Environment Unit
Environment and Transport/EST
Achievements to date in EST
In collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Transport, other relevant ministries and stakeholders at the national level, and also relevant international organizations/initiatives, the Regional EST Forum, which is the key component of the Asian EST Initiative, provides a strategic and knowledge platform for sharing experiences and disseminating among Asian countries best practices, policy instruments, tools, and technologies, in relation to various key aspects of EST underlined in the Aichi Statement. The Regional EST Forum comprises: (a) high-level government representatives (both from the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Transport); and (b) a subsidiary expert group of internationally known experts in various thematic areas related to EST. Starting with the ASEAN + 4 (Japan, Republic of Korea, Mongolia, and People's Republic of China), the Regional EST Forum has been expanded to cover the South Asian region as well. Gradually, this Initiative has been expanded and supported by a number of international organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO), Clean Air Initiative (CAI)-Asia, ADB, GTZ, JICA, Sida, ITDP, gTKP, and the intergovernmental ASEAN Working Group on Environmentally Sustainable Cities (AWGESC) and South Asian Cooperative Environment Programme (SACEP).
| Chronology of Major Events under the Asian EST Initiative
(2004-2009) |
Outputs/Major Achievements |
|---|---|
| Manila Policy Dialogue on EST, 16-17 January 2004, Manila, the Philippines | Manila Statement adopted -- led to establishment of the Regional EST Forum |
| First Regional EST Forum, 1-5 August 2005, Nagoya, Japan | Aichi Statement adopted -- fundamentally defined the EST elements for an integrated approach, and enabled all Asian countries to have a common understanding on EST and its essential elements |
| In-Country EST Policy Dialogue-cum-Training Workshop for Lao PDR, Cambodia, and Viet Nam, 19-28 June 2006 | More than 100 senior officials from key line ministries and government agencies trained on EST |
| Second Regional EST Forum, 11-12 December 2006, Yogyakarta, Indonesia | Progress reviewed against Aichi Statement |
| Initiation of national EST strategy formulation in three countries (Lao PDR, Cambodia, and Viet Nam), early 2007 | Improved and strengthened interagency coordination among key line ministries/agencies |
| Asian Mayors' Dialogue on the Promotion of EST in Cities, 23-24 April 2007, Kyoto, Japan | Kyoto Declaration signed by twenty-two Asian mayors and city representatives |
| Third Regional EST Forum, 17-19 March 2008, Singapore | Support of Government of Singapore; eight South Asian countries joined the Forum, thus making total participating countries to twenty-two; countries addressed and discussed various climate change mitigation measures and co-benefit options through EST measures |
| Additional 12 Asian Mayors signed the Kyoto Declaration during BAQ-2008, Bangkok | As of now, 34 Asian Mayors have signed the Kyoto Declaration on EST |
| Initiation of national EST strategy formulation in two additional countries (Indonesia, the Philippines) 2008-2009 | Sida-funded Sustainable Urban Mobility in Asia (SUMA) project implemented by ADB and CAI-Asia has provided co-financing support for the Philippine EST strategy |
| Fourth Regional EST Forum, 24-26 February 2009, Seoul, Korea | Seoul Statement adopted -- contributed towards strengthened policy discussions on the transport sector in the climate change agenda, and on the need to create a low carbon society in Asia |
| National EST Training Workshop-cum-Policy Dialogue in Indonesia and Bangladesh, 21-28 April 2009 | More than 100 senior officials from key line ministries and government agencies in both countries to be trained on EST |
| Note: Important Declarations from the Ministerial Conference on Energy, Environment, and Transport (MEET-2009) and the East Asian Summit (EAS)-Singapore have recognized the EST Initiative. | |