North-East Asia Low Carbon City Platform (NEA-LCCP) Comparative Study: Final Review Meeting

12 April 2019, Incheon, Republic of Korea

The Office organized the final review meeting of the North-East Asia Low Carbon City Platform (NEA-LCCP) Comparative Study in Incheon, Republic of Korea. Launched in 2015 under the North-East Asia Sub-regional Programme on Environmental Cooperation (NEASPEC), NEA-LCCP aims to support the improvement of low carbon city plans and programmes, and to review government policies. In line with this goal, the Office is conducting a study on low carbon cities in collaboration with Innovative Green Development Program (iGDP), Institute for Global Environmental Studies (IGES) and Korea Environment Institute (KEI) to generate a comprehensive overview of national approaches and the status of low carbon city development in China, Japan and Republic of Korea. Bringing all partners together, the meeting conducted a final review on the synthesized draft report and discussed joint recommendations and dissemination of the study outputs. The final report will be submitted to the 23^rd Senior Officials Meeting of NEASPEC to be held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia from 24-25 September 2019.

Asia Carbon Footprint Network (ACFN) Workshop on “Enhancing LCI Database to Support Environmental Product Declaration”

23 April 2019, Shah Alam, Malaysia

As the Secretariat of the ACFN Network, the Office organized the Life Cycle Inventory Workshop in collaboration with SIRIM Industrial Research, a government organization under the Ministry of International Trade and Industry of Malaysia. Attended by about 40 participants from research institutes and academia, the workshop helped the growth of the Malaysian Life Cycle Inventory Database (MYLCID), explored the expansion of product environmental labelling coverage, and shared best practices in implementing an environmental product declaration. MYLCID supports the value chains of all stakeholders and networking with other organizations in the Asia-Pacific region within the same sector.

North-East Asia MPA Network (NEAMPAN): Project review meeting

30 April 2019, Incheon, Republic of Korea

The Office organized and hosted a project meeting of the North-East Asian Marine Protected Areas Network (NEAMPAN) to review country studies prepared under the project. NEAMPAN was launched in 2013 to promote and facilitate cooperative research and projects to improve the management effectiveness of marine protected areas in North-East Asia. Under the NEAMPAN project, “Strengthening the Subregional Cooperation through Knowledge Sharing on Sustainable Management of Marine Protected Areas”, studies on NEAMPAN sites are conducted to examine how ecological and socio-economic aspects of the sites are monitored and assessed.  Bringing together key experts engaged in the project, the meeting reviewed the draft country studies. The reports will be made available by the end of the year. 

Visit from the RAMSAR Secretary General to Discuss Transboundary Nature Conservation

7 May 2019, Incheon, ROK

The Office hosted a visit from Ms. Martha Rojas-Urrego, the Secretary General of the Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar Convention). Ms Rojas-Urrego and Senior Advisor for Asia-Oceania, Ms. Reiko Iitsuka, discussed with the Office regarding possible collaboration between the Ramsar Convention Secretariat and NEASPEC. The Ramsar Convention is an intergovernmental treaty focusing on the   conservation and wise use of all wetlands with 170 member states having ratified the Convention. The discussion focused on technical and institutional support for transboundary cooperation on habitats of key migratory birds in North-East Asia, including the establishment of a transboundary Ramsar site in the lower Tumen River Estuary covering China, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the Russian Federation. All NEASPEC Member States are parties to the Ramsar Convention and have designated protected wetlands as “Ramsar Sites”.

Head of ENEA Office Strengthens Partnership with the Russian Far East on Visit to Vladivostok

14-15 May 2019, Vladivostok, Russian Federation

The Head of Office visited Vladivostok, Russian Federation to enhance partnerships in the region. During this visit, the Head of Office delivered a keynote speech at the 2019 Far Eastern Model United Nations (FEMUN) in Vladivostok, highlighting global challenges in need of shared responses, such as climate change and rapid technological transformation. He also gave a lecture to FEMUN participants and students from Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU) on the topic of “Regional Integration in East and North-East Asia: Developments and Prospects”. During his visit to Vladivostok, he also met with officials from FEFU and the Primorsky Krai Government to discuss co-organizing the North-East Asian Multistakeholder Forum on Sustainable Development Goals in Vladivostok in October. FEFU and the Primorsky Krai Government both agreed to support this initiative.

ESCAP Meetings on Promoting Energy Cooperation in North-East Asia

4-6 June 2019, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

UNESCAP Energy Division and the Office organized a series of meetings on energy cooperation in conjunction with the Sixth International Conference of the Ulaanbaatar Dialogue on Northeast Asian Security. The “Inception Meeting of the KECF Project on Regional Power Grid Connectivity in North-East Asia: Policies and Strategies” and the “Open Forum on Regional Power Grid Connectivity in North-East Asia” were co-organized with the Government of Mongolia on 4 June at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia. During these meetings, representatives from regional institutes, energy experts and government officials from China, Japan, Mongolia, Republic of Korea and the Russian Federation discussed progress made towards energy cooperation in the region as well as socio-economic development and environmental benefits of grid connectivity. UNESCAP, jointly with Government of Mongolia and Asia Development Bank, further organized sessions on “Promoting Energy Cooperation in North-East Asia at the Ulaanbaatar Dialogue” on 6 June which raised awareness on the benefits of regional power grid connectivity and its technical and economic feasibility.

Expert Group Meeting on the Implementation of the Intergovernmental Agreement on International Road Transport along the Asian Highway Network

5-6 June 2019, Incheon, Republic of Korea
 
UNESCAP Transport Division and the Office organized the Expert Group Meeting on the International Agreement on International Road Transport along the Asian Highway Network, attended by delegates from China, Mongolia, and the Russian Federation. International road transport links along the Asian Highway Network routes 3 and 4 provide sea access to landlocked Mongolia as well as new connections between China and the Russian Federation through the central and western parts of Mongolia. In this context, delegates discussed the road transport permit to be used by carriers, facilitating the implementation of the Agreement in the agreed routes. The meeting also discussed preparations for the first meeting of the Joint Committee, to be established under the Agreement, tasked to monitor and ensure the effective implementation of the Agreement.

Citypreneurs x CES Asia event “Tech4good: Innovate Locally, Impact Globally”

11-12 June 2019, Shanghai, China

The Office organized the Citypreneurs event at CES Asia, which showcases the latest innovation in AI, 5G, vehicle tech and startups from around the world. Jointly-hosted with the Seoul Digital Foundation (SDF), the World Smart Sustainable Cities Organization (WeGO) and the World Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA), the two-day conference session addressed the potential of harnessing technological changes to bring successful, inclusive and environmentally-minded start-up solutions to help address sustainable development challenges in the Asia-Pacific region. Citypreneurs works as a platform to showcase urban issues identified by city governments, as defined and measured by the Sustainable Development Goals, and to connect public and private sector players with young socially- and environmentally-minded innovators. Start-ups interested in helping to address the SDGs can also apply to be part of the Citypreneurs Seoul programme: https://www.citypreneurs.org/citypreneurs-seoul

Asia Pacific Forestry Week 2019 Side Event:  Multi-Stakeholder Cooperation in North-East Asia on Combating Desertification and Land Degradation

21 June 2019, Incheon, Republic of Korea

The Office organized the side event showcasing initiatives led by governments and private sectors on combating desertification and land degradation during the Asia-Pacific Forestry Week. Participants also discussed how some of the institutional, financing and technological innovations could be scaled up through bi- and multi-lateral cooperation in and beyond the subregion towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, especially target 15.3 for a land degradation-neutral world.