for Development Cooperation (DGCS)
Geographical Scope: Regional
- Asia and the Pacific Summary: General Objective: to contribute to social and economic development of the populations of the Hindu Kush - Karakorum - Himalaya mountain complex and to the environmental conservation of the region by consolidating institutional capacity for systemic planning and management of the territory, focusing on:
1. reduction of poverty
2. conservation of biodiversity
Specific Objective A: provide instruments (knowledge of the territory, the populations and the technologies for systemic data management) to facilitate the consistency of various national-level actions in area-based planning and management, within the framework of regional level systemic planning and monitoring.Specific Objective B: establish a process of application of the acquired capacities and Decision Support System (DSS) by individual countries in systemic planning and management of mountain areas at a local/national or transboundary level, within the framework of sustainable mountain development.Individual components of these objectives include:* Create a coordinated system for collection and analysis (monitoring) of natural resource data;* Provide decision makers of competent national and local administrations with an instrument (DSS) for systemic territorial planning and management;* Build local institutional capacity to study, analyze and manage natural resources, favoring local community involvement in these processes. [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: Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC)
Geographical Scope: Global Summary: The core activity of WASH emphasizes the teaching of basic sanitation and hygiene to communities and school children with a particular focus on girls' education and gender equality, as a necessary complement to the success of water and sanitation infrastructure projects.
This integrated approach to the delivery of basic services is the product of "lessons learned" from the International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade (1981-1990). While advancements were made in increasing the access to safe drinking water, less progress was made on the provision of sanitation services and in hygiene education and training. These valuable lessons are now the focus of a global effort to improve the health and productivity of the urban and rural poor in the developing world.
The core activity is complemented by a recent initiative to deliver by 2015, safe, affordable and reliable water, sanitation to over 1.1 billion people who have no access to water supply and to more than 2.6 billion people who have no adequate sanitation. A WASH Partnership, jointly agreed between the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) and UNICEF, seeks to contribute towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) seven, target 10, through a combination of actions directed at influencing policy at national level and global level, and effecting behavioural change at the grassroots level. The WASH Partnership supports coalition-building among multi-stakeholders at national and grassroots level. With advocacy at the centre of these main activities, it focuses on demand-creation, behavioural change, capacity building and implementation, to reach 15 million people with sanitation and hygiene by 2015 (â15 by 15 projectâ). [more]